Where do online businesses go wrong?
For a website to grow it has to be built on a solid foundation, once these foundations are laid it then has to be allowed to grow, understanding and implementing this is the real key to successful online business. A website needs to be designed properly; most people would consider this obvious but evidence shows that most businesses do not do this. Many sites are the result of over-priced poor service. A website needs to look right, and even with good search engine positioning success is not guaranteed. If the site fails to impress visitors, the conversion rate will be very poor. Development and Growth One of the best methods to develop a website is to add unique content on a regular basis. This requires commitment and focus and most businesses do not invest the necessary time and thought into this, as seeing the results from this effort is a cumulative process rather than a quick fix.
Link exchange with other, on-theme websites, is a valuable way of improving search rankings. There are a number of programmes available to help source reciprocal links. The difficulty here is building momentum, as when a site has a low page ranking very few people want to exchange links. However by hard work, dedication and patience a site’s page ranking will improve. Building one-way links is essential, but unfortunately also time consuming task. To be done successfully is not as simple as submitting links to 1,000 free directories. There are a number of ways to build strong one-way links;
• Pay for them – be very careful here, only use reputable companies such as Yahoo and Business.com
• Social Networking – tap into the power of Facebook and My Space • Directories – use relevant ones and choose those that are actually used.
• Forum Posting – become active on networking and industry forums, posting articles, opinions and advice. It’s all good profile-building stuff.
• Articles – write articles displaying your knowledge and expertise, and get these placed as widely as possible. All should contain key words that help you and your business.
• Examine your peers links – check out the competition, ensure you’re working smarter than them.
The frustrating part about working hard on your website is that results are not instantaneous. No matter how much work is put in, it can take months to see the benefit. The problem most small online business owners have is
• Educational - They do not understand the basic fundamentals of online business
• Financial - There are many unavoidable related costs to running a successful online business
• Time - Many people struggle to find time to work on their own website
• Patience - When results from hard work is not instant there is a feeling of disappointment
If you can overcome all these barriers and frustrations, then your site can be one of the select few that cuts through the information overload on the internet and actually gets noticed. Make a plan, set targets and work steadily towards your goal. The reward of arriving, for example, on page one of Google, can be really satisfying, particularly when you see thousands, even millions of sites trailing behind you. At that point the difference between them and you won’t necessarily be vast technical knowledge, just the application of clear, targeted, focused effort. And the reward for all that should be increased business.
Pete Arkwright
This article has been sponsored by Just a Drop, Suppliers of bottled drinking water
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