24 Oct Understanding the Internet Business Puzzle
Today we’re talking about unraveling the internet business puzzle. This is just a short segment of an overall seminar…
Good morning. A few words today on understanding the internet business puzzle. Now, this is a short segment of an overall seminar which I present and I just wanted to be able to share a few of those key points with you today.
It begins right here with screaming babies. Always look at everything you do from the customer’s point of view. That is just so important. It’s a paradigm shift for most of us. I want you to stop looking at what you feel you need and start thinking about what your customer’s feel they need. Otherwise, you’re going to get people just like this. I can tell you now, if you haven’t had people like this in your customer database, you’re going to have them soon, unless you look to service your customers a little better.
Here’s a good thought, you do also, of course, need to define what your goals are. I want you to look at your goals. Spend some time, ask yourself what are they and then more importantly, why are they. Looking specifically at your website are the goals that I’m talking about. You need to understand then, the difference between what the customer wants and what you want and look to bridge that gap. Could be, you moving some. Could be, you asking them to move some. But whatever it is, you must find that meeting point.
And of course, you have to understand the conversion path as it applies to your website. What pages are people arriving on? What pages do they then go through from there? Do they reach your contact form? Do they submit a query or buy a product? You must understand the conversion path as it applies to your website.
Next thing I’d like you to do is compare your goals to the entry points; the pages on your website, and ask yourself this. Are those landing pages optimized for best possible results? Now, I’m not just talking about only the pages on your site here. I’m taking a little liberty and I’m looking at the landing pages where others might find you. Perhaps, that first point of contact in social media or the referral from a guest blog on another website. Look at those pages as well as your own and ask yourself, do these help move me and my clients towards a mutual goal?
In order to achieve your goals, you are going to need to understand the basics of analytics. Now, I use Google Analytics. I have no problem understanding Google Analytics. But, it’s a mine field. Here’s a quick tip. It is must bigger than you need for your business. Google Analytics serves the market sector, the small enterprise, the SME, and the corporate as well. And so between those three, it covers everything.
But see, you’re just one of them. What you need to do is look at your area. Look at, perhaps, the half a dozen reports. The metrics that can give you the most amount of information in the shortest possible time as they apply to your website.
It comes down to this, you must measure every dollar that you spend and look at the return on your investment, the ROI. This is what it comes down to. It’s not just about how much you earn. It’s about how much you spend compared to how much you earn.
I, also, like to take into account time spent, as well. Track the time that you invest expanding your business. You should be paying yourself a wage. If not, then you need to get to that point where you can. Look at how much you’re spending. Look at how much is being returned. And measure into these factors, your analytics, your goals, and your customer’s goals.
Remember this; I want you to look at things from your customer’s point of view. I’m going to keep coming back to this and ask the question, is your site mobile friendly? If not now, when will it be?
I just checked my statistics this morning and, currently, 15.8 percent of my visitors this month came through a mobile device of some sort. My best recommendation is to you, when your site is getting over 15 percent mobile, then you need to make it mobile friendly.
Tell me, when they land on your site, do you have a good look, a modern fresh design? Is it professional? How competitive is it to your competition? How does it look? What about your home page? Tell me about your home page. Does your header area, that’s the area above the fold that highlights your main income opportunities, your area that you’re targeting, perhaps your products and your call to action? Is it there and can you see it really easily?
A good home page summarizes what you do, offers easy contact, testimonials, social media options, and subscriptions. This is what a good home page offers. It doesn’t give you the box right there. It doesn’t give you everything. It lets the visitor have a choice.
Of course using Google Analytics, you can track what pages they go to next, so you can improve your sales copy, find out what’s working and what isn’t working. The home page, unless you sell one product and one product only, should direct your visitor to where they want to go.
Here are the keys to conversions. The homepage is a guide. The additional pages where you guide them to, offer one problem and one solution. This is my key phrase when it comes to good SEO marketing; one page, one problem, one solution. Always use good sales copy. Use some king of call to action on every single page.
Focus on your primary goal first. Make sure it’s covered, and then offer alternatives. Don’t say to someone, hey, just click here if you feel like it. No, you want them to buy something, direct them towards the purchase. And if they don’t, then say come and click here. It’s all about turning browsers into buyers.
So, I want you to look at the point of contact for your website. Sometimes, this is usually off your website. Could be your search engine title and description as it appears. Could be your social media page. Could be something on Facebook or Twitter or YouTube. Whatever it is, does it prequalify them? Do they know why they are coming to your website?
So then look at your content. Ask yourself, does it offer the solutions to their needs? And look at your call to action. Does it ask people to make a decision, because it has to. It has to ask them to do something. Never be afraid to ask for the order.
And here’s the key; follow up, follow up, follow up, follow up. Not everyone buys from you the first time they meet you. I love the strategy of offering a free something for exchange for a name and an email address. You know, the usual opt in form, a newsletter, for example. Then, you can have a follow up order responder to get automatic follow up. Give them and instant thank you, a promise to do something for them and then, go and do it.
For those of you working in the offline world like I do, use an online CRM, Customer Relationship Management Program. For those who contact you through your contact form and follow them up and follow them up. It’s so important, that you never lose track.
It all comes down to this. You need to create for yourself, your own sales funnel. There are plenty of examples online. I’m not even going to go through this one right now. But find out where your people are coming from. Find out where they’re landing. Find out where they are going. And hope, no don’t hope; make sure that that leads them to the sale or the lead or the contact, whatever it might be for you.
If you would like some more help with that, you can contact me at paulbarrs.com. Through my contact form, you will see a marketing evaluation of your own website. I can help you get better results online. I’d love to do that and I hope to hear from you soon. You take care. This is Paul Barrs from paulbarrs.com, internet business training signing off. Bye-bye
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