What is Website Stickiness? It is the the ability to keep clients on your website as well as get them to return periodically. Why should you care about this? The average person exits a site in less than a minute. If you are selling products or services, you need them to stay, to feel comfortable, to keep coming back and to view your site as a “go to” site for information and/or entertainment as it relates to your field.

Consider sites like Apple. They are a computer/phone hardware and software company; Yet their site is filled with items like movie trailers, training, news, forums, stores, free downloads and several other incentives to get you to come back. In this way, they generate more traffic that will learn of their new products and services with little money spent. Pretty smart, I’d say. The worst thing you can hear from a client is “I didn’t know you provided that product/service”.

Some of the fundamentals are just plain horse sense. For instance, easy navigation and clean design are essential. People must be able to scan and find what they need quickly. Drop the spinning whirly gigs unless that’s what you’re selling. Many people want a large amount of “action” on their page. I liken it to trying to read a book while a 3 year old is running back and forth in front of you. Not good.

Know your audience and what they like. Use Google analytics (free) to see what content they interact with on a consistent basis. Use this to help you plan for updating your content. Updating is essential. If nothing changes, there is no reason to return.

There are several weapons to choose from when adding to your site. Video content, which is the most searched item on the internet, is a great plus. You can add training and product videos and even funny videos from places like youtube.com. Content is king – so fresh articles, news and RSS feeds are a great addition. Interactivity in the form of blogs, forums, widgets, games and tools are also good. Finally you might consider having a list of helpful links for your clients to choose from. If done right, this list will also help with your standing in search engines.

Now get out there and look good.

Chris Motley
Motley Creations
©2009 Motley Creations. Use by permission only.

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If you build it, they will NOT come. A website is passive at best. It takes a lot of work to let the public know that it is there let alone generate interest. Most people have a concept that SEO (search engine optimization) will generate enough traffic. While it is definitely necessary, it is not the end all be all.

1. Know your audience: Know who buys from you. Know where they shop, what clubs they belong to, how they get their news, what they read. This will help you decide where it the most effective place to spend your money.

2. Plan the work and work the plan: You have a marketing budget right now whether you know it or not. You buy business cards, you network, you have a website, etc. Instead of randomly spending money as the need arises, figure out what that budget is. Take the results from #1 and your budget and develop a plan to reach your target audience. In this way you will be able to make better decisions about when and where to spend your money.

3. Use integrated marketing strategies: PPC, SEO, Link trading, ads, signage, media, social media, blogs, article writing, public speaking, banner ads - these are just a few of the ways you can build brand recognition. The more the public hears about you, the more credibility you have.

4. Measure everything: There are services that can generate phone numbers that will ring in your office. These services can record the calls to evaluate your staff, keep track of who calls from what ad and even give you information on someone who hangs up before you answer. There are also several free tools including google analytics that can show you ROI on your web marketing results. Technology these days makes everything measurable.

5. Strategize: Take the results of all of the above and make smart decisions on where your marketing dollars are most effective. Set time aside on your calendar to look into your results. Do this monthly, quarterly and annually. Make adjustments where needed. There is no magic bullet. You have to change with the times.

Now get out there and look good.

Chris Motley
Motley Creations

©2009 Motley Creations. Use by permission only.

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The phrase “can’t see the forest for the trees” is a very relevant concept when it comes to websites. Many a business builds a site to suit themselves. In reality, it should be built to suit your customers and prospects. Thus, the business can’t see the forest for the trees.

Many think that their website sells their product or service. It doesn’t. It generates interest, it qualifies, it provides pertinent information like statistics and user feed back - it does not close the deal. In most cases, your best result would be to get them to call or come in to a retail location. That way you have an opportunity to cross sell or up sell.

Here are a few concepts to help you organize your website:

1. How do consumers gather information?

To varying degrees, everyone falls somewhere on the chart below. You need to ask yourself, where do most of my prospects fall? This will help you to determine how to speak to them.

2. What will tip the scale?

If we try to justify all the reasons a prospect needs the product or service or take away all objections, we will end up with a long and muddied message. People buy for their own reasons. Each prospect’s reasoning is different and you don’t want them sorting through a bunch of information to find that key. The buying decision comes from comfort, not confusion. You’re not looking to close the conversation, you’re looking to open it. If your site is not well organized, so that all information is at their fingertips (not force fed), chances are the prospect will bounce out of your site and move on to another company. 

3. What’s not to love?

As a business, you must trust that your website is an effective tool. At the end of the day, you don’t have to love your website, your prospects and clients do. It has to speak to them, not you. The right images and the right message organized in a comprehensive way. You can have all the information you want to convey, just don’t shove it down their throat.

Now get out there and look good.

Chris Motley
Motley Creations

©2009 Motley Creations. Use by permission only.

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Do you sometimes feel that your website isn’t working for you? Are you frustrated to have to turn to your “web guys” every time you want to update your website? Are they taking too long to make the updates? Is it cost prohibitive?

These are very common problems I hear about on a daily basis. This particular problem has several solutions ranging from the inexpensive up front cost to the complete overhaul that will save you in the long run.

Here are some options that may work for you.

1. Adobe Contribute

Adobe Contribute is a popular program that allows you to add new pages, change text, insert pictures, add audio/video, build PayPal buttons, and more. The biggest benefit is the ease of use. If you know how to use Microsoft Word, you can use Contribute. It requires no programming knowledge and has easy learning curve. You can download a free trial version from Adobe.com.

2. Content Management Systems (or CMS)

Larger website these days require diverse functionality and regular updates in order to keep the content current and relevant. Features may include blogs or news items that are ever changing, shopping carts with changing catalogs of merchandise, event calendars - the list goes on ad infinitum. If this sounds like your situation, a content management system may work best for you. From custom-made systems to large feature-filled options to open source software, there’s a content management system out there to fit your needs. These systems require some ground work and cost initially, but once up and running they enable multiple people to edit content in an intuitive and easy-to-use fashion. You simply log-in to your website from your favorite browser and make changes on the fly. This allows you and your staff to make changes from any computer at any time.

3. Online Alternatives

There are many services now that provide complete packages of hosting and content management delivery in one. These vary according to scale and features required ranging from a simple blog-like site to a complete database with e-commerce capabilities. You can find thousands of alternatives by searching the internet for “content management systems”. Make sure you do your homework. You want a company that has a solid reputation and will not disappear overnight.

Technology is growing daily which is good news for the business owner. You no longer have to be a slave to a web company. But make sure you have the time to do the edits yourself. I have seen companies spend money to have this ability and, in the end, send the edits back to their “web guys”.

Now get out there and look good!

Motley Creations
©2009 Motley Creations. Use by permission only.

Tags: cms, website.

I get so many clients that start a conversation with, “my neighbors, cousin’s, co-worker built my site, but they don’t answer their phone now”. The old adage, you get what you pay for, has never been more true. I’m a little tired of the damage I come in contact with on a daily basis. It always shocks me what people will do for a fast buck.

There are a few things I want you to look at for while you’re out there in the world. There are a few concepts I want you to take to heart to protect you from spending “bad dollars”. This is something none of us can afford.

1. OWN YOUR OWN DOMAIN NAME
Do not let me, or any other website development company, advertising agency or marketing company buy your domain name for you. It takes about 10 minutes of your time and is VERY easy to do. I’ve had clients come to me after letting a company buy their domain name and then going out of business - a particularly sticky proposition if they’re out of state. I searched high and low for this person including a who-is look up and then contracting a very knowledgeable and reputable hosting expert. All to no avail. The original owner literally disappeared off the face of the planet. My client ended up buying a new domain name and then went through the expense of notifying all their clients. Not good.

2. HOST WITH THE BIG COMPANIES
I offer hosting to a limited degree but encourage my clients to host with a company like Go Daddy or Network Solutions. Chances are, the small company you use now has a “resellers agreement” with a company like this so technically, you are already using them. With the bigger company you will have 24/7 tech support, the latest and greatest security and virus protection. The cost is minimal for the full service support. If you call “Joe’s website and live bait” at 3 AM because your email is down, will he answer? Also, it’s much better than hosting your site in house. That way you don’t have to have an IT person on staff to upgrade server software to accommodate new functions on your site and you don’t have to worry about making sure you have the latest virus software, hardware and security. If you’re not a hosting expert, why become one for one website?

3. WEBSITES ARE NOT MADE OF CONCRETE
Pretend you have a magic wand and money isn’t an object. Write a list of everything you would want your website to do if money weren’t a factor. Now go back through that list and pick out what are the core functions your site MUST have to make it worth the expense. Start with these. I know that some companies want to sell you extra functionality, bells and whistles. Don’t pay for what you don’t need. Make sure your clients will use the functionality before you spend the dollars. You can always add to your site later.

4. ALL WHO CLAIM TO BE SEO COMPANIES ARE NOT REALLY SEO COMPANIES
I’ve seen several companies out their who claim to be “SEO experts”. I have also had clients sign a long term contract with an SEO company that was clearly using outdated methods and was really just a scam to get money. The first sign of fraud is that they have no way to prove results. Granted, some methods take months to show results. In the end you want to make sure you receive some kind of professional reporting (such as Google Analytics) that show’s the number of hits you get from search engines. You also need to check into click-through rates, conversion rates and bounce rates to make sure it is worth your time and money. You can spend a lot of money on the wrong search words and not know it. A reputable company will be forthcoming and have no issue with reporting results in a way you can understand. They should also have some sort of case studies on what results they achieved with other like companies. Believe me folks, this is a science that you can pay a lot of money for. There are several schools of thought and no short answer. Just remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Now get out there and look good.

Chris Motley
Motley Creations
©2008 Motley Creations.

Tags: big idea, domain name, hosting, search engine optimization, website.

Putting money into your website and not tracking traffic is like giving a stock broker money and then never checking to see how your money is doing. It sounds far fetched but it’s true. A website is an investment, a tool to help you generate customers and thereby, money.

Websites are reactive in nature. That is, they require a catalyst to drive traffic to them – a keyword in a search engine, a referral, a newsletter, an ad, or even mention in a blog. SEO and SEM are about driving traffic through search engines. E-marketing is about driving traffic through direct or generational contact through electronic media. Then of course there is conventional marketing such as newspapers, television and radio. These days, people are using unique URL’s to track what catalyst was successful in bringing that traffic to their site.

Most hosting companies have a version of web statistic software that comes with your hosting package such as webalizer. They can be a solid solution, but I prefer Google Analytics. It’s absolutely free and it is easy to install in your website. If you’re not a web master, simply sign up and email the code they provide to your webmaster. Chances are, he/she already has it in there.

Google Analytics has detailed and comprehensive reporting. You can drill down to the keyword the person used to find you, the city they were in, how long they were on your site and what page they left from. You can trace purchases to campaigns and keywords. You can view a site overlay that will tell you what are the heaviest traffic areas of your site.

Why is this important?

Let’s say you put ads in newspapers that contain your web address.You choose Dallas, LA and Seattle as your target cities. You will be able to see exactly what kind of response your ads get in terms of website hits and what cities they came from. Of course, you should train your staff to ask “how did you hear about us” if you also included your phone number. From these combined numbers, you will be able to determine if you should advertise in the same publications again or if a particular city does not generate a good return. A word of advice - be patient. Sometimes ads must run for a while to start seeing results.

You can also track the response to newsletters or special offers you send out electronically. You can track by date or use special scripting or links to measure exactly how many people respond to your efforts. If you get little response you know your dollars would be better served elsewhere.

If you are paying for Adwords you can track what the return is on your investment. Sometimes people don’t use the correct industry term to search for your product. You might find you make more sales off of the slang than your correct terminology. You can adjust your efforts so that you are only paying for the keywords that get response and stop paying for the ones that don’t. You will make mistakes - the key is to not make them twice.

Now get out there and look good.

Chris Motley
Motley Creations

©2007 Motley Creations. Use by premission only.

Tags: adwords, analytics, E-Marketing, sem, seo, tracking, traffic, website.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the art of getting your Web site to list higher in the search engines such as Google or Yahoo. Consider it to be like running in a race with 2,000,000 other people. The good news is some of them have only have one leg or are wearing high heels. The bad news is that some are very fast, agile and efficient.

SEO is more of an art than a science (although there is some science involved). There is no “magic switch” – if there were, everybody would be using it, and then we’d all be back to where we started. There are as many theories about SEO as there are Web sites out there. For the purposes of this article, I’m going to keep things basic.

Before we start, you might want to consider how you are going to measure your results. Most hosting servers come equipped with tools like Webalizer, where you can track what the Web site traffic trends are. Google Analytics is a great free way to tag your pages to this purpose if your hosting solution doesn’t provide one. You will, however, have to add a small bit of code to each page or to your template for Google Analytics to function.

Let’s start with a big one – keywords. Those words that bring qualified traffic to your Web site by using them in content, your domain name, page titles, links, etc. The name of the game is to get qualified traffic – people who want what you are selling.

Start by making a list of obvious keywords. If you sell flowers, some keywords might be flower arrangements, flower pots, fresh flowers and flower delivery. Keep in mind that the more general you are, the more sites out there are using it. So you may want to combine some phrases and add more specifics such as “fresh flower arrangements in Lenexa Kansas.” It still has the general term but it also contains more qualifiers to bring specific people to you.

You might also try some of the great tools out there such as Overture Keyword Selector Tool (http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/), Google Keyword Tool (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal) or Digital Point Keyword Suggestion Tool (http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/). You can use these tools to narrow, edit or add to the list by seeing how many people actually search for your keywords and what the competition is for those keywords. Also remember, people tend to misspell and have names for items or services used outside the industry. Some of those “off words” can be beneficial at raising your ranking.

Now what do you do with the keywords? Start with page names. You don’t want 400 keywords in your page names, but you do want keywords relevant to the page content. Then move to navigation. If your top navigation is built in Flash or JavaScript, make sure that you have it again at the bottom in text form and name them, using your keywords. Other things to consider: heading tags and using your keywords in the page content. Don’t try spamming a long string of them in your meta tags – it’s been done – it’s been overdone. Search engines tend to ignore it now.

This is just one 10,000 foot fly-by of some of the things you can do to improve your SEO status. Play with it. Check results more from month to month rather than from day to day. If you are in a big hurry, pay a professional or look into Pay Per Click. This information is to help you start your process, not complete it. SEO is never done. And there are several more factors involved other than keywords.

Now get out there and look good!

Chris Motley
Motley Creations

Tags: analytics, google, keywords, search engine, seo.

Last time, we discussed Internet usage by average individuals – the fact that 87% of people research the Web before a purchase, and some of the benefits to your business of having an online presence. In this issue, we would like to expound on some of those benefits.

Let’s do a little math – I know, a poor way to start but it’s necessary. What is an average sale for your business in round numbers? What if you lose one sale per month due to lack of or a poor Web presence? It’s not “how much will it cost?” but rather “how much will you lose?”

Most conversations with clients start with “I know this guy – my brother’s, neighbor’s, babysitter’s uncle - who did our Web site.” Not necessarily a bad start into a Web presence but I want you to think about something: What if a client attributes the quality of your service to the quality of your Web site? Is your Web site as professional as you are?

Your Web site is not just an advertisement. You can list detailed information about your products or services, your credentials, your location, testimonials, contact information and much more. Space is not limited. Not to mention, if you sell online, it’s a store that never closes!

Most people like researching or purchasing in an “informational” environment rather than in a “persuasive” environment. In other words, it causes less stress to read information and make a choice than to contend with a sales person who they perceive cares more about his commission than their needs. If you provide a friendly, comfortable Web environment, your clients, prospects and even potential employees will thank you.

The last aspect is networking. When you meet people at a networking event do they take notes about your business? Of course not. Give them the most complete source of information by putting your Web address on your business card. They can then “reconnect” with you at their convenience, as well as refer you on. Let’s face it – a catchy Web address is easier to remember than a phone number.

Now get out there and look good!

Chris Motley
Motley Creations

Tags: network, research, website.

In 2005 users of the Internet world wide reached 1 billion. In 2011 it is estimated they will reach 2 billion. That’s a lot of consumers.

The average person logs about 34 sessions to the tune of 30 to 40 hours a month. That’s around an hour a day. More than 35% of homes have a personal computer and twice that have access to one at work. That doesn’t count libraries, coffee houses and the like.

87% of people now research online before making any purchase. Why? Because it is informative and not persuasive. No sales person trying to make a commission – just the straight facts.

In conjunction with regular advertising, your Web site can save you money. Consider the cost of a full-page ad in the Yellow Pages. It’s limited in space and if your products or services change, the Yellow Pages won’t do a reprint just for you. If your company has a Web site, you can lessen the cost of the Yellow Pages ad by printing a smaller ad and directing the prospect to your site for more information. Your site can have more space, content and functionality for a fraction of the cost. And, if things change for your business, you can have the information updated on your site at in a moment’s notice. Try that with the Yellow Pages.

Today’s market requires a Web site – not as the only component to your marketing plan, but rather as the hub. You will spend less on smaller ads with an offer, a call to action and directions to view your site for more information for a larger impact. Today’s consumer will wonder why you don’t have one. I’ll bet they’ll find your competitor’s site.

People online are in “seeker mode.” In other words, they are looking to purchase. People reading magazines and newspapers will “passively” see your add. That’s not to say you shouldn’t put ads in magazines and newspapers; just don’t rely on them alone. Your marketing plan should have many weapons.

The Internet is not really a choice any more. Consumers expect it. It’s not a tattoo; start small and let it develop as your business does. Do it in phases. It doesn’t matter how you start – just start!

Now get out there and look good!

Chris Motley
Motley Creations

Tags: development, research, statistics, website.