Give People Reasons to Visit and Buy from Your Web Site

Content is the most important component of your web site. Useful content gets visitors to your site, engages them, builds credibility, and converts them into buyers. Surveys indicate that 80 percent of visitors go to web sites to get information. Only 5 percent are interested in graphics.

Valuable content can include how-to articles, reports, tips, links to useful resources, and freebies. For example, a web design company may provide free graphics and diagnostic tools. A CD web site may offer free reviews, biographies of musicians, and an online jukebox that allows visitors to preview their music selection.

To make money with your web site, you also need to include:

- Contact information. Include your name, business name, email, 800#, local phone number (international prospects can't call 800 numbers), fax, and mailing address. - Company information. - Product information, the benefits of your products and services, how to purchase them, and their best uses. - A compelling, benefit-oriented sales letter. - A special offer. - A call to action. - Ordering information. - An online order form.

Target Your Audience

- Provide information that is valuable, useful, or entertaining to your target market. - Feature content relevant to the topic of your site. - Use a feedback form to find out what your visitors and prospective buyers want.

Visitors typically come to your web site four to seven times before they buy from you. Find out in a future article how to keep attracting prospective buyers to your site and turn them into buyers.