The elements of internet success

What makes a successful website is seldom a question we are asked, mostly people will tell us that their website isn't as successful as they would like because it lacks ... rankings, online advertising, links or keywords.  These are by far the most common things business owners will mention.  While these are often 'part' of the equation they are usually not the reason why a website is not successful. Volumes can, and are, written about web success I will briefly focus on those that small and medium enterprises should focus on.

What Type of Site

In reviewing websites we first seek to understand who the audience (customer) is, after all a website is a sales tool that should focus on what the customer wants to know, rather than what you think the customer should be told.  Thus we put sites into the following categories:

The Brochure Site
This type of website fulfils the same function as a paper brochure and provides the customer with basic information about your business, this site is usually not more than 5 pages, has limited text and should at least include directions to your business and contact details.  This website is the most basic and provides an internet presence which is highly unlikely to reach the top of any rankings and is mainly an online reference.

The Promotional Site
This website primarily promotes your business with the intention of attracting customers to you.  It will inform, entertain, advise and promote your offering to a prospective client.  The site may, but not necessarily, include an opportunity to pay online.  This is by far the most effective and most difficult site as it requires a number of elements to attract customers and get them interested enough to contact you to make a purchase.

The Online Shop
This is a website which actively sells items or services online it should have secure  online shopping, good customer interaction and product information. This site requires regular updates, excellent keywords, online promotion, quick responses to customer requests and must pay for it's keep.

Social & Information
This type of website is not always non-commercial and fulfils the online quest for social interaction and information.  Information sites are updated by members once they have been loaded and social sites (such as forums) must have regular postings in order to remain current. These sites earn revenue through providing suitable services and products for their members.

Reviewing the above will help you identify what best suits your business.

What Does Your Online Customer Want?

A common mistake is to think that what you want to tell you customer is what they want to know.  I've seen people spend pages of text telling the customer how good they are and how well they do what they do and how many awards they have won, but not one word about what the customer can expect, how they treat the customer, how the customer will benefit from their service.  If you don't tell the customer specifically they do not know!

It is therefore important to put yourself in your customer's shoes, or ask them what they want and make certain that this is included in your website.  If you don't meet your customer's needs online, they will (within one click) be somewhere where they can get what they want.  Provide them with a unique experience which will encourage them to contact you or bookmark you so they can return.

Content

People primarily come online to gather information and gain clarity without making many costly phone calls or travelling from one place to another.  So by ensuring that your website contains as much information about your product and/or service the more likely someone is to stay on your site and make contact with you.  It is by far the most essential item to increase 'dwell time' (the amount of time a person spends browsing and shopping on your site).

Content is also a key element for SEO in that search engines love content ... however two important things to remember about content is that it must be relevant to the website and it should be updated regularly.

Web Elements

Web elements are all the bits and pieces that contribute to a successful website and each website will require these in greater or lesser degrees.  We don't have space to explain each of these elements here but below are a list of the major elements a succesful website would include and what should be excluded

• Keywords (site relevant)
• Keyword rich content text
• Internal hyperlinks
• Tags – meta, title, photo
• Text rich content (especially on the first page)

Updates

Once a lot of work has been done to get your website up the rankings there is one way to be sure you can get it to slip back down again is by not updating it.  It is easy to see that the sites that most often appear at the top of any search engine are usually those which are regularly updated with content.  Therefore look for interesting ways to update you pages with hints, news, events, trends or anything else that will be relevant to your customer.  Spend some time at least every week on your website, especially if you need your site to bring you business it is an investment in time that will bring you rewards.

So that's our 5 key elements for your website.  It is important to know that the internet is the largest growing source of income for more businesses worldwide than any other medium, it provides you with access to millions of people at a low cost and it is not something any serious business should ignore and in the current economic climate it is the one area that is showing growth and opportunity.

John Norton is an international business development and web solutions expert who works with businesses in Portugal and worldwide.
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