Imerex | Your Website's Success Does Not Rely Solely on Your Ad Spend

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Your Website's Success Does Not Rely Solely on Your Ad Spend

As happens in every economic slowdown, the experts start calling for marketers to increase their ad spending. Now is the time, they say, not to cut back budgets but to stay the course or increase budgets in order to grab a larger share of market. That may be true in theory but those charged with the task of doing more with less know all too well it’s almost impossible to increase spending right now. The economy is in a tailspin. Just how can anyone justify increasing spending when sales are dropping faster than the temperature in Wisconsin?

When facing budget limitations, look for opportunities that do not involve buying advertising.

Advertising is about driving additional traffic to your site. But you very well may be able to wring more revenue from the traffic your site is already receiving, simply by finding ways to make your website perform better.

And keep in mind, a web presence is more than just a website. It includes anything that is online and can increase your “voice,” such as social media and online articles and blogs.

The way people use the internet has changed dramatically in the last two years, which means the way we market online has to change as well. The online arena is moving and changing so quickly that chances are there is at least one area online where your efforts will yield results.

Start with your website. You do not need an expensive redesign – just a refresh to bring it up to date.

The most important component of your web presence is the website itself. All of the other online areas exist to support, and drive traffic, to the site. Businesses need to make sure that their most powerful sales tool, their website, is set to perform optimally.

That does not mean a costly redesign is in order, just some tweaks that can improve conversion rates. Whether you have an ecommerce site or one that generates leads, look at your existing website traffic and ask yourself how much an increase of .5% in conversion rates would translate into increased sales.

Your website is not about “your” message. It is about “their” quest for information.

Concentrate on the user experience and remember this rule: the online medium is an incredibly selfish medium. Users query what they are looking for and only give their precious time to websites that “answer their question.” You cannot push information that you think is important, you have to provide the information they want.

Make your web presence more compelling and the users’ experience that much better to gain their trust and their business. The great news is these things can be done regardless of how much advertising is purchased.

Tweaking a site with small but powerful changes can make a big difference in the way users respond. One example of a small, quick, and easy change for websites that generate leads:
If your website has a “request more information” form, simply leave off the phone number as a required field. That will result in more people filling it out, without watering down the quality of people contacting you.

To understand why, consider it from the user’s perspective. They (the user) chose to fill out an online form. By allowing them the opportunity to request information without worrying about receiving a sales call, you remove a major barrier and build trust because the user now feels a sense of control over the process. And users who welcome a sales call will simply fill in the phone number field.

Every website should have three main building blocks:

Ease of use
Education
Build Trust

If your website is easy to navigate, provides succinct answers to queries without hyperbole or exaggeration – a main factor in building trust – then you’re well on your way.

Make it easy to use, and they will stay (at least, they’ll be more likely to).

Site navigation is often taken for granted. Users do not want to figure out your cool, new, experimental navigation. Whether they got to your site from a search engine, advertisement, an article, blog or some other avenue, they came to your site because there was something they wanted more information about and thought that your site could provide that information. Whether you sell the product they are looking to buy or provide a service they need, do not make them have to work to get to the information they want because many of them will simply find another website that gives them the information faster.

Provide valuable information and they will stay (and be more likely to come back for more).

Educating consumers is something many businesses don’t even realize they are doing. Again, whether yours is an ecommerce site or a corporate website, make the information compelling and easy to understand. Often, businesses forget that consumers don’t speak their internal language. Users don’t know the shorthand for your products or your industry’s buzzwords. Give them information about your products and services in common, everyday, easy to understand language and you’ll see that they’ll stick around longer. Finally, make sure the content you’re providing is written for the way users “scan” online.

Build trust and they will stay (and come back, and even tell others).

In making your site easy to use and providing “answers” to users’ queries, you begin to build trust with your consumer. Since there is no human interaction, the user must feel comfortable with the experience in order to continue. Building trust is not complicated. Something as simple as putting your business location on your site gives users the security of knowing “you’re a real” business.

Optimizing the layout and content of the site for the best user experience will also benefit to your search engine rankings. After all, search engines simply want to provide users a list of the sites that best meet their needs. By making sure your site is easy to use, educates, and builds trust, you are also providing search engines with the food they need to increase your rankings. And of course, better search engine rankings can greatly increase the traffic to your site.

Once your site is ready to perform at its best, there are a myriad of ways to drive qualified traffic to your site beyond paid advertising. Below is a brief rundown of ways to increase traffic without paid advertising:

Email Marketing – If you collect email addresses on your site you are gathering a very targeted database of potential and recurring customers. It takes some patience to build this database if you are starting from scratch but it is well worth the effort because you will be targeting people who have already expressed some interest in your product or service. Of course, you must make sure your email marketing efforts comply with the CAN-Spam Act, but when it is done well, email marketing is an incredibly efficient tool.
Social Media – Social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and platforms like Ning, have all been growing and improving at a rapid rate over the last 12-18 months and unless someone within your company or your agency has been vigilantly keeping on top of ways to leverage its growth for your business, it is quite likely that you have fallen behind. Use their company profile functions to promote your business. Let your products fans become your evangelists by providing promotions, sales, or free products that they can tell their friends about. They all, in varying degrees, can be used to promote your business. Invest some time learning about all of your options and you may be surprised to learn just how many ways you can get your message out there through social networks.
White Papers, Articles, Blogs, and Twitter – Educate, disseminate valuable information, and become an authority online that users turn to for information. Becoming a trusted source for information is a great way to get exposure for you and your business. When users like the information you provide they will tell others, greatly increasing your reach in the marketplace.

The bottom line is that in today’s world your website is critical to your business success regardless of the kind of business you have. The experts are right and it is a great time to increase your advertising budget. But for businesses that can’t heed that advice, and most can’t, cutting back online advertising does not mean your web presence has to suffer. Since your competitors are likely facing the same kinds of budget restrictions, you can turn their lull in advertising to your advantage by simply focusing on your website and on web presence. Getting your site optimized and updated will put you in a significantly stronger position than your competition in the near term. And in an even stronger position when the economy starts to turn around.