It is all about conversions.
Assuming your website is the hub of your online business presence, when people come to our website, we want them to take some action.
So, what action do you want people to take? Could it be one of the following?
1. Signing-up for your e-newsletter.
2. Buying product direct from your site.
3. Downloading your e-book.
4. Buying your book(s).
5. Filling out a form to make an appointment.
6. Subscribing to your RSS feed.
7. Commenting on your blog.
8. Sharing content with others.
9. Purchasing from your various affiliate links.
10. Listening to your podcasts and/or watching your videos.
For me, at this time, I want people to subscribe to my mailing list (which you can find here, if you're interested).
You see, I am in the slow process of generating a series of e-books that I will ultimately present and sell here, so for the time being, I am currently building a community and a list.
[I consult too, but those business opportunities come via word of mouth mostly. You can obviously contact me thru this site, but building my email list is the primary focus of this site.]
I suspect many of you have put up a website because...well, that's what small business people do. If you have a website just to serve as an online brochure, you are missing a critical function of your site. You need your site to convert...
...convert people to take the action you want them to. To sign-up, buy, comment, share, etc...
So, you need to decide what is most important to you. And redesign your website so that people take the ONE action you want them to take. Strip away all the distractions that confuse people and make it harder for them to take the one key action.
Problem is, too many people try to do too much. Some try to do the complete list seen above. All on the home page, as a matter of sad fact.
So don't do that. Remove stuff first, before you add more stuff. Make it simple for people to accomplish the ONE THING you want them to.
Set up your site to convert, and achieve what you need your website to do. And focus nonstop on making the improvements and adjustments to improve your conversion rate. You should test and retest until you convert at a rate acceptable to your business goals...
[drawing by hugh macleod]
