3cPlatform

5 Catastrophic Web Mistakes

1. No Web Presence at All

• Your competitors are online.
• A significant percentage of your possible client/customer base is looking for your services/products online.
• A website is a terrific way to brand your company. You have the power to put your products, services and even your executives in the best possible light.
• A web presence lets you take control of your company's online reputation. If the only search results that come up on a search of your company's name are out of your control, you put your brand in danger.

2. Not Knowing Your Audience

Many of the people that come to us for help already have a website, but it has failed to provide the desired business results. The most common reason is a failure to go after the proper audience. We work closely with clients to get them to focus on their target audience, using these questions:

• Are the company's target clients/customers limited by geography (e.g., a New York City dermatologist)?
• Is there a target demographic (Age, ethnicity, income level)?
• How technologically savvy is the target audience?

Once we identify the target audience, we can design the site to the tastes and needs of that audience and, more important, market the site to the proper audience.

3. Lengthy Text

Most people don't understand that web messaging is vastly different from print messaging. Competition on the web is intense. If you don't capture your audience in a few seconds you run the risk that they will abandon your site for another. Copy is important, no question, especially when it comes to getting ranked by major search engines, but you have to engage your human audience almost instantly by striking a careful balance between entertainment and information.

When clients come to us with dense and lengthy messaging we work with them to distill the message down to its essential elements. Once we can deliver the company's message quickly and efficiently, we then back up the messaging with clear and intuitive calls to action, and eye engaging elements.

4. Stale Content

Think of your website visitors as individuals engaged in an ongoing conversation with you. Nothing kills a "conversation" more than communicating with a person who has nothing new to say.

On the other hand, when there is constantly new and useful information throughout your website, you give people a reason to keep coming back for more. In practical terms, it helps turn visitors into customers. It also increases your ability to be found via search engines such as Google. Fresh content shows your website's value and expertise in your industry.

5. Believing in the old 'Build it and They Will Come' Theory

The best website in the world won't help your business if people don't know the site exists. When clients come to us, they'll often say, "Just build the website; we're not really interested in spending money on marketing."

The internet is all about interconnectivity. People are always looking for great sites, and they share the sites they like with others. To be successful, you need to tap into this internet community.

The Bottom Line

Small companies either looking to create a new web presence or enhance their current web presence should work with a web design and marketing team that understands the way business works on the web.

When looking for a web team to work with, make sure it can show you examples of sites that don't just look good. Make sure members of the team can demonstrate that they have built and marketed sites that have actually enhanced their clients' bottom line.