Should you focus on building up a prominent brand and use that name recognition to market your products? Or should you find smaller niche markets to dominate? Both are forms of brand building. The difference is the size and costs involved.

Prominent brands take a lot of time and money to build up. Brands are very important in helping you sell to a broad market. They help you win customers and help you to keep them.

Want to create another Amazon.com? You would need to invest millions in brand building before you could build market wide name recognition. The advantage is you are creating “top of mind” awareness and it will take on a life of its own, building a natural sales momentum.

Niche marketing certainly is one of the buzz-words in online marketing. Here you concentrate on a small and focused target market. Branding in a niche market has a lower cost of entry and it is easier to dominate.

The perception today is that big is not better. A smaller organization that specializes in a niche market is seen as a better authority and more knowledgeable about the market needs and market trends. Communications are specific to the needs of that market. Products are developed with features specific to the specialized needs of that market making the products produced superior for that niche.

Even though a niche is a subset of a market, this does not necessarily mean lower potential sales volume. The goal in niche marketing is to gain a very high market share by supplying specialized products to that niche and more focused marketing.

Positioning Your Website for Success

There is more to positioning than getting a top ranking on Google. Getting people to your website is only the start of creating a top producing website. In marketing, positioning is the process of creating the best image, identity and solution for your target market.

Website positioning to get maximum effectiveness takes three types of positioning.

1. Position for a top ranking (SEO)
2. Position to attract your best buyer
3. Position as the best solution

Search: Anyone with a website wants to be in the “top ten” results. Being on page one of the search results will make the difference getting a flow of visitor traffic and being invisible on the web. The key is to select keyword phrases that are specifically tied to core products and services sold by the business.

Buyer: Don’t make the mistake of trying to sell to everybody or you will appeal to no one. Instead focus on your best buyer. Your best buyer is the most receptive prospect and is most likely to buy what you offer. What specifically are they expecting you to help them with?

Solution: Go after your best buyer. Address the specific needs of that customer and how you will solve a problem that will directly benefit them. Ask yourself, “How will what I offer make my customer’s life better?”

Online viewers can only focus on one thing at a time. If you present many options, then they won’t hear any of them. If you have a number of services, show them simply and graphically with a link to a focused page about that service.

Building trust is a critical part of creating a high converting website. When people first arrive to a website for the first time, they are immediately suspicious. They will look for signs of whether they should trust you before they are willing to buy or even sign-up for a newsletter. Building website trust will determine how well you succeed with your online marketing.

1. First impression: Within the first fraction of a second of arriving, your visitor will perceive the whole before they perceive the parts. They look at graphics, color scheme, navigation and layout before they get to your attention getting headline.
2. Logo: They look for a credible logo in the upper left. People instantly look to the source of the message, before they read the message. Use your logo to create reassurance and confidence.
3. Easy contact: Prominently display your phone number and physical address on every web page. This reassures your visitor that you are a real company and that can be easily reached if there is a problem.
4. Interaction: It is harder to create a lasting impression in a single encounter. Devise a way to interact with visitors on an ongoing basis. Use opt-in newsletters or have an interactive blog on your site.
5. Selling sequence: Guide your visitors through your sales pitch in the same way you would do this in person or on the phone. Each product or service will have an optimal process of converting a prospect into a buyer.
6. Comparisons: Many customers want to comparison shop before they buy. Improve your conversions by comparing your products against your most popular competitors. If you supply this information, then they don’t need to spend the time searching.
7. Minimum information: Require the absolute minimum of information for sign-ups, quote requests or purchases. Don’t ask for information from your visitors unless there is a real need for it.
8. Easy checkout: Don’t make visitors register and give their information prior to the checkout. Make your checkout process simple and streamlined. You will lose buyers if your checkout process is long or frustrating.
9. Security: If you are taking credit cards or confidential personal information secure these web pages. You should implement a secure shell with at least 128-bit encryption to protect your visitor.

I hear this from business owners who call in frustrated with their websites. This simply isn’t true. When their websites fail to generate sales, leads or even phone calls, they conclude (wrongly) that online lookers aren’t interested in what they are selling. I have not yet come across a business that their product or services could not be successfully marketed on the Internet.

An example is, Industrial Craters and Packers that once was skeptical about getting business from the web. They specialize in crating of high tech equipment and machinery in the Pacific Northwest. For many years they never received a single inquiry from their website.

After redesigning their website, refocusing their message and adding a quote request to their site, they now get 1-2 good quote requests every week.

There is a formula we apply to get sites to become high converting websites

1. Targeting: We clearly state the value proposition (what they offer) and benefits on the home page. Home page messaging is the key to success. We make it clear the type of customers being sought. The message must be clear and understandable in first 2-3 seconds.
2. Action: A clear action must be visible and compelling on the home page. We want the targeted best buyer to see and want to take some specific action such as sign-up, request a report or buy now. The “offer” must be valuable to the targeted best buyer.
3. Traffic: Every website must be created with a specific traffic strategy. The site will be built differently for organic SEO or for PPC. PPC will require specially designed landing pages. Organic SEO will use keyword research crafted into an SEO page plan.

The key to having a website that generates leads or sales is to implement this simple 3 step strategy into your website design.

Filing a Google Reconsideration Request is a way to recover your website’s rankings if you violated Google guidelines or if you purchased a banned domain name. This should be the last resort for webmasters and should only be used after any violations are fixed.

Google penalizes sites for using black hat SEO tricks, for exchanging links, for selling text ads or for using methods that Google considers deceptive. You may have been labeled a spammer by Google. If you fix the problem and submit a Google Reconsideration Request, chances are that you can restore your website’s rankings.

1. Check for access issues: Log in to your Google Webmaster Tools Account. On the Overview Page you can see the last date that Googlebot successfully spidered your home page. You can also check whether there are any crawling errors including pages not found, unreachable URL’s, URLs timed out errors and URLs restricted by robots.txt tags.
2. Check for messages: Check the message center of your Webmaster Tools account. If Google notices that there is a problem with your website, they will sometimes send you a message detailing some issues which you need to fix.
3. Read Google’s Webmaster Guidelines: If there are no crawling errors and you don’t see any messages, check to see if your site is or has at some point been in violation of the Webmaster Guidelines.
4. Fix your site: If your site is in violation, make changes to your site so that it falls within Google’s guidelines. Note any past problems that you may have already fixed.
5. Submit a reconsideration request: Now you can log into your Webmaster Tools Account and Under Tools, click on “Request reconsideration. It helps to make a full confession of what you did wrong and what you have done to fix the problem. You will receive a message in the Message Center confirming that Google received your request.

It is always interesting to look at which sites are the most popular on a global basis. This is taken from Alexa Information taken from their top 500 sites list on August 2, 2010. Websites are listed in descending popularity.

1. Google: google.com Enables users to search the Web, Usenet, and images. Top keyword phrase driving traffic is “gmail”.
2. Facebook: facebook.com. A social utility that connects people, to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and videos. Top keyword phrase is “facebook”.
3. Youtube: youtube.com YouTube where you can upload, tag and share your videos worldwide! Top keyword phrase is “youtube”.
4. Yahoo: yahoo.com Personalized content and search options, chatrooms and free e-mail. Top keyword phrase is “yahoo”.
5. Windows Live : live.com Search engine from Microsoft. Top keyword phrase is “windows live”.
6. Baidu: baidu.com The leading Chinese language search engine. Top keyword phrase is “baidu ” (in English characters). Roughly 95% of this site’s visitors are in China, where it has attained a traffic rank of 1.
7. Wikipedia: wikipedia.org An online collaborative encyclopedia. Top keyword phrase is “wikipedia”.
8. Blogger: blogger.com Free, automated weblog publishing tool. Top keyword phrase is “blogger”.
9. MSN: msn.com Dialup access and content provider. Top keyword phrase is “msn”.
10. Twitter: twitter.com Social networking and microblogging service utilizing instant messaging, SMS or a web interface. Top keyword phrase is “twitter”.

In the last year since we looked at the top ranking sites, Google has held onto the top ranking. Yahoo and MSN have dropped a few positions. Facebook, Baidu and Twitter have gained postions.

Don’t just sit there… Do something! “Ask and ye shall receive” also works in web marketing. If you don’t ask, your website visitors won’t know what you want them to do. Always ask your readers to take action. It could be call now, sign up now or to click the purchase link in your email.

If visitors leave your website without buying or at least leaving behind their email address, then why invite them to your website? Without prompting, most people will put off buying or taking action. Visitors need clear instructions on how to proceed. Using calls to action throughout the website helps convert visitors into prospects.

What action do you want from your visitors? Build this into your navigation. Each page should have its own call to action. This needs to be planned into the business website design. People arrive seeking solutions to a problem or need. They are thinking “what’s in it for me?”

Write using action oriented words to get your message across as quickly as possible. Speak to your reader’s emotions and engage them with your words. Don’t be elusive or try to reach everyone. Instead of saying, “Our service will help you be more effective in your marketing efforts.” Try saying, “Close 30% more sales with our service.”

Your website should guide take visitors through your selling sequence. Each page should be designed with a clear action designed in. This could be the next step in your sales process, request a quote, buy now of call now. Avoid making the user think and decide their next step.

The most important thing in any offer is that it be clear and concise. There is an old marketing maxim is that “a confused mind always says no.” Too many choices or a weak call to action and your website visitor will say that’s interesting and simply move on.

This is a mistake that many businesses make. They create a website that is focused on them. Their goal is to explain why they are the best and logical choice to do business with. They talk about their qualifications and expertise. But this is just plain wrong.

The exception to what I am talking about would be if you are a celebrity. If you are a celebrity, then people do come to your website to learn about you. They want your biography, films you have made, etc.

What should your website be about? That depends on why your visitor came to your website. They came seeking some solution to a problem or need that they have.

Here is an example. If your company provided fertilizers and lawn care products, then your visitors would arrive looking how to improve their lawn and make it greener. They did not arrive to learn about your company or even to have the merits of your fertilizer explained… at least not on your home page.

Instead discuss what they came to learn on your home page. Discuss your company on the about-us page. Discuss the specific benefits of your fertilizer on your products page. This is all about creating a customer focused website.

Here is another example. If you are an attorney, then your visitors arrive looking for help with specific legal issues. Address these on your home page and go into depth on your credentials in the about-us section.

As you layout your website, remember it is about them, not about you. You will get a better response from visitors if you address their reason for coming and talk about what they want to learn.

It is not enough to get visitors traffic to your site. You need to design your website to encourage visitors to take an action. You need to design in your selling sequence to convert visitors into buyers. Or at least get them started into your conversion process.

A business website should be designed with a specific goal in mind. There should be the final action that you want your visitor to take online. You want to solve the core problem or need your customer has. Then build a selling sequence to address that need. This could be to buy, to request more information or to request a quote.

Think of your selling sequence as a sequential order of events that guides your prospect as they journey through your website. Start by getting their attention, and then create interest. Guide them through the benefits to generate desire. End with getting them to take a specific action. Plan your conversion process from first arrival to purchase. Each page should be designed with a clear action to be taken.

The sales funnel is a metaphor. We can visualize the sales process which is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. A large number of prospects will arrive to your site and yield a much smaller number of sales. The website sales funnel describes the process or steps that your website visitors go through from the moment they arrive at the site until they fulfill your goal.

Start by breaking your sales process down into steps or stages that each visitor who buys from you will pass through. Increasing the flow at any step will increase your final sales numbers.

Website statistics packages such as Google Analytics allow you to set-up a sales funnel or goals to track this data automatically. This way you can make changes to your website and watch the impact. This allows you to change and refine your website conversion rate over time.

You have just seconds to grab a prospects attention. Use trigger words to attract visitors and then encourage action. Use emotional trigger words in headlines and your content writing. They motivate action and movement within the website.

Keywords and trigger words are both important in content writing. Keywords are used in search engine optimization and bring visitors to your website, usually via search engines. Trigger words create emotion and it is this emotion that encourages action.

In marketing, there are certain trigger words that create curiosity and interest. Trigger words are the words and phrases that trigger a user into clicking or buying. Coupling trigger words with a “call to action” is especially important to create a website that converts well.

12 trigger words that work to create positive emotions and help guide people into buying.

1. Free: Free is a powerful motivator to anyone on a budget.
2. Limited: Makes it exclusive or at least hard to get.
3. Fast: This speed word triggers the purchasing reflex. Fast results or fast delivery.
4. Guarantee: Make it risk free; a sure thing.
5. Save: Save time, save money…
6. New: Makes people curious; is it a breakthrough product?
7. Simple: Better than easy, but closely related.
8. Amazing: Attention grabbing. Combine with other power words to make it simply amazing!
9. Proven: Take the risk out because it is tried and true.
10. Important: Makes readers take notice. After all, they don’t want to miss anything.
11. Energize: Effective in psychology, health and wellness
12. You: Use the word “You” to create an emotional connection with your reader.