10 Steps To A Successful Web Presence
John Pogas, Vice President of e-commerce for Affinity Insurance Services - a division of Aon Corp.

1. Hire a professional – Your 18 year old nephew took a class in web design at the local community college and now your sister is bugging you to let him build your website.  Didn’t anyone ever tell you that family and business do not mix? 
   
   There are plenty of freelance web designers in the area.  Some good, some not so good and some that are in the wrong business.  Hire a professional who is experienced in web design.  Ask some of your business partners or suppliers for a reference.  Prices are extremely reasonable for a basic e-commerce solution and the market is VERY competitive.  Don’t be afraid to shop around.  Ask to see their portfolio and by all means check their references.
   
2. Don’t get sunk with splash pages – OK, you hired a web designer and she wants to have a 30 second animation that has your logo taking on different shapes and colors.  After the animation, you site then goes to splash page that is a image of a “virtual store” complete with a bell that dings when you “open” the front door.
   
   If you are trying to sell a new video game, then go for it.  If not, then find another web designer.  Splash pages are very pretty and give graphic artists a wonderful pallet to hone their craft.  Splash pages are also a sure fire way to sink your e-commerce efforts.  They take forever to load, serve no real purpose and add one more barrier to entry.  Splash pages were originally developed with the idea that the should serve as the “store front”.  Your home page should be a tool for people to find what they are looking for, not a creative outlet.
    

3. Avoid mystery meat navigation – This can be a challenge when you give an inexperienced web designer too much artistic license.  Do you have a navigation bar that has a house for “home”, a pen for “contact us” and question mark for “FAQ’s”?  Why?  Unless you are catering to highly creative folks that like that sort of thing, keep it simple.  Use simple terms that anyone can understand.  And by all means, make sure you have a “Buy Now” button in several places.  You will not make the sale if you do not ask for the order.
    

4. Content is king – Now that you have the look and feel all figured out, what do want to say?  Having a site with lots of cool animations, dancing baloney and the Eagles fight song playing in the background is fine – if you are my 11 year old daughter.  People come to your site to get information.  Give it to them!  Having pertinent content is not only beneficial to the user; it is also what gives you a better ranking with search engines (see tip 10).  Just be careful not overwhelm your visitors.  Give them enough information to pique their interest and either buy, dig deeper into the site or call you for an appointment.
   
5. Are you for real? – Your site is just about ready and now you need to buy a URL, or web address.  You know that many people are leery of being taken for a ride on the web, so you want to make sure your prospects are comfortable with your business.  Is your URL steveshostingcompanyandhotdogemporium.com/smithlawfirm?  See if you can secure smithlawfirm.com instead.  It is also helpful to have customer testimonials, links to partners, a BBB seal, a Verisign seal and any other certification that proves you are who you say you are.  Many of these seals are inexpensive and a sound investment.
   
6. If you build it, they will NOT come – You are now ready to sell your product or service on the web.  You have your cool new site, you secured a great URL and your site has the BBB seal.  The money should be pouring in, right?  Wrong. 
   
   How many times have you seen this – “Visit us on the web!”?  A billion?  Do you do it every time you read it?  Of course not.  Why should you?  Time is more valuable than ever.  If you want someone to visit your web site, then give him or her a good reason.  Intrigue them.  Offer things like coupons, articles, tools, tips, etc.  Instead of “Visit us on the web”, try “go to our site for more information on the latest widget, discounts, dealer programs and a free sample”.
   
7. Under construction? Detour! – Your site is live.  You have a great URL, an intuitive design and tons of traffic hitting your home page.  One problem.  Your shopping cart is not finished.  When folks are ready to buy, they get an “under construction page”.  But hey, you said “visit us in a few weeks”.  They’ll come back.  Right?
   
   You have one shot to make a first impression.  Don’t drive folks to a site that is under construction.  If you do, they will take a detour – to your competitor!  Send them to the site when it is ready and not before.  You wouldn’t open a store with empty shelves now would you?
   
8. Freshness date – Is your content dated?  Your site has been up and running for over a year and you noticed that sales and traffic have been slacking off.  What happened?
   
   Take a closer look at your site and try to see it from a visitors perspective.  Does your copyright statement say 2001?  Do you still have “Happy Holidays” on your home page?  In August?  That could be one of the problems.  Do you like reading the 6 month old copy of Newsweek in your dentists waiting room?  Of course not.  Why subject your prospects to the same pain?  Keep your site fresh – and relevant.  People will keep coming back for more.
    

9. Google is the goddess of the web, keep her happy! – Another way to ensure a steady flow of traffic into your site is to make it search engine friendly.  Your site does not appear on Google by magic.  You need to submit your site to Google to be included in the index.  But be careful.  Many people get greedy and try to lure visitors to their sites by any means possible.  For example, if you are selling auto insurance, do not list your site as a source for free iPods.  Play by the rules.  Having a site optimized for search engines is a science, but one that anyone can do with a little homework and integrity.  Go to http://www.google.com/intl/en/webmasters/ for more info on what works and what does not.  If you follow rule 8, make sure the developers tell you what they are going to do to help put your site in the good graces of the goddess Google.  Talk to your web site developer about this.  Don’t settle for “I will submit your site to a search engine”.  Ask him, “what is your strategy to improve my search engine ranking?”.
   
10. Wash, rinse, repeat – Everything is going great with your site.  You are getting respectable traffic, and your Internet sales account for 40% of your new business.  Now it is time to retain that business.  Do you have a system set up for repeat or renewal business?  Do you have an e-newsletter that keeps your customers informed of new products and services?  If not, then take a look at your off line business and try to replicate some of your “off-line” core competencies into your “on-line” business.  People who buy from you via the web are more than likely looking for a way to continue that on-line business relationship.  Give them that option.