You probably already know the key to making any kind of
income from the net is a well designed web site. What most
people don't realize your site doesn't have to look perfect
or be professionally designed to be successful.
Not by a long shot!
In the final analysis, any site that makes you money is a
successful site. From a marketing perspective, any site
which brings in an income can be considered a well designed
site. Many people can't get their heads around this fact:
some of the most basic/ugly sites can be the most
profitable. You don't need a perfect site.
Believe me, I know from first-hand experience.
Your site doesn't have to be a design knock-out to earn you
money. My first site, which I designed from scratch when I
didn't have a clue what a perfect site should be or look
like, brings in over 50,000 visitors a month, and Google just upgraded it to a PR6.
All that is not really important; what is important is my site
brings in money each and every day! It is a profitable
site, it's not pretty, but it works. I earn revenue from
Google Adsense, I earn revenue from affiliate sales, and I
have even formed partnerships with other major sites and
businesses on the Web.
I get more and more companies coming to me each week asking
if they can display their products/links on my site. I
recently turned down a major fellow Internet marketer, who
wanted to put a link on the top of my home page, and that
guy makes millions online each year!
Why are they bothering with me and my site?
Because my site brings in traffic that I target and visitors, who
buy products and services which those companies are
selling. My site is valuable to them. My site can deliver
leads, customers, and business to those other third parties.
My modest little site is not perfect, but it sells. It has
value.
My Most Important Web Design Tip
Here's the main tip or advice I can give anyone starting a
new Web business: the only reason my site (any site) has
value is because I have targeted certain keywords or
keyword phrases with my site. Once these keyword phrases
rank high in all the search engines, you get
traffic that you've targeting to your site—the kind of traffic which companies
would like to have a piece of to sell their products.
Actually, if you do this one action right (get high rankings
for your site's profitable in-demand keywords), then your
site will earn you money. For example, if you get a top 10
ranking for "cell phones," you will make money, regardless
of how good or bad your site is designed!
Of course, this doesn't mean Web design will not play an
important role in the success of your site. You should
always go for professional graphics, headers, and logos if
you can afford them, but you must realize other design
elements will play a greater role in the success of your
site.
You want a site that is easy to navigate, with all links
clearly visible and linking to your home page. You want a
site that is easy on the eyes, so keep all fonts and colors
even and consistent throughout your site. Organize your
content and material in a simple straightforward manner,
featuring the one thing most surfers are searching for:
information.
Please your visitors and the search engines by covering or
discussing only one topic per page. Place a well defined
page title at the top, and include your main keyword phrase
in your title and description. Feed the spiders, but never
forget you're writing for real human beings, the majority
of whom will actually have a heart and a pulse!
Design for the SERPs.
Keep your Web copy and writing short, informative, and
witty. Some eye candy is dandy as long as you get your
point across in the process. If you're selling from your
Web site, many professional marketers will suggest you
start your marketing strategy not on your site, but in the
search engines' descriptions listing your site or page.
Keep this in mind when you're writing your page
descriptions, and start to pre-sell your potential customers
in the MSN, Yahoo, or Google SERPs (Search Engine Results
Pages).
These search engines, especially Google, will add
credibility to your information or offer. This is one
design trick or tactic you should be using on your site
to increase conversions, if your goal is to
sell products or services.
Design for the BIG Picture.
Along those same lines, I believe very few Webmasters have
a Big Picture when they're creating or designing their
sites. You must look far beyond the actual pages you have
uploaded to your Web host ... mainly because you must extend
your site well beyond this limited concept.
You must fully understand that your site's real power exists
well beyond your Web pages. You must extend the reach of
your site to all corners of the Web. You must build links,
partnerships, and content into these countless areas of the
Web. Use articles, blogs, social networks, viral marketing,
directories, related sites, and most of all you must pay
attention to all your site's content in the major search
engines.
Grasp the Big Picture of your site's design, and keep it in
mind at all times as you expand your site and watch it
grow. Always have a clear picture of what you want to
accomplish with your site's design and point it in that
direction. Never forget that your site doesn't have to be
perfectly designed to be successful; you just have to get
your information across in a frank and friendly manner.
Just give your visitors what they're looking for, and your
site will be successful.
©2007, Titus Hoskins
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The author is a full time Internet marketer with numerous
sites on the Web, including two niche sites on Internet
marketing. His main site is http://www.bizwaremagic.com
If you need further Web design tips—one great resource is
Marlon Sanders. He has a helpful Free PDF download here:
http://www.bizwaremagic.com/weblog/?p=29. This article may be freely distributed
if this resource box stays attached.
