Achieving Website and Internet Success

The Truth: Valuable content does not have to be a tangible item. You can create true value for your visitors with useful links, valuable articles, tutorials, etc. TRUE!

The Myth: Valuable content must be something tangible in order to attract visitors. “I refuse to create valuable content because it will only cost me money. Why should my visitors get something for free on my site?” FALSE!

Getting traffic to your site is extremely important. This concept is no different than getting shoppers into a brick and mortar store. Shopkeepers and merchants have been developing gimmicks and strategies for 100’s of years to lure potential buyers into their aisles and into the checkout line. Websites are no different. How can you make people prefer to come to YOUR website? Do you have a gimmick? Do you have a strategy?

We are all very familiar with all the hype and advertisement that precedes Black Friday. If you are a merchant, whether on a website or in a brick and mortar store, you should know what Black Friday is. If you don’t, I suggest you do a google search on, “What is Black Friday!” Since Black Friday is one of the heaviest promoted days of the year by retailers, competition is fierce.

One hundred shoppers camp out in the parking lot of the local shopping center on the eve of Black Friday. When the electronic store’s doors swing open, only ten of those one hundred shoppers even have a CHANCE at getting one of the very few enticements which the store so strategically advertised prior to the big event (10 computers will be sold for $15.99! 5 big screen tv’s will be sold at cost! a free blender to the first 5 shoppers to make it through the door alive!) Ninety of those one hundred shoppers won’t get the prize, but odds are they’ll settle for something else. At least, that is what the electronics store’s marketing geniuses are banking on.

I, personally, do not leave my house on Black Friday. No matter what the prize, or what the deal, my own past experience has proven that the very item that draws my attention in the Black Friday advertisements won’t be there when I get to the store. And even if it was, do I really want to fight that hard for it? Do I want to camp out in 30 degree weather in a public parking lot, with no television or internet, when I could be in my nice warm home drinking hot cocoa?

That being my humble opinion, the strategy does work. I am considered a minority in this regard. Instead, I will be home surfing the internet and finding some great Black Friday deals on the web, maybe even yours! It is comical that the competition not only exists on Black Friday for the retailers, there is a great deal of “I saw it first” comments among shoppers, and some can be QUITE nasty. Some people thrive on this type of “consumer warfare.” I just don’t happen to be one of them, but live and let live.

Research proves that the higher traffic sites have a strategy. A well rated site needs its gimmick, its allure, its “draw.” Electronic Store #1 has to give away something more “valuable” and “desirable” than Electronic Store #2 if they want to attract the majority of the Black Friday traffic. In order to get the best “draw,” they will have to deliver more value. A website is no different in this concept, and this is proven marketing strategy.

When I’m assisting a client with site set up, one of the first things I suggest is “offer something for free.” There is a misconception that it has to be a tangible item. That is a myth. I’ve found that some people have a real issue with “giving something away.” They have a new site, they’ve invested time and money, and they want immediate return. Ok, give that a shot and see if it works for you.

It is PROVEN FACT, if a website is delivering true value and giving it away at NO COST, that is an attractive feature to surfers and search engines alike. People will want to visit. If they find something of worth and have that warm fuzzy feeling that it was actually FREE, they’ll probably come back and they’ll probably tell their friends and relatives about it. They’ll even want to link to your site. True value for free does not mean you have to give away a car or a refrigerator. Give away an idea, a concept, deliver some free HTML tutorials, post a page of links to useful free tools you’ve found on the internet.

Be creative. If your site is about gardening, create pages with successful gardening tips, terrific garden interest links, a list of places to get free items of interest to gardeners. If your site is about computers, post some pages with HTML tutorials. If your site is about affiliate marketing, post some tried and true affiliate programs that you know are worthwhile. Value does not always determine an item’s worth in currency or dollars. Value is also determined by an item’s usefulness, and its degree of benefit.

The Truth: Valuable content does not have to be a tangible item. You can create true value for your visitors with useful links, valuable articles, tutorials, etc. TRUE!

The Myth: Valuable content must be something tangible in order to attract visitors. “I refuse to create valuable content because it will only cost me money. Why should my visitors get something for free on my site?” FALSE!…….by Laura Brown, Penney Layne Graphics