The main thought that needs to be going through your head as you get your website ready for the world is: What is the goal of my site?
The next thought should be taking that very generic answer and breaking it down to very distinct and unique terms. The harsh truth is that more than likely, somebody has already done it.
"It's not that customers want uniqueness, the bottom line is, well, just that, the bottom line. All an online customer really cares about is pricing and quality."
Next, ask yourself, what makes my site different? If you can't answer this question then you need to break out the trusty pen and napkin and go to your local cafe or coffee house to have a classic brainstorming session.
It's one thing to be the only store in your city that sells blue widgets. It's another thing to be in a long, long, long list of world wide merchants that offer that same widget to your potential customer. It's not that customers want uniqueness, the bottom line is, well, just that, the bottom line. All an online customer really cares about is pricing and quality. They want the highest quality at the cheapest price because they think they deserve it. The problem is that out of that long, long, long list of world wide merchants that offer that same blue widget you may in fact have the highest quality at the cheapest price, but your customer can't find it. That's a huge problem. This is different than being a local corner gift shop. The vast majority of your customers online are not coming in to look around. They more than likely came in through a search engine listing after typing in a very specific search phrase. For the time being, that's all they are interested in. An online customer is generally highly driven to buy something. As opposed to a walk-in customer you selling your product to a local shopper, trying to convince them that you are a place they want to spend their hard earned money.
Your selection of products online is not necessarily the most important thing right now. More than likely, someone out there wants to buy whatever it is you have to sell. It's just a matter of getting it in front of enough eyes. The most effective, least expensive way to do this is by having a high ranking site in the search engines. The foundation to getting high rankings is having other sites link to yours (this is explained in a previous article here: How Search Engines Work).
"Do you realize how many people sell those same blue widgets online?! Don't you realize those first 10 listings in Google are your best chance in converting a webpage to money in your pocket?"
There are a few ways this can be done. One way is by direct advertising. You can buy space on other websites to link to your's (As I'm writing this, Google is starting to ignore paid for links as a way to determine a site's popularity.) Or you can get free linking by being "link worthy". In the end, this will be the most effective way. It is a long term goal, but the more natural links you have the better off you will be.
You know you're link worthy when you have a site that someone will recommend or tell another person about. You only have one of those sites if it has a uniqueness to it. Do you realize how many people sell those same blue widgets online?! Don't you realize those first 10 listings in Google are your best chance in converting a webpage to money in your pocket?
Uniqueness is the key. Yeah, you may only sell a plain ol' widget, but how can you sell it different than the competition? What makes you different than them? If you can make your site visitors say “Well, that was interesting.”, you've done your job. How do you do that? I don't know. It will require some creative thinking. Think to yourself, “Would I visit my site if I didn't own it?” Would you want to visit it more than once? It's time to brainstorm. Your website is not just an extension of your brick and mortar storefront, it's a totally different business model. The more you can think along these lines and put it into action, the more successful your website will be. |
