Posted on: 12 May, 2002
Author: Bob Osgoodby
Have you ever noticed that in every shopping mall, there is whatis referred to as an anchor store? This is normally a large ... attracts a lot of ... and the other stores in themall benef Have you ever noticed that in every shopping mall, there is whatis referred to as an anchor store? This is normally a large storethat attracts a lot of customers, and the other stores in themall benefit from the "spill over" customers that go there .With all the talk about online marketing, can we benefit fromthis concept. Sure - try to find popular sites that attract alarge number of visitors. Try to work out a link exchange withthem. You will get potential customers to your site this way .Many people feel that this is just as important as search engineplacement.As far as your online marketing is concerned, I consider a WebPage to be the anchor for your sales efforts. This is the placewhere you want your potential customers to go for informationabout your Company. This is where you can make or break yoursale.Many people make serious mistakes when designing their Web Page.Let's face it - if someone comes to your Web Page, they arelooking for information. While beautiful pictures are nice tolook at, they seldom have a reason to exist on your Web Page.Why? Because they take too long to load, a visitor will quicklybecome frustrated, and they "click away" to something else - alost opportunity.If you want a presence on the Web, your design goals should besimple. You should have a page that loads quickly and doesn'trequire the visitor to page down to get your primary message.Face it - you have seconds to capture their attention. The pageshould be attractive, and stimulate the person to page down, orlink to other pages. This is where you can then expand on whatyou are trying to present. Once you get them to page down, orclick on a link to another of your pages, the odds are that theywill read it.Any advertising program should be geared toward one goal and thatis to make sales. Your ads in Online Newsletters or WebClassifieds also have one purpose, and that is to get them torequest more information. Here is where Autoresponders and WebPages shine. They are your silent salespeople who are available24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Used in combination they are the"dynamic duo".So, if you want to design your own web pages or contract withsomeone to do it, what should be your first steps? First - browsethe web looking for web sites that you like. If the page loadsquickly and is attractive, it is a candidate for your designconsideration - bookmark it. After you find several examples, andif you are HTML proficient, download your favorite and look at itwith your web page design software. Can you use the sametechniques that they used?Do not use any of their graphics or text that are included in theweb page. These are normally copyrighted and could cause you a"heap" of trouble. If you are not HTML proficient and want tocontract with a third party, inform them of the web site youlike. This can save them a lot of false starts in their designefforts for you.Second - provide content that might encourage visitors to comeback to your site. This content should change on a periodicbasis, and does not have to be limited to your Web Site. A NewsTicker for example can be something you can use, as well as alink to the Weather Channel.Finally, you have to market your web site. Your URL and E-mailaddress should not only be publicized online, but offline aswell. Put them on your letter head, your business card, youroffline advertising - anyplace where people can see them. We sendout postcards with specials all the time - you can bet they arethere. The Internet is not magic - it is just another tool inyour marketing "bag of tricks". Article Tags: Page Down Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com