How to increase your website sales

When I talk about website marketing I don’t just mean getting more traffic or Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Personally I prefer to focus on improving website conversion before spending a lot of time sending traffic to it. That way your results will be dramatically improved when traffic is created.

The sad truth is many business owners believe traffic is everything on the internet. But we can’t blame them… there are enough people promising riches through website traffic. They just fail to mention that if your website doesn’t sell anything then all the traffic in the world won’t save you.

Your website’s number one job

My philosophy of website marketing is building a relationship with visitors when they arrive at your website. A big part of this is how you present your business through your website. But you have a huge advantage when you start collecting their email and building a relationship with the visitor.

A common conversion rate for websites is 1-2%. But by taking the time to create a relationship with them that figure will be a lot better. You can compare it to the one-hit wonder band versus the band who makes consistently great albums.

Avoiding the social media buzz

The danger is with all the social media buzz that we lose sight of our aim. We have a lot of good ways to communicate with people around the world… and some bad ones as well. But in the end it’s all about building a relationship.

It doesn’t matter how the relationship is built, whether it’s email, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube… or believe it or not through mail, newspapers, fax or phone. No matter what it’s still about the relationship and the value you provide. I believe you’re better to use a wide range of media to connect with your market.

Don’t lose sight of your real objective

There is no right answer… there is no single social media website you should base your business on. Imagine having a physical store but not using a phone. Smart business owners realize a phone is a great tool to supplement their business and it’s the same with social media.

The point is to build a relationship with website visitors no matter what the media. By creating a valuable relationship your sales will rise almost without effort. Because your prospects are a lot more willing to buy from people they know and trust.

The next step

Take a look at your website and decide whether you’re building a relationship or just simply stating what you do. Are you providing valuable information? Are you collecting contact details to send this information with?

Creating a relationship doesn’t have to be difficult… all you have to do is imagine the person is standing in front of you. And get ready for some amazing results.

Because at the end of the day it’s all about standing out from the crowd.