If you already have a website or you are in the process of launching or updating a website then it’s essential you take a few moments to think about the following. You may not agree with all of my Website Killers but I hope you will at least take them into consideration and avoid creating a website disaster.

Website Killer Number 1: Your website has no personality

Visitors get bored easily so it’s essential you capture their attention quickly when they arrive at your website. Remember that you only have around 10 seconds to attract their interest and keep them on your website.

Some new ways of attracting & keeping attention on your website include adding video or audio as well as text. This adds a human element to your presence.

Perhaps include an About Us page where visitors can learn more about you and/or your team. We all like dealing with real people, not computers, so make sure your website has some heart and soul.

Website Killer Number 2: How do I contact you?

Visitors to your website should not be made to work hard and they should be able to get in contact with you easily. I would encourage either having your contact details included on every page of your website as part of the template, or just a single click from any page (ie a Contact Us link on the main navigation bar)

Website Killer Number 3: Flash Intro Pages

This is a pet hate of most internet marketers. Flash intro pages can look great and are often the proud work of “qualified web designers”. But from the perspective of human visitors and search engines they are not always that effective.

Search engines find it hard to know what your website is about because there is no text and this means that you may find your website is not being found in search engines. And from a human perspective we all live such busy lives that no one seems to have time to wait even 30 seconds for a website to load and don’t have the patience to wait for a flash intro to play. If you must include one also provide a link so visitors can ‘skip the intro’ - mind you, if they can skip the intro is it really that important to have the flash intro at all!

Website Killer Number 4: Not optimised for Search Engines

This is a whole topic on its own. One key factor is that you need on your website is the correct keywords in your page content and title tags.

Make sure the keywords that your prospects may search for on Google when looking for your type of business, are included on your website. These keywords should be included on multiple pages across your website and as often as possible.

The title tags tell the web browser what wording to display in the page title section - when you visit a website take a look at what is written across the top of the browser window - this is the title. Ensure your page titles accurately reflect both your business name and keywords that are relevant to that page - but it should also be a useful phrase to the human reader.

Website Killer Number 5: No Call to Action

A ‘call to action’ is having a specified action that you want visitors to take when they visit your website. You might want them to sign up for a newsletter, contact you through your contact page, phone you or place an order. Everything on your page must move them towards taking that action.

For example when a visitor arrives at my website www.webchameleon.com.au my number one goal is to get them to sign up for my newsletter and free report. I don’t provide any distractions and the text, audio and testimonials all encourage this action.

Visitors to your website are valuable so try not to let too many of them get away; because once they leave your website the chances that they will return are very slim.

This article is © Copyright Belinda Jackson, Web Chameleon

If you are a small business owner and you are struggling to attract and retain clients then you must read on. If you are spending a small fortune on advertising in newspapers, magazines, radio or even TV, then it’s time to consider some new ways of marketing your business.

What I would like you to consider is relationship marketing; and leveraging yourself as an expert so that clients come chasing you. Online Marketing provides the opportunity to simplify these strategies.

I believe that in business today, it is all about building relationships with your clients. Selling as was used in the past is gone. Every day we are overwhelmed with marketing and sales messages and it’s impossible to take it all in - even if we wanted to - and I’m sure you, like me, don’t particularly want to be sold to.

Marketing has changed. In this era of the Internet we have seen some massive changes in the way both small and large businesses operate. The Internet has opened up a whole new world of opportunity for self employed and small business owners. We are now in the position where us small fish can compete with the big corporates and online we have every opportunity to, in fact, beat them! With the correct knowledge, you can have far greater success online than large organisations ever will.

Having an Effective Website, building relationships with prospects and clients over time through Email Newsletters and building your profile through Blogging - these are just a few of the Online Marketing strategies you can implement almost immediately to leverage yourself as an expert in your industry and begin fostering an ongoing relationship with prospects.

Perhaps you’ve heard of people making money in their sleep through online businesses? It’s true that there are many people who do this successfully and via different means, however it’s important to note that every single one of them put in some hard work and most likely long hours, at least initially.One popular way that online marketers may find success in creating “passive income” is through Affiliate Marketing.

Affiliate Marketing means you promote products and services for others, providing a link to the suppliers website from your own website, blog or email newsletter and in return you are rewarded with a commission for each sale generated from your referrals.

Here’s an example in which you could promote an e-book on your topic that has been written by someone else;

Step 1 - The e-book sells for $47 on the supplier’s website and they offer a 50% affiliate commission. You join the affiliate program and get your ’special affiliate link’.

Step 2 - You mention the e-book in your newsletter, website or blog, perhaps even doing a product review and have a link through to the vendor, using your ’special affiliate link’.

Step 3 - When someone clicks through on your affiliate link and they purchase the e-book, you are rewarded with a commission of $23.50.

It’s really as simple as that!

You don’t have to do anything except promote the product, and provide a link to the seller. You don’t have to worry about invoicing, delivery or customer service. And you still get paid. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

The trick is that you should only ever promote products that are relevant to your business/topic and that you have either tested or have confidence in. Don’t ruin your reputation by promoting inferior products and never promote just for the commission as you will soon lose the trust of your visitors and/or email database.

Having affiliate links on your website and blog means that you could very well get clicks through both now and in the future so you could be earning commissions while you sleep soon!

To learn more about Affiliate Marketing I can recommend The Super Affiliate Handbook from Rosalind Gardner..

There are two ways of generating traffic (visitors to your website) from Google; Organic Listings & Paid Advertising.

This article is about Organic Listings - these are the main listings on the left side of results in Google. It’s impossible to buy or bribe your way to a position here. So how do you get there?

The answer is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

Optimising your website for optimal results on the search engines is a great way to bring targetted prospective clients directly to your website! Google continues to have the biggest slice in the search engine market, so I mainly focus on Google when I writing or talking on Search Engine Optimisation.

Google’s intention is sound - they wish to provide searchers with the very best results - it’s as simple as that! So you need to make your website a worthy result for the keywords that your prospective visitors are searching for.

To increase your chances of “Organic Listings” on the Search engines here are my Top 3 Tips, kept short and simple:

Tip 1) Make sure the keywords that your prospects may search for are included on your website, on as many pages across your website and often as possible.

Tip 2) Incoming Links are extremely important. Google give every website a page rank which in effect is their rank of how important your web page is. They base this on a number of factors the main one being how many websites actually link to yours. If you have lots of incoming links then you must be popular and therefore important. The quality of the incoming links does also factor in, if the links are from high ranking and relevant sites they are more important.

Tip 3) Content - the more content you have on your website the more pages, the more keywords there is likely to be and therefore there is more for Google to find, rank and return in their results. This is why blogs are proving to be so effective, as they generally contain lots of content that is always being updated. Search engines love blogs.

1. Ensure your website is a positive reflection of your business: Create the right first impression for you and/or your business. Most visitors to your website want answers quickly. Statistics show you have just 10-15 seconds OR LESS to create an impression. Make sure your opening copy (words) entice the visitor to read more or take some action.

2. Provide relevant & quality content: Ensure your website clearly represents your business offerings and is easy to read. A website provides you with the opportunity to get across more of a message than a simple brochure so use the opportunity wisely. Include articles, case studies etc to create interest & build credibility.

3. Build Trust: Make it easy for visitors to learn more about you. Most visitors want to know that their are real people behind the webiste so include easy to find contact details (should be no more than 1 click away from any page). It is best to include a phone number as well as a contact form. Include case studies, testimonials and other samples of your work. Include a Privacy Policy and Security information (Online shops).

4. Clear & Easy Navigation: Ensure visitors can easily find their way around your website, with a clear path between pages. Have no unfinished pages or dead links on your website.

5. Fast Loading: All images and content should be optimised for speed on the web so that your pages load quickly and easily. Be considerate of those who are unable to access high speed internet.

6. Search Engine Optimised: It’s important to be found easily on the search engines by your target market & prospective new clients. Research relevant keywords that your customers and prospects would use to find you, and implement a plan to ensure your website is found for your chosen keywords.

7. Call to Action: Make your goal to generate a response or action from your website visitors. Offer incentives and a clear ‘call to action’ (tell them what you want them to do). Integrate Email Marketing into your Website and include an Email Newsletter sign up form on your website.

The Online Success Blueprint is perfect for coaches, consultants, authors, speakers, or other solo-preneurs ….Do you know Alexandria Brown, a.k.a. “The Ezine Queen”?

Ali is one of my absolute favourite online marketers and mentors. I am a client of Ali’s, in her Silver Mastermind and also I’m enrolled in her Marketing Mastery program. I have followed her teachings for a long time now and her style of teaching is very similar to my own.

I love everything she teaches about Online Marketing. As I am not quite ready to release my own product like this just yet I thought I would let those who are interested and itching to grow their business online know that Ali has just released her brand new 2008 Version of her “Online Success Blueprint-in-a-BOX”.

You can see the offer right now at http://www.webchameleon.com.au/intro/ezinequeen  

Ali is only releasing *147 copies* of this version of the program (and I am buying one of them) so you’ll need to be quick.

PS: If you decide to buy through my link/recommendation please let me know so I can help you where possible implement the program.

Thank you to readers who sent in the following wonderful feedback to my Online Marketing Report.

Hi Belinda, I really enjoy receiving your ezine, and now that they are fortnightly, all the better. I get so much information from your free downloads and recommendations, sometimes I print them out (naughty for the environment, I know) but then I can read them in bed. I loved all the stuff about SEO as it was perfect timing for my website going live next month. I am only halfway through reading “The Six Online Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners” and I am so greatful for all of your expertise and knowledge. What a great read. Thank You!!!! Julie Watson, Ezi Pix Photography

WOW! How fantastic - really loved your report on “Six Online Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners” - we are so busy at the moment with our preparation for Valentine’s Day but once I got reading it I couldn’t stop until I had finished. Honestly, the information is so pertinent to all small businesses wanting to market on line - which is what “A Dozen Roses” is about to do. I passed it on to my husband to read and it was especially interesting for him too - as he is totally clueless when it comes to the internet and this report gave him a better understanding of what we are wanting to achieve with our on-line campaign. Thank-you very much! Plus, I love your newsletters too so please keep them coming. Nicky Mann, A Dozen Roses

Belinda, whenever I see the Web Chameleon Ezine pop up in my inbox I seem compelled to open it up before tending to other emails. I know that you will have new and constructive tips each and every time that I can put to good use straight away in my own small business. Easy to understand, informative, helpful & very friendly. It’s a great recipe. I look forward to each issue. Congratulations. Caroline O’Brien, The Australian Group Travel Company

This is a great resource with simple information for the beginner. For some time now, I have held the belief that “online marketing” was daunting and complicated, but after reading this guide, I’m confident that I can tackle online marketing projects on my own, and I now have a better understanding of how and when an expert can help. I’ll definitely be recommending this guide to friends and colleagues! Melissa Dunlop, Virtual Sanity

Belinda, I was so pleased to receive your latest report today. As you know Sentry Networks is in the construction stage of our website. I am responsible for writing the website content and the direction you have provided is highly beneficial. Thank you so much for your help. Learning from you through your workshops, newsletters and your comprehensive reports has added to my skills base while greatly increasing my confidence in presenting Sentry Networks services online. I look forward to letting you know when we have finally gone live and sharing what we do with you too! Sherynne Smith,  Sentry Networks

Six Online Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners; now available as a Free Bonus at  www.webchameleon.com.au

I welcome further feedback. So please if you have read the report and found it helpful tell me what you liked about it and leave a comment below. It’s easy and you do not need to register and you can include a link to your website.

What is Web 2.0?

Have you heard the phrase in the media or seen it online? Most likely, you have. In simple terms it refers to all the new functionality on the web that allows PEOPLE to easily COMMUNICATE with other PEOPLE online.

Some of the things that make up this new online world are blogging, YouTube, Flikr, Online Gaming and Social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn. For example, LinkedIn is an online business community where you can promote your services, network with other business owners, find partners and staff and much more. Set up a link on your LinkedIn page which will be another incoming link for your website, great for both bringing in new traffic and helpful with your Search Engine rankings.

Rest assured all this Web 2.0 is really not as scary as it first appears. The internet and Web 2.0 in particular are just a means by which us humans can communicate at much grander and on a more global level.

For business owners perhaps it is time to reflect on your web presence, and consider jumping on board with some of these new marketing mediums. Over the coming months I plan to delve into these areas full-on for both my own marketing and to assist my clients to market their business online.

I’ve been invited to speak at the next WIN Group. WIN Group is a small local networking group on the Central Coast which I joined in 2007.

About The WIN Group
WIN is a group of women in business who meet once a month to discuss ideas and offer support and encouragement to one another.

Membership is limited to twenty-five women. This allows an open discussion forum at the member-only round table meetings, with plenty of time for each individual to raise concerns they are having and offer assistance to others. The forum also offers the group the opportunity to hear guest speakers that will benefit them personally and professionally.

WIN is made up of women who own or co-own their own business and have done so for longer than twelve months. Each third meeting, members can invite guests who are already running a business. A guest speaker will address these meetings.

Every quarter the WIN Group holds an open night where guests are invited to come along and hear from a guest speaker and so in February I’ll be the guest speaker on my favourite topic - Online Marketing.

This is my promo of what I will be covering:

Is your website working as effectively for your business as it could be? With millions of websites online, can your prospects easily find yours? And is your website helping you to increase sales & profits and build relationships with your prospects and clients?

Come along and learn how to say yes to these questions and more. We’ll be covering how to make the most of your online presence to promote your business, get more leads, and build relationships with your customers and prospects.

Our guest speaker Belinda Jackson of Web Chameleon provides Website & Email Marketing Services and Solutions to her clients throughout NSW, and the World. With a background including over 14 years experience in graphic design, IT and Marketing - a perfect blend to place her where she is today - helping business owners market themselves through online technology.

In this session, Belinda will explore:

How to make your website work for you
How to optimize your website for Search Engines & get more visitors
How to convert website visitors into customers
Build Relationships and Grow your business using Email Marketing

So if you are a women in business on the Central Coast we would love to see you there.

For more information contact me.

Six Online Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners!

That’s the name of the New Free Report I’ve written and just released to my newsletter list today. It will soon be a FREE bonus to new subscribers to my email newsletter. I am working on the new opt-in page which should go live next week at the Web Chameleon website. 

About the Report:I believe that the internet offers huge opportunity to small business and solo entrepreneurs. It can often be a struggle to understand what’s important so this report covers what I feel are the top strategies Entrepreneurs and Business Owners need to be aware of. Topics covered within the report include;

1. Strategy 1: An Effective Website
2. Strategy 2: Words that Sell! Website Copywriting
3. Strategy 3: SEO Search Engine Optimisation
4. Strategy 4: Capture Leads & Grow your Database
5. Strategy 5: Email Marketing
6. Strategy 6: Embrace Web 2.0 & Blogging