There are so many website marketing strategies out there that it can be confusing which ones will be most effective in boosting your business’ bottom line. Should you invest in hiring top web design and development companies, or will developing a social media strategy benefit you more in the long run than custom web design services? Is search engine optimization likely to bring in more site visitors, or should you increase your spend on pay-per-click advertising?
These are all important questions to ask. But the reason so many businesses fail to see online success even as they adjust their marketing priorities is that they’re working from the outside in, worrying about channels before defining the goals of online marketing. Here’s the bottom line: Consumers become customers of businesses that they know, like and trust. Once you break it down into those three categories, it becomes much easier to determine where your website marketing strategies are lacking.
- Know
This category deals with the issue of visibility. Online, that of course means having an updated website. SEO and PPC are both key issues here, since the ultimate goal is to get your website in front of more people — search engines being by far the strongest way to do that. If you’re seeing low overall site traffic, then your profits are probably being negatively impacted by the fact that consumers don’t even know you exist.
- Like
Business is, on some level, a popularity contest. Your overall brand image and the business’ collective persona must be appealing to consumers, or they’ll find another business that offers the same basic services in a better format. For that reason, likeability is a major factor in conversion, or turning site visitors into customers. If you’re getting plenty of attention without getting business, it’s time to figure out why online consumers don’t seem to like you very much.
- Trust
Trust is often the deciding factor in drawing in customers or retaining existing customers. How do you build trust? Some factors on your website could help; security seals can soothe the concerns of privacy-conscious shoppers, for example. But you also need to take a broader approach to trust, clearly defining what it is your business promises customers and then keeping those promises consistent across all your marketing channels.
Do you have any thoughts to add on why businesses’ website marketing strategies so often fail to show a return? Join the discussion in the comments.
