Traffic is vital to every business regardless of whether it's a Web site or a store down on Main Street. And while all traffic to your business is good, it's the repeat customers that truly make the business grow and succeed.
We're going to take a look at 7 ways you can ensure you get your visitors to keep coming back to your Web site, thus increasing your sales potential.
1. Make your site clear and easy to understand at a glance
If you were to walk through a typical mall, you should be able to tell exactly what each business is offering simply by looking at the window displays. These merchants make it easy to see what's going on inside the store because they know that if people have to stop and figure it out, they're not likely to come in and shop.
Web sites are just like those storefronts in the mall, and yours has to let people know, at first glance, exactly what you're offering. Because, unlike a physical storefront that people may pass by several times as they shop, your site will only get one chance to grab attention. Don't let ambiguity be a barrier to your traffic.
2. Give readers something new every time they show up
Imagine going to a newsstand and finding newspapers that are a week old for sale. That place probably won't be in business very long, and neither will you if you don't give your visitors something fresh whenever they come by. This can be done by providing regular blog updates, news articles, new products or even podcasts. You have to keep in mind that web surfers are a finicky bunch, but will be loyal to sites that give them something new on a regular basis.
3. Make things easy to find
If you have a large site with multiple pages, you have to make it easy for your visitors to find exactly what they're looking for without spending a lot of time. You can accomplish this with easy-to-use navigation, and/or a search option. Take a look at some of the high-traffic sites and you'll see that they make it easy for visitors to type in what they're searching for without having to manually search through page after page. This is a good idea to emulate.
4. Give visitors relevant information to keep them at your site
Using links to relevant information that can also be found on your site can be compared to suggestive selling. "Would you like fries with that?"
One of the goals of having website traffic is to keep people on your site for as long as you can. The longer you keep them there, the better chance for conversion. If you give them an article to read, put in a link to additional content on your site that might be relevant to them. This provides them with additional information, and keeps them at your site longer.
5. Encourage a relationship with your visitors
Oftentimes, people come to a Web site, get what they want and never come back. One way to encourage repeat traffic is to have them subscribe to your newsletter, or some other feature that can be delivered right to their e-mail.
This helps to keep your business on the customer's radar, especially if they don't visit the site everyday. Then, when they're ready to buy, your site will be the first they visit.
6. Make it easy for your visitors to contact you
People prefer doing business with someone they can trust, and this is just as true on the internet as it is in the brick and mortar world. One simple way to build trust is to provide your contact information so that it's easy to find.
7. Encourage visitor interaction on your site.
Even though many of your visitors will be anonymous to you, it's important to give them a sense of community when they visit your site. People like to leave comments on articles, and respond to what others have said. When visitors are encouraged to share, and interact, with you and your Web site, they're likely to keep coming back.
Too many
Web site owners want the magic trick that'll drive millions of "ready to buy" people to their site, but the truth is, there's no such thing. A web business is like any other business in that it takes hard work, good ideas and an enthusiastic owner to make it succeed.
- Nina Menezes
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"We have technology, finally, that for the first time in human history allows people to really maintain rich connections with much larger numbers of people."
- Pierre Omidyar
"The fact that I have entered into IT-related business is proof that businesses have to evolve and keep with time. One has to re-invent continuously."
- Kerry Packer
"I believe that this notion of self-publishing, which is what Blogger and blogging are really about, is the next big wave of human communication. The last big wave was Web activity. Before that one it was e-mail. Instant messaging was an extension of e-mail, real-time e-mail."
- Eric Schmidt
"Information and communications technology unlocks the value of time, allowing and enabling multi-tasking, multi-channels, multi-this and multi-that."
- Li Ka Shing |
