Do you view your website as an expense or as an investment? Surprisingly, many companies seem to view their website as anecessary cost of doing business, not an opportunity toattract an audience and g... Do you view your website as an expense or as an investment? Surprisingly, many companies seem to view their website as anecessary cost of doing business, not an opportunity toattract an audience and gain new customers. The followingfive tips can help transform a non-performing website into aneffective sales and marketing tool. 1. Make sure potential customers can find you on the searchengines.Most businesses don't take advantage of search engineoptimization, but few things on the Internet can be asbeneficial. A recent Forrester Research report showed that 80%of web surfers discover the new sites that they visit throughsearch engines. According to iProspect, 85% of web users usesearch engines to find solutions and vendors. A properlyexecuted search engine optimization campaign can drivenumerous, highly targeted visitors to your site, typically ata fraction of the cost of traditional advertising. Withouthigh search engine rankings, you will only get visitors thatfind your web address through word of mouth, regularadvertising, or other limited means.2. Use content to get repeat visitors to your site, notflashiness.Rich media, such as flashy graphics and audio, may impressyour visitors the first time they see your site, but they areunlikely to come back for it (or recommend your site to othersbecause of it). If repeat visitors (meaning potentialcustomers) are your goal, you are much more likely to get themto return if your site offers content that they find valuable(and with any luck, indispensable). This helps to establishyour company as an expert in your field while building a levelof trust with your visitors. 3. Develop regular e-newsletters and announcements to informand keep up to date with current and potential customers (butonly those who ask for them).A properly executed newsletter campaign can help your businessretain existing customers and attract new ones. Routinelysending out informational content that your newslettersubscribers find valuable is another excellent way to build alevel of trust with them while continually establishingyourself as an expert in your product or service area. Overtime, your recipients will be increasingly likely to recommendyour products or services to others. A newsletter can also beused to announce special promotions and sales. A recentDoubleclick survey of more than 1,000 Internet users foundthat more than 82 percent of them had made a purchase onlineduring the past year as a result of some sort of advertisementthey received through email. The study revealed, however, thatpeople were much more receptive to email from companies withwhom they already had a relationship.4. Make sure your existing marketing materials promote youronline presence.Make sure that all of your print advertising; business cards,letterhead, etc. display your web address. In addition, youshould mention your website address on your phone message, inthe signature of the emails of everyone in your company, andin any radio or television advertising. This simple step candrive a good deal of highly qualified prospects to your sitefor relatively little cost, but many companies are still usingthe same marketing materials that they used before they had awebsite (and missing out on a great opportunity to buildtraffic).5. Make sure your website content is focused on yourcustomer's needs and interests, not your company.A common mistake that companies make on the Internet isfocusing their Internet marketing text too much uponthemselves. Visitors are more interested in learning about howyour products or services can benefit them than about hearingabout how wonderful you are or learning about the history ofyour company. Unlike other media, on the Internet you havevery little time to communicate your company's unique sellingproposition (USP). The most effective websites are those thatquickly answer the question "Why do I need thisproduct/service?" Here's a quick test- does your Internetmarketing copy use words like "we", "us", and "our" more oftenthan words like "you" and "your"? If so, your copy may be tooself-centric. A change in focus would likely help you tobetter connect with your visitors. Article Tags: Internet Marketing, Make Sure Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com