This guide gives it to you straight. It presents a series of concise, to-the-point pointers to help you understand how to develop a highly effective website.

1. 21POINTERS TO
SHARPEN
YOUR WEBSITE

2. DULL WON’T WORK.
Hello.
Goodbye?
• Visitors decide
to stay or go in
seconds
• Engage them
immediately
• Or off to Google
they go

3. [1] Start smart.
‣ No need to start from scratch
‣ Survey your competitors and
sites you like
‣ Allow the effective ideas to
inform parts of your plan
‣ Mix, match and make these
strategies work for your site
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

4. [2] Know who’s there.
‣ Who do you want to visit?
‣ What’s their purpose?
‣ What’s their pain?
‣ Understand their point of view
‣ Point the way to the solution
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

5. [3] Generate something.
‣ Create a specific purpose
for your site
✓Generate visitors
✓Generate leads
✓Generate sales
‣ Define your goal and ask your
visitors to do it
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

6. [4] Build on a simple platform.
‣ Select a content management
system (CMS)
✓WordPress
✓Joomla
✓Drupal Gardens
✓HubSpot
‣ Make it easy to update content
without HTML skills
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

7. [5] Say hello to SEO.
“Your search strategy is your business strategy.”
Vanessa Fox, author
“Marketing in the Age of Google”
‣ People are trying to find you
‣ School yourself in SEO
‣ Choose keywords carefully
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

8. [6] Make it easy to navigate.
‣ KISS concept
‣ Place important links first and
prioritize their order
‣ Embrace the conventions
‣ Make the interface
uncomplicated and uncluttered
‣ Limit the user’s choices
‣ Point the way to the solution
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

9. EASY DOES IT.
In a recent study by HubSpot,
176 participants were asked
“What is the most
important factor
in the design
of a website?”
76% SAY
“EASY PLEASE” An overwhelming majority
responded by answering:
“Make it easy for me
to find what I want.”

10. [7] Provide clear instructions.
‣ Create a compelling
call-to-action
‣ Make it map to the user’s
needs
‣ Make it easy to find
‣ Lead the way
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

11. [8] Create magnetic content.
‣ Content is your reason for having
a website
‣ Get it together early in the process
‣ Use a variety of media
✓ images ✓ video ✓ audio
✓ presentations ✓ articles
‣ Serve up new, topical and
timely content often
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

12. MORE CONTENT, 60
MORE LEADS. 50
40
30 ★ On average, B2B
marketers employ eight
20 different content
marketing tactics
10 ★ 90% expect to grow their
business through
content marketing
0
Source: Content Marketing Institute &
Marketing Profs survey of over 1,000 marketers
★ Success is measured
1: Web traffic @ 58% with the criteria
2: Sales lead quality @ 49%
3A: Direct sales @ 41% charted here:
3B: Sales lead quantity @41%
4A: Customer feedback @ 40%
4B: SEO rankings @ 40% Web traffic ranked #1
5: Inbound links @ 30%

13. [9] Use the power of you.
‣ Most common mistake:
fixating on yourself
‣ Your visitors aren’t there to
read about you
‣ They have problems they seek
to solve
‣ Nix the “I,” “me” and “we”
‣ Put the power of “you” to work
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

14. [10] Publish and push.
‣ Publish a blog
‣ Feature content users value
‣ Make it fun and informative
‣ Encourage comments
‣ Offer RSS (really simple
syndication) and email
subscription options
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

15. [11] Give your customers a voice.
‣ Get your customers talking
‣ Achieve the most powerful
form of advertising
✓ word of mouth
✓ a.k.a. word of mouse
‣ Invite visitors to speak up
✓ surveys ✓ polls ✓ user forums
✓ questions ✓ product reviews
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

16. [12] Be social and share.
‣ School yourself on
✓ Twitter ✓ Facebook
✓ LinkedIn ✓ Google+
✓ YouTube ✓ SlideShare
✓ Bookmarking ✓ Pinterest
✓ Q&As ✓ News
✓ And... tomorrow’s hot service
‣ Identify where your customers
are and engage them there
‣ Use share buttons/services
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

17. You’re either or you’re out.
Social media. It’s not a trend. It’s your friend.
Like it. Follow it. Get into it. It’s simply not optional.
Your customers use it. Your competitors do too. If
you’re not interested in joining the conversation,
you’re not as committed to making your online
marketing work as you need to be.
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

18. [13] Tell customer stories.
‣ Your customer wields
credibility and clout
‣ Deliver their stories to
showcase how your
products and services
deliver satisfaction
‣ Be truthful
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

19. [14] Perform pay-per-click tricks.
‣ “Field of Dreams” was fiction
‣ If you build it, promote it
‣ Use Google AdWords
‣ Advertise on targeted sites
‣ Syndicate your content
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

20. [15] Make mobile meaningful.
‣ Most sites are not optimized for
mobile—big mistake!
‣ Fast growing population
shopping on smart phones and
tablets
‣ Use one of the many
inexpensive mobile site
creation and hosting services
‣ More traffic + better experience
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

21. [16] Don’t keep the guests waiting.
‣ Your user has very little
patience
‣ Avoid high overhead, slow
loading assets of any kind
‣ Trash flash
‣ No need to show off
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

22. [16] Keep your eyes on the F.
‣ Studies indicate users fixate
their eyes in an F-shaped
pattern on the page
‣ Apply this knowledge to
showcase your logo in the
upper left of your pages
‣ Place navigation, contacts,
shortcuts and important
elements in this path to
increase visibility
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

23. [18] Trust professionals.
‣ Yes, you want to decrease the
cost and speed the
development of your website
‣ Using amateurs is not the
answer
‣ Hire professional writers,
designers and programmers
‣ Allow them to do their jobs
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

24. [19] Count on your metrics.
‣ Your website is a business tool
designed to deliver results
‣ You can’t manage what you
don’t measure
‣ Use analytical tools to pinpoint
metrics such as visitors, leads
and sales
‣ Make ongoing adjustments
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

25. [20] Test and compare.
‣ A/B testing is valuable,
especially for landing pages
‣ Compare and contrast copy
and design executions
‣ Refine accordingly
‣ Enjoy higher conversion
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

26. [21] Keep on keeping on.
‣ Your site is never sharp
enough
‣ There’s no finish line in website
development
‣ Keep...
✓ Measuring ✓ Refining
✓ Creating useful content
‣ ... and your site will become more
valuable to your business
21POINTERS TO SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE

27. PENCILS OUT,
SITE-SHARPENING QUESTIONS YOUR ANSWERS
HAVE YOU SURVEYED YOUR COMPETITOR’S SITES?
PLEASE. DO YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHO WILL BE VISITING?
HAVE YOU ESTABLISHED YOUR OBJECTIVES?
A quick review of HAVE YOU SELECTED A CMS?
ARE YOU READY TO GO WITH SEO?
21 Pointers to IS YOUR NAVIGATION SIMPLE?
Sharpen Your Website IS IT CLEAR WHAT YOU WANT CUSTOMERS TO DO?
ARE YOU CREATING MAGNETIC CONTENT?
DOES THE COPY FOCUS ON YOUR CUSTOMER?
‣ Make a few notes DOES YOUR SITE FEATURE A BLOG?
‣ Give yourself some
ARE YOU ASKING CUSTOMERS TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION?
IS YOUR SITE ALL SET FOR SOCIAL MEDIA?
assignments HAVE YOU PUBLISHED CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORIES?
‣ Get to work
WILL YOU BE USING PAY-PER-CLICK ADVERTISING?
DID YOU MAKE A MOBILE VERSION OF YOUR SITE?
ARE YOU USING SLOW-LOADING STUFF?
ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN THE F-ZONE?
Good luck DID YOU, OR WILL YOU, HIRE WEBSITE PROFESSIONALS?
ARE YOU MEASURING AND ANALYZING?
ARE YOU TESTING THIS AGAINST THAT?
WILL YOU EXPAND YOUR SITE REGULARLY?

28. Point your browser to FeldmanCreative.com
for all your online marketing needs. Owner Barry Feldman
has been a copywriter and creative director since 1988.
A seasoned storyteller, Barry will help you create an ultra-
sticky website, deliver persuasive copy, execute strategic
content marketing, and offer pointers to sharpen your site,
attract and engage prospects, nurture relationships,
generate sales, and build loyal brand advocates.
www.feldmancreative.com