5 Ways You Can Use Your Website to Speed Past Your Competitors Bloomington Business Expo - April 17, 2008

What’s the Game Plan? What’s the Game Plan? Why You Should Use Your Website to Speed Past Your Competitors How You Can Achieve This Goal What You Will Take Back to Your Office Today

Why You Should Use Your Website to Speed Past Your Competitors

How You Can Achieve This Goal

What You Will Take Back to Your Office Today

Why You Should Use Your Website To Speed Past Your Competitors

Who Loves ?

What Are the Stats? Percentage of Americans using the internet on a daily basis: 1995: 9% 2000: 57% 2005: 74% 2007: 79% In 2007 that is 178 million daily users in the US.* *Harris Interactive Case Study: Nov. 2007 **PEW Internet & American Life Study: April, 2006 45% of users say the internet helped them make a big decision in the last 2 years.**

What Are the Stats? Online Retail Spending Continues to Increase CNN Money, Jan. 2008

What Does This Mean? This means the internet is not: Just a passing fad Just for teenagers Just for sports stats & email This means that the internet is: A reliable source for information A trusted source of purchases Part of American Life

This means the internet is not:

Just a passing fad

Just for teenagers

Just for sports stats & email

This means that the internet is:

A reliable source for information

A trusted source of purchases

Part of American Life

What Does This Mean For You?

Ask the same questions for your website. You are your website. Your website is you. How Do People See You? How Do They Present Themselves? Can They Be Trusted? Do They Convey a Sense of Expertise? Are They Likable?

How Do They Present Themselves?

Can They Be Trusted?

Do They Convey a Sense of Expertise?

Are They Likable?

5 Ways You Can Use Your Website to Speed Past Your Competitors

1 st Gear: Audience 2 nd Gear: Design 3 rd Gear: Navigation 4 th Gear: Marketing 5 th Gear: Site Analysis Let’s Gain Some Speed

1 st Gear: Know Your Audience & Your Site

1 st Gear What are the actionable items that you expect your customers to take on your site? Hold Your Website Accountable What do you expect from your website? How will you convince them to take that desired action?

They are impatient. Internet User Behavior They make quick decisions. They scan pages instead of read them. You Have 4 Seconds 1 st Gear

2 nd Gear: Design, Messaging Simplicity Keep it simple stupid. Don’t make me think. Messaging Speak directly to your customer. Use the proper language, terminology. Communication Don’t just decorate! The core function of your site.

3 rd Gear: Usability, Navigation

Easy to Navigate Is there any way for a user to be confused while navigating your site? Is every piece of information or product easy to find? Clear, Concise Information Have you highlighted the most important information first? Can there be any mistake about who you are and what you have to offer? Stimulating & Interesting Does your content inspire people to explore your site? Does your content inspire people to return to your site? Painfully Obvious Call-to-Action Do users know EXACTLY what you want them to do ? 3 rd Gear

Easy to Navigate

Is there any way for a user to be confused while navigating your site?

Is every piece of information or product easy to find?

Clear, Concise Information

Have you highlighted the most important information first?

Can there be any mistake about who you are and what you have to offer?

Stimulating & Interesting

Does your content inspire people to explore your site?

Does your content inspire people to return to your site?

Painfully Obvious Call-to-Action

Do users know EXACTLY what you want them to do ?

3 rd Gear Bad Good Your Website

4 th Gear: Attracting Your Audience If you build it, that doesn’t mean they will come.

4 th Gear How To Drive Traffic To Your Website

4 th Gear Search Engine Optimization Meta tags Keyword-rich text Site map Paid Search Marketing Google AdWords Yahoo Search Marching MSN adCenter Social Networking Facebook Myspace LinkedIn Blogging/Viral Marketing Company blog Video content Catchy articles

Search Engine Optimization

Meta tags

Keyword-rich text

Site map

Paid Search Marketing

Google AdWords

Yahoo Search Marching

MSN adCenter

Social Networking

Facebook

Myspace

LinkedIn

Blogging/Viral Marketing

Company blog

Video content

Catchy articles

4 th Gear

4 th Gear When should you start being more competitive and drive more traffic to your website? NOW

5 th Gear: Reporting, Site Analysis Why Use Analytics? Where do users go on your site? What content are they viewing? Where/when do they leave? How long do they stay on your site? How did they get there in the first place? Use this information to make your website better!

Why Use Analytics?

Where do users go on your site?

What content are they viewing?

Where/when do they leave?

How long do they stay on your site?

How did they get there in the first place?

There are numerous analytics tools: Omniture Coremetrics Metasun Google Analytics 5 th Gear

There are numerous

analytics tools:

Omniture

Coremetrics

Metasun

Google Analytics

Overdrive! Tools that allow you to review (or spy on!) your competition: www.Compete.com www.Quantcast.com www.Spyfu.com

Summary Know who your audience is and speak to them directly. Make your site a part of your client’s everyday life. Your website is a living organism, treat it accordingly! If you are firing on all of these cylinders then you’ll have no problems speeding past your competition!

Know who your audience is and speak to them directly.

Make your site a part of your client’s everyday life.

Your website is a living organism, treat it accordingly!

If you are firing on all of these cylinders then you’ll have no problems speeding past your competition!

Helpful Resources Paid Search Advertising The Adventures of PPC Hero www.ppchero.com Search Engine Optimization SEOMoz www.seomoz.org Website Design Basics Designs from Scratch www.webdesignfromscratch.com General Website Marketing/Development Search Engine Land www.searchengineland.com

Want to do more, faster? Hanapin has experts in: Search engine optimization Pay per click Website design

Hanapin has experts in:

Search engine optimization

Pay per click

Website design

Thank you! Joseph Kerschbaum [email_address] www.HanapinMarketing.com 812.330.3134