Think of your website as a tree in the forest.

There are millions of trees on this planet, probably billions. Your job is to find one particular tree that has certain characteristics and then to pick the fruit or seeds from that tree. That is essentially what it is like for your website. With close to 2 billion websites out there, you are asking customers to find your website and buy something from you. Yet you are competing with all the other websites out there, many of which do something similar to yours. How is someone going to find you among the millions of trees (websites) out there?

Let’s say you have done a really good job with SEO and have managed to get your website on page one.

Now they have to decide to look at just that one tree (your site).

Being seen is just the beginning. Now it is up to you to get someone to click on your site. How does your listing stand out from the other options that the user is presented with? Typically, people look at the page title, the description, and if present, the number and quality of reviews and any images. Consider this example:

If you were presented with these search results, which one would you click on? The vast majority of people would choose #2, based on the number and quality of reviews. If you are not the listing with the best reviews, it doesn’t really matter that you show up on page 1. 93% of people will read online reviews before deciding to do business with you. And 77% of people think that reviews over 3 months old are not relevant. This means you need constant and steady supply of fresh reviews all the time. WebStores Ltd has a program that is specifically designed to help you monitor your reviews and collect more 5-star reviews. Sign up for a free review audit here.

But what if your listing on the search results page could stand out even more? What if you could actually control what was being displayed, including the description that Google presented, as well as an image? Look at this example:

Your web page title and page description are actually meta tags; little bits of HTML code in the top part (header) of a web page. These meta tags are visible only in your web page’s code, not in the page itself. They describe what a page is about. Search engines use this meta title and description to learn what that page is about. It’s these meta tags that are usually displayed in search results. People searching use this meta title and description to decide whether or not to click through to your website.

But, Google sometimes ignores your titles and descriptions. That’s where Rich Snippets come in. They display extra information about your page, so Google really understands what it should display. Remember,Google indexes each page of your website independently, so don’t use the same title and description on every page. You want each page of your website to stand out and make someone want to click on it.

The first listing includes something called Rich Snippets, and clearly stands out on the search results page.

Once on your site, what makes you unique enough that the visitor cares?

Congratulations, you’ve got someone to locate your tree (website) out of all the trees in the forest. They found you, and they clicked on you. They are now on your website. Most people will stay on your website less than a minute. And, did you know that 98% of people who visit your website will leave without ever returning again? After they leave, how will they ever find you again (and why would they want to?). And you thought it was tough just getting someone to your site…the work has just begun!

As the owner of the website, it is your responsibility to make sure that no one leaves without you getting their contact information (name and email address). The best way to do this is to make them an irresistible offer in exchange for their email address. It is not enough to simply say “subscribe to our newsletter.” The fact is that everyone already gets more emails than they want. You must make an offer so compelling that they will not only gladly give you their email address, but will voluntarily tell all their friends about it. This is called a lead magnet. and here’s the thing: you don’t need just one lead magnet, but like reviews, you need a constant and steady supply of fresh offers to attract new leads.

Once you have a customers email address, this is your primary way of getting repeat traffic to your website. Now you need to send them weekly emails to get them to come back over and over again. It often takes at least 7 “touches” before someone starts to know, like and trust you enough to become a customer.

But what if you don’t get their email address? There is another way to drive people back to your website, and that is through the use of re-targeting ads. Re-targeting ads are those pesky little ads that seem to follow you all over the internet as you go from one site to another. The way they work is that if someone has visited your site once, they get “cookied”. Other sites agree to display ads on their sites (because they make money when someone clicks on an ad). But your ad is only displayed to those who have already visited your site. so, you may show up on the Wall Street Journal, CNN or USA Today’s website just to your visitors, and the cost is very affordable. Call WebStores Ltd. if you are interested in learning more about re-targeting ads for your business.

If they do come back how hard is it to pick the fruit (make a sale)?

You’re still not done. Yes, you got someone to find your site, click on it, and return several times. They now know who you are and they like you and trust you. but the final step is to turn them into a customer – they need to buy something from you!

There are so many factors that go into helping a customer make a buying decision: cost, product description, photos, shipping, ease of checkout, etc. I created a free ebook called the “Perfect Product Sales Page.” You can download it here.

This is a NEW YEAR! Let’s make it so that you are the tree that really stands out above the competition.

Did you find this article useful or learn anything? If so, I’d love some feedback about what you thought.

GregJameson

Greg Jameson has been writing blog articles on ecommerce and internet marketing for over 10 years. Learn more about Greg at https://webstoresltd.com/about/