One of the problems that I encounter is that business owners often consult a graphic designer or web designer to do their marketing as well as their web design, but this is a huge mistake and one that you do not want to make.

Although this may sound rather harsh, let me quantify what i have just written with some evidence, evidence that can be costing businesses thousands of pounds each year no less!

1. Web sites with lots of flash may look pretty to the eye, but the fact is that it can reduce the loading time of a web site and affect SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

2. Very often designers will go for design over any commercial benefit that the site can offer the business owner, and so it merely becomes an expensive sign for their business, nothing else.

3. Too many distractions on a web site (images, sound effects, flashing graphics) can affect what visitors do and preclude them from taking the kind of action that the business owner wants, namely getting their credit card out!

Now I’m not bashing all web designers here, however in what is now an ultra-competitive business world, you need to have what I call a ‘direct response’ website – in other words one that converts visitors into buyers.

This is something that I talk about in my DVD “The Seven Strategies For Effectively Marketing A Business Online” but it is something that many business owners overlook,  and it is costing them thousands.

So what I will do in my next post is give you the key elements that I feel all web sites need in order to work harder for the business that it represents.

You could possibly detect a hint of passion in my writing, as this is a subject that I really do hammer home with business owners, many of whom have fallen prey to web designers who have given them basically what amounts to a fancy sign, nothing else.

So rather than rant on, I am going to list below the key attributes that I feel a website should have in order to work for your business:

• A compelling headline
• A call to action for your visitors
• Contact details on EVERY page
• It should make it easy for your visitor to buy from you
• A means of capturing their name and email address (auto responder)
• Your USP – Why should your visitor buy from you?
• Any awards, qualifications, accolades that you/your company has
• Photos of you and your team
• Videos of your company’s products/services

This would be a good starting point. I see so many sites that not only make it difficult for visitors to buy but that make it almost impossible for them to contact the business, as the phone number, email address or physical address is tucked away somewhere.

Anyway, I’ll be posting next time about some basic strategies that you can use tomorrow to improve your company’s marketing, so keep an eye out for this.