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How to Compete with 11 Billion Websites

When I got into this Internet Marketing business in 1993, there wasn't much on the Web to look at. The Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena was one of the few sites that had more than a couple pages to it. "The big red button that does nothing" was also a major attraction back then: You'd click on it and the page would just reload. That was the state of interactive marketing in the early 90's. Any site or ad that went up was swamped with visitors because the medium was still such a novelty.

Fast-forward to now. Nowadays, new sites are no big deal. Putting a url in an email or ad isn't nearly enough to draw visitors to your site unless you give them good incentive and pay off their investment of time with something really juicy. Most sites are bone dry though and not worth the pixels they're made up of.

Below are 10 Ways to make a site memorable, bookmarkable, and worth talking about. Many people ask me what they have to do in order to get covered by Web Digest For Marketers. Well, read on...

1. Focus: Don't make me guess your real agenda. Be abundantly clear. State your intentions up front. I like straight talk that gets to the point, and I believe most Internet users are the same way.

2. Live in my shoes: Think about who would come to your site and why. What do you have that I want?

3. Be different: Most sites seem to strive for mediocrity; it's almost as if they want to look like their competitors. You need to pop out. I don't mean you should use pop-ups. Make me literally sit up in my chair and take notice of what you're doing on your site, whether it's an eCommerce or Consulting Services site, Media outlet, or what have you.

4. Information Design, not graphic design: In B2B and many B2C cases, people are on a mission. They're leaning forward into the screen, looking for something pretty specific. You'll get better response rates and branding impressions if you help the user of your site get to what they want fast. It'll build loyalty and increase their comfort level. They're not going to believe your platitudes and puffy taglines. They'll believe their experience of you by how well your site performs for them at the time of need.

5. Be a Content magnet: We all know now how important inbound links are, right? You know this is critical for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The search engines are impressed when they see authoritative sites in your field pointing to you. So how do you get sites to point to you? Not by sending out bot messages that begin "Dear Webmaster,"asking for links. Create content so good that other sites point to you as a resource. Tens of thousands of sites now point to the homepage of Web Digest For Marketers, not by accident. Often you will have the content in-house and not realize it; other times you may be best off buying content from a credible source. If you're budgeted for a content build-out, get in touch with me if you need an expert's input.

6. Blogs and RSS feeds: We all read about the blogosphere and RSS feeds. Aside from attracting new prospects to you via the content they contain, the search engines also pay attention to these media closely as they demand frequent updates. Frequency is another very important aspect to SEO. You can optimize your website with all the relevant keyword phrases you like, but if your site isn't updated frequently, it's going to look as stale as last week's loaf of bread to the search engine spiders, and your search engine rankings will fall.

7. "Nichy Nichy": Look for what your competitors aren't doing, and consider doing just that. It will help you stand out from the pack. Don't let them lead. You lead by staying at least one step ahead.

8. Look Back on Next Year: As a Futurist speaker, clients ask me to look ahead and tell them what I see coming over the horizon. To do this, I imagine myself 12 months out looking back. For some speaking clients, I write future headlines for their industry. This exercise is helpful to get a jump on where to aim their site and marketing strategies moving forward.

9. Talk to me: Does your website speak? I don't mean through an audio channel, though that is now much more commonplace. Rather, does your site have a specific "voice" and attitude? After all, it is your proxy. Ask yourself: How well does your site really represent you? Most sites I know do a crummy job of reflecting the company, its mission and people.

10. Don't over-engineer it: Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. The latest gizmos you can get through your homepage may be cool to tweens or 20 somethings, but if your audience encompasses people outside that demographic, you may be ignoring them or even irritating them.

Bonus Tip

11. Get Real: Many sites work well in somebody's mind or on a storyboard, but they don't translate well into reality. Think outside the box, but make sure you are not just talking to yourself. LC

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