Web Help

Seven Critical Errors Consultants & Small Businesses

Make with Their Web Sites

Consultants, trainers, independents and other small business

are jumping on the information highway to make their fortunes

on the web. Unfortunately, the large majority of sites by

consultants and trainers end up with low hit counts, and bring in

almost no business. There's a reason for that. Most of "us" don't

know what we're doing. No shame it that…we're good at what we

do but that doesn't include making websites work.

So, what are the most frequent errors made by consultants,

trainers and small businesses on the web?

Not Understanding Content Is King

Web sites aren't advertising sites. They are information-based sites.

That's what the technology is about…making information available

to people when they need it. Commonly, consultants, trainers

and other small businesses take their existing information, like

a service brochure, and convert it to what amounts to an electronic

brochure. That's dumb. You need to think of your site as a vehicle

for your marketing, and not marketing…like a TV program.

People tune in to the PROGRAM, and when they do so, they are

exposed to the products and services of the sponsors. Nobody

tunes in for the commercials, right? Neither do people often surf

the Internet for your ads or brochures (sometimes but not often).

You MUST supply useful content and information to bring people

to your site. People tune in for the information, THEN you get the

opportunity to convince them how useful your products and

services can be. No content, no visitors. No visitors, no income.

Missing the Search Engine Boat

It's true there are many ways to publicize a website and that it

should be prominent on any print or other promotions. For small

businesses - consultants, trainers, etc., the advantage of the

web is that it CAN succeed without a huge ad campaign.

However the only way to do that is to place well in search engine

listings. So what happens is a consultant makes a web site,

submits it to a search engine or two, and assumes the traffic will

pour in. And when they get 10 visitors a month, they get frustrated.

Search engines are complicated and change often, so getting listed

and ranked high is a complex task. Most consultants and training

sites succeed because their owners do the research and put the

time in to get listed and get listed properly.

Developing Sites without Understanding Search Engines

What most consultants and trainers do is design a site according

to what they think should be on it, or what they think users will

find useful. The first is dumb, the second is not. However,

you are not likely to get sites listed on relevant terms in search

engines unless YOU BUILD YOUR SITE FROM SCRATCH TO

ACHIEVE THAT. That's because some engines rank your site on

a number of criteria and you need to capitalize on that. For

example, some engines add some weight to the terms contained

in headers (those things enclosed in

or similar tags in html.

Or they look at text tags for your images. Or they read only the

first x number of words of characters on each page when they

index your site. To get a high rank you need to intentionally build

your site to achieve them. It doesn't often happen by accident.

Being Inactive on the Rest of the Internet

Consultants and trainers who rely of search engines are operating

on half their cylinders. One of the best things you can do to

promote your site and encourage TARGETED visits is to participate

in professional forums where people who might want the information

you have to offer, may hang out. Not only do you get exposure

and people get to know you (and your site) but you also increase

the links to your site. (SSSHHH - Here comes a secret). Some search

engines are moving to link popularity (who links to you) to determine

rank. The more links on the Internet to your site, the more you are

likely to get high rankings. Here's the secret. Many list servers

(discussion groups) archive the messages on web sites.

hat means every message you send to a list that contains your

web address, can count as a link to your site. Make sure you include

your website address as part of your signature line at the end

of any messages you send.

PS. Don't use the discussion lists to post "ads", but help people

by entering into discussions, providing information, and yes,

perhaps an occasional invitation to visit your site.

Not Understanding the Web Site Real Estate Issue

Web sites have a low rent district and high value real estate.

The low rent district lives towards the bottom of each page.

The high value real estate is at the TOP and also the left-hand side.

Why? Because what people see "above the fold" (without scrolling)

may be the only thing they see on your site if nothing grabs them.

Also, because search engines (spiders) go through your site from

left to right, they encounter the left-hand side first. So how you

get listed depends partly on the text to the left and the top.

What this means is you need to guard that space jealously.

Only include what is absolutely essential in those spaces, to both

grab users fast, and help the search engines list what is important

on your site, not what is unimportant. The two rules are:

There should be material, towards the top, that will grab someone

looking for information, services or products.
Anything material that doesn't should give you money

(e.g. banners, ads, affiliate links).

It's that simple.

Design Problems

These days, with web development tools like FrontPage and

Dreamweaver, almost anyone can create a website. But these

tools can't THINK for you, and can't compensate for poor designs.

They don't tell you whether you site will look good at a different

resolution or a different browser. They won't tell you if the user

has to scroll horizontally because you've messed up your tables.

They won't stop you from putting so many dazzling effects in

that you have pages that take five minutes to load

(sorry, the visitor is long gone by then).

There's no substitute for knowing what you are doing, and many of

us don't. We' aren't technowizards or graphic artists. Trainers

and consultants often UNDERSESTIMATE the degree of difficulty

in creating a GREAT site, and they OVERESTIMATE their own skills.

To create websites that drive traffic and business, you need to put

in the time to learn. If not, be content with a trickle of visitors for

your training site or consulting services site.

Build And Forget

I come across sites developed by consultants and trainers that

haven't been changed for years. Business owners set them up

and forget about them entirely. It never works. You need to update

your site regularly. That makes it worthwhile for people to bookmark

your site and return. Repeat visits are VERY IMPORTANT.

Add new material and information. Add new services and sections.

An added benefit of this is that it tends to encourage

the search engines to revisit and reindex your site.