Posted by Jody Raines
Search Engine Optimization is not a magic bullet. Despite the best keyword optimization and keyword ranking, the best search engine submissions mean little when it comes to conversions. 
Hitting the target when it comes to being found on Google is only part of the process. Conversions are the name of the game. What is a 'conversion?'... Conversions are that elusive goal - when the visitor submits his or her information in order to become a lead.
But, wait, it's important to be found, right? All I have to do is get to number 1 on Google! Then I'll have tons of traffic.
Traffic is great. I can point out many websites that generate traffic.
Traffic is not synonymous with conversions.
You can have a gorgeous website that has tons of traffic, but... keep in mind that traffic that does not convert to sales is just traffic. Of course, you want to have people visit your site, but you want to be sure that they are potential customers, right?
A common mistake I see is that clients want to increase traffic to their website. Visitors to the site are important, and what may happen is that the client spends money on a ppc (pay per click) campaign or on SEO (search engine optimization) or even SMM (social media marketing) all in a a misguided attempt to increase traffic. The thought is that more traffic is going to generate more sales. Unfortunately, they should really be concentrating on capturing more sales from their visitors. This means improving the conversion rate.
Without the right formula in place to create conversions, you are really wasting your money on paying someone to drive traffic to your website.
Think about it. If your website is not set up correctly, with reasons for the visitor to interract and share their info, then what are you doing, other than pouring money down the drain? You are missing the target!
There are some simple things you can do to improve your conversions and improve the profitability of your business.
1. Make it easy for the visitor to know what to do.
Do you have a "call-to-action" or offer for your customer? When they come to the site, what are you asking them to do? If you are like most of the websites, you don't have one. Your HOME page is the most heavily trafficked page on most websites, should you have some offer there?
2. Keep your navigation clean and simple.
I see many websites where there are just too many choices. Keep it clean and make navigating back easy. If I saw something on the last page that I wanted to read, how can I get back to it? The 'back' button is not the answer. Have an easily navigated site that's logically created.
3. Think of how your customer will use your site.
Many of the larger corporate websites as well as the website diy'ers have this problem and they don't even realize it - they set up the site from their perspective, not the visitors perspective. Think about this and you will realize it's huge; if you set up the site by product category versus set it up by user need, think again. I'm looking online for something specific. Make it easy for me to find what I want. While you are at it, you know that customers who usually buy "A" may also want "B". Use a "do you want fries with that" mentality and suggest other items that may be of interest, or which have been purchased in combination by other customers who bought that item.
Bottom line - it's great to have traffic, but you may need to improve your visitor's experience before you start inviting them over. Get everything ready and then let the traffic begin.
Posted by Jody Raines
If there was any doubt about how important an Internet Strategy may be for the future of your business, this video about Google Chrome OS (Operating System) should shake you up!
We knew that things are moving toward an Internet based solution... This video by Google explains a new operating system where all the applications are cloud based and not resident on your computer. This means you get online faster, and don't have to do any updates on the software - it happens automatically.
This also means that you don't have to access information on your personal computer - it's all based on Internet systems.
Fascinating and opens the door to many questions regarding privacy and hacking and ability to keep info secure.
The idea of a totally cloud bases system has been around for a while, it's something that we are supposidly evolving towards. Do you think you would feel comfortable with this as a solution?
Note that Google already offers Google Chrome - it's a browser that you download from the Internet. I've used it on my netbook and I like it - it does seem fast. The Operating System is another step toward unifying our devices and streamlining where we keep information.