'Ron, we're giving you a new assignment. You're in charge of the company web site. It's a big responsibility, but we know you can handle it.' Everyone in the room smiles and nods, and then everyone gives Ron a big round of applause. This applause, of course, is mostly joy at not being in Ron's shoes. Comments like 'Man, that's a tough job,' 'I wouldn't want it,' 'Where would you even start?' ripple through the room.
Ron says, 'Thank you, sir, I'm really looking forward to the opportunity, and crosses his fingers under the table. The company president smiles at Ron and continues, 'The main goal is to increase the site's profitability. We're bleeding money through that modem. You're our best manager. Figure out what's wrong and stop the hemorrhage. Understood?' Ron nods numbly. 'Understood.'
Many executives, like Ron, are responsible for the company web site but don't clearly understand one key factor in making money from a web site. Site management is important; so are selling products and building advertising/branding partnerships. But one of the most crucial factors in the success of a commercial web site is repeat traffic. Just as movie producers hope to attract repeat viewers, a commercial web site has to attract repeat visitors in order to make a profit.
One element of web design and planning that is often overlooked, is the site's purpose. Many companies think of their web site as 'a place to sell our products.' That's a fine beginning on purpose, and will succeed with people who are online specifically to shop for-and buy-exactly that type of product, right now.
But a profitable site should also cater to people who are just looking for information on a general type of product or who would like to buy, but aren't sure who they'd like to buy from. The most successful commercial sites even reach people who don't know they need that product-but know what they need to accomplish.
Selling to people who are not buying right now is harder than selling to 'ripe' customers, but is essential to maintaining a profitable web site. The key is to sell these people on the web site itself, and keep them coming back to that site until they're ready to make a purchase. When they do make a purchase, they'll be the very best kind of customer-loyal and happy-and they'll spread the word to other potential customers.
The best way to keep people coming back to a web site is to provide interesting content and update it regularly. A company which sells widgets should provide as much information as possible about widgets--what they are, how they're made, what they do, where to find them, how to take care of them, and where to get them fixed. This information should be current and relevant, and should be updated regularly-at least once a month. Visitors should feel that this company cares about them, wants to keep them informed, and isn't only interested in selling them widgets.
'Content' encompasses a lot of territory. One excellent way to add content to a site is to create a 'newsstand.' This consists of articles written in-house or submitted by visitors, and a 'menu' page linking to each article. Articles give existing visitors more content when they return, and listing the articles themselves with search engines pulls traffic from people who are looking for an article on the care and feeding of widgets, for example.
