Achieve #1 Page Rankings

It Doesn’t Happen Immediately

To do it the natural way of driving traffic from advertising, getting referrals from publishing efforts, and getting referrals from other businesses takes time. As traffic builds on your site the search engines begin to elevate your classification as an authority and move you up the ladder in page rankings.

The Pitfalls of Doing it the Quick Way

Pay per clicks have made billionaires of the search engines. For a price, you can get immediate exposure. This is a good process if your site can make it work. The issue most have found is that they are shown the number of times their site has been exposed and the number of times people clicked, but they realize no new customers.

The Issue of Not Building a Good Site

Most website owners that take the pay per click route don’t build effective sites first. Successful sites built slowly and correctly, identify their markets, create a site that comfortably and credibly delivers on their promise, and converts the visitor to action. Now considering even the best sites may only have a 10% conversion rate, what are the chances for the poorly constructed sites?

What is a Good Site?

The owner knows the business he can deliver and it is in alignment with what a certain segment is seeking. The website is directed at that segment. It delivers what it promises. The owner produces past satisfied customers as endorsements and guarantees his promise. He has the authority of being visited by people whom he has driven, read his publications, or been referred by other sites. The Search engines have found him because of these three reasons. He is not a fly by night.

What Does it Take to Get This Authority?

The website owner has to understand the significance of key words to his business, the visitor and the search engines. The words have to be in alignment with all three. If he identifies his main business thrust with the query of the visitor and the search engine directs the visitor thinking it has a match, the wheels are in motion for a successful conversion.

How Does the Website Set This Up?

When the owner has, through analysis, selected the keywords that match his business, but also focused on a viable segment, depending on his size, with which he can have authority, the site is maximized with the key words. This can include placing the keywords in the URL, the site title and description, the headlines and the copy. Creating the right balance between maximizing the SEO and the readability of the site is where a copywriter earns his keep.

How Does the Website Owner Balance His Activities?

Someone trying to run or start a business has difficulty concentrating on the activities for Search Engine Optimization. He should work in concert with someone who can help analyze his business in comparison with the positioning of the competition and articulate his Unique Selling Proposition. Once the business has found its niche, the USP can be advertised and broadcast on the internet. Blogs, Articles, Newsletters, Social Media contacts can all be created by a copywriter or SEO specialist. Back links can also be sought from internet authority sites for the particular business. These are rated very highly by the Search Engines. As the business and traffic grow in concert, the Search Engines lift the rankings to the point the business is getting more free and meaningful contacts.

The #1 Way to Build Trust

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

If people didn’t resist sales presentations, everyone could be rich.

But the truth is, people get more skeptical every day. Too many businesses have taken advantage of consumers. When the consumer shops for something in which they do not consider themselves experts, their first instinct is to Run!

How Do You Earn Their Trust Right Away?

Talk about your product, but find a way to bring up some of the negative possibilities or shortcomings. If they know about them up front, they have the ability to weigh the positives and negatives. If you leave the negatives off the table they will need time to discover what they are. That usually sounds like “I’ll think about it” or I’ll leave your site and come back later.”

What is a Good Way to Present these negatives online?

The FAQ section is a great way to let the questions get asked and answered. This way they may think others have explored and come up with the important questions or that you are open to exploring problems people may face and even anticipate them.

What are the questions you need to provide for this forum?

1> Understand what the main concerns are about buying your products or services in the market place.
2> Understand what the main objections are about hitting the “Order” button for anything.
3> Understand what the main concerns are about dealing with you.
These answers depend a lot on the authority in the market place of the product or service. It depends on how familiar your purchasing process is to the visitor. It depends on how well branded you are. If the product is well branded the consumer has to find the best vendor. If your purchase sequence is familiar to them, they will feel more comfortable. If you are a known commodity, there is less concern about you disappointing them.

What Process are You Trying to Avoid?

Brian Tracey, one of the best “Sales” gurus I have found, has several CD’s on closing the sale. He says that 80% of sales are made after you have over come at least 5 objections. Most sales people and sites never try to close once.
If you read the long scroll down commerce sites you will notice that some of these experts are aware of what it takes to get a visitor to push the “Order” button on the first visit. After a few sentences they are offering you something for your email. After a short presentation they are showing an endorsement and asking you to order now.

Do they expect you to order so quickly?

No, but they are softening you up. But on the other hand, a lot of people visit you to buy, so why make them wait. Send them directly to the check out.
The rest of the process in the commerce site is more presentation, more endorsements, more requests for the order, then the bonuses for signing up today. After you’re through scrolling down the whole site you’re wringing wet. And even they probably have less than a 10% conversion rate. Can’t say they didn’t try.

What is the Problem they Know they Are Facing?

Buyers have lots of choices on what to spend their money
Buyers have lots of choices on who to give their money
Buyers would prefer to put off the decision
Buyers are worried about things they can’t even enumerate

Do these vendors address these issues?

Over and over. They have endorsements. They provide reasons why they are the best. They provide reasons why you should not pass up this deal today. They throw in sweeteners. They claim it’s a limited time offer.
Why Are They Embroiled in this Dance?
They haven’t addressed the visitors’ negative thinking straight up. They are trying to overcome it.

Do you have this much time on your site or even in person?

Probably not, so the most efficient process is to get all the negative thoughts on the table right away and if the buyer weighs them and can accept them, he moves forward on the spot.