| Breakdown of surfer traffic by day of the week
Day |
% of Weekly Traffic |
| Sunday | 13.68% |
| Monday | 15.04% |
| Tuesday | 14.27% |
| Wednesday | 14.37% |
| Thursday | 14.50% |
| Friday | 14.67% |
| Saturday | 13.47% |
There was a lot of hype lately about social media with heightened expectations and stories of great success. Naturally, it attracted attention of many small business owners who were quick to jump the bandwagon. However, many of them are feeling disappointed with the results. Is this because social media is just a waste of time or because they misjudged its meaning and potential?
The power of Social Media.
It’s truly impressive. It might have even greater influence than most people realize.
Consider these facts:
• Social Media is the #1 activity on the Web.
• Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months…iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.
• If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest between the United States and Indonesia.
• The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube.
• More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook…daily.
The fact is social media is here to stay. Ignoring is just a pointless exercise in futility. Read more
There’s a great interest among the Internet entrepreneurs about how to promote their business on the Web. There’s always a quest for new and innovative ways of promotion that promises greater results at lower costs in a short time. Yet with all the efforts spent on promotion it’s just amazing how many people totally ignore one basic question- is their website worthy of promotion? With new computer technologies and high speed connections the new age on the Internet has arrived- the age that redefined the criteria of a successful web site, which satisfies the demands of its visitors.
Content is king.
That was the mantra of all web masters for a long time. Just show your visitors some interesting stuff, give them a better deal – and your success is guaranteed. The truth is – it doesn’t work that way. The content alone cannot win you the hearts and minds of your potential customers. It’s just a part – thought a very important one- of building your image on the Internet. You can say whatever you want about yourself on your web site: that your company provides the best services, the best expertise, the best…. whatever. But people won’t buy it until you LOOK right to them. That is you look trustworthy and professional enough to believe you. And that’s the point where we come to the importance of keeping your web site up to your customers’ expectations.
Numbers don’t lie
Your web site might not have changed for several years. But the Internet has been changing. The latest surveys show that people’s online expectations have skyrocketed over the last few years and they’re quick to reject any web site that doesn’t keep up. Besides easy navigation and use, people want and expect a site to load quickly and to be visually appealing. If a web site doesn’t meet their expectations, two-thirds of respondents say they don’t return — now or ever. They’ll visit you and leave and you’ll never know.
What it means? Having a bad web site means loosing customers- plain and simple. When people see your web site in bad shape they assume that you ever don’t care about your image or don’t have money and resources to maintain it. Read more
Many small business owners are still confused about how to establish their presence on the Web- particularly what kind of a website they need and what to expect from it. Some think it’s enough just to put up a plain website with their company’s information, some are looking for a sophisticated lead generation tool that they expect to increase sales.
Truth is, unless you’re not directly involved in E-commerce, you should be concentrating less on selling and more on communicating with your potential customers- engaging them and making them interested in your company.
“We have a web site and people can find us on the Web.”
When it comes to web design and Internet marketing that’s what you can hear from many small business owners. Guess what? Most of the times there are talking about “people being able to find them on the Web” it’s about using their business name as a search term. It’s simple – you type your company name in and see the results. Bam! You’re number one in Google!
Little consideration is given to the fact that their business name is unique- so there are no direct competitors for that particular search term. In other words, people must know their business name to be able to find it on the Web. Somehow they have to be aware of your company’s existence before they start looking for your website. Read more