Can you buy a certain stock then sell it again following week simply because it lost value by a few cents? Can you invest in building a house and then abandon it in middle because it is not coming up as quickly as you would like it to? You would be crazy to do either of these two things and yet some online entrepreneurs will not think twice about dumping some marketing campaign just because it doesn’t work way instant coffee does.

When I started my first online articles campaign for myself, I would often go for weeks without receiving any enquiry. Other times traffic to my auto responder and blog would slow down to a trickle. Then after a couple of weeks it would rise again to some high figures only for surge to be short lived.

But I stuck to my program and it never crossed my mind even one day that I should abandon my investment.

Today I consistently receive very high numbers in traffic.

So how long should one have to wait for an articles campaign online to take effect? I would say you would need to consistently post 10 new articles every month for about 5 months before you can see high, consistent and regular flow of traffic to your site.

Whatever you do before you invest in an articles campaign, remember that you will require lots of patience.

Get a website checklist at http://www.score.org/eb_42.html

Some important points to remember when creating a website are:

1. A good first impression: Your website should be pleasing to eye and make a good first impression. First impressions really are last, because in fast world of WWW, all it takes is a click for your prospective customer to get out of your site and go to competition. Make sure you spell out your USP in first 20 lines, have a simple URL which will be easy to remember and do knock off some of those graphics.

2. Easy navigation: The website should have a clear structure so that it is easy for visitor to get about on a site tour without getting lost each time. For instance, have a “Go to Homepage”, “Go to Top” button on each page. Give useful links on top half of page and make links look like links. An absolute must here is a Sitemap and a Search tool. Nothing makes our lives easier than having a map that tells you exactly where we are and how to get to place we want to go to.

3. Quality Content: Almost everybody values quality content, which is not a fine example of plagiarism. Nothing is a bigger put off than to see website after website saying same things. Your website’s content should have real value for customer. If you are selling a product on website, your content should be centred around that, if it is a service you are offering tell your visitors about how it will be useful for them.

4. Contact Information: Tell your visitors where they can contact you for more information, feedback and business queries. Without this feature your website is dead before it begins.

Get some more tips at http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol142/usability.htm

Your website can fuel your sales and profits like no one’s business. With good research, planning and a clarity on website objectives you can make it happen. Make your site usable and valuable to visitors and keep them coming back for more.

Also see:

http://www.apis.ca/Understanding_Websites/Good_Sites_Bad_Sites/What_makes_a_good_website.htm