o Good Example: http://imc.sybren.net. I don't have to say much here -- just look at site: It's just very appealing and nice looking!

3. Effective Sales Copy - The sales copy you write is extremely important to success of your site. It should be written with your target market in mind. (Note that if you have a content-based site, this should be replaced with good content instead.) To make your sales copy work, focus on benefits to customer, not on features. Also, incorporate testimonials. Additionally, unless you're extremely good at writing sales copy, short copy is usually better than long.

o Good Example: www.roibot.com. Note effective use of testimonials and how focus is placed on benefits, not features.

4. Appropriate Text Formatting - If you format your text incorrectly your site will, quite frankly, look silly. Throughout your site, try to keep your use of font styles, sizes, and colors consistent as well as avoid too much bolding. This is best illustrated with examples:

o Good Example: www.howstuffworks.com. Click on several of articles on this site and notice how they are consistently formatted same. Your content should be formatted consistently as well.

o Bad Example: www.business-opportunity.net/fort5000.htm. Notice all different sizes, colors, and overuse of bolding throughout text. (By way, this example is taken from an article written by Ralph Hilliard of WordNet.net)

5. Value to Visitor - In order for your site to be valuable to its visitors, it must provide something that they need (be that a product, service, or information). Because not everyone will be interested in what you're offering, most effective way to make your site valuable to your visitors is to target your marketing efforts to right group of people-instead of trying to create a site that has a little bit of something for everyone. There are some other things you can do, like giving away freebies such as newsletters, eBooks, or articles, but that's a whole different subject.

6. Don't overwhelm with too many links

Keep links to a minimum on your navigation bar - at most nine. In fact, keep links to a minimum all across your site. Don't overwhelm your visitor with too many choices... gently, but firmly guide them towards your "action pages" (order page, newsletter subscription page, etc.).

7. Remove banners (from homepage at least)

I've removed all banner ads from my Web site. In my opinion they just take up space, make pages load slower, and look rather ugly... without doing any good. You might feel that eliminating banners might be too drastic a move for yourself, but let me ask you this: how often do YOU click on banner ads?

Note: Definitely remove banners from your homepage. The job of your homepage is to get visitors interested in your site and explore deeper, not to display banner ads which take visitors away.

8. Ask for a bookmark

Put up a simple attentive graphic that asks people to bookmark your site. You'd be surprised how many people will listen.

9. Open external links in a new window

In your tag, simply put TARGET="new". This will open link in a new window. When your visitors are done and close that window, they'll return back to your site. The full HTML looks like this:

click here

(Note: contents within TARGET can be anything - doesn't have to be "new").

10. Use pop-ups on exit

This is a technique I've used with great success on my own site. Set up some JavaScript code that opens a pop-up window when a visitor LEAVES your homepage, where you offer a subscription to your ezine. This wont annoy them as an on-entry pop-up would, and will reclaim a lot of visitors that would have just drifted away had it not been for pop-up. I really recommend you use a cookie to prevent pop-up window loading for repeat visitors. Go to any JavaScript resource site and you'll find cut-and-paste code you can use on your own site.