Link to relevant websites

Linking to websites can be as powerful as being linked. If you link to websites that are relevant to your websites content - you will receive brownie points for doing so. Search engines categorise your website depending on what you link to, for example, if you linked to several "home made recipe" websites, search engines will guess that your website has something to do with home made recipes.

Use heading tags and appropriate titles

Heading tags such as <h1>, <h2> etc.. are known to be vital HTML tags. Not only do they tell visitors what your page is about, they also help search engines to categorise your site. Same goes for <title> tag. Make sure your title tag is short and to point - including a URL in your tag is a big no no.

Other tips include; making your website standards compliant, minimilising amount of HTML code on your pages (by using div based layouts), utilising alt and title attribute and using URL rewriting techniques.

Product descriptions should vibrantly relate texture, colors, size, and “feel” of each item. Choose words that connect directly to senses. A throw pillow, for example, could be presented as “a soft burgundy compliment to any sofa pictured above.” Of course, while it is appropriate to be vivid in your product descriptions, remember to remain true to each product’s features.

Customer service options are a must. A hyperlink to merchant’s contact page or customer service area should be available on each page of site, uniformly. The merchant’s telephone number should also be listed on each page.

A shopping cart system is not required, but can certainly promote prospect-customer conversion based on convenience. For product-based web presence, next “action step” after selecting a product is to make a purchase decision. If a purchase requires picking up telephone, merchant risks losing customer during this transition. Offering on-line payment with telephone support is optimal way to promote an on-line sale.

Tweaks and Tips

* Offering financing options and/or incentive-based sales offers, such as no interest for a 6- or 12-month period, will increase your competitive edge and promote a quicker purchase decision.

* When developing content, be sure to include plenty of key terms and phrases in site’s general text. Search engines such as Google rely on content text, not meta tags, to determine search placement.

* Include key terms in image description tags and hyperlinks. Describe each image or link using terms and phrases relevant to image, industry, and merchant. If you are a furniture merchant attempting to develop your first web presence, seek advice and support of a full-service small business web design firm. Professional, affordable web design is available. Creating a “do it yourself” site may appear cost effective, however this can quickly become a complicated and time consuming project. Stay focused in your profession, and recruit wisdom of a web professional.