Keep the Content Fresh!Written by Jake Gorst
Sample-Widget-Company, Inc. spent several months and and somewhere around $90,000 developing their corporate web site. When project was completed, they celebrated with an "all-hands" meeting, a stack of pizzas, and a press release that went out on business wire.Care was also taken to make sure that their web site ranked high in search engines and could be found in several online directories. What a surprise it was to read their web site statistics at end of that month! 500,000 hits! Even company's stock went up! Their efforts were successful! - or so they thought. Six months later, average monthly hits to their web site went down to 6,000. What happened? Perhaps question should be re-phrased, "What didn't happen?" Sample-Widget-Company, Inc. developed a very static web site and never gave anyone a reason to visit again. When content of a corporate web site does not change over a period of time, viewers may feel that company is stagnate. As our society becomes more web-savvy and dependent on internet for news and general information, a stagnate web site could be detrimental to life of a company. Blow Your Own Trumpet! Does your company have new products, stories, recipes, offers, etc.? Then tell world about it! Put a photograph of your new product, a brief synopsis of story, or mention offer right on home page. Have a featured product section in full view for all to see and change it weekly or monthly. If visitors know they will find something new each time they visit, they will come back! Some companies update their web site's overall look and feel on a regular basis. One company, Quark, Inc. (http://www.quark.com), was well known for changing entire architecture (both information and graphics) of their web site on a monthly basis. While most companies do not have resources to do this, there are some definite advantages: 1) People return to see what you're up to, and 2) it helps your company to develop a brand that works.
| | Is Your Web Site Really Marketable?Written by Jake Gorst
In general, some ideas are doomed for failure from moment of inception. For instance, medical tonic for "stupid vision" described in Ebert papyrus of ancient Egypt. This was a concoction of pig’s tears, lead and honey that was meant to be poured down a blind man’s ears. Bad idea? I should think so!In addition to bad ideas, many nations have archaic laws that are actually still in effect, even though nobody knows about them. When we learn of them, we usually end up rolling on floor laughing. For example, Wisconsin state law makes it illegal to serve apple pie without cheese. In Memphis, Tennessee, it is illegal for frogs to croak after 11 PM. In England it is illegal for a Member of Parliament to walk into House of Commons in a suit of armor. As extreme as these examples are, thousands of people try to develop Internet businesses around ideas of same mental magnitude or general irrelevance. Do you have a concept for a new e-business Web site? Is your concept marketable, good enough to be accepted by your target demographic? Will your concept stand test of time? How do you know if your idea is a good one or a bad one? The answer lies in research. Research involves more than asking your friends what they think. If your idea is bad, they will either be up front and say so, or praise it because they think they’re encouraging you. The most effective way of determining if your idea is a good one is to ask your potential customer base. Obtain a mailing list of people interested in your type of product or service and send out questionairs. Learn as much about your target Web audience as you can. What do they need to make their lives better and richer? How much would they be willing to pay for your product or service?
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