5 Ways to Make Your Website Sell

This is a guest blog post by Dave Gruen.

When you strip all of the fancy marketing terms away, the bottom line for creating and maintaining
a website is to increase sales. Whether that is through brand awareness, creating leads, cultivating
relationships, increasing conversions or actual product/service sales, your website needs to be seen for
what it is, a marketing tool. Check out the following tips to make your website more effective in selling.

1. Attractive, Professional Design

How many times have you opened a website and closed it within a few seconds because it looked as if it
was created in 1994? Poor, unprofessional designs will deter potential customers. Your website should
be professionally designed and included as part of your marketing communications. You’ve invested
time into creating a brand that your target market recognizes and trusts; use it as you design and update
your website.

2. Simple Navigation

Another reason people often leave websites is because of poor navigation. Not knowing how to
find what you are looking for is frustrating and will hinder potential sales rather than secure them.
Navigation should be easy to follow and straight-forward. The next tip can also assist with creating a
solid navigation.

3. Effective Content

Using a professional writer to develop your website content and navigation is a great investment.
There is a certain finesse used in writing that will increase conversions from prospects to customers.
Combining this finesse with an understanding of how to increase your search engine ranking can greatly
increase the effectiveness of your website.

4. Call to Action

Call to actions are essential in any marketing promotion, especially websites. Think of your call to action
as an invitation to move closer to purchasing a product. If you want to see an increase in sales, include
quality call to actions on your site (“Call Now”, a simple form, contact us now, “Free Quote”, etc.). For
more on call to actions, click here.

5. Simple and Clear Process

Require only the information necessary to move your visitors to the next step in your sales process; they
will be more likely to act if the process is simple and clear.

Implement these five tips and watch your website start selling for you.

Dave Gruen leads the consulting division for BolderImage, a full-service web marketing and mobile development agency with offices near Chicago. A developer and IT manager by trade, he now leads design, development and strategic marketing efforts for businesses and non-profits nationwide. Check out the BolderImage website for more tips on effective web marketing.