When you build a website, you of course, want people
to come to your site. But not only do you want them
to visit, you want them to come back, and often!
Most people will not come back unless they have a
good reason. This is what you must have on your mind
when you are designing and building your website.
When you visit a site, take note of what that site
has that would make you come back for another visit.
Use some of these ideas on your website, but put
your own unique style into it.
On your homepage introduce yourself and talk to your
visitors. Explain what your site is about and what
it can do for them. Put a little personality into
your site. That is what will make it unique.
Some things you can incorporate into your website to
keep people coming back are:
Quality Content - A must if you want people to come
back to your site. Rather than just showing your
products, offer useful, practical information for
using the products. If you have a site where you
sell cleaning products, provide tips and ideas on how
and where to use your products and also tips on other
aspects of cleaning and maintaining your home.
Freebies - There are many places you can get freebies
such as ebooks, downloads, e-cards, webmaster resources,
and more. Choose freebies that relate to your site
content. For example, if you have a business resource
site you want to provide freebies that will help people
with their business. Sites for freebies:
http://www.freewarefiles.com/
http://www.all-4-free.com/
http://www.free-ebooks.net/
http://www.kresch.com/resources/
Contests - You can have weekly or monthly contests for
your visitors to win a free sample product. Have a
trivia contest, or a weekly drawing. Be creative and
make your contest interesting and fun!
Updates - You definitely do not want your site to
become old and stale. You must continuously update
and add new information, products, services, etc.
to your site. People will get tired of reading the
same old information over and over again. Put a
What's New section on your homepage to inform your
visitors of new additions. This way your visitors
will know exactly where to find the new content.
Message Board - Build a community on your website
for people to learn, share, network, and voice
opinions, concerns or whatever is on their mind.
This is a great way to keep people coming back for
more visits.
Free Message Boards
http://www.ezboard.com/
http://www.coolboard.swsites.net/
http://www.boardhost.com/
The main goals of your website are for visitor
participation and benefits. Visitors are looking
for things to benefit them and for interaction.
Provide an interesting, beneficial and useful
website and they will come back!
About the Author
Terri Seymour owns and operates MyOwnEzine.com
MyOwnEzine.com is a website, ezine and service which
provides the resources, tools, guidance and more to help
you start, publish and promote your own ezine. You can
contact Terri at mailto:ter02@newnorth.net Subscribe
at mailto:subscribe@myownezine.com or visit
http://www.myownezine.com for lots more info.