Schewanick Computer Services

Did you know that most of your visitors probably never go
beyond your homepage? And a lot of them leave within ten
seconds of hitting your homepage, NEVER to return again?

These are wasted visitors, and you must do everything
possible to reduce the waste, or you'll simply miss out on a
great amount of profits.

Luckily, there are a couple of effective tactics you can
employ to prevent visitors turning their backs on your site.
I've outlined ten of them in this article. The basic
strategy is two-fold: 1) Trying to keep people on your site
2) Getting them to subscribe to your mailing list.

Here we go:

1. Make it a priority to collect opt-in email addresses

Your number one marketing priority on the Web should be to
build your opt-in mailing list. This is where most of your
customers will come from. And best thing is, once they're on
your list you can sell to them over and over. Include a
subscription form for your ezine on EVERY page of your Web
site (check out my own site for an example of this - pay
attention to the left hand margin).

2. Put up testimonials

Put up a couple of shining testimonials right on your
homepage. Interject your homepage copy with a couple of
these testimonials. Add the names and email addresses of the
persons who wrote the testimonial to boost credibility (ask
them first though). Remember: NEVER fake a testimonial! Not
only is it unethical, but it'll show through. And if I'm not
mistaken, it is also an illegal practice.

3. Don't link out on your homepage

Keep ALL links on your homepage internal. In other words,
don't give visitors a way out so they wont leave as soon as
they arrive.

4. Make your headline stand out

Your homepage headline should be in large font type, and
very attention grabbing, while at the same time hype-free.
Study some great sales letters you've come across on the
Web. You'll soon realize that one of the things they all
have in common is a headline that just makes you WANT to
know more about whatever product/service is being offered.

5. Work on your copy

The most powerful selling tool at your disposal are WORDS.
You need to get your copy perfectly tight (especially the
homepage). This is not an overnight process. It takes
several weeks (and even longer) of trial and error to get it
right. Check your log files after each change to find out
how many people leave your site via your homepage. Make it
your mission to reduce this number, until you've hit such
"tightness" that you can't get it any better. Take some free
online copy writing courses to learn how to improve your
copy (I've listed a couple on my site). Whatever you do,
write for your TARGET audience!

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 the 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: the 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 the
pop-up. I really recommend you use a cookie to prevent the
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.

About the Author
Said Rouhani is the editor of the free
All-About-Making-Money-Online Ezine (AAMMO Ezine), revealing
insider money making tactics for the home-business
entrepreneur. Subscribe today and receive 3 high-quality
bonus ebooks... including the CashFlow Reporter revealing
insider marketing tactics of the most successful Internet
entrepreneurs:
http://www.all-about-making-money-online.com/newsletter/