Keep Them Coming Back

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Make your site a must-see and keep them coming back

Most companies have a sound strategy to initially attract visitors to their web site. Once you have managed to attract new visitors to your web site, it is a lot easier (and cost effective) to get them to visit you again and again if you implement a few simple ideas.

Begin by deciding how frequently you want people to check back with your site. This is typically a function of the business you are in. And do not limit yourself to just thinking about transactions.

KEEP NEW CONTENT COMING

Offering new articles, information and editorials is a great way to keep visitors coming back. For instance, visitors can take advantage of the value-packed weekly on-line summary of industry news.

STAY UP-TO-DATE

The more news you offer and the more you update your content, the more frequently visitors will check back. If you want to promote your restaurant, post the daily specials. If your company sells hiking gear, consider offering weather reports or trail conditions for local trails.

OFFER LOADS OF USEFUL LINKS

Assemble a list of useful links -complete with short descriptions -and periodically check to make sure they are still active. People keep coming back looking for your links rather than maintaining their own list of links.

THE FASTER, THE BETTER

If you make you site easy to read, intuitive to navigate and intelligently structured, people will spend more time of your site. Avoiding fancy backgrounds, large graphics and many high-tech effects will also help. No one likes slow sites. It is a well known fact that most people will wait no longer that 12 seconds for a page to complete before leaving the page, or worse, the site.

BUILD IN REUSABLE RESOURCES

For example, if your company offers financial advise, provide stock quotes, mutual fund charts and financial calculators. Many of the utility programs are free JavaScript programs or you can link live stock feeds fairly easily. If you run a Hardwood Flooring company, put up a question-and-answer section or a help section with a "tip-of-the-week" offer.

OFFER AN E-MAIL NEWSLETTER

An electronic newsletter acts as an on-going way to connect with your customers. Because it is electronic, very few costs are associated with creations and distribution such as printing, postage or sorting. And be sure to allow an "Opt-Out" mechanism.

PROVIDE AN EYE ON EVENTS

Offer a calendar of upcoming conferences, seminars and meetings of interest to visitors. Working with other outbound marketing campaigns, the web site can complement your entire marketing strategy with many possible paybacks.

Remember; once you start some of these ideas, you must commit the resources for a six-month period to effectively measure the return visitors. Try some of the ideas. They do work!