Design Tips

You probably already know the key to making any kind
of income from the net is a well designed web site.
What most people don't realize your site doesn't have
to look perfect or be professionally designed to be
successful.

Not by a long shot!

In the final analysis, any site that makes you money
is a successful site. From a marketing perspective,
any site which brings in an income can be considered a
well designed site. Many people can't get their heads
around this fact: some of the most basic/ugly sites can
be the most profitable. You don't need a perfect site.

Believe me, I know from first-hand experience.

Your site doesn't have to be a design knock-out to earn
you money. My first modest little site which I designed from
scratch when I didn't have a clue what a perfect site
should be or look like, now brings in over 50,000 visitors
a month and Google just upgraded it to a PR6.

All that is not really important, what is important
my site brings in money each and every day! It is a
profitable site, it's not pretty but it works. I earn
revenue from Google Adsense, I earn revenue from
affiliate sales and I have even formed partnerships
with other major sites and businesses on the web.

I get more and more companies coming to me each
week asking if they can display their products/links
on my site. I recently turned down a major fellow
Internet marketer who wanted to put a link on the
top of my home page and that guy makes millions
online each year!

Why are they bothering with me and my site?

Because my site brings in targeted traffic and visitors
who buy products and services which those companies
are selling. My site is valuable to them. My site can
deliver leads, customers and business to those other
third parties. My modest little site is not perfect but
it sells. It has value.

My Most Important Web Design Tip

Here's the main tip or advice I can give anyone starting
a new web business: the only reason my site (any site)
has value is because I have targeted certain keywords or
keyword phrases with my site. Once these keyword phrases
rank high in all the search engines you get targeted traffic
to your site. Targeted traffic which companies would like
to have a piece of to sell their products.

Actually if you do this one action right (get high rankings
for your site's profitable in-demand keywords) then
your site will earn you money. For example, if you get
a top 10 ranking for 'Cell Phones' you will make money,
regardless of how good or bad your site is designed!

Of course, this doesn't mean web design will not play an
important role in the success of your site. You should
always go for professional graphics, headers and logos if
you can afford them, but you must realize other design
elements will play a greater role in the success of your site.

You want a site that is easy to navigate with all links
clearly visible and linking to your home page. You want a
site that is easy on the eyes so keep all fonts and colors
even and consistent throughout your site. Organize your content
and material in a simple and straightforward manner featuring
the one thing most surfers are searching for: information.

Please your visitors and the search engines by covering
or discussing only one topic per page. Place a well defined
page title at the top and include your main keyword phrase
in your title and description. Feed the spiders but never
forget you're writing for real human beings; the majority
of whom will actually have a heart and a pulse!

Design For The SERPs

Keep your web copy and writing short, informative and witty.
Some eye candy is dandy as long as you get your point across
in the process. If you're selling from your web site, many
professional marketers will suggest you start your marketing
strategy not on your site but in the search engines'
descriptions listing your site or page. Keep this in mind
when you're writing your page descriptions, start to pre-sell
to your potential customers in the MSN, Yahoo! or Google SERPs
(Search Engine Results Pages).

These search engines, especially Google, will add creditability
to your information or offer. This is one design trick or tactic
you should be utilizing on your site to increase conversions
if your goal with your site is to sell products or services.

Design For The BIG Picture

Along those same lines, I believe very few webmasters
have a Big Picture when they're creating or designing
their sites. You must look far beyond the actual pages
you have uploaded to your web host... mainly because you
must extend your site well beyond this limited concept.

You must fully understand your site's real power exists well
beyond your web pages. You must extend the reach of your site
to all corners of the web. You must build links, partnerships
and content into these countless areas of the web. Use articles,
blogs, social networks, viral marketing, directories, related
sites and most of all you must pay attention to all your site's
content in the major search engines.

Grasp the Big Picture of your site's design and keep it in
mind at all times as you expand your site and watch it grow.
Always have a clear picture of what you want to accomplish
with your site's design and point it in that direction. Never
forget your site doesn't have to be perfectly designed to be
successful; you just have to get your information across in
a frank and friendly manner. Just give your visitors what
they're looking for and your site will be successful.

...
The author is a full time Internet Marketer with numerous sites on the web, including two niche sites on Internet Marketing. His main site is Internet Marketing Tools If you need further web design tips - one great resource is Marlon Sanders. He has a helpful Free PDF download here: Top 10 Design Mistakes

Copyright 2007 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

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