If you've got a website but it's not making you any money, here are a few things you can do to improve it.
1. Target your website to ONE specific audience.
Nothing will kill response more than trying to target a very broad audience or audience(s).
People are looking for very specific information and solutions so don't be afraid to go tighter with your niche.
If you have a website about "low fat recipes", then don't have ads or articles about "twitter marketing" and vise versa.
Also, targeting your site or pages for very specific keywords such as "low fat kids recipes" will be much easier and better for your business than trying to get people just looking for "low fat recipes".
Sure the audience for "low fat kids recipes" might not be as big but those who do you attract will be a much better target to take you up on an offer.
2. Collect Leads With An Optin Form
Not collecting leads is a big mistake!
The best way is to use a squeeze page..just a simple page with a blurb about your free offer and an opt in form...Nothing else!
Even if you have a blog or online store, you can use the sidebar or a pop up ad to place an optin form in.
Make sure your optin form is highly visible!
The best place to have it is in the top fold of your page (the portion of your page that appears when it first loads).
Or you can use a cool tool like a slide up ad or floating ad so it stays on screen as the visitor moves up and down.
3. Use a nice color scheme.
Nothing scares away visitors faster than a page that looks like it was put together by a 3 year old.
Black on white is the always the best combination.
Sure, some nice headers graphics and images of your product will help but don't over do it with unnecessary images. It might be cool to you but it is doing more bad than good.
Also, having all the colors of the rainbow on your page will kill your site's professionalism.
Keep banner ads and out going links to a minimum. Having too many will confuse your visitor (especially if they are unrelated to your main website topic).
4. Have "call to actions" throughout each page.
On a sales letter it's obvious...as is on a squeeze page...you need to have a strong call to action to get them to buy or opt in.
But why just settle for one way down the bottom?
Have "call to actions" at the top, in the middle and at the bottom...insert your order link or opt in form there too.
If you write a blog, insert links in the post with your text "click here to learn more" for example.
Or a cool idea is to ask for comments or "give permission" to subscribe to your RSS feed or to Re-tweet your post on twitter.
Many people know they can, but when you say they have permission, they are more likely to do it.
5. Be A Real Person & An Authority Figure!
Yes, many people will still take action (buy or optin) at your site because they don't know you.
For a first time visitor, you need to establish trust with them and show them you're an authority.
How to do this?
1. Use a picture of you.
2. Use real testimonials with pictures of those people.
3. Show proof that what you are selling works.
screen shots, or other images to prove it)
4. Have contact info. Email, phone number, skype name.
5. Reveal some useful info/expertise.
