What Is a Successful Website?

Success of a website can be measured in different ways. Some measure success by how high they rate in search engine ranking placement. (Type in your name and see if you are # 1 in google) Others measure success by how many visitors their sites get per day. Still others measure success by the amount of returns or sales compared to the amount of money and energy put into website. All of these methods can be helpful in their proper place.

Search Engine Ranking Placement (SERP's)

Search engine ranking placement is how high you rank on a keyword in a search in a search engine. Type in "webs by shep" and see if I am number #1. Most of the time I am. This is nice but probably not extremely helpful.

Not all keywords have the same benefits. At one time I ranked in the top five for mini barns. It gave me some satisfaction but probably benifited our websites only slightly. Storage sheds is searched about 10 times oftener than mini barns. Choosing the right keywords is a very important part in SEO.

In my most successful website the best keyword gets only about 3% of total traffic. I work on ranking high on a wide variety of terms. Experience has taught me which terms are worth working toward and which terms are a waste of time.

Search engine ranking placement may be one way to partially measure the success of a website.

Does Visitors Equal Success?

Most commercial websites want people to see their sites. You have a hard time selling a product if no one sees your website. Counting the amount of visitors gives you an idea of whether you are reaching your goal or not.

www.creeksidewelding sells trailers to the storage shed and gazebo industry. They have sold three trailers which is about three months work. They average around ten visitors a day. For this website that is very successful.

My best website averages over 150 visitors per day. They get at least a few emails or phone calls every day.

True Measure of Success

The success of a website is best measured by the amount of sales it produces. A successful website's sales will far exceed its own building and maintenance costs. A website that costs a $1,000.00 and has $60,000.00 worth of sales in it's first year is a success.

Ingredients to a Successful Website

All websites want to be successful and sell lots of their companies products and services. Many different things are needed for a thriving website. Visitors need to be able to find the website thru search engines or links from other sites. Once visitors reach website they have to be convinced that the company is someone they can trust especially if items are high cost items.

Building trust and confidence in visitors is an important task. I recommend putting as much information as possible about your product on your website. Visitors will often go to the next website if total cost is not clearly spelled out. They like to know as much as possible about your product without contacting you. Pictures of the owners and staff help people to have an idea who they are talking to.

Websites can produce leads but the interaction with your company is often the deciding factor in whether a potential customer goes through with the sale. I am amazed at comments from customers at Shawnee Structures. Often they say that they emailed other companies but did not get any response. Answering emails within an hour greatly impresses people.

Your Own Successful Website

Owning your own website is within reach of most businesses. It does take effort to make a website work well. One of my biggest frustrations in building websites is not having enough information or pictures to do my job well. Your company's involvement determines how successful your website will be.

Webs by Shep will work hard to make your website successful. I get a lot of satisfaction in helping others succeed with their business. My goal is to build you a website so visitors are inspired to buy products and services from your company.