Was it the teeny tiny text?
You spent a lot of time writing out (or paying for) your page contents. Your telling your story but it's not about how great your business is, it's about what you learned from mistakes and how, eventually, a product was perfected. You wrote about a few details that are listed as features but you talked about the benefits they provide and how unique and functional the product has become. You got it all just right and then a web designer says it should all be small text faded into the background. WHAT! At this point you want to see some marketing credentials.

Have you noticed how many business web sites have tiny text and low contrast for poor legibility. It's called contemporary web design and they're all doing it. The artful concept is to be able to view the whole screenshot as a single cohesive work of art. You could almost buy into the idea except your most important marketing content is forced to compete with the rest of the page. Old ad copy pros are shaking their heads in bewilderment at these new graphic whiz kids that are taught zero marketing skills.

Was it the flash image transition that never stops?
All the web usability experts talk about how bad Flash image transitions are but web designers are still being trained in college to create stunning contemporary artwork that has no relationship to business functions. And why does this happen in college? Because a college is a business and they sell their courses to budding young graphic artists. It would be helpful if web design courses also included business web marketing.

Was it the pretentiousness of the visual design?
Your just a small business owner wearing a number of different hats. I've got a hat rack too, but when the website looks like it's being run from a 30 story chrome and glass skyscraper we may have some explaining to do to our clients. This is emotion and ego that isn't working very well because it's not anywhere near being truthful. It would be nice if the power image was working but all it does is take the focus away from the sales content, not to mention that we all know its not you.

Was it the "Look at me, hear what I have to say" approach?
Your market doesn't care about you or your business until you can tell them how you are going to solve their biggest problem. That's what they came to find, but your web firm wants to fill your pages with the easiest information available and so they ask you about yourself and your business. How come your web designers aren't interested in your market? Is it because it's much tougher to design for your market than it is to design for your ego?

Was it the "Welcome to Our Website" openning
We are all business people and business is the name of the game. We all know that someone came to your website because they are looking for a solution and we also know that they won't be there long enough to find out what you can do for them once they see that your welcome message is more important than solving their problem. We are talking mere seconds to give them hope because, like man, I just smucked up my uncles car and I need to get it fixed, like yesterday!

Confession
Web Psyche is offering you a different solution for marketing your business on the web, but you've just seen that there is some strong criticism for contemporary web designing in general. How do you feel about that? Does it turn you off, or does it provide you with greater insight into the web design industry?

Business Values
Good business is always based on repeat business and shared values. There is no value in a one time sale regardless of the profit made. It is always best when small business owners are supported instead of being seen as a resource to be captured and exploited. Enough said, I think you'll like the way we work.

The good thing about the dollar store is that it only costs you a buck to find out if the cheapest product will do the job for you. The cheapest web design is going to be in the hundreds of dollars and the most expensive will be in the thousands. Neither the cheapest or the most expensive is likely going to be the best for your business. And so, how can you pick out the best? What should you look for?

There is a lot of things to look for once you've learned to dodge the 3 deadly sins, which is a short report on 3 of the most common errors business owners get caught up in. You can download the free report here and acquire a great deal of wisdom for choosing only the things you really need.

The best web design is the one that your market responds to and will use. The term "DESIGN" means many different things when it comes to web sites. The best definition of a web design is one that includes all the values, such as quality content, interaction with a market, being usable, being comfortable, a visual look & feel and, of course, top placement with search engines.

Almost all articles written to help small business owners choose a web designer suggest choosing a design firm by first looking at a designer's portfolio to see if you like what they have designed. This might be useful information when it comes to choosing an artist to paint a portrait, but what about the business aspect of your web site? Which design firm gives you the best business value for your dollar?

It is important to understand just what a virtual market is. It's important because a virtual market is a different market from your material off-line market, even though people in both markets want the same thing. A virtual media cannot provide proof of a material reality and, therefore, it has no proof of goods and services. A computer screen doesn't provide real proof, but on the web a virtual market can assess the truth by searching alternate sources. Is your content truthful?

It is remarkable how people believe in what they see on their computer screens or other devices, and yet there is no proof. It's not like holding an object in your hands, and still people are ready to believe the picture is real. This easy belief is changing slowly as people mature in their searching. These are the same people in your market that have researched products and are very close to making a purchase. They will have looked online for reviews of your products or services as it is part of their research.

Perhaps you've seen statements that make you eager to make quick decisions, and when that happens it means the statements are not the whole truth. Please be aware that there is no reason for you to get anxious about your web business, or lack of, because most small business websites are not doing business on the web. Your competition is not getting ahead of you, they just have a web site - not a web business.

The reasons for this are quite simple. If you look at what the web does better than any other marketing medium you will see that what it does best is to share. Sharing is the secret to web marketing, and designing a website that shares with your market is going to create a relationship with your market. It is a steady process, not an instant traffic generator, but considering that so many small business websites are not initiating any kind of relationship with their market then how can they get ahead of anyone.

When you hear statements like the following don't get fooled because it is only part of a bigger truth… "Nearly 50% of all searches use just two or three words, and 20% use just one!"

What is the whole truth?

Research for Amazon shows that most sales were concluded by what has been coined as a the long tail search term. The research showed that buyers early in the search for a product made quick searches with common and popular search terms. Not finding anything but common and ordinary products they moved on to longer and more specific search terms. As time passed these buyers became even more sophisticated and their search terms matured to describe more specifically what they were looking for.

Even though there were many more common search terms used they resulted in fewer sales in comparison to more specific search terms. The logic seems to suggest that premature searches use more common terms while more mature searches (further down the buying cycle) use more specific search terms that resulted in more sales. Does that sound familiar? Isn't that exactly how your own searching matures as you get closer to finding the best solution for your needs?

The big question this raises for you is this:
Do you want your web site to compete for the portion of your market at the beginning of the buying process, or do you want your web site to capture the portion of your market on the verge of making a purchase?

The best information is never about how to implement a plan, and yet this is what many professionals want you to pay for before they deliver. But what if the strategy was all wrong and you paid to have it implemented?

In contrast to the knowledge of how to implement a strategy is the information about the choices on which strategy to use. Having choices gives you options and a broader awareness for making the best decisions for your business.

You will find information on choices throughout this web site and when you understand the information it will either agree with you or not. But in either case you have a better understanding of your options without buying and implementing stuff that doesn't fit your needs.

A marketing plan that brings awareness of push marketing verses pull marketing will help you decide what will work best for your business needs. Both are very effective means of marketing when they are used to accomplish the appropriate goals.

Web designers are still talking about creating a site that lets your business stand out in a crowd, and we think this is just silly nonsense because your web business didn't go anywhere - it's still in the crowd. We suggest a web design that lets your business stand apart from the crowd, and not because of the visual design, but because of the targeted content aimed at a market you can name.

We encourage you to market your business through your business values and whatever makes your business unique. Competing in a frenzy over popular search terms that do not truly describe your products or services does not target your market - it just costs money. Let's suggest a few ideas for you to consider about marketing more effectively, and at a lower cost. Let's talk about 5 marketing categories and what's best for your market… because this is ultimately what is best for your business.

When we talk design we are talking about what your market likes because we want to please them. And this has to be the way your web design is built because your market's purchases are what pays the bills. If we designed for your personal approval it would not be targeting your market, even though you were impressed with our creativity.

What would you like to know about Your SEO, or you can skip ahead to the sales page and find out what a complete web design and marketing plan looks like.

Do you have concerns that are not answered in these pages? If so then feel free to e-mail your and we'll get back to you promptly.

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