# 10 - The images used on your site include a revolving globe, bevelled horizontal line separators, and one of those animated mail box icons that were popular in free image libraries around 1995. If this is you, listen up. If your site looks dated and unprofessional you will not make any sales. The key to generating sales on line is with a professionally designed web site. People form an impression of your business, and whether or not they will do business with you, within 30 seconds. Cheesy graphics used in an amateurish web site will do nothing for gaining the trust of prospective customers.

# 9 - Your hit counter is of the free variety and after one year reads "You are the 38th visitor to this site." A site that publicized for all to see that no one has visited is doomed for sure. Remove the counter, and see point number six below for help with this one.

# 8 - Your site starts with the words "Welcome to our site. Please bookmark our site. Click on the links to find what you are looking for"

If your site starts off like this you need a lesson in marketing and copywriting. When you read a magazine or the newspaper, notice how headlines and powerful copy are used to get your attention and motivate you to do something. Your web site should use the same strategies to get people's attention. This starts with an easy-to-read layout, and wording that is interesting, motivating, and most importantly is about the reader, and not about you.

# 7 - There is no easy to find contact information anywhere on your home page. Contact information on the main page of your site is convenient for your readers and makes you look credible, and accessible. To make a sale, you've got to earn people's trust, and this starts with giving them lots of ways to contact you. If they have a problem with an order they place, they want to make sure you will be there if they need you.

# 6 - You don't have a way to analyze your web site traffic and determine where your traffic is coming from. Without this you are marketing your web site wearing a blindfold and simply praying for the best. Web site statistics software can reveal valuable information to help you evaluate your marketing efforts. Information about search engine traffic, including which search engine was used to find your site, what key words did they use to find you, what pages people are looking at when they get to your site, referring URLS, and much more!

# 5 - You don't have a way of tracking leads or prospective customers when they visit your site. How can you do this? Track visitor information by providing prospects with a form to complete to request additional information, or to find out more about your products and services. The form allows you to request important details including name, address, phone, email address, budget, level of interest and so forth. You get more detailed information for follow up, and your prospective customer gets faster service because you have all of the relevant information before you.

# 4 - You've not had a lead off your web site for more then 24 hours.

Your web site should complement your traditional methods of business. Be sure to include your web site address on all of your print marketing, business cards, letterhead, shipping inserts and more. The more people who see your web site address the more likely you are to get business from your site. If you are not getting leads from your web site, or inquiries by email it's time to rethink what you are doing.

# 3 - You've NEVER sold one thing at your web site either directly or indirectly. If you've had your web site online for a year and not made one shiny nickle then you need to reassess what you are doing. You aren't doing something right. It could be your web site, perhaps it is not professionally designed. Or it could be your traffic, no traffic = no sales. Either of these factors can effect your sales.

# 2 -Your web site address is of the free variety and is so long that you have no hope of ever fitting it on your business cards. If this is you, get a domain address, they are cheap, easy to set up and give you instant credibility for your business. Free web site addresses make your business look fly by night, a domain address says "I'm a legitimate business because I've paid for an actual address for my business site."

and the number one reason your site needs an overhaul....

# 1 - Your "last updated" time stamp reads March 19, 1996!