Sometimes websites begin with a purpose in mind, but never quite get off the ground when it comes to being anything other than a placeholder in Cyberspace.You’ve got a website to promote yourself and the goods and services you want to sell.Is it doing it?

Bottom line is this: your website is a tool to make money online and you need to make sure it’s being used to make every sale possible. Here are the Big 3 – your website’s reason for existing, if you will:

1) Bringing In Customers – That seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many sites were built for just that purpose only to fall dreadfully short of hopes and expectations.

So how can you attract new customers to your site and then turn them into customers who buy something from you? The answer to this question has two parts. First:

- Get your site noticed by making sure that it’s a visually appealing site with lots of good information.

- Get your site noticed by making sure it’s search engine friendly and that you’ve got some excellent-quality backlinks in place.

- Get your site noticed by branding yourself in several areas of the web – use social networking sites to your advantage.

Now that you’ve gotten your site noticed, and the customers are visiting it:

- Make sure your website tells each new visitor what you’re offering and why they need it in very clear language.

- Clearly let your customers see all of the benefits of making a purchase of one or several of your products and services.

- Make it easy for your customers to  complete a purchase. Show them where to sign up for emails and newsletters and give them a good reason for doing so (this will come in handy later).

- Make it clear to your customers that you are a trusted expert and that they can look to you in the future for other great products and services.

When your site brings in new customers and converts them to sales, you both win. Even if a customer doesn’t make a purchase, if you’ve made a positive impression, they may come back later and you might get another chance.

2) Bringing Customers Back Again – Once should never be enough.

You want you get your customers to visit you again and again. So once your customer has been at your site, and hopefully made a purchase, how can you bring him or her back?

- Customers that have signed up for your newsletter or regular update emails will always have your name stuck in their memory because you will be periodically sending them interesting and exciting emails and newsletters. This is perfect because they’ll think of you when they need something that you offer.

- You can bolster your retention by offering specials and promotions via these emails and newsletters.

- You can offer weekly Podcasts or a blog feed to your customers. Give them plenty of useful information about things that are related to your business, and special offers for subscribers.

- Encourage feedback in the form of forums or comments. You can also incorporate a contact form into your site where customers can send you a question or comment.

- Offer tutorials or exclusive reports to those who have purchased products as a special incentive to come back.

Part of getting your customers to stick around is just helping them remember your name over and over, and part of it is getting them excited about what you’ve got to offer.The last part ofthe equation is reminding them that you care and that they can look to you for assistance with what they need.

The third component of the Big 3 reasons for your website’s existence is:

3) To Add Onto Existing Sales – Whatever it is that you’re selling, you can bet that there’s something else (or a number of items) that you could sell along with it to boost revenue.

One time offers, cross promotions, and affiliate marketing will add to your revenue on existing sales and each of these methods should be considered.There’s probably a long list of items that would go with your product or service.

Focus on which of your products sell best and be sure to offer your customers add-on products with each sale – at the time of the sale. If you have products that are lagging behind in sales, pair them with something that may help bolster them as a special offer.

Use the information you have on what your bestsellers are and which customers bought which products to send out special offers in your newsletters and emails to your customers.

If your site isn’t doing each of these, or not doing them well, it’s time to ramp up your efforts and make a few changes. When these three elements are working, you’ll make more money and your customer retention rate will improve.

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