Was your existing web site designed to build consumer trust and sell your products or services, or was it built to showcase your shiny new office downtown? With millions of new web sites being launched daily, how will your business stand out to prospects? How will your web site build that critical trust in under two seconds? I’ve put together some critical components that should be incorporated into your online web presence:

6 Critical Web Design Elements Your Business Should Incorporate Into Your Web Presence

1.) Tell Your Story – VERY Quickly.

Your home page is the doorway to your business. You have seconds to share with people who you are and what you do. Don’t waste those seconds by trying to over-think your messaging. People online don’t have patience. Don’t make them dig to learn about you, differentiate your business in seconds and you’ve got a solid chance of converting a visitor into a buyer.

2.) Sell Quality Products & Services.

This sounds like a no-brainer, but if you don’t have a solid product or an expert service, how will you stand out? People want to buy from experts, they want to buy quality ‘stuff’. Make certain that your best products are showcased, have quality photos, have quality descriptions, have quality reviews.

3.) Testify!

How has your product or service changed someone’s life or business? That may be a stretch, but people will buy based on testimonials and the good word from someone else. Be certain to incorporate some authentic testimonials into your web design.

4.) Keep It Current.

Keep your web site current with news. That news can be a published press release, insight and commentary, expert advise and opinion through a blog, white papers or case studies, etc.. Keeping your web site up to date does instill confidence people that your business is alive and viable. Once a web site starts to become stagnant, people gravitate to more relevant and timely web sites. Keep them coming back, and you’ll open doors to engage them.

5. Customer Care Goes A LONG Way.

Your web site needs to be a hub for your existing customers and prospects. It’s mission critical that your site offers and makes it easy for existing customers to reach out to you should something go wrong or if they simply have a question. I’ve seen many web sites that alienate their existing clients by making it so difficult for them to get in touch. Your business needs to realize that the web site will NOT do it all for you, their needs to be human interaction. In today’s retail / service environment, not having a solid customer service department or plan can be a deal breaker for your business.

6. Keep It Clean.

Do you like clutter? Do you like noise? Your clients and prospects don’t either. In today’s world of constant messaging, billboards, commercials, banner ads, etc., it’s so important to realize that prospects gravitate toward clean and simple. Keep your web site design tidy, don’t overload it with copy and messaging. Stay on target with your message and be consistent.

The bottom line with your web design is this: It’s got to instill confidence in your web site visitors. They need to trust and buy into your business and your brand, so it’s imperative that your site rapidly conveys that credibility.

The team and I had a great brainstorming session last Friday at an off site super duper secret meeting. We discussed a great deal of organizational stuff, we talked a great deal about our own direction as a company, we shared bagels and schmeer,  but most importantly, we talked a great deal about how we could do an even more amazing job for our clients on a daily basis.

As a result of our process (led by a great guy: ExCXO’s.com) we came to the following realization: your web site SHOULD never be done.  It should never be completed, it should never be over and out.  Our web design and marketing process ends in TESTING. Not finalizing. Not the finished product. It should never, ever be finished.  Here’s why.  As your clients and prospects evolve on a daily basis, so does the Internet, so does their tastes, so do design trends, copy trends, product trends, social media trends.  Your web site is and should be that ever evolving creature, that constantly assesses the needs of the Internet and delivers the goods, day after day, month after month, year after year.

So, every On Target Web Solutions will of course be built to your specs, and every On Target Web Solutions web site will be built to be found in the search engines, but most importantly, every On Target Web Solutions web site will be built to be monitored, to be grown, to be constantly assessed for effectiveness, to be altered easily and to alter to fit the needs of your prospects and your business.  That’s our pledge. That’s who we are.

When your business needs business class web design and Internet marketing solutions, consider our company. We’re proud of it, we love delivering amazing and we love watching your business grow.  In Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886.

“In the 1960s, if you introduced a new product to America, 90% of the people who viewed it for the first time believed in the corporate promise. Then 40 years later if you performed the same exercise less than 10% of the public believed it was true. The fracturing of trust is based on the fact that the consumer has been let down.”

- Howard Schultz?

This powerful quote about consumers and trust is especially true online.  So many consumers have been taken for a ride online that they are gun shy.  So, how can your web site exude trust to your prospects and web site visitors?

Here are a few items I’ve assembled to help you and your business out:

– Professional Web Design. Clean, crisp and relevant comes to mind when I think of a professional web design.  If you are selling a product or service, your web site design itself needs to put prospects at ease instantly.  I can’t stress how important it is to NOT skimp on this.

– Testimonials / Reviews / Accolades. Instill trust on your web site by sharing success stories or even showing other companies that your business has worked with.  This instantly gives some credibility and helps to build trust.  I would caution businesses to make certain that these testimonials / reviews are genuine and NOT made up.

– Security Certificates. If you are an online retailer, you need to make certain that consumers know your web site is safe. An $80 annual investment in a security certificate from a REPUTABLE vendor can work wonders and lets consumers / prospects know that you are concerned about their needs / privacy / safety.

– Phone Number. This is such a simple fix, adding a phone number to your web site home page can instill instant confidence as well.  People like to know that they can call someone if they ever need to.  They may not ever use it, but just knowing that they can is powerful.

– Clear Messaging. Speak the language of your prospects, speak to THEM.  The clearer your message is about your products and services, the more your web site speaks to them, the more they ultimately trust you.

– Up To Date News. If your business still has that press release dated from 1998 featured on your home page, you could be quickly losing trust from web site visitors.  With so many options for prospects to get news / information, etc., online, your corporate web site needs to be the source of relevant news and information.  The more recent, the better.

These are just a few of my own thoughts on what builds trust. The important thing is that you take a 30,000 foot view of your web site and put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. Would you trust buying from your own web site? If you need a hand or a second set of eyeballs, give me a call: in Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886.

If you liked this blog, you may also like http://www.tomjelneck.com

One of the ultimate goals of SEO is to get Google to crawl each and every page of your web site, so it is really critical that we make that very easy for Google to do.   One of the easiest ways is to make your web site’s navigation SEO friendly.

The problem. A lot of web designers will use graphic images in the navigation of the web site and simply add a URL when clicked to get to that respective page.  The problem with this technique is that Google does not follow images, so it can’t really get to the page in question in order to crawl and index it (at least not easily.).

The solution. Use text links in the navigation whenever possible, a lot can be done utilizing CSS these days so that aesthetics are not compromised. If it is not possible to switch the navigation to text links, consider adding a footer to your web site and adding those text links there.  The overall goal should be to let Google crawl your web site as deeply as it can.  The more pages that get indexed in the search engine, the higher the odds that you will have a successful organic SEO campaign.

Does your business need a hand with SEO & SEO friendly Web design? Call me to discuss today, in Orlando: 407-830-4550, or Nationwide: 866-998-6886.

Over the last 15 years, web sites have evolved substantially.  They used to be a necessary evil to some businesses, they used to be nothing more than an online business card to others. Web sites today exist to fuel a bigger picture, they exist to feed search engines, they exist to feed and nurture prospects and customers, they exist to instill confidence in all who see your presence.  Every web site that my team at On Target builds exists to live, grow, thrive and breath.  We intentionally build web sites that will be found and more importantly, will convert once found. We build on a strong foundation, one that is scalable, one that search engines love, and one that makes it a snap to keep feeding the engine high octane fuel.

Nowadays, if your company does not have a strong web machine, you could simply be feeding your competition all day long.  The longer you aren’t found in that Google search, or Facebook, or LinkedIn, or any other online venue, the fatter the competition who is easily found, with a great running engine is getting.

When it’s time for your business to fire up your online engine, let me know. In Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886.

If you liked this blog, you may also like http://www.tomjelneck.com.

Your corporate web site needs to capture and impress your online audience in literally milliseconds.  If your audience is not impressed, they will nail that back button on their browser quicker than you can say Bounce Rate.  Here are a few key things to consider to ensure your prospects stick around long enough to actually do something on your web site….

– Load time.… If it’s taking forever and a day to load your web site, you need to address that quickly.  Not only does Google consider web site load time in terms of SEO, but your prospects have the attention span of my two year old.

– Music…. I love the Bee Gees just as much as the next guy, BUT, PLEASE don’t make me listen to them on your web site when it loads.

– Videos. I love blending videos with web design, but it’s not always a great idea to let your video start playing automatically. Let your audience control the video so it doesn’t startle them the second they land on your site.

– Flash. There is nothing wrong with using Flash sparingly. If your entire corporate web site is created in Flash and you make web site visitors wait for it load, they’ll be hitting that button again.

– CLEAN. Keep your web design clean. The more cluttered and visually messy your web site is, the more you overwhelm your visitor.

– Call To Action. You need to tell your visitors immediately what you want them to do on your web site… Learn more, Call Today, Get More Information, Buy Now, etc.

These are just a few quick pointers, if you need some sound Internet marketing and web design advice, please don’t hesitate to ask.  Call me today, in Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886.

All good things need new life sometimes.

If you are constantly wondering why your business is not getting leads via your web site, you probably need to ask yourself a few key questions:

* Is your web site relevant to today? If it was built 14 years ago, it is not.
* Are you still sporting the MySpace logo on your web page? It’s definitely time for us to talk.
* Does your copyright in the footer of your web site still say Copyright 2001? Time to tighten that up.
* Are you still running the Hot Summer Special even though it’s Winter?
* Do you have tranquil spa like background music playing or Butterflies frolicking throughout your design? It’s time to let those go….
* Does the web site make any reference to any news that has happened in your industry in the last year?
* Does your last blog post still say Hello World?
* Do your staff photos look like 1985 Glamor Shots?
* Are your product photos in black and white, only because that was the only technology available back then?
* Does your web site still reference your full page yellow page ad? Ouch.

If you were able to answer yes to any of the above, PLEASE call me.  We’re hear to help your business grow online, having a stagnant web site with a dated look can be a death sentence to your brand. In Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886. If you don’t have the time to chat, drop us a line with your web site address here, we’ll be glad to give it the once over and give you some suggestions to improve it:

If you enjoyed this blog post, you may also enjoy my personal blog: http://www.tomjelneck.com.

Perception is indeed reality.  If your web site is constantly publishing high quality, unique and relevant content and feeding web site visitors with useful information, your company benefits from that association. Web site visitors will benefit, and Google will also reward your web site with search engine rankings.

What some companies don’t realize these days is that consumers are making judgement calls about your company by visiting your web site.  Even if it was word of mouth that led them to you, odds are, they checked you out online prior to calling.  If the site is old, dated, non relevant, boring, not enticing or is not easy to use, that’s the perception prospects will associate with your business. The Internet is an opportunity to stand above your competition in so many ways: getting found before them, getting in touch with and engaging prospects better, publishing amazing content better, etc..

If you skimp on the design of the web site and skimp on the content of that web site, you could be hurting your business more then helping it.

As you may be aware, it’s time to Christmas shop.  I am not yet fortunate enough to have a personal shopper handle stocking stuffers and gifts for the kids yet (although I’m saving up for that…), so my wife and I made a pilgrimage to a large box store last Thursday night to do some damage.

I am not a huge fan of crowds, especially in a hot store with a maze of aisles, people pushing and shoving, etc.,  this evening solidified that sentiment for me. This store was such a colossal mess. Items laying on the dirty floor, abandoned shopping carts scattered about, boxes stacked high to replenish the shelves, it was a dump and I could not wait to get of this store.

I’m sure you’ve encountered this mess in a brick and mortar location, but have you ever been to an e-commerce web site that was such a mess you couldn’t wait to hit the back button?  If your e-commerce web site has stuff laying around, clutter, debris, etc., people really don’t want to stick around.  If your web site is making it difficult for people to navigate and get around, they don’t want to stay.  If the site is chaotic, un-inviting and cold, again, people don’t want to stay.

It’s time to take a look at your web site from the consumer’s perspective, is it clean, simple, not busy, warm, inviting and charming?

For a free, no obligation birds eye view of your web site, call my company today: In Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886.

Can you believe it’s almost 2011? Time has been flying and things in the web design world have been evolving. Like with all forms of marketing, trends come and go and as businesses, we all need to be keyed into those changes.

Take a look at your web site / web design and ask yourself the following questions:

1.) Is my web site relevant?
2.) How current is the information on my web site?
3.) Is cheesy music playing in the background?
4.) Do you have an excessive amount of smiley faces or other animated graphics?
5.) Are your graphics vibrant and clean? (Example: http://webpagesthatsuck.smugmug.com/Other/Bad-Web-Design/6837311_tyvTi#641795605_dULha-O-LB)
6.) Does your web site copyright say 1998 in the footer?
7.) Does your site even ask the web site visitor to buy something or jump into any type of sales funnel?
8.) Does a blaze of fire or a shooting star follow your mouse around the page?
9.) Does the site even have a reference to any social media account?
10.) Does the site have a background image that seemed like a really good idea at the time? (example: http://webpagesthatsuck.smugmug.com/gallery/6837311_tyvTi#624623324_XH9qg-O-LB )

Here’s the point: your web site visitors don’t have patience for dated stuff, and frankly, there are way too many other web sites out there that are amazing and are relevant.  In 2011, it’s time to get serious about your online presence.  Give me a call and let’s discuss your Internet marketing needs over a cup of coffee. In Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886 or visit my web site: www.ontargetwebsolutions.com

You’ve probably heard the term Unique Sales Proposition (USP) and you probably clearly know whats yours is. The question is, do your web site visitors know? Be sure to take a look at your web site from a consumer standpoint, does it accomplish the following?

* Does the messaging on your web site move the masses to take an action?
* Does the sales messaging on your web site offer what your competition does not?
* Does the sales messaging clearly state the benefits of buying your products / services?

While these may seem simple and elementary considerations, 9 out of 10 web sites do not clearly state what they sell, what’s the benefit and what makes them so much better than the rest. Is yours one of those 9? Call me today to see how On Target Web Solutions can help tell your story: in Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886.

Over the past 6 years, I’ve had to tell a lot of prospects that their web site is just plain invisible.  They usually don’t take the news very well and immediately get ticked off at the web design firm that they hired to build the flash spectacle that they call their web site now.  Their web site is wearing the cloak of invisibility, Google can’t see it, or Google doesn’t care to see it.

Before you hire a web design firm, make certain that the web sites that they build can be found in search engines.  Web sites can still have flash and still be beautiful, but building it with SEO in mind from the very beginning will save you so much time and so much money.  Most of them can talk a good talk, but the best way to truly to know if they know their SEO stuff is to Google them… Can you find them? If not, move along, nothing to see here.

If you want professional and you want your web site to be found, call one of my SEO experts at On Target Web Solutions today: In Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886.  We’ll take that cloak of invisibility right off and start getting you found.

Ever visit a web site that you intended to buy something from and had no clue how to actually buy it? My wife was shopping on a very common e-commerce web site the other day that rhymes with ShoysRRuss and could not find the checkout button.  She was right (normally is) and there was no place to checkout, anywhere, period. This happens A LOT every day, all day. As a result, millions of dollars of potential sales go away because the web site visitor could not figure the web site out or find something as simple as the checkout button.

Let’s face it, none of us have time to screw around on a web site.  If you know what you want to buy, the last thing you want is to be hassled, trapped, lost, confused, perplexed, etc.. If you wanted to be confused, you could go the genius bar at the Apple store in person and try to buy something as simple as some ipod headphones.

Keep your web design simple. Make certain that any person (not working in your office) can figure out how to go and purchase something from your web site and do it with ease.  The general rule of e-commerce is 3 clicks to a sale. Make it 5, 8 or 222 and you’ve got a problem on your hands. When you create your e-commerce web site, remember simplicity, remember to idiot proof it, remember to test, test and then test again.

Need a hand with your web site or your Internet marketing? Call my company today: in Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886. On Target Web Solutions, we build remarkable.

If you like this blog, you may also like my other blog: TheSEOCEO.com.

A prospect came in the other day and the first thing he handed me was his Bible.  Not the King James Version, not placed by the Gideons, no, this Bible did not speak of Christianity one bit.  His bible (as he referred to it) was a report.  A very special report, a report he won at an auction, the street value, at least $5200.00. He shared his special report with me, the report basically spit out all kinds of technical jargon cleverly designed to confuse the living daylights out of a non-suspecting prospect.  The poor guy took every word that was written in this report and wanted our company to address it.  It stated how terrible his web site was, it stated how he didn’t use enough H1 tags, it mentioned that his web site was a complete SEO failure because there were not enough ALT tags installed.  The truth was this: his web site wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great.  Yes, it needed some tweak, but it did not require a total redesign as they suggested.  SEO was performed on his site and needed some tweaks, but again, it wasn’t a total loss as the ‘bible’ suggested. What he truly needed was to breathe some new life and add some new content to his web site.

Friends, beware the SEO scare tactic, beware the Web Site Report. Now, every web site has room for improvement and every SEO specialist will probably give you a different critique, but at the end of the day, here are two important considerations:

1.) Can people find your web site under the proper key terms?
2.) Once people do find your web site, does your web site lead them to the sale?

To learn more about effective web design and SEO, call my company, in Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886.

I was on another Orlando Web Design firms web site today and noticed a tag line that just bothered me: it read “Choosing a Good Orlando Web Design Company.” The article went on to describe how to chose a GOOD web design firm, etc. Nice article, but again, it’s that word GOOD that just bothers me. To me and my company, Good just isn’t good enough.

Good web design just doesn’t do it anymore in the marketplace.  To truly stand out these days, you need remarkable.  You need great, excellent, brilliant, amazing, spectacular, memorable, inspirational, etc.  Before we begin any Internet marketing campaign, my team asks the following: How are we going to get this client to stand out, how is this client different than their competition, how can On Target help this company excel and leave an impression? Maybe it’s amazing content, maybe it’s clean simple compelling design, maybe it’s amazing SEO results. Whatever it is, we don’t and we won’t settle for just plain ole’ good.  Neither should your company.

To be remarkable, you must surround yourself with remarkable.  Call my company today to experience remarkable customer service & remarkable work. In Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886.

It won’t be long now. The Fat Man in Red will be scouring the web looking for savings and trying desperately to find my daughter the Harry Potter Illuminated Magic wand so she can Expelliarmus her little sister every four minutes.

Will Santa find your web site in Google? Will Santa be able to easily navigate your products and find exactly what he’s looking for or will he hit the ole’ back button on his North Pole Super Navigator Internet Browser? Will he get frustrated by expired security certificates and have to click sixteen times just to complete a transaction?

It’s time to take a look at your web site, it’s ease of use and it’s presence in the search engines. Let’s not aggravate the Jolly Guy.

Need some help? Call me: In Orlando, 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886.

I am NOT a poster child for perfect spelling and grammar and make more than my share of mistakes, but I have learned to get another set of eyeballs on things before they go live.

If you are going to make the claim that you are an industry leader in something, you kind of have to play the part and spell the ‘something’ correctly. This particular Google AdWord was spotted under the term Orlando Web Design, but clearly, they are the industry leaders in Orlando Web DESGIN.

Another set of eye balls is a VERY valuable tool. Check, double check and then check one more time before hitting that submit button.

So, we had a call in today (prospect) that wanted a new web site designed.  My sales team of course spent the time to explain SEO and how it needs to be married to your web design, etc., at which point the prospect exclaimed: “No, I don’t need any of that SEO, so you can take that out of the quote. My girlfriend Dabbles in SEO.”

Here’s what’s wrong with that statement: If you are going to spend thousands on a web design, do you really want someone who just DABBLES with SEO as a hobby or wouldn’t you be more comfortable knowing that you just hired true marketing experts who know, eat, sleep and breathe SEO?

I suppose to each his / her own, but when it comes to my company, I want to work with the best, not with dabblers or hobbyists.

I was checking out a new restaurant here in Orlando and decided to view their menu on their web site.  I click the menu link at the top of the site and land on a page that tells me they have six menus and then proceeds to tell me how to get to those menus:

I don’t mind jumping through some hoops on a web site (a minimal amount of hoops) but if you need to explain to users how to navigate your web site, you may not have exactly nailed the whole user experience.

Users only have so much patience, and heck, let’s face it, some users only have a certain amount of intelligence. Make certain that your web site is easy to navigate, lead people through it and make it as simple as possible for them to give you money, or read your menu, and then come give you money.

I received this letter Friday afternoon from one of our clients : The Diamond Agency.  Made my day and solidified to my team why we work so hard for our clients:

Want remarkable results? We are always looking for new remarkable clients. Call me: In Orlando, 407-830-4550, or Nationwide: 866-998-6886.