The decision to build an online business is not without challenges. Like every other start-up business, you will have to deal with a lot of experimenting and troubleshooting to increase the rate of sales.

In online businesses, your primary goal is not to create a substantial and aesthetically pleasing website, but a website that will effectively transform your visitors into customers. Your website’s power to turn its visitors into customers is referred to as the website conversion rate.

As a business owner, you must be involved in constantly tweaking your website to improve your conversion rate.

The Principle of Input-Output

The idea of split web-page testing all starts with the principle of input-output in internet marketing. The input for online moneymaking is the traffic that your website gets. On the other hand, the output is the total number of sales that you get from the traffic (The output is also referred to as conversions).

For example, your website may be getting as much as 3,000 visits in a day. A quick visit to Alexa.com will show you how much traffic your website is getting, as well as how many sites are linking in to your site.

However, your website traffic is only half the battle. The other more important half, the conversions, tell you how much you’re earning from your traffic. For example, out of the 3,000 visits, 70 of them purchase the product you are selling. In order to improve your conversion, you have to know first how to calculate it.

To calculate your conversion rate, you should use this equation: Output/Input X 100 = %

In the example I gave, the conversion rate is 2.3%, a rate the can obviously be improved. But how do you even do this? This is where creating two versions of your website come in. This may sound like an insane waste of time, but let me walk you through how it works.

How Split Web-page Testing Works

Creating two versions of your website is the first step in split web-page testing, also known as A/B Split Testing. The old web page and the tweaked web page will comprise the two versions of the website.

Improve Your Conversion

To improve your conversion, split web-page testing involves dividing website visitors into two groups. One group will be directed to the old version, while the other group will be directed to the tweaked version of the website.

The tweaked version is an altered version of the original one and will contain slight variations of the original one. (The conversation rates for the two groups will be compared, with the version having the better conversion rate as the final choice for the website of your online business).

The point of split web-page testing is to find out which alterations will help to improve your conversion rate.

If the altered version ends up having an improved conversion rate, then you better stick with the alterations done on the tweaked version.

Split web-page testing is a continual process that involves tweaking different parts of a website to improve your conversion to the optimum level. In the simplest terms, it is used to identify which parts of your website work and which ones need to be changed to compel visitors to buy your product.

What You Should Start Tweaking

In creating the altered version of your original website, what exactly are the features that you should tweak in order to compare the conversion rate? Here are a few features you should consider:

1. The Page Header

Consider a two back-to-back websites where the headers of the two websites are different. Other than that, everything else is entirely the same. By splitting the traffic of the visitors into two, the you can detect which of the websites had the better conversion rate based on the appeal of the header alone.

2. Purchase / Join Button

Another tweak you can do is the purchase / join link. You can experiment with a fancy “Add to Cart” / “Join Us” button or a simple link. This may seem like a negligible difference, but you’ll never know how much it can improve your conversion unless you include this tweak in the split web-page testing.

3. Site Navigation

How the visitors can navigate through your website is another factor considered in improving your conversion. Navigating your website can be done by a drop-down menu, or a simple set of links to the left / right side or bottom of the website. The ease of navigation can also determine the visitor’s decision to purchase your product.

You start visiting your favorite website on your smartphone, and you find yourself pleasantly surprised that the site fits perfectly on your screen. That’s no coincidence; that’s part of mobile marketing, a growing industry that most large corporations are starting to turn to.

If you’re a small business who wants to get more connected to your target market, then you should definitely consider mobile marketing as part of your marketing efforts. After all, smartphones, with their ability to accommodate mobile apps and mobile websites, are beginning to take over the consumers.

A study by ABI Research forecasts that the revenues of mobile marketing will grow to $1 billion this year; by 2013, the revenue will have exceeded $4 billion. You’re just as surprised as I am, given the fact that it’s an industry at its younger years.

In fact, even computer giants like Microsoft are about to ride the mobile craze, as it is expected to continue on expanding.

But when you think about it, the forecast makes perfect sense. With more people watching less TV and using more smartphones, the next best move is to follow them and let them visit your site in a pleasant manner. That’s mobile marketing. Your ultimate goal, of course, is to make money by selling your products.

You have two options for this:

1. Create a mobile site that can be accessed by any device
2. Create a mobile app that is exclusive for devices like the iPhone, Blackberry, and other Android devices

Either of these two options will greatly affect your mobile marketing efforts and the choice of your buyer.

Mobile Websites

Just imagine who you can reach with mobile websites. In fact, approximately 30% of all mobile users regularly browse websites using their mobile devices. You don’t want to lead your customers to a website that doesn’t even fit the screen and loads way too long, right?

That’s where mobile websites come in. A website optimized for use on mobile devices and has a universal reach across all mobile devices.

Mobile marketing is a growing industry, so you might want to keep yourself up to date with the trends. Mobile Marketing Watch is a great way to keep yourself updated.

Here are two main reasons why you should turn to mobile sites:

• If your business has a mass market appeal, which means that its market can probably be found across all types of mobile devices.
• If you have a limited budget, you might as well spend it in optimizing your website. Developing a mobile site is much cheaper, and can be accessible to all mobile devices.

Mobile Apps

Curiously enough, despite the far reach of mobile sites, most businesses are throwing their money into mobile applications or mobile apps. Consider the following throwbacks: about 20% of mobile users have downloaded mobile app.

Mobile Apps

This 20% have mobile apps in different kinds of mobile devices ranging from the iPhone and a Blackberry to many other smartphones in the market.

iPhones are owned by 25% of smartphone users – that’s about 42.7M people.

Although mobile apps reach far less people, most niche businesses still opt for mobile apps in their mobile marketing efforts. Why? Because it gives mobile users a one-of-a-kind experience exclusive only to smartphones.

The same mobile app won’t work in computers, or tablets, or any other device. For some reason, this kind of exclusivity has won over customers and business owners.

With that said, how can you create mobile apps for your business that will surely stand out?

1. Scale your mobile apps into different versions according to the most popular mobile devices. Don’t just create one version for one mobile device.

2. Decide on whether to offer it for free or for a low price. If you are merely using the mobile apps to market your product, then it can be as simple as a free game that brands your company’s products.

3. You can also create a mobile apps version of your product. This works best for informational products like eBooks and online courses.

Remember, you should invest in two things: the aesthetics and user-friendliness of the mobile apps. Make it look modern and sophisticated, but don’t compromise the ease of use.

Above is a popular example of a mobile apps, in this case the apps version of Facebook. Although users can easily visit Facebook in their web browser, people prefer to access Facebook using their mobile apps. That’s mobile marketing effectiveness at its finest!

A website is as good as useless if you’re not getting its message across to anyone. The only way you can get your website’s message out to people is if you generate more website traffic.

Generating website traffic is not easy at all; after all, you are competing with millions of other websites that Internet users would rather visit.

You have to provide clear reasons why Internet users should visit your website. What is the content of your website? How engaging is your website to the readers? Is there any immediate benefit they will gain from visiting your website?

There are two important things you have to consider as you generate more website traffic: the quantity and the quality.

More Website Traffic

Quantity refers to the average rate of visits your website gets. Usually, the length of time a visitor stays in the website is quantified, as well as the most popular pages in your website.

Another measure is quality, which is often poorly measured by most website owners.

This refers to how participative and receptive your visitors are to your website. The quality of website traffic will also indicate how willing your visitors are in returning to your website.

In generating more website traffic, you seriously have to consider both.

Without the other, you are compromising yourself and your website. If you plan to generate website traffic, generate it in a sustainable way that will assure the longevity of your website and its purpose.

Although leading people to your website is difficult, it is not impossible. As a matter of fact, you can do it yourself with proven techniques.

Technique 1: Register in a traffic exchange system

Traffic exchange websites work in a simple way. For every website you visit in a limited amount of time, you get one visit to your website as well.

These traffic exchange systems usually offer traffic hits. For example, you can buy 1,000 hits for a certain low price. Examples of traffic exchange websites are www.easyhits4u.com, www.trafficg.com, and www.webtrafficgenie.com.

By being a member in a traffic exchange system, you can get guaranteed visits to a website. However, the visitors of your website may be just as disinterested as you are when you visit other websites. Another disadvantage is the attention the visitor will genuinely pay to your website. For all they care, they may just be waiting for the time limit to pass by to get our of your website and visit another.

However, a traffic exchange system is clearly an easy way of generating more website traffic. If your website is interesting enough, the visitor may just stay a lot longer than you expect and browse through your website’s pages. Also, it will get the word about your website out and at the very least create awareness.

Technique 2: Update your website

Search engines crawl the World Wide Web 24/7. During the process, they assess each website based on what it contains and how updated it is. As you fail to update your website and create at least one new page everyday, your rating in these search engines will lag farther behind. The immediate effect? Your website will be in the last pages of the search engine results whenever the keywords for your niche is searched.

To avoid this unfortunate circumstance and to remain the best of friends with search engines like Yahoo! and Google, update your website as often as you can.

Of course, search engines aren’t the only stakeholders who will be happy about your updated website. Visitors will be pleased to know that your website is current and is a reliable way of gaining new information. In effect, you get more website traffic and referrals from your loyal group of visitors.

Technique 3: Link with other websites

By linking with websites in the same industry as yours, you will get instant publicity space. These websites will more or less have their own loyal following. By linking with them, you are basically letting these websites’ followers know that your website exists!

At least 20% of their followers are bound to visit your website. Further, the owners of these websites will get firsthand information from your site. They can refer to your website as they update their own.

Best of all, you forge virtual partnerships with people in the Internet. Remember the simple saying ‘no man is an island’? Well, the same holds true for the Internet. As you get to know more people in your market, you familiarize yourself to who your competition is and even open yourself up to formal business partnerships in the future!

Technique 4: Offer freebies

Free pieces of advice, a free handbook of information, free consultation services. If you are keen on generating quality and quantity website traffic, handing out freebies to visitors is a sure way of doing it. A lot of things in the Internet is free, and people will jump at anything that’s relevant to their lives and free.

The idea may defeat the purpose of your website, which is to generate profits by generating more traffic. However, by giving freebies, you are actually building trust with your visitors and turning them into believers. Only after they’ve had a taste of what your product is will they visit your website more often and become loyal customers of your business.

This way, you generate more website traffic and serious cash to sustain your website.

If you are the proud owner of a new website, then congratulations! However, your job is not over yet, you need to find a means to gain targeted website traffic. While you might have invested considerable amounts of time and money in creating that website, it will not bring in visitors all by itself.

You have to find a way to generate traffic. Of course, not just any traffic will work. Visitors to your site who aren’t actually interested in what you have to offer will leave instantly, what is called “bouncing” in the industry. So, how do you get more of the traffic that you actually want?

You can get guaranteed website traffic through a number of different methods. What are your options? How do you go about getting free guaranteed website traffic? Generating new traffic for your website can be quite simple. Here, you will find a list of several methods by which you can increase website traffic very affordably, or even at no cost to you.

Buy Expired Domain Traffic

What’s an expired domain? Many people purchase domains and setup their websites, only to let that domain name expire. This happens for various reasons, but you will be able to buy expired domains and benefit from their established traffic. How do you go about doing this? While you can most certainly purchase any old expired site, it’s a better bet to purchase those that are within your own chosen niche.

Targeted Website Traffic

For example, if you have a website about gardening tools and supplies, then purchasing an expired domain for a tattoo website will likely do you little good. However, if you were to find an expired website for gardening or other related topics, you can then create a redirect page that will send those visitors to your own website and help with your SEO link building efforts.

Alternatively, you can set it up to be a sister site to your own.

Use Your Existing Traffic

You can actually increase targeted website traffic based on those visitors that currently visit your website. How does this work? You’ll find that many customers visit your website, are interested in what you have to offer, but fail to come back. Often, this is because they forgot about you.

However, if you use an opt-in on your main page, you can get your visitors’ email addresses and use this to market to them.

For instance, you can create an opt-in newsletter form, or an opt-in signup for coupons, brochures, site updates and more. When your customers sign up, they will be required to give their names and email addresses so that you can send them their report, coupons or newsletter.

This gives you the perfect vehicle with which to generate more targeted traffic for your website. If you choose to go this route, make sure that you use an autoresponder so that those customers signing up are able to receive whatever it is that you’re offering on time (without you having to mail things out manually).

These are only two of the ways in which you can increase targeted website traffic. Other options include PPC campaigns, link exchanges, direct email campaigns, social networking and many others. With just a bit of ingenuity, you can drum up the traffic that you need for success.

When thinking about Email Marketing, one might think it’s a clear case of simple direct internet marketing at it’s best. Is it? Do you know that emails might not get delivered at all? Know the rules of Email Marketing? Learn basic tips and tricks along with a little philosophy.

Whether you have a product to sell or you want to endorse other person’s products using email marketing, the first thing you need is an audience. The right mailing list is the first step to start off your email marketing strategy and to generate any benefit at all.

You can buy mailing lists from suppliers who collect email addresses, which might costs you a bundle, or you can set up your own operation and collect email addresses yourself, by building a web site, appealing enough to the target audience of your niche, getting them to write down their email addresses. Sounds simple? It might be.

How to do that? You need to give something away for free. Create a web page inviting people to sign up to your list by offering them something worth their time. Good website marketing obliges you to give Information, insight and secrets about the niche people are looking into or a free newsletter or guide. Some even send a CD.

Usually, the free stuff is very helpful and is significant in the recipients search. You can look into this cool site www.listbuildingclub.com. This will generate trust and make it more likely for the recipients to open your emails and more likely they will listen to your advice and buy what you recommend them to buy.

Getting people to want to receive emails from you is probably the best leg-up you will ever get, and by achieving this, you can make a great impact for your cause. It’s not enough to have mailing lists for people, who do not know you, and one sunny day, just receive an email from you. The difference is immense. Creating your own email list this way makes sure your audience is now listening.

Now, get ready for some philosophy. Some marketers consider bulk mailing and just high quantity as the goal of email marketing while others believe that quality email marketing is eventually, the only way to go. They speak of the email marketing ability to start dialogue, to develop relationships and create loyalty with all subscribers. By not doing that you risk wasting money, and worse, Emails set the perception of your business. Bad email marketing results in bad business.

Once people have signed up to your list it is so important to provide them with quality information. For good email marketing, Send emails often enough and consistently contact your subscribers to keep your audience responsive, but not too often that they get overwhelmed and shut down. Send only to those who need and are interested in what you offer.

The key in this philosophy is to be attentive. How you handle requests or resolve problems shapes the way your subscribers feel and can affect whether they continue this relationship, unsubscribe or report you as spam.

The Next step to an effective email marketing strategy is having the right software to manage your subscriber list. Bulk email programs, which with you can create professional-look emails and an editor, simple enough to use yet having the capability to design creative campaigns and the ability to create an auto-responder so you can manage your email marketing strategy automatically. But, make sure you are in full control of your email program. No emails can go out without the same care and attention you give your whole business marketing campaign.

Spam filter can destroy your email marketing strategy in a minute. Don’t try to send the emails from you own email box. Trying to deliver the emails yourself through your own email service leaves you vulnerable to a lot of trouble. It only takes a few spam complaints to get your supplier to shut you down. Using other domains is a good solution providing these domains are not on spam lists their selves. Also, you need to learn which words to avoid in order for you not to be labeled as spam even before your recipients get your emails. Wrong wording in your subject line or in the actual content of your email might determine if your emails will ever be delivered at all.

All this not mentioning that Email marketing is a highly competitive field. You are always a second away from losing your subscriber for another email he or she receives. Also, the subscribers are getting harder and harder to please.

But what’s next? Got everything ready? Now, its time to write to your audience. You cannot blow it now. One wrong move and you’ve lost your audience forever. Usually, first impressions determine your success.
You should grab the recipient’s attention in the subject line and ensure it matches the content of your email. You have to write your message in a short, concise manner. There is a short span of attention given to you. Use it properly. Minimize the sales pitches and add a friendly and personalized tone to your emails. Tell personal stories so your subscribers can get to know who sent them the email and whom they might be doing business with.

By implementing Email marketing services you can correspond with a great number of prospective customers from your target audience. Assess the effectiveness of your email marketing strategy on a regular basis. Check your program and see if it generates good results. Be flexible and ready for change.