Stage 1
1a. Get Online With An Optimized Portal
If you aren’t already online, this is where we’ll start in Stage 1 – by building you a customized website.
Using the most flexible, user friendly website building platform, we’ll build your site to your specifications.
If you already have a website, we’ll discuss either enhancing and improving it for greater effectiveness or possibly replacing it with a more optimized platform, the one we use with virtually all of our and our client’s sites.
When we say optimized, we mean primarily two things:
I. Optimized for your ease of use, with almost unlimited extensibility and flexibility to display your content as well as perform a vast array of required or desired functions.
II. Optimized for what is known as “natural search”. Natural search means that the major search engines find and display your site and its content when searchers type in specific keywords or phrases.
1b. Appease The Search Engines
In order for the search engines - and the searchers – to find your site, you’ll have to provide content for “indexing”.
Indexing is what the search engines’ software does with your content – whether it be photos, articles, video, slideshows, audio files, etc. – once they find it.
But indexing isn’t automatic. Just because you publish a new piece of content on your site doesn’t mean the search engines will find it. After all, there are billions of websites online.
But don’t concern yourself with that, because with the website building platform we use, as well as the special software “add-ons” to extend its functionality, your content will be quickly found and indexed.
Search engines index your content based on the words you use in it or to describe it. In the case of written text, such as articles, blog posts and the like, the words are easy to find and the search engines have no problem indexing the content.
With other, non-textual content, careful attention must be paid to the words used to describe it, so that when people search for the terms covered in your content, the search engines are able to provide a listing to it.
This is known as relevance. So, for example, if someone is searching for dog training tips and you have an article on your site that includes the words “dog training tips”, if the search engines have indexed that article, they will display that article for the searcher.
Of course, there may be dozens or even hundreds of other articles indexed for that exact search term, which would mean that your article might be “buried” several pages deep in the search engine listings.
Another way to appease the search engines is to publish your content on other websites that then link back to your site. This is known as backlinking and is a powerful way to increase your relevance and visibility in the search engine results pages, often referred to as SERPs.
We’ll help with all forms of content creation, distribution and backlink generation. If done properly and continuously, the results can be quite extraordinary for your business in terms of traffic to your site and revenues generated as a result of that traffic.
1c. Be Found By The People
Obviously you want your content indexed by the search engines so that people searching for what you are offering will be able to find you with specific search terms.
Since only a small percentage of website owners have a well-known domain name that people can simply type into their browser window (like Google.com), “the people” will typically find your site by the words you have used in your content that the search engines have indexed.
The best way to ensure you are found by the people is by carefully choosing the keywords and phrases used on your site, taking into consideration the existing competition for those words and terms.
More often than not, there will already be considerable competition for many of the more common terms you might associate with your business, products or service.
So, a certain amount of research must be done to isolate the less competitive words and phrases to include in your content, so that it will be listed high in the SERPs.
Example: a phrase like “dog training tips” may have thousands or even millions of competing pages in the search engines. But a more relevant and specific term like “Standard Poodle training tips” will very likely have far less competition.
Less competition means a higher level listing in the SERPs. And by higher level listings, we mean the first page or two (or first 10-20 listings) in the three major search engines – Google, Yahoo and Bing.
In Stage 1, we’ll research and isolate the least competitive terms that are highly specific to your business, product or service, so that people searching for information on those words and phrases will be able to easily find your website.
1d. Collect Their Names
Regardless of the purpose of your website – to sell something, to inform, entertain, teach, etc. – the only way you’ll be able to follow-up with any visitors you might have is by asking them to minimally provide their name and email address.
And usually, you’ll entice them to leave their contact information with you by offering them a valuable free gift.
That could be a newsletter subscription, an ebook or report, whitepaper, training series or any number of other things, possibly even a discount coupon.
Research has more than proven that people want to do business with other people they know, like and trust. But if you depend on them to take the time to come back to your site on their own, you’re really missing the boat.
Instead, the purpose of asking for their contact information in exchange for a valuable gift is to develop a relationship with them, so that over time, they will come to know, like and trust you.
Because when that happens, they’ll be far more likely to take seriously any recommendations you make about products and services in the future.
So, we’ll help you create the valuable free gift as well as the follow-up series of email messages that will help to develop that relationship that consistently converts leads and prospects into customers and clients.
1e. Provide Value
We believe the key to any successful business is to provide value. Nobody wants to buy a crappy product or receive poor service. That’s pretty much a universal constant.
So, our aim is to help you consistently provide value in your business. Whether that is high quality information on the pages of your website, your blog entries, emails, products or services, that is how you grow your business and brand.
One way to ensure you always deliver the kind of quality and type of information your visitors want is to ask them.
By frequently surveying your leads, prospects and even paying customers, you can firmly establish what they want from you, why and how they want it, how often they want it, etc.
This is how you not only maintain your customer or client base, but grow it at an alarming rate. Particularly when compared to your competitors, who have never considered using a survey as a business-building tool.
Because when you ask people what they want, they’ll tell you. And once they do, you simply have to provide that for them and they will become your ultra-loyal customers.
Everyone wants value, wouldn’t you agree? We can help ensure you deliver just that.
1f. Profit
This is the reason you’re in business in the first place, right?
But there are some stark differences between how online and offline business is conducted.
In order for you to profit from your online business presence, there are some things that need to be setup first.
Online payment processors, FTC compliance and product or service delivery, for starters.
But once this stuff is setup, it usually only requires a little ongoing maintenance to keep it running smoothly, 24/7/365, and pouring cash into your account.
So, unlike a brick and mortar store, once set up properly, online storefronts can run almost automatically and continuously, with minimal intervention or involvement on your part.
Response Performance Marketing specializes in every aspect of Stage 1, with the clear intention of getting you into virtually “autopilot profits”.