7 Deadly mistakes you make with your business website - how to avoid them

[simmo28]

Is your website leaving thousands of pounds on the table?

If you're a business owner with a website, you're probably losing thousands of Pounds in sales and profit without even knowing it!

You could be committing one of the seven common - yet devastating - website mistakes and be losing money each and every day.
If your website has even one of these "sales killers" on it, you can bet you're missing out on a lot of potential sales.

The good news is that each one of these mistakes can be fixed and most of these will have a positive Return on Investment (ROI) of 6 - 12 months - or less! If you need help with any of these, or you have a quick question on what to do next, reply here or send me a PM, and I'll be happy to help you.

Please be sure to read these mistakes carefully to make sure you avoid them in your business.
You can find the first 4 of the 7 most common deadly website mistakes on my site http://www.eastone.co.uk/category/7-deadly-website-mistakes

Feel free to leave comments

Alistair Simpson
East One Marketing

 

[Alicatt]

Number 8 - links that don't work or time out.

Might want to check your website, Alistair - I'd love to read your articles, but I'm having trouble clicking the links.

 

[simmo28]

Number 8 - links that don't work or time out.

Might want to check your website, Alistair - I'd love to read your articles, but I'm having trouble clicking the links.

Hi Alicatt having no problems here???

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

I love the use of special words in headlines like 'deadly' - even when they don't really make any sense.

 

[Kev Jaques]

None of the post pages finish loading, the main domain loads ok though, thought it might be a browser issue but it's the same in all of them.

 

[DotNetWebs]

All I see is;

"East One Marketing is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance.
Please try back in [backtime] minutes."

Suggest you set the "backtime" variable.

Regards

Dotty

 

[simmo28]

All I see is;

"East One Marketing is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance.
Please try back in [backtime] minutes."

Suggest you set the "backtime" variable.

Regards

Dotty

Hi guys took the site offline for 10 min to check over the problem. Everything was fine couldn't find anything at all.

Alicatt maybe it was your connection?

 

[Dawg]

Nope, mine did the same, just couldn't be bothered to post at the time. Timed out the first couple of times and finally connected after 42 seconds on the flash/picture 'more' link. Only tried FF 3.6.3 mind.

 

[simmo28]

Dont know? lol strange problem everything all fine now?

 

[Dawg]

Yup, works OK now, so I can move on to being picky...
you have:
Traffic = Prospects
Website/SEO/Design = Customers

I'd put SEO as getting traffic. Optimizing a search engine isn't going to get conversions, which is as good a measure as any for customers.

Nota Bene: I'm not decrying the importance of getting traffic, and targeted traffic with good SEO.

 

Having the wrong product is the No 1 fault for websites.

Earl

 

Yup, works OK now, so I can move on to being picky...
you have:
Traffic = Prospects
Website/SEO/Design = Customers

I'd put SEO as getting traffic. Optimizing a search engine isn't going to get conversions,

Having the right product is what gets conversion.

Most internationally famous SEO's are well aware of how to get sites to convert ,along with massive traffic of course.

Earl

 

Having the wrong product is the No 1 fault for websites.

Earl

Earl ..................

 

[bdw]

If you're a business owner with a website, you're probably losing thousands of Pounds in sales and profit without even knowing it!

Probably? How can you say that when you don't know who is reading this? Are you implying that the majority of business owners with websites are stupid or what?

With respect, there is absolutely nothing new in your "revelations".

I am going to be harsh here. Is it not more like you were just trying to get an inbound link to your own recently launched business? The problem with doing this is that you really need to offer useful content otherwise it can backfire on you and make you look worse. If you want to promote yourself as being knowledgeable you have to offer useful information that is recognisable as such. You have to give something away.
.
.

 

[Kev Jaques]

I'll give away blood or body parts for money lol

Agree with you there bdw

 

[bdw]

I'll give away blood or body parts for money lol

I wouldn't give them away for money but at my age I may consider swapping some of them.

 

[simmo28]

Probably? How can you say that when you don't know who is reading this? Are you implying that the majority of business owners with websites are stupid or what?

With respect, there is absolutely nothing new in your "revelations".

I am going to be harsh here. Is it not more like you were just trying to get an inbound link to your own recently launched business? The problem with doing this is that you really need to offer useful content otherwise it can backfire on you and make you look worse. If you want to promote yourself as being knowledgeable you have to offer useful information that is recognisable as such. You have to give something away.
.
.

Not trying to be harsh here myself, but maybe there is nothing new in my revelations to a web designer *cough *cough. lol. But the reason your bumping my thread is to discredit my information which is something you clearly don’t understand.

I am not trying to imply that anyone is stupid at all, just trying to HIGHLIGHT the common mistakes made by people with little knowledge in Marketing / Web Development. This information also benefits the people that are commonly misguided by Bad Web Designers who do not understand how a site works at all.

Maybe if you implemented some of the things laid out in my blog posts your site wouldnt look so cramped and disorganised.

As for trying to get inlinks into my site your wrong this is not about SEO which is pretty much looked after by the way. But your right I am a new Business and being a web designer you should understand that getting traffic to your site is what a website is all about is it not? I also have a FREE guide that I do giveaway on my homepage - something you also mentioned.

While your comments are welcome I do not appreciate you trying to discredit my information – There is no need especially when your a web designer who clearly does not understand something as simple as web 2.0


You should try spend as much time on your own website instead of trying to discredit other peoples reputation.[FONT=&quot] Something which you’re clearly lacking in the way you present your own business online.[/FONT]

 

[simmo28]

http://www.toucher.co.uk/

you really should take note of Mistake #4 Your Site Lacks Passion.

Quoted from mistake #4 - "a site that is hard to read, has cartoonish clip-art graphics, multicolored font, and uses poor spelling and grammar can give the impression that your business is unprofessional. Remember, your site needs to be engaging for your customers"

Microsoft Frontpage websites should also be banned from the web

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Simmo you're either new to this whole 'make money online' malarkey, or you're just not very good at it, so let me give you a big tip:

If a long-standing member of a forum provides a credible point against what you're saying, DO NOT personally attack the person and his website for no real reason. It makes you appear like an unpleasant person and makes everyone resent your original post even more. Really no need for it.

I've tried to have a look through your site there to provide my own feedback on what you've said but the pages are taking absolutely ages to load.

 

[brownie]

Simmo you're either new to this whole 'make money online' malarkey

He's been at it since the 7th of January this year, http://www.warriorforum.com/main-in...ewbie-needs-website-critique.html#post1590972

Copyscape shows this information exists on other websites out there so not exactly YOUR information is it simmo? You haven't got the knack of this PLR lark yet have you?

http://yourhelpsalesmarketing.com/7_Deadly_Sins.pdf

http://marketmultipliers.com/reports/Seven-Deadly-Website-Sins.pdf

No one wants to see these forums turn into spam ridden valueless forums like Digital point or Warriors.

 

[fisicx]

Social Media Service are the ULTIMATE way to get traffic

Really? Evidence for this is where?

In any case, it's not traffic I need, it's targeted traffic. Big difference between the two.

Why is ignoring the Google heat map a 'deadly' mistake? All it's doing is showing the classic F so once you've learn that lesson the heat map is pretty irrelavant. In any case, eyetracking is far more effective than a clicky heatmap.

I'm assuming mistake #5 is promoting 7 things and only posting 4 of them!

 

[simmo28]

He's been at it since the 7th of January this year, http://www.warriorforum.com/main-in...ewbie-needs-website-critique.html#post1590972

Copyscape shows this information exists on other websites out there so not exactly YOUR information is it simmo? You haven't got the knack of this PLR lark yet have you?

http://yourhelpsalesmarketing.com/7_Deadly_Sins.pdf

http://marketmultipliers.com/reports/Seven-Deadly-Website-Sins.pdf

No one wants to see these forums turn into spam ridden valueless forums like Digital point or Warriors.

Guys whether I am new at this or not is irrelevant and at no time did I state this was MY information - its valuable information that I wanted to showcase to business owners.

This entire forum seems to want to do is discredit anyone new - So I am new to Internet Marketing - January this year but I am also very successful at what I do. You will also note that I have not posted on the warrior forum for months as it’s not what I am about anymore.

All I’m doing is offering information, PLR or not why does it matter? Clearly you have a problem with it - so don’t read it.. You don’t have to discredit everything I do... researching everything I post must be time consuming and I did not think I would be that important.

I’m not selling anything here, not spamming anyone here just giving information. Why does it have to be a massive problem for you?
Im not doing anything against the forum rules -

 

[fisicx]

Your opening post indicated that everyone who owns a websites is pants and that if you corrected 7 deadly mistakes than all would be well. It turns out that there are only 4 and these are not exactly deadly (more like a mild sniffle) and they aren;t even yours.

If you had posted a link to a useful article with a suggestion that the was some merit in correcting the 'mistakes' then you would have had a much more favourable response.

As it is though the 7 deadly mistakes are just stupid.

 

[brownie]

But the reason your bumping my thread is to discredit my information which is something you clearly don’t understand.

Guys whether I am new at this or not is irrelevant and at no time did I state this was MY information

This entire forum seems to want to do is discredit anyone new

Complete nonsense

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Guys whether I am new at this or not is irrelevant and at no time did I state this was MY information - its valuable information that I wanted to showcase to business owners.

This entire forum seems to want to do is discredit anyone new - So I am new to Internet Marketing - January this year but I am also very successful at what I do. You will also note that I have not posted on the warrior forum for months as it's not what I am about anymore.

All I'm doing is offering information, PLR or not why does it matter? Clearly you have a problem with it - so don't read it.. You don't have to discredit everything I do... researching everything I post must be time consuming and I did not think I would be that important.

I'm not selling anything here, not spamming anyone here just giving information. Why does it have to be a massive problem for you?
Im not doing anything against the forum rules -

The problem is that you're jumping to an awful lot of conclusions in your copy which can anger some people. For example:

If you get 1,000 people to visit your website, chances are only about 10 will buy. That's roughly 1% of your visitors.

That's just a figure plucked out of thin air which isn't remotely credible. Every website is different.

Unfortunately, most website owners just let the remaining 99% of their traffic leave their website without trying to engage them!


That means that after spending all that time building their website andgetting traffic to it, 99% of their traffic just goes out the window!


As you can imagine, that's a significant waste of money! Instead of wasting your traffic like this, start engaging with them. "Invite them in", so to speak, and start "talking" with them.

First you state that most business owners waste 99% of their traffic (which isn't true at all) and then you accuse me, as the reader, of wasting my own traffic!

If you're a business owner with a website, you're probably losing thousands of Pounds in sales and profit without even knowing it!

I'm not 'probably' losing thousands of pounds in sales thank you very much.

 

[brownie]

Simmo, stop sending me silly PMs and discuss this in an open forum.

 

[simmo28]

Guys the purpose of this thread is to give Business owners valuable information about some common mistakes that are made by MOST business websites. that you cannot argue with

The thread is not about discrediting someone who is only trying to help other business owners. You’re open to your opinion on what I have posted and whether or not you deem the information valuable or not is up to you, there is no reason to try and discredit me or my practices.
Whether I am new to this or not I started in Jan this year and have a very successfull company right now, that has over 12 very happy clients - so I am going to keep doing what I do best and enjoy it.

 

[Dawg]

Hey come on guys. he's guilty of hyperbole, maybe a bit of over egging the old pudding. Jeez he's in marketing. That's what they do, and very valuable it can be.

Welcome Simon. I advise leaving this to rest, and in a while coming back and giving and taking on a really quite good forum, after we have all got our tats out of the mangle.

 

[simmo28]

Don't get me wrong I am open to constructive criticism but to go and research other forums (AGAIN) and post things from January to discredit me is not on. All I'm trying to do, just like the rest of the forum is provide a view on what I think is a problem for MOST business owners and their websites. At no time at all did I imply that everyone who owns a website is pants and that if I corrected 7 deadly mistakes than all would be well.. as alleged by fisicx in an earlier post.
There is nothing wrong with certain peoples views - but this forum is not about slandering people and there advice. You either take the advice or leave it. No need to take it to a personal level with that I apologise to DBW & anyone else I have annoyed.

Until the next post...
Alistair Simpson

Just to check real quick.. this thread is in the category of Sales, Marketing & PR ?

 

[fisicx]

If you're a business owner with a website, you're probably losing thousands of Pounds in sales and profit without even knowing it!

Which means I'm pants at running a business.

The good news is that each one of these mistakes can be fixed and most of these will have a positive Return on Investment (ROI) of 6 - 12 months - or less!

In other words, correct the mistakes, make more money and all will be well.

Feel free to leave comments

That's what we have been doing and you've git a bit miffed when we don't agree.

Guys the purpose of this thread is to give Business owners valuable information about some common mistakes that are made by MOST business websites. that you cannot argue with

They are not common, they are not all mistakes, there aren't 7 of them and they are not made by MOST business websites.

If you want to link bait it's a good idea to be original and to actually deliver what you promise.

As Dawg suggests, best leave this one to die a natural death. It's already ranking higher than your own blog.

 

[bdw]

Maybe if you implemented some of the things laid out in my blog posts your site wouldnt look so cramped and disorganised.

Thanks guys for answering this for me. I have been extremely busy today answering all of the enquiries and working on the projects we get from this poor old website of mine.

<takenote>Actually what some of the hot shot marketing people tend to forget nowadays is that many people (like all of those in our portfolio) still find honesty, good service and value for money very appealing. More so from an old buffer like me. </takenote>

 

[bdw]

Guys whether I am new at this or not is irrelevant and at no time did I state this was MY information

Unless I missed something at no time did you give us any reason to think otherwise.

 

[Dawg]

Unless I missed something at no time did you give us any reason to think otherwise.

Why is this important at all? Passing on information is part of what the web is all about, why are you getting all arsey about it?

You go on at length about being older or mature, you make it part of your USP: why not just let this go, give a new, younger member who made a tad of a hash of his entry a bit of leeway, why not let him join in, participate?

 

[bdw]

Why is this important at all? Passing on information is part of what the web is all about, why are you getting all arsey about it

Do you think it is acceptable to pass off other people's work and intellectual property as your own?

 

[Dawg]

Do you think it is acceptable to pass off other people's work and intellectual property as your own?

No, not really, but it does happen an awful lot on the net.
So I take it you are taking the moral high ground here over a very everyday and rather minor infringement of IP?
Whoopee doo.

Tell me: does dour and sour rhyme in Scots?

 

[RedEvo]

Tell me: does dour and sour rhyme in Scots?

Sometimes

d

 

[bdw]

So I take it you are taking the moral high ground here over a very everyday and rather minor infringement of IP?

I can't believe I just read that. I think you should know better than to tell a newbie on a business forum that copyright infringement is of no consequence.

Oh and what's it got to do with Scots? What are you implying? (I think the mods better keep an eye on this one. It's goin' nowhere nice.)

 

[RedEvo]

No don't stop guys, it's just getting interesting

d

 

[Dawg]

I can't believe I just read that. I think you should know better than to tell a newbie on a business forum that copyright infringement is of no consequence.

Oh and what's it got to do with Scots? What are you implying? (I think the mods better keep an eye on this one. It's goin' nowhere nice.)

You can't believe it? Better get out more. Nobody is going to give a flying gerbil about this except someone who had their site slagged off, and is riding high their high horse...are you going to invoke "simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play" like the criminal Aitken, too?

And I luurve the call for the mods...

"Nursey, come quick, a nasty man took my Gibber frame"

 

[bdw]

Nice guy, eh?