I was recently interviewed by Christopher Elliot for an article published on Microsoft’s Office site: 10 strategies for enticing visitors to buy or act. The purpose of the article is to help business owners convert web visitors into customers.

With Christopher’s permission, I’ve posted the entire interview below.

Christopher Elliot: My audience is small businesses and sole proprietors. In your opinion, how important is turning a reader into a customer for these groups?

BW: Turning a website reader into a customer is critical for small business. Most companies agree the purpose of a web-site is to educate existing customers and attract new customers. Done right, a website can be a cost-effective tool for attracting new customers and expanding your reach to an audience you may not have had access to in the past.

CE: Do you know of any surveys that discuss the importance of making these conversions?

BW – I haven’t read any recent survey’s discussing the importance of converting customers. But on the flip-side, I would be hard pressed to remember the last time a day passed where I didn’t receive at least one email discussing online conversions and options to optimize and test your website. It seems as if we have moved past asking if it is important, to how do we optimize our site for new customers?

CE: I’d like to mention your top two or three tips for converting Web site users into customers. What are your top two or three tips? I’m trying to get beyond the obvious ones, like “always include a call to action or a subscriber form on your site”—I think most people reading this already do that.

BW: I think an easy one that people is miss is adding a bookmark option/widget to their site. Bookmark widgets have exploded in popularity with Web 2.0, and for a small business they serve two important purposes. The first is to attract return visitors. Many times people will bookmark a site of relative importance or a site they plan on re-visiting when they have more time. If you have a complex product or service, it’s important to make it easy for your customers and prospects to find you a second and third time. The ancillary benefit of a bookmaking tool like del.icio.us – it allows people of like interests to share information and possibly drive additional prospects to your site.

The second is fairly obvious, but often missed. It’s important to repeat your call to action multiple times on the same page. If you have a very informative site with lot’s of data, don’t just put a call to action (ie buy button) on the top or bottom of a page. If people know what they want, put a prominent call to action “above the fold” so your users see it immediately and can act. For the customer who takes more time and reads all of a page, place another call to action at the end of the page, so they can easily act. This simple change will definitely increase conversions.

CE” Also, I’m wondering if there are any common mistakes that small businesses/sole proprietors make when they are trying to improve their conversions?

BW: I believe a fairly common mistake made by both small and big business is losing focus of the 90 – 10 rule online. Many companies have a core product or service that accounts for the majority of their business, but when visiting their website you would never know that. You often see sites where low volume / low margin offerings get the same amount of space as the core offering. Businesses should give users what they want by highlighting their core products, making it as simple as possible to convert their largest base of customers.

All the best,
Bill

This article was originally published at American Venture Magazine.

There is nothing more exciting than starting a new business and that excitement grows with every success your business experiences. Unfortunately for most start-ups the transition from a great idea to a great business doesn’t always materialize. A key to success for any business lies in building awareness, this is especially true for new businesses. Thankfully we live in a world where we can make use of the web and the tools it offers to get in front of our target customer and begin building awareness.

Before you can build awareness for your business, you need to understand your customer. Who is your prime prospect? Are they local, single, parents, affluent, etc? By identifying your customer you’ll be able to better understand what they want and the best ways to reach them.

Once you’ve identified your prime prospect, build a website to start communicating with them. Many businesses wait to launch a site until the business is up and running, but by launching your site first, you start building awareness and more importantly gain an understanding of your customer. Two key elements for your new site should be web analytics and a blog. Analytics will provide reporting to understand what people are viewing on the site, the time they’re spending and who they are. You’ll gain valuable knowledge about where your visitors live, how they found your site and if browsing from a named network, where they work. You can spend thousands on an analytics package, but for most companies, Google offers a free solution that captures mountains of data at a price every start-up can appreciate.

Analytics can help provide meta data, but to create a personal relationship with prospects, start a blog. A blog allows you to tell your story. Share with your prospects why you think your business is great, let them know the progress you’re making and most importantly ask for their feedback. A blog is an open dialog with your prospects that provides them with an opportunity to ask questions, provide new ideas and give advice.

Next, create a survey on your site. The best way to find out about your potential customers is to ask; who are they, what do they want and how do they want it. The key to a good survey, keep it simple and short. Everyone has an opinion and when asked for it, they’ll share it.

This next item may surprise you; start advertising. Take advantage of your new website to understand what message appeals to prospects. By utilizing keyword advertising, a new company can spend as little as $5 to $20 dollars a day and effectively meet two objectives. First you gain an understanding of what prospects react to. You will learn what keywords they search and by creating different ads, what messages are most effective in gaining their attention (in this case a click to your site). I recently met an author who chose the title of a best selling book by running an adword test in Google. By running these campaigns, you’ll be more prepared to effectively promote your business and attract new customers when you launch. In addition to learning about your prime prospects you’ll gain the added benefit of building awareness for your company.

Finally, prepare a press release announcing the new business before launching. In the weeks prior to launch prepare a distribution list of publications, blogs, and shows, etc. that would have an interest in covering the business. Craft a release that will appeal to these outlets and future customers. When the time is right, send the release with a personalized message and be sure to follow up. PR is a tough business, but a mention or feature in the right outlet can go a long way in creating a buzz and attracting new prospects. In addition to your targeted list take advantage of online services like PRNewswire or PRlog, to upload your release to the web and gain a mass distribution for your news.

Following the steps above won’t guarantee success, but they will help you take advantage of technology and start building awareness and a customer base for your business.

All the best,
Bill