Put Your Site In Focus
            by Jim Smoot

All too often folks on the internet get an idea for a new web site, build it, then register it with every search engine and link site they can find. Many times, however, they move to the registration part without ever stepping back to really look at their site with a critical eye. Most of these sites can be described with one phrase; Lack of Focus.

One of the hardest, but possibly the most important thing to do with your site is to look at it with "new eyes". But sometimes it's hard to be objective with a new web page. After all this is your baby. You've spent time and effort putting your ideas down, and you don't want to have to throw any of them away or perhaps even (gulp!) start all over.

If you want to be effective in internet marketing, you must reassess your site from time to time, and the best time is before you get a bad site listed.

Even if you have been listed, this would be a good time some spring cleaning of your site. A chance to go back and refocus on whether or not your site reflects your business in a positive light.

WHY AM I HERE?
For the most part, web surfers are an impatient group of people. They don't want to wait around while you sing your own praises, or drone on about how wonderful your product / service is. If you have a point, make it. Tell me what it is you're selling on the first page. If you want me to spend my money, tell me how much before I spend too much of my time scrolling through your site. I don't want to have to work that hard to find information. If I can't find it quickly, I'll move on to a site that will give it to me.

BULLET VS. BUCKSHOT
If your business has a focus, so should your site. It probably doesn't do you any good to offer domain name search information if it's buried beneath Save the Earth / Local Info / Professional Tennis information. Not that there's anything wrong with any of them, but there's no consistency. If you're putting up a page to share your passion on a subject, that's fine. It's not a way to market a business though.

FRESH CONTENT
There is a lot of information that has a very long shelf life. But there are a lot of sites that need to be updated on a regular basis. If I go to a page that's congratulating the 1996 Atlanta Braves as the new World Champions, I will have serious doubts about the relevancy of the rest of the information.

The same is true with dead links. It makes the site appear neglected if you are asked to click on a link, and it doesn't go anywhere. Some sites are very "link intensive", with lists of links that are related to a similar subject. If this describes your site, you should probably offer your visitors a chance to let you know if any of the links you list are bad. This saves a lot of time for you, as well as helps keep your visitors from leaving, never to return.

DO YOU NEED A COMPASS TO FIND YOUR WAY HOME?
I have visited some sites where I almost have to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to find my back through the site. The best way to prevent this from happening is to be sure that you are offering a way back. If you are doing this with a tool bar, it would be a good idea to offer a text link as well for those who browse with the graphics turned off.  Make sure that their location within the site is well marked, and give them the option of moving back one level as well as returning to your home page.

CHECK YOUR LOAD TIMES
Earlier I mentioned how impatient web surfers are. Here is where you can lose them before they ever read a word of what you have to say. Sites that are graphic intensive, or that are loaded down with all the latest technological programming tend to load very slowly.  My advice is "less is more".  Unless it is critical to the overall focus of your site, it would be better to tone it down a little than to have a site that takes forever to load.

GET A CHECK-UP
A good place to have your pages checked out is Web Site Garage . This is a free service that checks load-time, broken links, popularity, and overall design. They then generate reports detailing problems they have found. It only takes a couple of minutes, and is well worth the effort.

The key is to revisit your site from time to time and look at it from the customers' point of view.  What would you think of it if it were someone else's site?  Most important, if changes need to be made, make them. If a customer leaves a bad site, the chances of them ever coming back are very slim.

JIM SMOOT is an author, internet marketing consultant, and publisher of the Business Advantage Newsletter. Get a FREE subscription by sending an email to cjweb@hotmail.com , or by visiting http://members.xoom.com/cjweb1/home.html