Following is the recap from the August 18 Web conversions #smbiz Twitter chat. @karmacom and @tcpeter were the special guest experts:
@smbiz Q1 What are some myths about what it takes to make money online for a Web site? #smbiz
@karmacom Q1Myth #1 is that u need tons of traffic, U don’t – u need qualified, targeted traffic #smbiz
@tcpeter Q1: There’s no such thing as “channel conflict”. That’s something we worry about. Our customers just want to shop/buy. #smbiz
@karmacom Q1: Myth #2 “if you build it they will come” #smbiz
@karmacom Q1 Myth #3: u don’t need a secure site, a real merchant account and a good gateway #smbiz
@tcpeter Q1: Myth #3 It’s all about conversion rate. It isn’t. You don’t deposit conversion. You deposit profits. #smbiz
@karmacom Q1 Myth #4: you don’t need to be in it for the long haul #smbiz
@helpbusinesses Q1: you can buy a cookie cutter website and the money will roll in #smbiz
@smbiz Q2 What are some popular things people do WRONG when trying to make money thru a Web site? #smbiz
@merylevans Q2 Scrape sites — just take other people’s content. Spammy. #smbiz
@karmacom Q2 You don’t need to study competition: wrong. Would you open a retail store in an area w/out doing a competitive study? #smbiz
@jaredstauffer Q2 popular things people do wrong - dump a bunch of $ on google ads w/out research and understanding #smbiz
@TargetStars Q2 Making promises that they will not be able to keep. #smbiz
@karmacom Q2 Wrong: Search marketing /SEM: adwords, etc. eliminates need for good SEO (organic) #smbiz
@tcpeter Q2: Do wrong? Fail to set appropriate goals. Do you want to grow your brand, your sales, something else? #smbiz
@helpbusinesses Q2: Expect the money to just start coming in without doing anything #smbiz
@tcpeter Q2: Too many businesses put too much effort into too few things (I’m looking at you, AdWords). Don’t put all eggs in 1 basket. #smbiz
@SternalPR Q2 I wonder if too many small biz rely on Google adwords and pay per click and dont do much elese? #smbiz
@karmacom Q2; Fuzzy idea of target market & where they live online? Habits? Hours they keep? = wrong #smbiz
@tcpeter @SternalPR I think that’s often the case. Also, focusing on CPC is (usually) the wrong metric for most businesses. #smbiz
@smbiz Q3 Can you offer some guidance on how to design your Web site so that you have a good chance at selling items? #smbiz
@karmacom Q3 Key is striking right balance btwn info design, emot’l design & content #smbiz
@karmacom Q3 KISS design: You have 45 seconds (Neilsen study) for click-thru or click off. What is primary call to action #smbiz
@karmacom Q3 Keep important info and call to action “above the fold.” #smbiz
@SternalPR Q3 For example, re: design - if I’m the Minn. Vikings I put Brett Favre all over my Website to sell ANYTHING w/ #4 on it. #smbiz
@merylevans Q3 Benefits, jargon-free, recognizes and solves visitor’s pain. #smbiz
@tcpeter Q3 Start with your customer. You’re looking to sell. They’re looking to buy. Guess who’s right? #smbiz
@karmacom Q3 Get your USP/Value proposition upfront & promote your top-selling item #smbiz
@karmacom Q3 Do you have buried treasure in your web site? Often the best stuff hides in inside pages. #smbiz
@jaredstauffer Q3 Amazon does a great job with the “upsell” - w/the feature of cust. who bought this item also bought this. #smbiz
@tcpeter Q3 Yes it’s cliche. Who cares? But content is (still) king. Give your customer what they need to make their choice. #smbiz
@karmacom Q4: Don’t hard sell, add value. Personal fans turn into business fans, People appreciate ur contrib’ns. #smbiz
@DesignLeap Q4 it’s all about using the right keywords in all your copy, that includes promotions #smbiz
@jaredstauffer Q4 the answer in form of an example: mercola.com I think does a decent job of this, provides tons of content & sells. #smbiz
@tcpeter Q4 It’s more about guiding/persuading than “promotional.” Don’t think “SELL! SELL! SELL!” Think “Help, guide, answer.” Then sell. #smbiz
@jaredstauffer Q4 mercola.com provides relevant content/answers to common ?’s and promotes products side by side, articles make u want to buy. #smbiz
@smbiz Q5 Are you better off selling items on a Web site or a blog? Or should your business have both? #smbiz
@merylevans Q5 I just read an article today that said to sell on site not blog. Use blog to gain trust, share valuable info. #smbiz
@jaredstauffer Q5 should have both if possible, but Wordpress has some great ecomm plugins that make it easy to do both on same site #smbiz
@karmacom Q5 If you blog with no website, link to an ebay or other store for hard goods. #smbiz
@tcpeter Q5 Most businesses should look at having both an e-commerce site and a blog. Customers don’t go to blogs to buy. Meet needs w/ each #smbiz
@karmacom Q5 If u are serious ecommerce u r not selling from your blog. U can link back to your estore. #smbiz
@karmacom Q5: Blogs that are all/only about selling something = fail #smbiz
@smbiz Q6 What are some good troubleshooting tips if you’ve got good traffic but still aren’t making a lot of conversions? #smbiz
@jaredstauffer Q6 use analytics to look for exit pages where cust. might be getting confused, etc. #smbiz
@tcpeter Q6 Bounce rate, bounce rate, bounce rate. Look at entries and why people don’t stick. #smbiz
@TargetStars Q5: Blogs are meant to share information and connect with people not another avenue to pitch. #smbiz
@karmacom Q6: Do you have good ads or press but bad landing/home page? #smbiz
@merylevans Q6 Look for elements to test and tweak one or two things. Don’t change up everything. Then you won’t know what works. #smbiz
@tcpeter Q6 You can’t convert a visitor that doesn’t hang around. If your bounce rate is high, fix that first. #smbiz
@karmacom Q6: Check analytics: what search terms r bringing them in? R they the right terms? #smbiz
@tcpeter Q6 How high is “high”? Varies, but anything over 30% on an e-commerce site (not a blog) is worth looking at. #smbiz
@jaredstauffer Q6 at @brinkster we found it interesting what key words were actually bringing people to our site. #smbiz
@tcpeter Q6 Shameless plug: blog post about fixing bounce rate: http://bit.ly/GROrR #smbiz
@DesignLeap Q6 take a look at your abandoned shopping carts and email the people to see what went wrong. #smbiz
@karmacom Q6: Bad offer and/or presentation thereof. Do multivariate landing page testing #smbiz
@helpbusinesses @SternalPR I think business owners need to understand its about product selection not hard selling #smbiz
@SternalPR @helpbusinesses I see ur point. But I know lots of sites that have good products but lose sale cuz design is not conducive 2 sales. #smbiz
@smbiz Q7 How does optimization play into Web conversion? How do you leverage this? #smbiz
@karmacom Q7 I am prejudiced but to me SEO is everything. Clients have seen sales up over 400% with organic search alone. #smbiz
@karmacom Q7: Research on how people search 4 ur products/services. Find the underutilized terms with good #s. #smbiz
@tcpeter Q7 SEO is huge. So is landing page optimization. Get ‘em in, get ‘em to stay. After that getting ‘em to buy is, well, less hard 
#smbiz
@karmacom Q7: Hint: Good title tags can change your life! #smbiz
@karmacom Q7: Seek undervalued terms where there is chance to break into the top 10 and optimize for them. #smbiz
@tcpeter Q7 Also look at your images. Do they continue the story your customer is telling himself? #smbiz
@DesignLeap Q7 SEO is your way to free organic rankings. #smbiz
@helpbusinesses Q8 I think your product will determine whether or note affiliate marketing should be a part of your mix #smbiz
@tcpeter Q8 Probably yes. Look for items that complement, not compete, with your offerings. If it’s good for your customer, it’ll be good 4 U. #smbiz
@tcpeter Q8 Don’t think of it as affiliate marketing so much as enhancing your customer’s experience. If it “plays well with others,” try it. #smbiz
@merylevans Q8 You can. It’s a matter of how your site is set up and structured. It can fail on some sites and succeed on others. #smbiz
@jaredstauffer Q8 think what products will my cust need to use with my product/service. #smbiz
@smbiz Q9 How do you play the referral game? What can you do to get good inbound referrals? #smbiz
@helpbusinesses Q9: Action speak louder than word so have your actions out there & that will bring in tons of referrals. #smbiz
@tcpeter Q9 Work with complementary services. Do you get IRL referrals? That’s a great place to start online. #smbiz
@karmacom Q9: 4 me, drive to web pr is a key component to qualified traffic referrals and conversions http://budurl.com/karmacomg… #smbiz
@helpbusinesses Q9: Under sell and over deliver. People will speak volumes about you and send more people your way consistently. #smbiz
@karmacom Q9: Good press online is the fastest way to increase inbound links. It’s organic, too #smbiz
@karmacom Q9: Social networking and blogger relations good for inbound links #smbiz
@tcpeter Q9 Build relationships, then referrals. It’s difficult (not impossible) to get one without the other. And be generous w/ outbound. #smbiz
@karmacom Q9:More inbound/reciprocal links: got to research then work the phones & email #smbiz
@DesignLeap Q9 Always stay in touch with your best clients, they’re your gold mine for referrals. #smbiz
@smbiz Q10 Any resources you can share for more info about tonight’s topic? (Feel free to share info/links 2 your sites) #smbiz
@tcpeter Q10 Key to great titles and (quick and dirty) personas from CopyBlogger: http://bit.ly/syFMf #smbiz
@karmacom Q10 re: drive to web PR http://budurl.com/karmacomg… #smbiz
@SternalPR Here’s link to PR Toolkit for those small businesses looking to learn 2 get good press! http://bit.ly/f4X6z #smbiz
@tcpeter Q10 Good tool for quick personas at BTBuckets: http://bit.ly/8xac3 #smbiz
@karmacom Q10: Tips for maximizing/prepping for Cyber Monday: http://budurl.com/karmacomb… #smbiz
