Running your own Internet project can seem like an archetypal one, especially if this is your first experience. But even beginners do not have to “collect all the rakes” of starting entrepreneurs, as it is known, only a fool learns from mistakes, and a smart one learns from others. In our today’s post, we will describe the 7 most common mistakes of Internet business and tell you why they should be avoided.
- Just create a website, and customers will find themselves
Unfortunately no. According to the statistics of “Internet Live Stats”, at the moment there are 1,202,012,086 sites and 4,440,000,000 web pages on the network. Just think: when you create your own resource, it will become 1 202 012 087 on the account – how can customers find it?
The development of Internet business and attracting visitors requires time, energy and constant financial investments. Generation of traffic does not happen by itself as a result of creating a beautiful site and filling it with quality content. It is important to realize that launching the site is only the first step on the long path of business development, after which you still have a lot to do.
- Lack of brand identity
The logo is the first thing that catches your eye to the visitor of the resource and influences the formation of an opinion about your company. Most automatic platforms offer interesting standard solutions to choose from, but it’s best if you do your own branding yourself.
Some entrepreneurs still consider the development of the company’s logo something very expensive. However, at the moment there are many services to create a logo or special fonts for the name of the company, which are available for free or for quite reasonable money.
- No Social Evidence
Any internet marketer knows that social evidence has a positive effect on conversions. But not everyone knows how to correctly use this tool. Let us consider the most typical erroneous representations.
Reviews. What feedback?
They believe that availability of reviews on the website of the online store contributes to an increase in conversion. This is true, but only if you are worried about this option in advance.
When you are just starting up your business , there is a temptation to postpone adding a product review section to each product lending until real customers appear who want to buy something. This is especially true if your store has a fairly wide range.
However, the visitor, going to the page where there is a form for feedback, but there is not a single comment, can doubt: did anyone buy this product? If so, why did not anyone unsubscribe about its quality? As a result, social evidence may adversely affect its decision to purchase and reduce overall performance.
No Subscribers
In addition to feedback, for those who for the first time decided to purchase something on your resource, the presence of the company’s page in social networks can become another proof of the quality of services. However, simply creating a profile is clearly not enough. If you do not have subscribers, it is perceived by users as a bad sign.
Instead of registering in all popular networks at once, select one and closely engage the audience. Over time, you will find strength and other sources, while you will be able to more effectively calculate the conversion from each channel, without torn between them.
- Few contact details
Many online entrepreneurs underestimate the importance of the “About the Company” page of their store. Although, according to statistics, it takes one of the first places in attendance. It is easy to guess how much this role plays for visitors.
Do not make a common mistake – do not bypass this page, as well as a page with contact information, attention. We list some of the most common problems:
- Lack of history. What exactly does your company do? Tell the story of its creation and what advantages it has: how are your products manufactured, what are they, etc. Do not need to paint all the details – visitors will have a couple of paragraphs to satisfy their curiosity.
- No information about whereabouts. Of course, you implement your products or services on the Internet. But this does not mean that users will not want to see the actual address of your company and the place where the delivery is from. For many, this is a matter of trust, but it is important for some potential customers to know whether they will have to deal with customs when ordering goods.
- There is no corporate e-mail address. Yes, this is another factor that may cause doubts among visitors. They believe that it is not prestigious for an organization to have electronic mail boxes on free mail services. It’s better to spend a little time and get your own domain name. Then use it when creating an email address to show: you’re in this business for a long time.
- Inattention to SEO
Probably the main problem of newly created online stores is the amateurish approach to SEO-promotion or its complete absence. Of course, this area does not require scientific knowledge, but it is not such an easy process as it may seem. And given the fact that the results of the work are not visible at once. It becomes clear why many entrepreneurs postpone promotion issues for later.
And in vain, because the search traffic can become one of the most powerful tools for generating customers. Unlike Facebook, Vkontakte, Yandex or Google Adwords, which is canceled, as soon as you stop paying, this channel leads the target audience day after day.
Tip: if you can not compile a list of 10 keywords that are necessary for the long-term promotion of your resource – it’s time to get busy with SEO.
- You focus on everything and immediately
Business is a complex, time-consuming process. Imagine a neurosurgeon performing several operations simultaneously. This is unthinkable, too much risk! Remember this when you start your own business.
Often, beginning entrepreneurs try to take on all the work: they clean up the tails, try to create an improved version of the application, engage in traffic attraction, eventually forgetting what they did before. This approach is fundamentally wrong and potentially leads to failure.
A competent distribution of attention is a very important factor. Otherwise you will waste much of the effort and it will not lead to any meaningful results. Study each side of the business separately and perform one task at a time.
- Using only one traffic channel
And, finally, along with other mistakes peculiar to both beginners and veterans of the Internet business, it is possible to highlight the neglect of additional channels to attract traffic. It inevitably leads to a weakening of positions in front of competitors.
To date, there are literally hundreds of different channels, and absolutely every one of them deserves your attention. Whether it’s search engine optimization or content marketing, an advertising campaign on Facebook or Instagram, an expert recommendation (influencer outreach) or “word of mouth” – they all have their advantages.
If you spent $ 50 on advertising with any result, it does not mean that this channel is not liquid. Perhaps, it was worth investing a little more money or changing the target audience. Or even adjusting the design of the ad itself, in order to evoke a greater response from potential buyers. Studying the effectiveness of each channel can really take some time, but the result is worth it.
At the early stages of the development of an Internet project, it is better to test one channel at once. First of all, it is necessary to select those options that you consider the most promising. Only then to investigate the characteristics of each individually.
Conclusions
Starting and establishing your own business is a task that cannot be solved in one day. Regardless of the seriousness of your intentions, some common misconceptions, like those listed above, can greatly harm your work.
Take time and objectively assess your capabilities, marketing strategy and priorities to make sure the correctness of the chosen approach. And learn how to achieve good traffic, increase ROI and increase sales, you can by reading other articles of our blog.