The vast majority of web sites are destined to fail before they are even built. Why? Because people building sites almost always put the cart before the horse. Actually, most don’t even include the horse.
Evolution of Your Site
New sites follow a typical evolutionary process.
1. The first stage involves slaving over the design of the site to get just the right look;
2. The second stage is the publication of the site;
3. Third comes the first thought about how to get traffic to the site;
4. Fourth, the discovery of pay-per-click options;
5. Fifth, the pursuit of PPC campaigns and realization of sales!;
6. Sixth, the “misery stage”, occurs with the realization that sales are being made at a loss!;
7. Frustration, frustration, frustration;
8. The “extinction stage” – With profitability seeming impossible, the PPC campaigns are closed and the site just sits there.
Does any of this sound familiar? You need not suffer this evolutionary extinction! Taking one step before you build a site can save you a lot of wasted time and money.
If You Build It, Will They Come?
The first step to developing a successful web site is keyword analysis. Keywords are the anchors of each page of your site, a collective summary of your products and services.
The first step to developing an online business is to identify whether there is sufficient traffic for your business product or service. Let’s look at a very simple example.
If your are selling boating products, each page of your site should incorporate boating-related keyword phrases. You must analyze whether there is a sufficient number of searches each month to make your boating site a viable entity. A free method for doing this is to use the Overture inventory tool: