Have you done everything you can to promote your business and present it in a positive light? Do you have an effective, well designed company website? If you don't have an effective website for your business, you may be losing a lot of potential customers, and a lot of money.

According to a survey by Genex, an Incorporated 500 company, it is crucial for a business to have an effective company website that is visually appealing, up-to-date, easy to use, and that is rich in information about your company. The survey found that: 65% of potential customers will not shop on a poorly designed website, even if it is the site of a favorite brand; more than 75% of customers between 25 and 34 (the age group that makes the most purchases) say that usability is important in their online and offline purchasing decisions; and almost 30% of consumers will even quit making offline purchases from a company if their online experience at the company's website is poor.

According to David Glaze, Vice President of Creative, Genex, the survey shows there are “substantial financial consequences” when a company does not pay enough attention to the design and usability of its website.

Some companies that design effective company websites for businesses offer a multitude of services, including website design, video production, advertising design, and search engine optimization (SEO). Such companies will often design a website for a business and host the site too. Companies that use their services may find it easier to communicate with their customers in an effective and clear manner. They may be less likely to lose customers.

According to experts, an effective company website can provide a path to success. Such a website must be consistent in its design, relevant and compelling, easy to navigate, unique but familiar at the same time, up to date, fun and interactive. If a website for a company is all these things, the company with the effective website may find an increasing degree of business.

Some business experts say that customers often look online first for services or products. If you have an effective website customers will be more likely to buy from you, but the survey by Genex proves if you do not, you may likely lose customers permanently.

One problem is that some business owners think they cannot afford an effective company website. The survey by Genex proves they cannot afford not to have such a website. A website can pay for itself many times over in increased revenue for a business and may not cost as much as a business owner thinks.

Often potential customers will not look past the first page of your company website, so the site must be effective. You should buy from a web design company that knows how to provide SEO services. If SEO services are effectively used, your website could have a higher chance of being found on the first page of an Internet search for your search terms.

To increase your business, make certain you have an effective company website.

About the Author: Receive a FREE consultation from a custom website design company in Rochester MN that specializes in web development in Minnesota, and advertising and marketing agency services.

A company that specializes in search engine optimization (SEO), understands algorithms from search engines can be used to improve the quality or volume of traffic to a given web site. In general, the sooner that site appears in the list resulting from a search, the greater the number of "hits" it will receive via the search engine. This process may target various types of search that include local and image searches, and vertical search engines that are specific to a particular industry.

Making a web site searchable mainly involves tailoring its HTML coding and content to remove any obstacles to search engine activity that exists, and increase the sites' relevance at the same time. To be successful with international markets, complete SEO may also require registering a top-level domain name in the chosen market, professional translation of the page text, and web hosting that includes local IP addresses. Many Internet programs use back-end systems that alter both meta-data and visible page content to make a page more relevant to search engines, and this is based on the way in which previous visitors arrived at the original page.

Why you need SEO

Attracting visitors to your site is essential today, and researchers tell us that 72% of the adults in America use the Internet on a regular basisincluding 92% of those with college degrees and 94% of those earning $75,000 or more annually. They have also discovered that more than 187 million people use well-known search engines to find the information they need and want. Savvy marketers know that the "cost per lead" with internet advertising is far less that the cost per lead related to the traditional Yellow Pages. Small and medium-sized businesses in particular are beginning to devote more of the advertising dollars to being "found" online by potential clients and customers.

While studies show that web searchers scan a list of search results from top to bottom as they look for relevant information, this is not an automatic guarantee of an increase in sales. Successful Internet marketing often involves the following:

- Using paid advertising with search engines and other sources,
- Creating a first-class home page that is both engaging and persuasive,
- Dealing with various technical problems that may prevent search engines from crawling and indexing the site, and
- Establishing programs that will analyze the owner's successes and improve the page's conversion rate over time.

Finding the right advertising and marketing group

Look for an organization that has invested a substantial amount of time and energy into studying the major factors related to successful search engine placement, and can apply that expertise to your organization's web site. Ideally, they will have a full-time SEO staff, perform ongoing research, and provide a history of placing sites in effective search-engine positions. In addition, their web site design will be creative, accessible, and innovative, combined with SEO services, advertising design, and full-service video production. If a marketing group is truly interested in helping your organization, they will also communicate your message in a way that is clear, compelling, and cost effective.

About the Author: Receive a FREE consultation from a search engine optimization (SEO) company in Rochester MN that specializes in Minnesota SEO, and advertising and marketing agency services.