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Lynda: Hi, Brian. What do you see as the biggest mistake business owners make with their online marketing?

Brian: Great question, Lynda. The biggest mistake I see on most websites is that they spend too much time talking about themselves on the home page. Business owners want to tell the world how great their products, services, and staff are so they usually put it all on the front page. The problem is that the customer or prospect isn’t ready to read about how great you are just yet.

Have you ever met someone at a social gathering who spent their whole time talking about themselves? No matter how hard you try changing the subject they just keep talking about themselves. How does that make you feel? You can’t wait to get away from them, right? People respond to your website home page the same way.

Lynda: So what can we do to fix the problem?

Brian: I like to use a simple technique called the Golden Ratio to help me evaluate how effective the writing is in any of my marketing materials, including web pages. Here’s how it works. Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle dividing the paper in half. On the left side write the words “You & Your.” Then on the right side write “I, Me, Mine, We, Our, Company Name & Logo”.

Then look at your marketing materials (your web page) and count the number of times you use the words You and Your and write that number on the left side. Then count the number of times your company name or logo and the words I, Me, Mine, We, and Our appear. Write that number on the right side of the page. The Golden Ratio is at least 3:1 You and Your to I, Me, Mine, We & Our. If it isn’t then you need to re-write your message. People want you to talk to THEM. They need to know that you understand what they need and want. They aren’t ready to hear about you yet so talk about them first so they WANT to stay and listen to you.

Lynda: Then where do we put all the stuff about ourselves and our company?

Brian: All the stuff about how great you are, how wonderful your product and services are, and how well trained your professional staff is goes on the About Us page. This tends to be the second most looked at page on your website. Grab people’s attention on the home page by making a compelling offer that will solve their problem or meet their needs then on the About page you show them why your company can deliver on the claim you made on the home page. The About page is where you offer PROOF.

Lynda: Wow. Great information, Brian. What else should we look for on our website?

Brian: There are three key elements you MUST have on your website if you want it to make money or generate leads for your business. The amazing thing is that more than 92% of the websites I review do NOT have these elements. All of my clients ask me to do an evaluation their website to improve its performance… make more money or get more leads. So, what I am offering visitors to the Synergy Sessions website for the month of April is a $300 Website Home Page Evaluation for FREE. There is no obligation to use my services. You will get a list of recommendation that you can take action on right away to immediately improve your website.