First, what do we mean by a web page? In functional terms, we can categorize Web pages into:

• Sales pages that include sales copy, ordering and payment pages

• Content pages that provide information on topics related to your business

• Incidental pages like About Us, Privacy Policy, Sitemap, RSS feed and Blogs

Web pages help Internet marketing by attracting targeted visitors from search engines and gaining the trust and confidence of those visitors. How are these results achieved? That is what this article looks at.

The Role of Content Pages

Content pages:

• Attract targeted traffic from search engines for the words they are optimized for, and


• Impress visitors with valuable information that is also well-presented, and make them inclined to do business with you.

Search engine optimization is a two-step process.

First, you identify the search terms - keywords - that prospective customers use to search for your product or service. There are tools like Word Tracker and Keyword Discovery that help you identify relevant keywords.

In the second step, you use these keywords at certain places on the web pages (such as HTML title tag, Headings, Subheadings, Body copy and Anchor link text). You also try to get the keywords in the text of links pointing to your site from directories, articles, and other online sources.

Add more and more content pages optimized for related keywords, making your site a substantial resource that would impress visitors, search engines, directories and even other websites. Search engines would then come to associate your site with a certain theme (related to your product or service).

Once the search engines have recognized what your site is about, they would begin to show different pages of your site to prospects searching with relevant keywords. The more optimized pages you have, the more the number of prospects who will become aware of your site. Half the battle (for getting orders) is won at this stage.

The second half of the battle involves several things, which we examine in the next section.

The Role of Descriptions and Sales Pages

Your prospects would click through to your site only if they feel interested enough by the description they see on search engine pages. You have to ensure that this description is phrased in a way that would interest your particular prospects. To do this, you must first know from where search engines get the description.

Search engines typically take the description from one of two sources. They might use the description you have included in the HTML Description Meta tag. Or they might use the first few sentences in your body copy. Pay particular attention to these and make them interesting for a prospective customer.

If the prospects land directly on your sales page, you start the selling process there. If they land on a non-sales page, the content of the page should create a sense of trust and confidence in the readers. They are then likely to click the link to the sales page, and finally see your sales copy.

The sales copy should continue the process of building trust and confidence by avoiding extravagant claims and highlighting the very specific benefits your customers can expect from your product or service. The following devices could supplement the sales copy:

• Give a detailed comparison of your offer with competing offers
• Provide credible, no-questions-asked-before-refund, guarantee
• Include testimonials from existing customers and details of any certifications and awards you have received
• Offer value-adding freebies

Once a visitor decides to order, she or he must find the process INTUITIVE. Buyers must find it easy to select items to order and be able to see individual item prices and total amount (including shipping and taxes) that they have to pay. Paying for the order must be in a secure environment that makes them confident about the safety of their credit card details.

Conclusion

Content pages, optimized for keywords used by your prospects, attract those prospects to your site. Provide valuable information on these pages to gain their trust and confidence. Supplement it with good sales copy and order/payment pages that are easy to use and secure. Increase the effectiveness of your Internet marketing effort by continuously adding new content pages optimized for new, but relevant, keywords.

Gopi Nathan is an experienced business management professional who now helps small businesspersons sell their products or services on the Internet.

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