I recently received both fan mail and hate mail in response to comments featured in Backbone Magazine surrounding Flash-based websites.

My statement: “Most Flash intros are not created with the visitor and business in mind, but rather as an opportunity to showcase a programmer’s abilities,” also sparked exchanges on Ubuntu Forums, drawing more than 1,700 visitors and over 70 comments.

“You miss the point completely,” e-mailed one website developer. “Something needs to jump out at the reader, or you blend in with the rest of the Web.”

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A Melbourne start-up claiming it will soon unleash the Web’s first “true real-time search engine” has grabbed the attention of search engine giant Google.

Slated for release at the end of June, the online tool will give users the power to scope the entire Web “live to the second,” explains MyLiveSearch’s co-creator and software developer Rob Gabriel, 35.

The outcome? He claims better, more relevant results.

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Millions of websites attempt to seduce Google and its competitors to score high search engine rankings. But what is the best path to this lucrative romance?

While there are more than a few website promotion tactics, you have two primary means to establish a relationship: court Google and other search engines with alluring web content; or simply pay to get lucky.

Pay Per Click Campaigns

This popular search engine marketing tactic can get you substantial presence in just hours or days. However, after you clear the floor of fraudulent clicks (from competitors eating up your marketing budget) and tire kickers, you might end up with less-than-anticipated conversions, if any at all.

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To achieve business growth, you need to focus on your strengths and hire others to take care of the rest.

Unfortunately, entrepreneurs often fail to employ this fundamental business growth strategy.

Whether it’s driven by pride or fear, I meet many entrepreneurs who have difficultly delegating, including recently: a fashion designer who won’t let go of her accounting; a pastry chef who refuses to let designers get near his website; and a furniture maker who turns down professional help to arrange his storefront.

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More than 93% of Internet users indicated they favour speed and readability over appearance when visiting websites, according to a recent online poll conducted by Webcopyplus.

When Internet users were asked what’s likely to drive them away from a website:

• 51.2% indicated “slow load times”
• 42.2% specified “weak web copy”
• 6.6% noted “poor visual presentation”
• A total of 258 users participated in the web writing service provider’s online poll during a four-month period that ended in April of 2007.

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Clients and students frequently question why website writing should hover around a grade eight level.

The purpose is to promote readability.

It’s well known in the web writing community that the vast majority of online visitors don’t read word-by-word — they scan.

That’s why plain language works well on the Web.

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When writing web copy for the all-too-noisy World Wide Web, nothing is more powerful than simplicity.

As a result, your web copy messages need to be clearly defined and concise. Easier said than done.

Entrepreneurs, like artists, tend to complicate things when they don’t have clear vision or direction.

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If your website’s not performing, here’s what you can do to improve search engine rankings, engage visitors and convert more sales.

1. Align the Site with Your Objectives

Have your business objectives and goals changed since you launched your website? If so, then you need to revisit your website’s content to ensure it supports your current business needs.

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Are you planning to build or update a business website? The following three questions will save you time, money and frustration, and help you get the results you want.

1. What is your website’s objective?
2. Who is your target market?
3. What’s your position?

On several occasions, my colleagues and I have come across business owners who spent upwards of $20,000 on website design and development, with literally nothing to show for it.

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With the rapid expansion of the digital economy, the web site is conceivably the most powerful marketing and sales tool you can employ.

Yet, despite the highly competitive, global business climate, many businesses have yet to take advantage of this popular technology.

Consider these facts:

• There are more than 1,022,800,000 Internet users worldwide. The U.S. has the highest number of Internet users in the world with 205,300,000-plus ‘surfers’, equating to 68.6% of the country’s population. (Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/)
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