Planning Your Web Site

There are millions of Web sites, selling millions of products on the Internet
every day, and they are all competing for viewers; many of them are competing
for the same viewers you are! How do you get the results you’re looking for?
When asked if they are marketing on the Internet, many people and organizations
say, “Yes, we have a Web site.” However, having a Web site and marketing
on the Internet are two very different things. Yes, usually you need a Web
site to market on the Internet. However, a Web site is simply a collection of
documents, images, and other electronic files that are publicly accessible across
the Internet. Your site needs to be designed to meet your online objectives and
should be developed with your target market in mind. Internet marketing encompasses
all the steps you take to reach your target market online, attract
visitors to your Web site, encourage them to buy your products or services, and
make them want to come back for more.
Having a Web site is great, but it is meaningless if nobody knows about it.
Just as having a brilliantly designed product brochure does you little good if it
sits in your sales manager’s desk drawer, a Web site does you little good if your
target market isn’t visiting it.