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23 October 1998 The Foundation Of Internet Marketing By Muhammad Lee Pop quiz: What is the first concern for someone initiating an Internet marketing campaign? Banner ads? Nope. Search engines? Nope. Link exchanges? Nope. All wrong. Listen closely now. The correct answer is web page design. Huh? I know design is important, but why the most important? Very simple. The layout and design of your site is the foundation. Your site is a product. Through it customers get to other products. If they don't buy your site's design and layout, they don't buy anything at all. Visitors to your site stay for 30 to 60 seconds unless something about the site keeps them from going elsewhere. Number one ranking in ten search engines? Banner ads with a click through rate of 40%? Thousands of pages linking to yours? All useless if your presentation misses the point. Your site must be a true marketing tool, or all other efforts are in vain. Click the search button on your browser and enter in some keywords on the engine of your choice. Now click on the #1 result. Ask yourself: Am I going to stay here or am I going to do BACK and leave to look at the other results. How many RESULTS do you go through before you find a site you will at least browse through before leaving? How many before you find the one you want? How often is the #1 ranked page, or the banner ad, or the ad in your favorite e-zine the product or service you are willing to buy? Does your investigation of the front page lead you to take a shopping trip? What is the reason for not being interested in a site even if it offers the product, service, or content which is the object of your search? My guess is that 50% of the time the design of the front page actually chases you away. The marketing of your site must bring people to it. Your front page must encourage them to stay. Design and content of the entire site must bring them back. Stay tuned next issue, where we examine: LOAD TIME SCREEN APPEARANCE NAVIGATION JAVA, PLUGINS, ETC. AESTHETICS ______________________________________ Muhammad Lee is the founder and president of The Advanced Design Group, LLC, a Web Page Development and Internet Consulting Firm. For more information contact ADG at adg@adgconsulting.com or http://www.adgconsulting.com

Marketing Ezines AIM Ezine Marketing Tips Daily Solo  Mailings What's New! Software Hardware Website Design Business Opps.         The layout and design of your site is absolutely fundamental.        About 50% of the time the design of the front page chases users away.