New York SBDC Research Network

Consider this: There are about 700 million websites. But to most of us, only a tiny fraction of those sites exist because we jump from bookmark to bookmark, scanning our favorite homepages and refreshing our feeds. People are loyal to websites that draw them in because, simply put, the majority of those 700 millions sites are just plain bad. Of millions of websites analyzed by Marketing Grader, a whopping 72% received a grade of 59 out of 100 or below, which essentially means 72% of websites are failing to attract new visitors and convert leads. Marketers everywhere are asking, "Why do so many websites fall short?" Read more from Marketing Profs You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That’s why your homepage is undoubtedly one of the most important pages on your website. For any given company, the homepage is its virtual front door -- and face to the world. If a new visitor doesn't like what they see, their knee-jerk reaction is to hit th...

SizeUp Allows Business Owners to Research Data and Analytics to Start or Grow a Business Small business owners and start-ups across the country can now take advantage of a new business tool to help them compete and grow. The free tool, called SizeUp , helps businesses identify new customers and compare their performance against other businesses in their industry with data collected from hundreds of private and public sources. “Market research and analysis is critical for the success of any small business owner or entrepreneur. Tools like SizeUp deliver data right to the fingertips of business owners to help make smart decisions and have the greatest opportunity to start, grow, compete and succeed,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “In today’s challenging economic environment where small businesses create nearly all net new jobs in the U.S., help for small businesses is more important than ever before.” SizeUp works by analyzing a business in comparison to other similar...

From BNET : "Here are words and phrases you should remove from your website — not just from your About Us page but from many other pages as well. "They might sound impressive to you, but they're meaningless to everyone else."

An effective, creative, and well-designed website for your small business is a critical marketing and sales tool that is essential in the Internet age. There are some consumers who do everything online, from watching TV to communicating with loved ones to purchasing services and commodities. Below are some tips to make the most of your online presence. Business Unusual : Take One Website, Add Stroke of Genius (Entrepreneur) For More Sales, Create a Landing Page (Entrepreneur) 35+ Usability Resources for Web Designers (DESIGNM.AG)

A couple of website development tools: At the ASBDC conference in Orlando, I went to a presentation by Jan Zimmerman, author of Web Marketing For Dummies . On that book’s web page , she offers some tools helpful to clients planning a website or selecting a web developer. There’s a planning form, web marketing spreadsheet to analyze costs and sales objectives, and a website assessment form which might be really useful for advisors wanting to offer feedback on client sites. All these tools can be downloaded here . Jan also discussed how we typically read websites ( ie , not very thoroughly, most important things should be in the upper right, then left side, middle is often less important. ) If you’re interested in learning more about where the eye travels when viewing a site, Jakob Nielsen offers several articles about eyetracking , with some great advice for website usability .