Your web site is like your car. Both are significantinvestments that require the right features and regular andproper maintenance to ensure maximal satisfaction andperformance.

Your car is a finely tuned machine. You bought it not onlyto get you from point A to point B but also perhaps to havesome fun and look good as you go. If you purchased your carnew its engine had no wear. To keep it running like the dayyou bought it you maintain it regularly: you change the oilevery 3000 miles, you inspect its belts and hoses, you checkits fluids and rotate its tires (or at least you should). Without such attention the money you spent on your car willeventually seem like a mistake as it sits idly in yourgarage because it won't start.

Your investment in your web site deserves the same care yougive your car. While the purpose of your car is to get youfrom place to place, the purpose of your web site is to helpyou develop new business and become more successful. Itdoesn't matter if your business is retail sales orprofessional services, your web site is supposed to act asyour store front on the Internet. While your web sitedoesn't need its oil changed or tires rotated it doesrequire maintenance to ensure it performs as the marketingtool you intended it to be when you paid to have itdeveloped.

Here are five things you can do to tune up or add to themarketing function of your web site.

Fresh content
Fresh content will keep your visitors coming back to yoursite just like the oil and gas in your car help ensure itstarts every time you put the key in the ignition. If youneglect to maintain fresh supplies of either, you're askingfor trouble. Your visitors seek fresh content. Once yourvisitors realize they've gotten all their going to get outof your site they will not return.

Add new, relevant and helpful content to your site as oftenas you can and you will keep your visitors happy andreturning.

Keywords
Your keywords are the words your visitors use when theythink about the products or services you provide. They arelike the make and model of your car - they are what getnoticed. Your visitors use keywords and phrases to performsearches at sites like Google and Yahoo! to find what theyneed. They recognize and respond to these words when theysee them featured in search listings, advertisements andother promotional materials. Make sure you know yourkeyword phrases and incorporate them into the Title, MetaTags and copy of your web site.

Copy
The advertising copy of your web site can be likened to theamenities of your car. Your car has a stereo, cup holdersand convenient storage space to address your wants and needsas you drive. The copy of your web site should do the samething. To maximize the marketing function of your website's copy make sure it focuses on the problems, wants andconcerns of your clients. Your visitors will be more likelyto identify you as the solution to their problem if youdemonstrate to them that you understand their needs.

Require Action
Just like your car requires you to step on the gas to makeit go, your web site requires your visitors to take theaction you want them to take in order to function as aneffective marketing tool. No one has to tell you to step onthe gas. Your visitors need to be told what to do. Tellthem to "buy now" or "request our catalog". If you don'tthey might ever know that's what they're supposed to do.

Get Contact Info
Getting contact information from you visitors is likeremembering the keys to your car. If you can't get into youcar and start it, you're not going anywhere. Likewise, ifyou don't learn who your prospects are you can't continuemarketing to them. Most people who visit your web site willnot buy from you the first time they stop by. In mostcases, it takes between six and eight marketing contactswith a prospect before they choose to purchase something. Your prospects are no different. If you acquire theircontact information you will be able to repeatedly market tothem.

Take the steps you need to maintain your web site and itwill run smoothly and get you where you want to go.

Copyright 2005 Jeremy Cohen, Better Marketing Results

The author, Jeremy Cohen, helps small business owners andprofessional service providers attract more clients and be moresuccessful by helping them deliver a web site that sells and improve their marketing materials to generate more interest in their products and services. Get his free marketing guide, Jumpstart Marketing: More Profits, Clients and Success:http://www.bettermarketingresults.com/marketing-services.asp