Why people never come back to your Internet site for a second look and what you can do to change it.

It's a fact that most people seldom return to new sites that they discover in their Internet travels. Aside from the obvious Internet resource sites like search engines, newsgroups, and our own home page, we seldom go back to a site for a second look. It's easy to see that some of the most successful sites on the Internet are those that get tons of return traffic. Their traffic grows as new visitors discover it and as the old ones come back for additional visits.

Here's the four biggest reasons people never return to an Internet site for a second look:

1. NO Content
2. NO Change
3. NO Value
4. NO Fun

Let's take a closer look at each one so you understand exactly what I'm talking about.

NO Content
On the Internet, content is king! The sites that make money and get lots of repeat visits are those with great content. Content simply means information that is relevant for the type of visitors that you attract to your site. One of the best examples of a site loaded with content is ESPN Sportszone. (www.espn.com) I'm a big sports fan so I visit this site often. It always amazes me when I visit how easy it is to get lost in all the stories, stats and information. More often than not, I end up spending time looking at stuff that I never intended to look at once I get there. If people can literally "get lost" in your site, that's a sign of good content.

NO Change
I'm amazed at the number of people who do a great job of promoting their sites to generate lots of initial visits but then never change a single thing on their site. This is one of the biggest faults of Internet business owners. If a site doesn't change, why would anyone want to come back for a second look. This is a simple one.

NO Value
If I can purchase your products for the same, or close to the same price from on off-line vendor, what incentive do I have to visit your online site? All consumers are very selfish. They are concerned with one thing only when they surf the net - What's in it for me? Ask yourself that question about the information on your site. If there are not several obvious benefits for your visitors to come in for a look and stop back again, don't expect them to do either.

NO Fun
Most of us still use the Internet, and especially the web, for entertainment. We love to have fun. For most the Internet is nothing more than a toy at this point. If you want to get their attention you need to do something that will entertain them. Part of having fun is being involved. People tend to support what they help create. Internet users love to feel as though they are part of the process. Giving your visitors a chance to be part of the process is a great way to liven up your site and your traffic. With all the innovations in technology, making your site fun shouldn't be too hard.

So if your site is beset with any of these major problems, here's a few simple suggestions to help you turn things around:

Add some new information to your site
Building content is a never-ending process. You should be adding to the content on your site at least monthly. If you're challenged to produce new content yourself, then don't. Go online and find some interesting content that you can add to your site. Most people in the information business would love to get some additional exposure for their information on your site. Just ask them if you could add their article or information to your site and give them a return link to their site. It's that easy.

Try to make your site a starting point for your target audience. If you provide some great information and direct them to additional resources that exist online, then they will certainly want to visit your site often. Position yourself as the "expert" they can trust to steer them in the right direction to find the best information available both online and off.

Content is a little like books in a library. A library without any books is not worth a visit. I've never been to a library yet that didn't have books from more than one author. Try to fill the library in your Internet site with lots of books full of information that is of interest to your target audience.

Change your site at least Monthly
Change takes work and since most of us are lazy by nature, it's one of the biggest problems when it comes to generating repeat traffic. Try changing something as simple as the headline on your home page next month and see if anyone notices. You may also want to start a feature of the month on your site. This might be a special product offer, a feature article or story, or perhaps a contest or something for free.

It's also important that when someone visits your page for the first time that they are alerted to the fact that your site will change from time to time. Something as simples as the words "Monthly Contest" tells them that the site will be different next month and invites them back for a second look. The Deals of the Day in the iMALL is another example of a site that changes frequently. Just the name "Deals of the Day" states very clearly that change is part of your site.

Remember as well that before anyone sees your site they will see your title and your description in the search engine or directory that they use to find sites to visit. Therefore, be sure that your title or site name and the description you submit to the search engines and directories mentions that change is part of your Internet business. A potential visitor is much more likely to see your search engine listing more than once than they are to see your website. Make it a listing worth taking note of.

Suggest Bookmarking your site
While working as a commodities broker right out of college I learned a valuable lesson from some of the seasoned brokers in my office. The lesson was simple, people want to be told what to do. The brokers who were able to get wealth, successful people to make investments with them knew that taking control was critical. Here's a simple suggestion that you might try: Put a note at the top of one of your pages that simply says, "Bookmark this page for future reference." They may have never considered marking that page, but if you suggest it they just may click that add button. The power of suggestion is a powerful thing and you should not forget that.

Start building a relationship on the very first visit
If you know that most people will visit your site once and then never return, then it only makes sense to collect as much information as you can from them the very first time they visit. This information might be helpful in determining where your target audience is hanging out online, or where they live, or what they want that has to do with your company and/or products.

Sometimes you have to be creative to get this information. The easiest way is to have a contest and make the visitor fill out an entry form on your site to enter. If they feel there is some potential benefit, like winning a prize, they are more likely to take a few minutes to fill out your form. Don't get greedy here. Just getting their snail mail address is a great help. If you have a snail mail address and do a follow-up using direct mail, that's just like getting a second visit to your site.

Since most people seek out sites to visit rather than stumble upon them, most visitors have pre-qualified themselves for your products or services. Getting their name on a registration form is an easy way to build a mailing list to send offers and announcements to. The key here is to get some information that will allow you to initiate the next contact with your visitors.

Two other ideas that accomplish this same purpose are doing online surveys and having a comment box. Both of these ideas won't get as much attention as a contest might, but still give you a non-threatening way to gather information about your visitors.

A whole new concept in Internet marketing is starting to take root called PUSH marketing. If you've ever used Pointcast you know a little about Push marketing. Rather than wait for your prospects to come to you for information, you send the information to them. That's push marketing.

Here's one simple way for you to use push marketing.

Start a mailing list. This one is cheap, easy and powerful. Start a mailing list of visitors to your site. You may use this list to send announcements of changes to your site, your monthly special, or your own newsletter. Let your visitors add their name to your list and be sure to promote it right on your home page or the other busy pages in your site to increase subscribers.

Mailing lists can also be used as a discussion group for people interested in your products and services. Give them a chance to send comments and contribute to the content of your newsletter or mailing and build a sense of community among your visitors. You compile the comments in a simple email newsletter and send them out to the members on your list.

You could also create a reminder service that reminds visitors of important dates that they don't want to forget, like birthdays and anniversaries. Along with the reminders that you send via email, you may include an invitation to your site to check out your selection of gifts or services of interest.

Mailing lists are one of the most powerful ways to market online and one of the least utilized.

Build Community on Your site
This is the final suggestion in this issue. Remember that having fun is important and we all like to feel as though we're involved. Ask your visitors to make contributions to your site or take an active role in the direction of your online business. Here's an example:

One of the first sites that we created in the iMALL was for the Utah Ski Association. We put up a page that provided daily ski reports for all the resorts in the state. In addition to timely ski reports, visitors to the site could view the trail maps and get directions to any of the resorts.

To get the skiers to be more involved in the site we decided to let them submit their own ski reports for any of the resorts. We created a simple form that asked where they skied as well as such things as what the conditions were like and what ability level they skied at. There was also space to include comments about what they liked and didn't like about their day on the slopes.

The information that they entered was then put on our site for other visitors to see. We discovered that there were many skiers that began to submit reports over and over again, which got them back to our site many times. This feature quickly became one of the most popular features on the entire site, and I'm convinced it was because our visitors created it and made it worth looking at.

So there are a few suggestions to help you build your traffic by getting repeat visits. As the Internet becomes more and more crowded with websites and home pages, it's more important than ever to take a proactive approach to your Internet marketing. If you wait for them to come back, you might be waiting a long time.

See you all online.