Are you making this mistake with your web site? Too many web site owners look at their site as an online brochure. They use it as little more than a place to store their product or service list. A different way has emerged. Now your web site can be used as an effective marketing tool. Used in the right way, it can spear-head many successful marketing campaigns for you in the near future.

Did you know that many of your prospects (even locally) will type your business name or web site name in Google to see what you offer? Often they are looking to see what you offer compared to your competitor. Recently, Calif. based USC Annenberg School said from 2005 research, 78.6 Americans go online. An almost equally large percentage 72.3 say that the search engines provide whatever information they are looking for.

Find out what it takes to put the right sales language, content on your site and bring more targeted visitors (visitors looking for what you have to offer.) Know the robots of the various search engines examine web sites daily looking for good key word food, free information, and content.

To begin to effectively use your web site to attract leads and customers; use it to let prospective clients know who you are. Offer valuable content related to your expertise. Educate, inform them, improve their lives, and their bottom line to attract them back over and over like bees to honey. Soon you will become Top-Pick over your competition.

Here's the checklist to revise your web site for explosive sales:

_____5. Revise brochure style home page.

I know your bio, your achievements, your service list are all important to you. Relax, don't get rid of them; but do put them on your About Us or even Contact page. Put on your home page what your visitor came to your site looking for benefits -- answers, solutions. Let them see benefits in the form of valuable content that answers their concerns. Put benefits in your headlines, bullets and even links to draw your prospects into your site.

_____6. Post testimonials from clients and customers.

Most everyone wants to know who else has had a good experience with your product or service. Testimonials act as a referral and even an endorsement. The compliments from another customer help melt away your prospect's fears and doubts about trusting you.

_____7. Seek to educate your visitors by adding valuable content to your site.

I know every one's not a teacher. But think about it since you are a professional you have valuable knowledge and information to offer your web visitors. Find an easy media to educate inform and generally help your visitors from your web site. Consider articles, tapes, ebooks, short reports and briefs to post on your web site.

_____8. Create a clear call to action on each page.

Many website owners lose countless opportunities to make a sale or capture a lead because they fail to ask something of their visitors. Call your visitors to a specific action. At the end of every page use the power of the direct command whether it's simply directing them to contact you for further information or a directive to browse further into your site.

_____9. Use proven traffic building strategies that get people to your site.

Include free search engine traffic, writing and submitting short articles to directories, other Web sites and newsletters, link exchanges, an easy blog page for your prospects and customers to interact with you and get questions answered, and many more internet marketing strategies.

____10. Focus your efforts in improving your web site.

Test your improvements and track the results so you can pin point faster what's working. Then limit your innovations and focus your efforts. Most of the time, changes, and improvements are good. In this case, figure out what's working for you and stick with it. If you are getting traffic from article writing, continue to write them. If you are getting consistent sign-ups from your newsletter, improve your letter and grow your subscriber lists. Do not drift far from your original plan. Keep your main efforts centered on getting better results from methods that have already worked for you.

You have a great business. Your success and efforts deserve to go to the next level with web site marketing. Keep an open mind and heart to new but (proven) ideas through internet marketing strategies. A proverbial writer once said, "An intelligent man is open to new ideas, in fact he looks for them." Be willing to take the time and invest the money to improve your Web site for better results. You'll be glad you did especially after your sales explode. Enjoy the journey and life is made easier.