A person can hold a Masters Degree in some field of engineering and still get themselves lost on the Internet. A group or company can have one of the best looking website going and yet if people have problems getting to the data they need then they loose customers or members.
The search engines are your means of introducing yourself to the world community. It is through the search engines that you tell the world here I am, this is what I do, and here is how you can find me. The search engines will only attract attention to you. Depending on the word or words a person punches into the search engine will determine the number of web sites the search engine will display for them to choose from. The search engine may display your web site along with 250 or more other web sites. It is at this point of initial contact that the search engines become the most import part of your advertising campaign.
There are 2 old sayings that will always be true. First, sex sells and second, a pretty package does not make for a good product. The Coke a Cola company went to a lot of expense and trouble to come up with the perfect container for their product. Yes the shape of the bottle. Most people never realize that it is the shape of the bottle that entices them choose Coke a Cola over the other brands of soda. Why? It is in the shape of a woman's body and the red label is suggestive of a woman's hot lips.
A company can have a very good looking web site with all kinds of great graphics but if their site is not set up properly it can and does cause the people visiting to go else where to do their business. A pretty package does not make up for poor planning and web site layout. The main idea behind building a web site it to entice people to purchase your products or services over some one else's. That means that a company must allow for the final purchase to be made over the net through the use of a shopping cart or an online order form.
Once an order is placed the next step in the process is service. is another one of those things in the market place which can make or break a company. There are many reasons for poor or undesirable service. One of them is a poorly designed web site.
Word of mouth communications can make or break any company or group no matter their size or how long they have been in business. Over the Internet word of mouth can travel around the world in a matter of microseconds as information is passed from one computer to another at the speed of light.