Consider this: approximately 50 percent of the people who visit your website will decide within 10 seconds whether or not they want to learn more about your organization.

Unlike several years ago, when a website was viewed as an extra marketing, public relations, or informational tool, today it's an essential component of every company or organization, according to Peter Ericson, president of The Complete Website, based in Grantham, N.H.

"There are two big components to every web site," Ericson said. "First, you have to get people there and second, you need a compelling call to action, such as downloading a PDF of a white paper or newsletter, filling out and emailing information, or making a phone call."

When developing a new website for a client, Ericson initially conducts an interview to learn about the goals of the business, what the company is selling, and what their challenges and competitors are, in order to determine what the website can do to best support the goals of the enterprise.

"It's important that the website sets specific calls to action in order to meet those goals," Ericson said. During the interview process, he learns as much about the business as he can so that "all pieces of the products or services are uncovered" in order for him to prioritize what information should go on to what pages.

"You don't want to load the home page with everything," he said. "People have a short attention span - boiling it down in the appropriate order is mission critical."

"To produce focused information that customers are interested in, you have to deliver the right content in the right places," said Ericson. "Once we know what information will go on a home page and what will go on sub pages, we develop a game plan to build the website and we go through a defined process in doing so."

Next, the goal of Ericson's company is to "measure the performance of the website and improve it over time." This includes determining what's working, what isn't, the most popular pages of the site, search engines people are using to find the site, key words they're using to get to there, and how many people visit the site. Every three or four months, he calls clients with their website data and analyses, educates them on the activities taking place, and suggests improvements that can be made.

He also asks his clients about the latest news with their companies and what information has come in via their website so he can implement updates and determine what web strategies are effective. For some businesses, the website- generated activities may be sales leads and requests for information. For others the goal is to drive traffic to the site for the sole purpose of profiling their visitors and developing future marketing strategies. Part of the continual learning process, he said, is reconfiguring pages and/or information as data comes in from website visitors.

And while every business is different, he said, what generally works is tracking the conversion information from the home page to the sub pages. "This is a bread crumb trail that we can follow and learn from."

Ericson also works with clients on search engine optimization, which is the strategy to maximize the visibility of a company via key words or phrases that people use when they are doing searches via Google or other search engines.

Search engine optimization includes a substantial amount of testing to determine what key words and phrases are most popular. This form of web marketing also costs money, and can be conducted via paid ads on the side of the search engine pages ("cost per click" plans) or through keyword installation throughout a client website.

Ericson uses specialized software that determines the popularity of key words and phrases, how many people use certain phrases, and how competitive they are. This helps clients decide if certain words and/or phrases are worth their time and money, he said.

"This is a continual learning process," said Ericson. "The web is still relatively new and we need to keep our eyes open constantly for new trends."

The Complete Website specializes in website marketing, working with mostly small to mid-sized companies to help them maximize their visibility and generate business. This includes everything from developing a web marketing plan that supports a company's business mission, to designing and building the website, to tracking its web activities in order to collect data and measure progress.

The company's clients include those from many industries, including services, marketing and PR, real estate, travel, manufacturing, and music. For more information, visit: www.TCWebsite.com.

"Fly the friendly skies." "Just do it." "Got milk?"

Sound familiar?

United Air Lines, Nike, and the California Milk Processor Board have spent fortunes to make sure you never forget them - or, their tagline, that is.

A tagline is the foundation of your corporate brand. It's the summation of a long string of positive attributes about your business that positions your potential customers to take action. In fact, think of your tagline as your company nickname.

But coming up with a tagline for your business or product isn't as easy as you might think. In fact, aside from developing an effective logo, tagline development is one of the most difficult marketing processes.

So what separates a great tagline from a forgettable one? Here are eight key points to keep in mind:

1. Your tagline is your brand

Just as your tagline is the nickname of your company, your brand image starts and ends with the perception that the tagline builds. To solidify your brand image, the tagline must reflect your corporate principles, image, and product. This is done by starting with analyzing and itemizing the positives attributes your company possesses. In this process, it is critical you look beyond simple products and services and focus on your company's people, business methodology, history, and personality. Has your company been around for a long time? Do you employ a wide variety of professionals from many different backgrounds? Is your company the leader of its industry? Does it specialize in something unusual?

It's critical that you fully understand the benefits of your brand before you label it with a tagline.

2. A tagline isn't a diamond - it doesn't have to live forever

DHL, for example, has changed its tagline over the past few years, from "We Move the World," to "Yellow. The new Brown," to "Competition. Bad for them. Great for you."

So while you want your tagline to be sustainable, it can change from time to time and still be just as effective.

3. A tagline is different than a slogan

Remember "Where's the Beef?" Imagine if that was Wendy's tagline - they wouldn't sell one hamburger. A successful advertising slogan does not make a tagline. And yet, an effective tagline can be the launching pad for development of your corporate slogan.

4. Taglines should reflect corporate values

Perception is reality when it comes to advertising your business. If your tagline reflects your corporate values or philosophy, then branding becomes more immediate and long lasting. Fisher-Price uses "Play. Laugh. Grow." and Ford has used "Quality is job one." These both reflect a positive corporate image that helps define their brands.

5. Taglines need to be versatile among all media channels

Make sure that what looks good in print will also sound effective on the radio, and the other way around. This becomes particularly important as multi channel marketing strategies continue to take hold. By synergizing these channels, an email campaign can drive customers to a branded web site that carries the same use of visuals and verbiage - including your tagline.

6. A strong tagline should evoke action

Effective advertising solicits a reaction from your customer. Do you want them to feel motivated? A tagline can inspire a prospect to take action. Examples include "Medicine with muscle," from Motrin, and "You could learn a lot from a dummy. Buckle up!" from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Both of these utilize effective word pictures that turn passive advertising into actionable images.

7. Taglines should be easy to understand

Keep it straight and simple, and have your tagline suggest positive images: "I love NY," or "Connecting people," from Nokia are both examples of how straightforward images often have the most impact.

8. Taglines can also flatter your prospects

This includes Edmund's "Where Smart Car Buyers Start," or Pepsi's "For those who think young." Who wouldn't want to be smart or young? Tagging these brands with positive human characteristics make them appealing to the public.

One website that may give you ideas on developing your tagline is: www.taglineguru.com.

The June issue of Entrepreneur Magazine will feature Shock PR International as one of the most interesting new franchises of the year. www.entrepreneur.com.

Shock PR has engaged the services of Franchise Finder, a franchise broker who can help those interested in a Shock PR franchise navigate through the process of joining our exciting new organization. See www.FranchiseFinderLLC.com or call 1-888- 876-9629 and ask for Ellie Vogel, president.

Shock PR welcomes three new clients this month:

Elementool, a provider of web-based project management and customer support tools, including help desk, bug, defect and time-tracking tools. Elementool provides its tools to software companies and business web sites around the world. www.elementool.com.

FibroLAN, an optical networking company that develops integrated fiber-optic broadband access systems for corporate and carrier markets. Its flagship product is MetroStar, and it also has a family of fiber-optic networking products and equipment. www.fibroLAN.com.

Franklin Yoga, a yoga studio offering classes for both adults and children. See http://www.franklinyoga.com.

If there are award programs for the industry in which you're doing business, invest some time in nominating your company for these awards. Even if you don't win, you'll have introduced your company and its benefits to the judges - often industry gurus or even journalists - so the next time you contact them, you will have established your company's credibility and they'll know who you are. And maybe next time, you'll win!

Copyright © 2006 Shock PR, Inc. All rights reserved.

email: rshock@shockpr.com

phone: 508-893-9933

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