1. You didn’t correctly explain the symptoms. If your product is not selling from your website, don’t tell the doctor you don’t like the colors. Or that you need more Flying Thingies on the page. Tell the doctor that your product is not selling from your website.

Some people consult with their sister-in-law, best friend, and lawn boy before seeking the help of a professional. Or, they guess at the cause of the problem themselves. When they finally consult with a professional, they tell him or her what they want: Use blue not red, make that picture bigger, add a joke of the day. For the right diagnosis, just tell the doctor, “The site’s not selling” and let him or her figure out why.

2. There are a lot of quack doctors out there! Let’s be honest, a surgeon makes his living performing surgeries, and a web guru makes his living performing guru work on websites. The moral? Without patients and web projects, the surgeon and the web guru go on unemployment.

In all aspects of business, and especially Internet marketing, some people may say whatever it takes to sell you on “surgery.” Proceed with caution! Before you hire someone to develop, design, or “fix” your site, get referrals. Ask people you trust for recommendations.

Ask the “doctor” questions. If he or she can’t take the time to explain every procedure, find someone who will. You need to understand the suggestions — and the reasons for them. Also, be warned there is no standard pricing guide. My best advice is to avoid being sucked into the cheapest deal you can find, or being fooled by the “we are the best so we charge the most” designers.

If you’re not getting the results you need from your site, ask yourself a few questions:

How does your site stack up against your competition? We’ll assume you already have a website ... In any business, you have competition. Surf around and take a look at the other guy’s site. How does his look compare to yours? We’re not talking about what the site says, just the overall aesthetics. Does yours look as good, or better?

When visitors open your site, do they know what you’re selling? Obviously, you know your product or service, but is it plainly visible to visitors? Is the information your visitors are looking for easy to find and understand? Are the “calls to action,” such as “read my blog” or “buy my service” easy to find?

Did you check your ego at the door? Who is your site trying to please? Are you trying to impress yourself or your customers? Too often, websites get hung up on self importance. While it is important to show your visitors that you’re an expert, the product or service needs to be the focal point. Whatever you’re selling, nobody really cares that you climbed Mount Everest in your pajamas last October.

Common sense is the most valuable tool at your disposal, but be smart enough to know what you don’t know. Successful websites don’t just appear. They’re properly developed, cultivated, and then regularly watered.

Developing a successful website is hard work; finding the right surgeon can be even harder.

Publication date: 7/9/2012