A site is like a storefront in the internet neighborhood. Let it get rundown and dingy, and prospective customers will pass you by in favor of clean windows and a freshly swept porch across the street.
Dating sites have an image to uphold. A broken or jumbled site smacks of desperation and failure, which is NOT the feeling you are aiming for! Presenting a clean, user friendly site and spending the necessary time on upkeep is one of the surest ways to lure traffic to your site and keep it there.
The tips that follow hold true for any type of website, though several are particularly relevant to dating sites.
Don’t overcrowd your site. Build your site with the user in mind, putting functionality first. You can always add the glitter as you grow. The early temptation to pack as many special effects as possible on your home page should be resisted. An easy to use, clean looking site with all components accessible and clearly marked will beat a cluttered, hard to navigate site every time!
Check your links religiously. The best way to lose a customer is to present them with a 404 message. If you slightly change a url or move or delete a page go back and find all the links to that page and update them! This includes internal page to page links, links from your home page and links from outside sources. If the customer is trying to sign up for a dating site and gets a ‘error, file not found’ message do you think they will try again later? No, they will label your whole site ‘broken’ and move on. Check every link, every time you update, or hire someone to do it for you.
Banner positioning is an important point. Even if your dating site is free, you can make money off of it by adding advertising. As long as you resist the temptation to stuff your pages so full that your visitors get lost in the ads, why not monetize your site? Most trusted dating advertising networks have TOP and NON-TOP style banners; I would recommend using a TOP banner on the right side of your header to balance your logo on the left. If you choose to center it, put a picture to one side or the other. Blending like this helps keep the ad from standing out and being annoying.
Don't hide your 'Join Now' button. The whole point is to build a membership, right? If they can't see it, they won't click on it, so make your 'Join' button visible and attractive! Surround it with text listing the benefits of joining, and encourage them to click ' Join Now'!
The tips above are only a few ways you can make your site friendly and easy to use. Remember, think like a visitor, and plan your site accordingly! Always be on the lookout for better ways to make your website accessible and fun, and include a feedback email address or a spot in your forum for members' suggestions. A webmaster's work is never done - there will always be ways to improve your site and attract more customers.
I hope these tips help you succeed in your own dating business - good luck!
Oleg Khabarov is a marketing specialist in online dating business. Now he works as a marketing manager for such reputable dating advertising networks like Romance-Net and DatingAdNetwork
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