Ideas are one thing, putting them into action is another thing entirely.

You find out that many people come up with ideas for websites that they never get round to executing. Some never get as far as ordering a website hosting service, while others do substantially better by getting a website up but fall victim to one factor or the other and later abandon the same website that they have invested their money and efforts in. This is a very bad habit and even the most focused of individuals tends to fall victim to this habit at one time or the other in their lives.

This is as close to a magic formula as you can get. There’s a lot more to writing ads than following a formula, of course, but having this framework should get you well on the way to writing a competent, if not great, marketing piece.

If you’ve been digging around at the library and gotten into the archives of the masters you’ve almost certainly discovered the formula of AIDA = Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. that’s a good start, but this is how it’s really done.

Throughout my research, I’m always surprised when I stumble onto websites that are professionally designed and seem to provide great products and services, but lack or fail in certain important elements.

Elements that, with just a few short changes, can help multiply the results almost instantaneously.

Generally, I have found that there are seven common mistakes. I call them the “Seven Deadly Sins.” Is your website committing any one of these?

1) They Fail to Connect

Traffic has been long touted to be the key to online success, but that’s not true. If your site is not pulling sales, inquiries or results, then why would it need more traffíc?

Most of us are well aware that the search engines frequently change their algorithms to improve search results for users (and foil spammers), which can make it challenging for small businesses just to keep up. But as web technology continues to evolve, it also creates new opportunities for small businesses to improve their SEO strategies and boost their rankings as well. Social media (sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Technorati, Digg, etc.) provide an excellent opportuníty for small businesses to not only promote their products and services online, but also to gain significant ground in the search engine results.

So you’ve put together a spectacular website, and you’re ready to go live on the Internet for the whole world to see. Not so fast there Bucky. In case you didn’t know, there are a few essential requirements that every site needs to include in order to be successful.

Let’s review, shall we:

1) Privacy Policy/Disclaimer: Now, I’m not a lawyer and don’t claim to be one, but these two documents should be standard issue for every site you have. People want to know how you’re going to use their personal information, and a “privacy policy” does just that.

We’ve explored different ways to use Twitter for business repeatedly. There are still many doubters out there however. It is often hard to put a real value on it, but AdAge is talking about a pizza place in New Orleans, which has done just that. Can you translate your Twitter marketing efforts into numbers? Tell us about it.

It is worth noting that the pizza place is backed by Uber-Entrepreneur Mark Cuban, so I would imagine that helps a lot, but isn’t that just more motivation to push your branding efforts harder with Twitter?

When it comes to starting any endeavor, whether it be learning a new hobby or starting an online business, we all have to start at ground zero. We all have to start at the very beginning from the very same place. Granted, we each bring different skills and backgrounds into the mix, but for the most part we are all on equal footing at the starting line.

If this is the case, then we really have to ponder why is it only a choice few go on to succeed, while most people don’t. Just what are the reasons why most online marketers fail? This is the core question that has to be answered if you want to fully understand Internet marketing and how it works.

Over 48% of U.S. adults believe that a lack of advertising by a retail store, bank or auto dealership during a recession indicates the business must be struggling according to research from Ad-ology.

That’s not a good sign for those businesses who have opted to reduce their advertising budgets as a means to save money. The study finds advertising appears to play a key role in consumers’ view of how a business is doing, and by not advertising, businesses may be sending a warning signal to current and potential customers.

In today’s Internet, conversations are cropping up all over the place. People are talking. They are talking about products. They are talking about businesses. And they are certainly talking about their experiences.

When you look at how blogs, forums and social networking sites have exploded in the last few years, you can see how powerful word-of-mouth is. But the question is, is it all really important? Can it really help your business?

Yes.

And I’m not talking about traffic. And you don’t need to be controversial, either. I’m talking creating systems to leverage, manage and profit from the “buzz.”

How can you help your readers know whether your site can really help them? Do you need a web designer to make it happen? Why is content writing for the web different from any other kind of writing? You’ll find answers in this article.

Web Design: Scannability

Would it interest you to know that most web users don’t come to your site to appreciate the attractiveness of the design? That’s not to say that an attractive web design isn’t important.

However, the majority of site visitation happens because the consumer was motivated to look at your site to see if you could give them a reason to purchase from your ecommerce business.