For commercial users of the Internet it’s about being found and then turning visitors into sales. There are a number of actions that act as a funnel towards gaining a new customer.

You start with Internet Marketing. The purpose of all of the eMarketing techniques (PPC, SEO, Blog, Social Media, Public Relations, eMail, etc..)  is to build awareness or make an impression on a potential customer about your product or service.

The next part of the process is when a potential customer either searches for your product or service or clicks on an ad or clicks a link or enters a URL that brings them to your website. If one percent of every impression generates interest you are doing good.

Now your potential client is on your site. The issue now becomes how to retain these visitors so they spend time on my site to learn about your product or service. See out blog entry on holding on to visitors.

If you can hold on to them, then you need them to make a decision to buy your product or service. You need a call to action that causes your visitor to start the purchase or contact process.

Once your visitor starts the buying process, you need to make sure that it’s as simple as possible so they complete the process. A high cart abandon rate can invalidate all your previous marketing and website work.