Are you ashamed of your web site ? Quite candidly most companies are ashamed of their web site or should be . Why ? If your web site does not do exactly what you set it up to do to a visitor looking in for the first time , it has failed. On the internet you rarely get another chance to make an impression;because there are millions of other web sites calling out to the same people that you are trying to reach. That is why my first advice to you is that "to bring life to your web site you must bring your web site to life"

Some Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) experts may belabour you with the importance of having your web site ranked very high by Google and other search engines, especially through the clever manipulation of textual content. The fact however is that when the visitor comes to your web site and the content does not just deliver any useful message, you will be foolish to expect another visit. How then can you capture your site visitors and keep them coming back ? I will show you a few examples.

Colour scheme : Have you ever considered that your present colour scheme might just not be right for your business ? Ironically a very dark background might not be quite right for an undertaker's business and be just perfect for an entertainment site. Or have you ever thought of a change in the colour scheme because you just don't feel right with what you have ? Forget what your web designer advises; the point of this is that if if you don't like your web site, chances are that very few of your customers will , because you are unlikely to take it seriously as a marketing tool. Or has your colour scheme begun to bore you ? If you've been staring at the same colour scheme for two years, chances are that it might be getting quite boring already. Put yourself in your visitors' shoes.

Content : You have probably heard the phrase "content is king"; and it is quite right. Cleverly written content brings the search engines running to your site; bringing new visitors with them. Marketing by web is all about show-business. Show them something interesting and and you get their business. Constantly changing content brings them back - if they like what they see. You can always enhance their experience with graphic and audio content. But even them a good show eventually begins to get boring. You really need to keep the content fresh, relevant and interesting . How can you do this?

Add a Blog : A blog is periodically posted information, dated in diary fashion, and which you feel might be of importance to your customers . For example, you can't go wrong by regularly publishing information such as how well your product or company is performing in the field; exciting ways to use your products, and new additions to your service that could potentially enliven customers' experience and purchase their loyalty.

Add a forum : A blog might not be quite right for some businesses. A forum gives a wider scope for interaction between your customers. A forum allows them to share their experience about your product , and it is a versatile tool of obtaining very important customer feedback which will enable you to deliver a better product or service . If you are for example selling a complex piece of equipment or software you could certainly benefit from a forum.

Add a Wiki : A wiki is collaborative content development between you and your visitors .It can quickly establish you as a de-facto expert and leader in your line of business and drive you to the top of the search engine list in no time at all. If for example, your company sells replica vintage car parts, imagine what it would do for your business if you added a wiki on vintage cars, inviting afficionados from all over the world to participate.

You may also wish to consider adding a database which will deliver dynamic content based on such factors as a customer's preferences or to advise on stock situation on a real-time basis. You may want to add a commerce interface where your customer can purchase immediately without needing to call you. All these are techniques which have proved very effective. However, improving your web site is not about general solutions. For each business and web site there is a specific fix and it may be quite wise to have a discussion with an expert first. The little that you may have to pay will often be offset by increased business.