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ThomasNet’s Linda Rigano on B-to-B Web Site Design

July 2008 By Kate DeBevois
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We’ve all seen them, Web sites for B-to-B firms that are little more than the pages of the corporate brochure transformed into Web pages. Good Web site design and navigation isn’t predicated on having video demos, thousands of content pages or even a live chat feature. What’s at stake is presenting information on what your company sells, how your company can be reached and other key parts of the seller/customer relationship in a clear and compelling fashion.

This week, Target Marketing Tipline talks with Linda Rigano, director of strategic alliances and business development at ThomasNet, about best practices in Web design for B-to-B firms. ThomasNet connects industrial sellers and buyers through product information, news, research and lead-generation tools. In addition, it helps advertisers build microsites that incorporate online catalogs, computer-aided design drawings and e-commerce capabilities.

Target Marketing: What are two of the most common mistakes you see in B-to-B Web site design?
Linda Rigano: Based on over 40 workshops and talking to hundreds of industrial businesses, the biggest mistake, by far, is the company failing to design the Web site based on what … users want. Too many companies fall into the trap of designing a site based on what they think their potential customers want, and nine times out of 10 it is wrong.

TM: What are two best practices related to B-to-B Web site design?
LR: First, implement a tracking system if you don’t have one already, and after one month of Web site activity, review the data and ask yourself the following six questions:
1. How many visitors came to my site?
2. How long did they stay?
3. What pages did they view?
4. How many took an action?
5. Where did they come from?
6. What key phrases did they use?
Being able to analyze your Web site traffic is critical to growing your business online.

TM: What are the hot spots for placing links to case studies, client testimonials, etc.?
LR: Best practices call for the company logo on the left side. Directly to the right should be a call to action including, but not limited to, [a toll-free phone number] and an e-mail [address] (this should appear on every page to make it easy for users to take action).

A top navigation bar can include links to [deeper content, such as] “Products,” “About Us,” “Distributor Information,” “Contact Us” and “Case Studies.”
 

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--Chris Brogan, president of Human Business Works

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Most Recent Comments:
Jim Hobson - Posted on September 01, 2009
We believe that in order to deliver the optimum results for a client the design firm must commit to providing custom work, no templates, and integrate a robust search engine optimization process. A client needs a well designed site AND needs to have strong ranking on the natural search results pages on search engines.

Directory advertising often fails to achieve first page ranking and even when it does it lists the client organization alongside of its competitors. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) avoids this dilemma and makes the client organization a top level choice.

There are also numerous conversion tools to be considered as well as a strong Search Marketing program and website localization. We offer our clients the option of creating pages in foreign languages for their global Internet marketing. Anyone desiring a strong Internet presence should hire an Internet marketing agency first and let the Agency advise them on third party services.
Click here to view archived comments...
Archived Comments:
Jim Hobson - Posted on September 01, 2009
We believe that in order to deliver the optimum results for a client the design firm must commit to providing custom work, no templates, and integrate a robust search engine optimization process. A client needs a well designed site AND needs to have strong ranking on the natural search results pages on search engines.

Directory advertising often fails to achieve first page ranking and even when it does it lists the client organization alongside of its competitors. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) avoids this dilemma and makes the client organization a top level choice.

There are also numerous conversion tools to be considered as well as a strong Search Marketing program and website localization. We offer our clients the option of creating pages in foreign languages for their global Internet marketing. Anyone desiring a strong Internet presence should hire an Internet marketing agency first and let the Agency advise them on third party services.