First for the bad news: Every day thousands of people are deciding to start learning to create a successful online business easily. However the problem is that only a small number of these will have a business that succeeds.

Now lets get on to the good news: There are a number of basic rules which if followed can help to ensure that the online business you start is successful.

Below are the main rules that you need to follow in order to run a successful online business today.

Rule No 1 – Keep Website Design Simple & Well Organised

Most people when they first start an online business have a tendency to over design their websites. They do this because they want to make sure that not only does it look cool, but stands out from the other websites that are in the same niche as theirs. Often they choose to add some flash animation or sounds in the background as well as load it up with lots of large graphics. This is the biggest mistake anyone can make, especially if their website is business orientated.

It is far better if you make sure that the design of your website is organised in such a way that visitors to it are able to quickly locate what they want with just one glance. Most people when shopping online dislike having to listen to music as they surf the net, especially if they are doing it when at work themselves. Also make sure that the text on your site is easy to read, it is best to go for dark text on a light background.

Rule No 2 – Respond To Visitors Promptly

Whenever a visitor who could be a potential customer fills out a contact form or emails you then you need to make sure that you respond to them as soon as you possibly can. People are always taking a mental note of how long it takes for a business even online ones to respond to them. Even when you are on vacation then take a laptop with you so that you can respond accordingly.

Remember you are competing with others so it is important that you don’t let any potential customers for your business to be missed because you just couldn’t be bothered to follow up.

Rule No 3 – Keep Visitors Engaged

If you are able to turn visitors into active participants then your chances of earning more sales is much greater. The most effective and simplest way of doing this is through adding a blog to your website where visitors are in a position to be able to leave comments if they wish. Include your posts in your newsletter and don’t forget to ask those who receive it for their comments.

Also spend time actually setting up accounts on the various social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest) for example as well. This will then allow your customers to share, inform or converse with you and others. Don’t forget to make sure that you include a “Like” widget or Pinterest badge on your website as this will then allow visitors to it to follow you through the social media platforms that they like to use. Make sure that you check your social media accounts regularly.

Rule No 4 – Give Visitors A Reason To Come Back

If you keep having people come back then of course sales are going to increase. There are many ways in which you can give visitors a reason to come back to your site. For example you may want to tell them about the sales you hold once a month or you could write an article that at the end then tells those who read it that there will be a further article relating to it next month. It is important that you make sure that the articles you write are about subjects that visitors to your website will want to know about.

Just by adding good quality original content regularly to your website is a great way to ensure that you get people to keep coming back to it.

Rule No 5 – Don’t Over Sell To Visitors

If you are like me you hate those pushy sales people you see in stores today and when it comes to an online business you’ll find that this is something that people dislike as well. Most people really don’t feel like being pressured into purchasing something. Yes you need to point out the benefits of them purchasing your product, but try not to over sell it. Avoid using too much superlative language in your email or sales letter as this too often will backfire and have potential customers running for the hills.

Rule No 6 – Don’t Over Optimize A Website

You have properly heard the term SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which is used to help with getting websites to rank higher in search engines such as Google. However too often a lot of online business just go too far with using this tool and as a result they find their sites either being demoted or banned from appearing in search engine results altogether as they view them as being spam. Plus you’ll find it you over optimize the pages on your website people won’t like them as much as they find them to hard to read.

Rule No 7 – Don’t Go For Paid For Links

For a long time now Google and other search engines have been looking closely at the number of links there are going to a particular website in order to help them determine where they should then rank in their search engine results. As a result of this a lot of online business owners have been investing in getting as many links as they can to their site, including them sometimes paying for links in blogs or directories.

However the issue here is that most of the sites on which these links appear are referred to as “bad neighbourhoods” by search engines. As these are referred to as spammy sites, you may find having your website listed on them can cause more harm than good to your business.

I hope the above ways will help you to find the necessary steps towards creating a passive income online.

For more information on 7 Rules To Running A Successful Online Business, pls visit http://www.nice-biz.com

For more information on 7 Rules To Running A Successful Online Business, pls visit http://www.nice-biz.com

Author Bio: For more information on 7 Rules To Running A Successful Online Business, pls visit http://www.nice-biz.com

Category: Business
Keywords: running a successful online business, passive online business