I often speak to business owners who feel cheated after having a website developed. They become disillusioned with the Internet and no longer believe that they can utilize online resources to benefit their business. What most people don’t realize and what many web developers don’t tell you is that having a website is only part of online marketing.  In fact it’s only step one in developing a successful online strategy. There are essentially three aspects to an Internet Marketing System.

Website -> Traffic -> Conversion

What this means is that you first need a website. Most people understand this and set up a website. Unfortunately this is as far as 90% of people go and it’s the reason why so few small businesses see growth after launching their site.

The second phase of Internet Marketing is to let people know that the website (and your business exists). In this phase you drive traffic to your site. Without traffic your site has no value.

Only after you are generating a large amount of traffic does your site start bringing in business by converting some of those visitors to customers. Unless you are converting traffic to customers your site is just another business expense rather than a valuable asset which brings in a steady stream of new clients.

Traditionally Conversion Architecture looked at how we can build a better website with the aim of converting more visitors. Things like layout, navigation, color schemes etc. were all taken into account.

Nowadays marketers need to manage a larger extended web that thrives beyond the borders of the traditional web site. Improving conversion means managing multiple layers and coordination the interaction between these layers. Check out Scott Brinker’s article “The 5 Rings of Conversion Optimization” in which he identifies five layers of web presence that are under your direct control.

These Five layers are:

1. Core web: Online applications
2. Inner web: Your traditional, navigable web site
3. Outer web: Landing pages, blogs, microsites
4. Social web: Outposts on social media sites
5. Advertising networks: Paid media on other sites

By optimizing each layer and managing the dynamics between these layers you will increase your conversions and ultimately the effectiveness of your web presence.