There’s no good reason to have a bad website when the path to success can be built on three simple truths.

I read a quote recently that resonated with me: “It’s better to have a bigger purpose and some firm beliefs to guide you, than it is to have a plan.” It sums up how I feel about online business.

All you need to get on the path to success are three things. These will determine every decision made, marketing approach taken, dollar spent and conversation had.

What are those three things? A goal, a purpose and a firm understanding of your meaningful transactions. Simple? You bet it is. Simple, but not common.

Define your goals and you’ll find your purpose. Define your purpose and you won’t need a plan. Spend your days taking steps aligned with your purpose and it will take you closer to achieving your goals. Of course, the crucial link here is your website visitors. Are they taking steps towards achieving your goals too?

Here’s where your meaningful transactions take the spotlight. Meaningful transactions are the actions you want your visitor to take on your website that takes them from being a passive visitor and one step closer to becoming a customer. This determines your call to actions – a vital element in the conversion process.

Ensuring your visitors take action will determine the success of your website.
I’ve just started offering website reviews as part of my consultancy and as a result, I can’t help but critically analyse every website I come across. As many as 99% of the websites I visit don’t have obvious calls to action.

The last website I was thoroughly impressed with belonged to a solo business owner, an accountant from Mt Isa. It was a one page website with a clean and simple design. It used compelling headings and persuasive copy that addressed my needs. Finally, there was an invitation to connect, with four options for me to choose from. It was a solid website that knew what action the visitor needed to take to have a direct impact on the owner’s business.

Just like your goals and purpose, your meaningful transactions will be unique to your business. If you’re a service provider, your primary meaningful transaction will be for a visitor to fill in an enquiry form – taking them from a visitor to a lead. If you’re a blogger whose goal is to build an audience, your meaningful transaction would be for a visitor to enter their email address into your subscriber box – taking them from a visitor to a subscriber.

Your meaningful transactions aren’t confined to your website, either. You need to use them in your marketing. I cycle through promoting my meaningful transactions throughout my weekly use of social media. If I have some ad spots on my website available, I’ll tweet about it. If I haven’t talked about my mailing list for a couple of weeks, I’ll post a reason why my Facebook fans should get involved and sign up.

Give your visitors – and wider audience – clear calls to action based on the transactions that are meaningful to your business. Do that and when you’re sitting on a beach somewhere, watching your sales roll in, think back to this article and the actions you took because of it. You can thank me later.

Clare Lancaster has been working online since 2001 and owns business consultancy firm dotmarketing.com.au.