If you've done any reading about how to create a successful Web site, you've come across the concept that Web sites are the on-line equivalent of stores you shop off-line.

This is a very important concept to grasp! For those of you who may not be aware of this concept, it goes like this - Off-line stores are built with the intent of providing merchandise which background research has shown people are looking for. Isn't this the same reason you've created your own affiliate Web site?

In the "bricks and mortar world", malls have become one of the favorite places for shoppers because they offer the convenience of being able to explore a variety of different kinds of stores all in one place, and often, under the same roof. Consider your affiliate Web site a mall, a site that offers visitors a variety of products/services all in one place, under the roof of the Internet.

Now... Think about your experiences when you've gone shopping off-line. It's been proven that what a customer experiences upon first entering a store influences their frame of mind and so, their overall disposition towards shopping and buying in that store. Unless you're already familiar with a particular establishment, you enter a store and just stand at the front for a minute looking around at all the merchandise and reading the different signs to try to figure out where you go for what you need. You might even ask someone who is clearly an employee of the store. If a store has the appearance of being dirty, messy, dimly lit, with no clearly posted signs and not an employee in sight to question, subconsciously you can feel put off and confused right from the start. And if you're like most people, you'll choose just to turn around and leave, never to return again.

For this reason, one of the most important duties of the store manager is to take care of these basics. It's their responsibility to make certain their store is clean, bright, well organized, with signs that are easy to see, read and understand and that there are employees visible and available to customers. Now many, if not most, of your visitors won’t be familiar with your Web site. And because it is the Internet - They won't "stand around" for even a minute to figure out if you have what they're looking for, or especially, how to find it. Note: The latest information is - You'll be lucky if a visitor spends 7 seconds scanning your site to figure out if they even want to go any further, let alone how to find out where to go to get what they want!

So - As the "manager" of an on-line store/Web site - It becomes all the more imperative that the basics learned from operating an off-line store are applied and immediately apparent to your visitors! You must make certain:

• Your store/site is clean and neat, bright and well organized, with easy to see, easy to read and understand "signs" directing visitors to where they want to go!
• The overall presentation of your store/site creates feelings of excitement and assurance that if they go further, visitors are going to have the most positive of experiences! And;
• You've made it easy for your visitors to get help or ask questions!

Remember - You don't get a second chance to make a first impression!

Now, considering everything we've covered in this article - Take a good, hard and honest look at your online store/site.

• Is it clean and neat, bright and well organized, with easy to see, easy to read and understand "signs" directing visitors to where you want them to go?
• Does the overall presentation of your store/site create feelings of excitement and assurance that if they go further, visitors are going to have the most positive of experiences?
• Is it easy for your visitors to get help or ask questions?
• Is it the kind of store/site where you would feel good about shopping? And more importantly;
• Could/would you proudly recommend it to your family and friends?