A question I often ask my target market is, "what's your biggest challenge with building your business online?" And one answer I get frequently is this:

How do I make my website earn money?

If you've got a business online, then it's likely you have some sort of web presence. Perhaps it's a one-page 'sign up for my list' kind of site, or a full-blown brochure site with a menu of choices, or maybe your site is in the form of a blog. Regardless of what kind of site (or sites) you have, if they're not doing what you want them to - and since we're in business, ultimately that means making some sort of a profit - then it's time to make some changes.

But how do you REALLY know whether your site is working or not? Here are four strategies to test and track your pages to know what needs fixing:

1. Let the numbers speak

I'm sure if the sky was the limit, you'd hire the most expensive web designer with the fanciest tools to create the most spectacular site imaginable for your business - and someday you just may do that.

For now, though, even an ugly site can make money. I can think of at least two sites right now that I personally think are not that pleasing to the eye, yet I know they are raking in the bucks each and every month, year after year.

So don't get caught up in having the most polished and professionally looking site. Focus more on having the pieces in place that will bring you the cash, too.

2. Give your site only one job

Think of each page of your website as a separate entity with one main purpose. It may be to sell something, or to sign up for your list, or to get people to call you for an appointment. Whatever it is, make it clear that that one thing is the action your visitor should take from being on that page.

3. Track your numbers

Most web hosts offer statistics that you can use to watch your numbers, or there are other web stat programs that you could use as well (such as Google Analytics). However you are keeping an eye on your numbers, you should be looking for two things: how many people visit your site and how many people take the action you want them to take.

From those two numbers, you can figure out your conversion rate, which tells you how many of those visitors took the action you wanted them to - like sign up for your list. If you make small changes to your page AND watch these numbers at the same time, you'll be able to tweak things to increase your conversion rate.

4. Make one change at a time

This is a very effective way to increase the conversion rates on sales pages and sign-up pages. Change just one thing - for example, the headline - and watch your numbers. Compare those statistics to your previous ones and decide whether or not to keep the change. (You can also do this via a split-test in your shopping cart, where the software does the number crunching for you.)

I see so many sites that try to be all things to all people by offering everything under the sun in too small a space - a website - and all that does is confuse people and encourage them to click away. Remember, 'a confused mind always says no', so always go back to the main questions when considering making changes to your website: What's the purpose of this page? What is the one thing I want my visitor to do here? And then design your copy around the answer. Keep it simple and you'll get better results every time.

Every website has a reason for existing in the Internet. There's a purpose behind every one of them. Whether it's to sell something or to tell the world about something that person thinks is important enough to share, every website has a point to get across. When you think about the rise in the last decade of the internet as an ecommerce tool, it becomes clear that people doing business on the internet need a way to distinguish their goods or service. They need to make clear what it is they want the person clicking onto their site to do. They need what's referred to as a call to action.

Consider the statistic that states the average person only stays on one site for an average of nine seconds before they click away if they don't see something that interests them. That means all merchants who ply their wares in cyberspace need to be direct and tell the prospective client what they want them to do. Typically that means buy something.

The call to action comes in various forms but once you've seen a few of them they become easily recognizable. The most effective of these calls use short phrases that are not unlike the spoken word. Some examples include: 'Call Now', 'For A Short Time Only', 'Act Now - Offer Expires Soon'.

There's something that you'll need to remember about the content of these messages as well. Find a balance in the wording and try not to go too far one way or the other. A call to action that's too conservative will not be effective and you don't want to sound too cheesy either and turn the client off.

When to use these calls to action is another consideration to look into. Most of the experts feel they can be used effectively at two different points through a website. The first is at the end of every topic through the content. Here, it's also a good idea if you have an eye to keyword phrases that you know your desired contacts use frequently. So, if you sell marketing software, a good call to action at the bottom of the page might read: 'Why Not Contact Us For Our Free Trial of Marketing Software Today?'

There are other considerations where the experts think it's best to use the call to action. One of these is throughout the text in various locations as subtle prompts to get the visitor to convert to customer. There is also a caution against the kind of pop up advertising most of us have seen on the internet. Most of the professionals in the marketing field see them as a rude interruption in the flow for the reader and prospective customer.

The call to action is a necessary part of any web marketing campaign. It is a clear concise way of telling the visitor exactly what you want them to do and how you want them to make the transition from visitor to customer.

Dear Reader,

Site Rubix is a new website building tool recently released (Oct 2007) from Kyle and Carson at Wealthy Affiliate.com.

I have had a chance to use this website building tool, and I have to say it does do 'what it says on the tin'. It is very easy to use. You can choose a website style from an array of templates, drag and drop, add images, video, text, and actually publish your own site to your own domain with the click of a button. Because it is free along with Wealthy Affiliate membership you also receive free hosting.

The only thing you have to do independently is purchase your own domain, which is an easy thing to do. You can do this by visiting any number of websites which register domains, for example 1and1.com or GoDaddy.com.

The instructions for using Site Rubix are very clear, which is what you would expect from the Wealthy Affiliate team, although you will find it so user friendly you almost don't need to refer to the instructions except perhaps for the actual publishing step. This is when you actually make you site live and online, and again this step is not a problem if you follow the simple step by step instructions.

I would recommend Site Rubix as a website building tool, particularly to someone who is building their first site. There are no headaches involved, its quick to use, good functionality, you don't need to know http. All in all, its a pretty good system all-round.