Your mother probably told you that first impressions were important, but what she probably didn't know was exactly how tiny your window of opportunity is. Marketing a new website or product is part thoughtful design and part psychology. Seven seconds is all the time you have to convey the right impression to your potential clients.

The first time you visit a store, browse a website or check out a new product, you make some initial judgments. Is it tidy or cluttered? Does it look professional or casual? Is it part of a large corporate environment or a small mom-and-pop operation? Is the layout friendly and easy to use or are you confused about where to go for help? Visitors to your website are making those same judgments; with millions of choices on the internet, if they don't like what they see, your clients will go elsewhere.

It can be difficult to look at your website or brand from a customer's eyes - in fact, the longer you work on a particular project, the more likely you'll be seeing it through rose-colored glasses. Its worth your time to have a friend, a colleague or even an outside contractor review the work and check their first impressions against the image you were trying to project.

While even the experts can't always agree, studies by neuro-scientists from Harvard and New York University determined two areas of the brain are active when forming initial impressions. These areas are responsible for emotional learning about inanimate objects, social evaluation, economic decision making and assigning subjective value to rewards.

When thinking about how to reach your customers, make sure you consider how you project the following traits:

• Professionalism
• Credibility
• Economic Status
• Sophistication
• Desirability