Quantcast
Channel: Web Development & Design – Seymour Products
Viewing all 46 articles
Browse latest View live

Learn to Use WordPress

0
0

10 Sites to Help You Learn to Use WordPress

1. Getting Started with WordPress
http://codex.wordpress.org/Getting_Started_with_WordPress

2.  Wordpress Tutorial
http://www.siteground.com/tutorials/wordpress/

3.  Wordpress Video Tutorials
http://www.wp101.com/

4.  How to Use WordPress for Business
http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/wordpress-for-business.html

5.  Why You Should Use WordPress
http://www.becomeablogger.com/

6.  How to Use WordPress Themes
http://www.artisteer.com/?p=help_wordpress

7.  How to Install WordPress
http://www.solostream.com/blog/tutorials/how-to-install-wordpress/

8.  Top Ten Reasons to Use WordPress
http://www.computercourage.com/2010/07/21/top-10-reasons-to-use-wordpress-org-for-your-website/

9.  Using the Support Forums
http://codex.wordpress.org/Using_the_Support_Forums

10.  How to Use WordPress Plug-Ins
http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2007/02/11/how-to-install-configure-and-use-wordpress-plugins/

****************************


10 Things to Look for in a Web Host

0
0

A web hosting service allows you to make your website accessible to the worldwide web.  You generally upload your site files via FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to your host and they go “live” and become a part of the internet.

There are free web hosting services for personal sites but if you have a
business site, you will want to pay for a better hosting service.  There are countless hosting services on the web but there are things you need to look for when shopping for a good host.

Below are ten things you might want to check before choosing your host.

1.  Support System – One of the most important things to look for in a host is a good customer support system.  When you are having problems you don’t want
to wait days for answers.  Test the support system of the host before you purchase.
See how friendly, helpful and fast they are.   Do they have an email, support forums, phone number?  They might even have a live chat option available.

2.  Disk Space – You want to make sure the host offers a good amount of disk space but you want to also make sure they do not offer too much just to charge a higher price.   An average business site might use about 50 MBs of space but if you offer images, ebooks or other downloadable files, you will probably need much more than that.  You will need to consider what you will be offering on your site to
determine how much disk space you will need.

3.  Bandwidth – Bandwidth is the amount of data transfers that occur on your site.
This would include visitors downloading your web pages to their computer, you uploading files to your site and any other data transfers.   Again, if you offer downloadable items on your site you will need more bandwidth than the average site.  As your site gains in popularity, you will be using more bandwidth.  The average business site will probably not have to worry about bandwidth but it is best tocheck it out thoroughly including what the penalty will be for going over the
allotted bandwidth.

4.  Programming Services – Websites can be built just using HTML and CSS but most sites would require additional programming languages and database capabilities such as PHP, CGI, MySQL and  SSI.  Be sure to check to see if your potential host is compatible with these programming languages and services.

5.  FTP Access – FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is an easy way to upload files faster and more efficiently then through your control panel.  The easiest way to access your ftp is by using your domain as your FTP.  Not all hosts have this easier FTP access.

6.  User-Friendly Control Panel – Control panels can be very intimidating and frightening.  Your potential host should be able to provide a demo of the control panel they provide.  Check to see that it is easy to use, navigate and understand.

7.  Site Builder – Web creation tools can be a big help for people building new websites or additional sites.  Most hosts will provide these website building tools but always check to be sure.

8.  Web Statistics Tools – You will surely want your host to have web analytics because you need to know how many visitors you are getting, when you are getting them, to where they are going, how long they are staying and more to produce a successful, efficient website.   These tools are invaluable in helping you to find out how to improve your website so it can grow!

9.  Email Accounts and Mailing List Feature – A good web host should offer you numerous email accounts.  You might also want to check for a mailing list feature to help you build an email marketing mailing list.

10.  Uptime – Another very important service a good host should provide is reliable uptime.  One thing you do not need is for your site to be down more than it is up.  Most sites will claim 99.9% uptime but do some research and find out if it is actually true.

Web hosting services are a dime a dozen online and sifting through them all to
find a good one that provides you with everything you need can be a daunting
task.   See if you can get someone you know and/or trust to recommend a good host.  Do a search for web host reviews and read some real experiences of
people who have used the host.  Find out everything you can before choosing a host because that can be one of the most important choices you make in building your website!

About the Author:

Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business.  Terri Seymour can help you make money online.  Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at:
==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Please feel free to reprint this article in your newsletter, ezine, blog, etc as long as resource box is included and unchanged.  And also please feel free to email me if you have questions about anything on our site.  Thank you!

10 Ways to Maximize the Power of Your “About Us” Page

0
0

If you own an online business, you need to provide an About Us page. Unfortunately, many sites neglect to give this page the attention it needs and deserves. Many people do not realize the importance of an effective About Us page.

Your About Us page has the distinct purpose of letting people get to know your company, which will help build the foundation of trust and respect that is needed for a successful online business. For certain businesses, the About Us page can also be used for recruiting new employees, sales reps, etc.

So, take some time, look over your About Us page and see if it utilizes any or all of the ten features listed below.

1. Company History – Give a brief history of your company and how you got started. Explain how long you’ve been in business, the purpose of your business and your experience. This is also a good place to add your mission statement.

2. Focus on Benefits – Be sure to focus on the benefits your company will provide the customer. Your potential customers want to know what you can do for them, not how you do it.

3. Introduce Yourself and Crew – Be sure to give your name and the names of those who work with and/or for you. You would be surprised at how many About Us pages I have read that contain no names whatsoever! Give a very brief background on yourself and your workers so your visitors can get to know them.

4. Special Skills and Accomplishments – Highlighting any special skills you have or accomplishments can help to build your credibility and separate you from your competitors. If your company is a green company be sure to highlight that as well. Let people know what your company stands for and against.

5. Toot Your Horn – Provide testimonials, awards and names of notable clients. Don’t be afraid to let people know exactly how accomplished you and your company are. This will also help build credibility and trust.

6. Use Photos – Be sure to add some photos of yourself and your workers (if any) so people can feel get more human contact. Actually seeing the person or people behind the website will make it more believable.

7. Personality and Passion – Give your company some personality. Accentuate the passion and commitment your company possesses. Let your readers see the human side of your company.

8. Social Media – Be sure to add your social media site links. This will give your readers another avenue to keep in touch with your company.

9. Coffee Clutch – Write all of this information as if you were sitting over coffee and chatting with your visitors. Don’t make it sound like a dull cookie cutter page. Add life, vigor and sparkle to your writing.

10. Contact Info – ALWAYS thank your visitor for coming to your site and offer your contact information. Let them know you are available to answer any questions or concerns. Adding your physical address is shown to raise the level of confidence in your company as well.

Although the About Us page is often overlooked by the site owner, it can be a very powerful way to attract customers and increase your conversion rate. Do the research and take the time to write a compelling and powerful About Us page that will boost your credibility and gain the trust and respect your business needs to survive!

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Please feel free to reprint this article in your newsletter, ezine, blog, etc as long as resource box is included and unchanged. And also please feel free to email me if you have questions about anything on our site. Thank you!

 

20 Quick Tips for a More Profitable Website

0
0

When the World Wide Web began about 20 years ago, it opened up an amazing world of opportunity for people to make their own success and realize their dreams. More people than ever were able to start their own home business. Unfortunately, about 95% of the people who start their own online business will fail. People are led to believe all they have to do is throw up a website and the money will start pouring in. This is definitely not true!

Building a website now is much easier than it was 20 years ago but you still need to know how to make your website efficient and profitable. The following quick tips will help you streamline your website and hopefully make it more productive.

1. Call-to-Action – To substantially increase your number of sales, your site will need a call to action. This is when you tell people what to do next. For example: Order Now, Supplies Limited or Click Here for Special Offer, Today Only.

2. Annoying Features – Leave out intrusive music, flashing lights, animated banners, slow-loading pages and other annoying features. These things do not say welcome!

3. Add a Blog – Blogs are extremely popular and search engine friendly so if you don’t already have a blog you definitely want to start one.

4. Site Search – Be sure to provide your visitors with a site search box. You can get one for free at Google Site Search.

5. Interactive – Make your site interactive by adding message boards, surveys, comments. This will bring your visitors back for more.

6. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – Do some research and make your site search engine ready. Add relevant keywords, get as many backlinks as possible, add content, etc.

7. Site Map – Having a site map on your site can help you with the search engines and it will help your visitors find things on your site as well. You can make one for free with GSiteCrawler.

8. Analyze Your Traffic – Be sure to study your site stats so you can find out when you get the most visitors, where you get the most visitors, how long they are staying, what pages they are visiting the most and so on. This can help you tweak your site for maximum performance. If your host does not provide your stats you can use Google Analytics.

9. Content – Always be adding new and relevant content to your site to keep your visitors interested and the search engines as well.

10. Trust – You must build trust and credibility with your visitors. You can do this by using testimonials, posting any rewards you may have received and letting people know of important clients you have had.

11. Affiliate Programs – Adding good solid affiliate programs to your site can help raise your profits. Be sure to check out the programs before you join and if possible, personally recommend the products and/or services.

12. User-Friendly – You want your site to be easy to navigate; not like a maze for your visitors to try to find their way. Make all pages the same basic layout.

13. Collect eMail Addresses – Building an email mailing list is very crucial for keeping in contact with your visitors and building the foundation of trust. Be sure to put a sign-up form on all your webpages and put it on top for easy visibility and access.

14. Sell Advertising – Don’t overdo but selling a few choice spots on your website for advertising can raise your profitability.

15. Stress Benefits – Be sure to let people know how they can benefit from your site. Let them know how you can solve their problems with your products/services.

16. Contact Info – ALWAYS have your contact info on every page of your site. If people don’t even know your name, there surely are not going to trust you.

17. Fresh and New – Always be adding new and updated content to your site. Keep up on SEO and always be tweaking your site for more ranking. Do not let your site get old and stale!

18. Professional Design – Your site should be clean, sharp and easy to read. Do not clutter it with junk. Make it look professional!

19. Color – The color of your website can be very important. Certain colors can trigger psychological responses and you want to be sure your site triggers the right one.

20. Social Networking – Be sure to add all your social links so people can connect with you on multiple levels. Social networking can do wonders for your website if used properly.

Developing a profitable website takes time, research and work but it certainly can be done. Don’t give up too easily. Put in the work and be committed. You CAN be a success!

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Please feel free to reprint this article in your newsletter, ezine, blog, etc as long as resource box is included and unchanged. And also please feel free to email me if you have questions about anything on our site. Thank you!

 

10 Ways to Benefit from Your 404 Error Page

0
0

If you have a broken link on your site and a visitor clicks on this link they will be directed to what is called a 404 Error Page. This is a standard page that will let the visitor know that the link they clicked on could not be found. We all know how annoying this page can be. The good news is that there are ways to make this error page work for us.

Although these pages can drive traffic away, we can design them to actually become productive sales tools. Customizing your 404 error page should be a fairly simple process. Check with your host or the program you are using for your site to see how it can be done. Consider the ideas below to change your 404 page from a hindrance to a benefit.

1. Warm Welcome – Add a warm greeting and make your potential customers feel welcome as opposed to chasing them away with a giant “ERROR” plastered across the page.

2. Apologize with Free Gift – Offer them a free gift for the mistake. Add a link going to a $5.00 gift card, a bonus product with order, a free report or ebook, etc. Try to give them a gift that will be beneficial to them and you.

3. Subscription Page – Send them to your subscription page. Be sure to give them a free gift for subscribing. Offer helpful info, needed resources and more in your mailings.

4. Affiliate Product – If you are an affiliate for quality products and/or services, add a link to your affiliate page.

5. Your Product – Redirect them to your product pages. Be sure you have well-designed, easy to navigate product pages.

6. Use a Little Humor – Add something humorous to the page to lighten the mood and make your visitors want to look around more. Use cute, happy, funny graphics to put a smile on their face. Be sure not to cross any lines and be professional.

7. One Time Offer – Give the visitor a special one-time offer. Give them a deal not available anywhere else.

8. SEO Benefits – Design your error page so it is similar to your site’s other pages. Give it a keyword rich title and content. Add your blog/site title. Add a link to your site map or a site search function. It is hard to avoid the error pages so making them work for us is a good option.

9. Main Site Links – Be sure to add the important page links of your site so the visitors will know where to go. Briefly explain how going on will benefit them and what you have to offer.

10. Call to Action – Be sure to add a call to action on this page to instruct the visitor what to do or where to go to next. In the seconds you have to get people’s attention after the error page comes up, a call to action will sometimes make the decision for them.

The goal here is to not let this usually irritating page make your visitors quickly leave your site. Grab their attention with something interesting or entertaining so they will overlook the error and stay on your site. This can lead to more traffic and sales for your business.

About the Author:

Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Please feel free to reprint this article in your newsletter, ezine, blog, etc as long as resource box is included and unchanged. And also please feel free to email me if you have questions about anything on our site. Thank you!

Firefox vs. Chrome Web Browser: Which is the Best Browser?

0
0

It actually sounds like something from a sci-fi flick, The Browser Wars”, but it is not. It is a very real fight and until recently the top contenders were Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari, with Firefox clearly being the better program. That was until Google threw its hat in the ring.

Now it goes without saying that the true fight has begun between Firefox and Google Chrome. If you are interested in how they stack up against each other read on.

Speed: Chrome is by far the fastest. It uses the Webkit engine layout and independent speed tests have already cemented this engine as the leader in overall speed.

Although Firefox did attempt to amp up its search speed with the introduction of its 3.5, it still loses hands down.

Security: All browsers have had occasional security risks. However Chrome treats each tab as an individual process.

This means that if one search result in the tab is infected by a malicious site, then it is contained and subsequently “pawned.” This keeps the infection from spreading to the other tabs. This alone gives Google Chrome the edge over Firefox.

Search Options: This is the one area that Google Chrome falls short in. As of now the program cannot support any other browser. Firefox is compatible with all other browsers and is capable of supporting a lot more add-ons than Google Chrome supports. These are important for people who use the browser for more than just a simple search.

Memory: The separation of the tabs for security purposes also may look, at first glance as if that is gross usage of memory space. But tests have proven that is not the case.

The memory usage also depends a lot on the number of other programs running within the browser. Since Firefox users tend to have an abundance of add-ons, this makes for a much larger memory loss. So even though Firefox would win this one, it is with reservations.

The bottom line is that you can’t go wrong with either one of these browsers. Right now, power users will find Chrome to be faster and cleaner. Internet marketers will find more options with Firefox. Use both for maximum effect. Happy browsing!

As you can see both have their benefits and both leave something to be desired. You can download and use both for different projects. Since this is war, you have to find out for yourself which one is best.

About the Author:
Pat Lindle is a consultant over at http://www.smallbusinessconsultingco.com  and principal at the website http://www.buywebhosting.co  helping small business owners with hosting needs.

12 Easy Tips for a More Successful FAQ Page

0
0

Your FAQ or “Frequently Asked Questions” page can be a very important part of your business website. Your FAQ page is important for several reasons.

● Your FAQ page could raise your Google rankings
● Your FAQ page will help end any confusion your visitors might have
● Your FAQ page will give a quick overview of your website content
● Your FAQ page could increase your sales

Adding a well written and designed FAQ page to your website should be a priority and the tips below will help you ensure your FAQ page will do a great job.

1. Easy Access – Your FAQ page will not be able to work for you if people cannot find it. Be sure to add links in your main navigation panel. You can also add links to your FAQ at the end of your pages.

2. Order of Importance – Place your questions in order of importance so more pertinent info is easier to find.

3. Ask for Feedback – Have some associates or friends look over your website and see what questions they have. Add these questions to your FAQ.

4. Appropriate Questions – Be sure to add only questions that are appropriate and pertain to your business and/or website content.

5. Format – Write the page in question and answer format and be sure the questions and answers are easily distinguishable.

6. Categories – If you have a long FAQ, it is better to organize the questions into categories so your visitors don’t have to waste time reading over info they don’t need. Make a list of the categories at the top of the page and hyperlink them so your potential customers can click the category and not have to scroll down to find it.

7. Quick and Concise – Answer all questions to the point and in just a few sentences, if possible. If the question requires a very long detailed answer, put it in a separate page and link to the full answer.

8. Search Box – if you can, add a search box for the questions so people can find what they need quickly and easily.

9. Call to Action – Add a call to action at the end of the page. Have a Contact Sales Rep link or Get More Details Here link. Guide the person closer to ordering.

10. Contact Form – Always add a contact form or email so if the person does not find the answer they are looking for, they can easily contact you.

11. Review and Update Regularly – At regular intervals, go over your FAQ page to see if all the questions still apply or if you need to add new questions. Keep the content fresh so all the information is useful.

12. Keywords – Be sure to use relevant keywords strategically throughout the page. Search engines like FAQ pages and using proper keywords can help improve your ranking.

Many online business owners may not think a FAQ page is necessary because all the info is available on their site. But keep this in mind, the easier and faster you make it for your visitors to find the info they need, the more likely they will be to stay on your site and order from you. Your FAQ page is like a quick, streamlined version of your entire site!

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Please feel free to reprint this article in your newsletter, ezine, blog, etc as long as resource box is included and unchanged. And also please feel free to email me if you have questions about anything on our site. Thank you!

10 Reasons for Utilizing a WordPress Business Website

0
0

Developing a well-designed professional website for your business is critical these days and WordPress is an excellent way to achieve this goal. The internet is more competitive than it ever has been and you will need an up to date, user-friendly, proficient website.

I used to have a site that was built manually and all changes had to be done manually as well. I really loved the site and it did well but it finally came time to admit that I needed to modernize and update our site. My online business is a big part of me and letting go of my hard work was difficult but I knew it had to be done. My web consultant recommended WordPress and after looking it over, I agreed.

The differences with WordPress are amazing! My site is much more efficient, easy to use and I can do much more with it. There are more options for this type of site but WordPress is the one I use and can personally recommend. Below are some of the more important reasons why you should be using WordPress for your business website.

1. Free – Building a business is tough enough so when you can get something of quality for free that will help your business it is definitely worth looking into. WordPress does not charge for the use of their themes, plugins, widgets, etc.

2. SEO Friendly – SEO (search engine optimization) is an important part of your online success. Much of your site’s traffic will come from the major search engines. Getting listed towards the top of these search engines is not always easy so having a search engine friendly site can help immensely. There are many WordPress plugins to help specifically with SEO. WordPress also provides spam protection to keep your site from getting penalized by the search engines.

3. Social Media Efficiency – WordPress sites have excellent social media capabilities to help build your business. There are plugins that will connect all your social site pages to your main site and automatically post to them when you post on your site. This enables you to share more of your content and get more people to see what your site has to offer.

4. Easy to Use – You do not need to know HTML or PHP coding to create your own WordPress site. Everything is coded for you and it is basically a matter of putting everything into place. Instead of having to build your house, all you have to do is arrange the furniture.

5. Content Updates – Updating your site with new content regularly is very important and using WordPress makes it very easy to manage your content. It takes just minutes to create new pages or posts with a simple text editor in your site Admin.

6. Support – Anytime you have problems with your site there is an extensive support system available. Also, WordPress is so widely used that you can do a search and easily find answers to your website questions.

7. Professional Themes – WordPress provides hundreds of professionally designed website themes for you to use. These themes come in a variety of designs, layouts and color. This does not mean that you will have a cookie cutter website. You can easily customize the look of your site so it has its own unique appeal.

8. Plugins – Plugins are little add-ons that provide different features for your site. There are tons of plugins from which you can choose. For example: there is a plugin that schedules and displays events on your site. This is great if you have special offer sales, do webinars, classes or online parties. There is another plugin that will make your site mobile ready. The possibilities are limitless!

9. Easy to Change – Many people periodically freshen up their site with a new layout or design. Also, your business might become such a huge success it outgrows your original site and requires more features, etc. Changing and adding to your site is extremely easy with WordPress. You can choose a new theme and it will override the old one without disturbing your content. You can add on more extensive plugins and widgets to accommodate your business’s growing needs in minutes.

10. Blogging Ability – WordPress sites originally were developed for blogging so not only can you successfully manage your whole business site, you have blogging capabilities as well. Although blogging started out more like writing a daily journal it is invaluable for most businesses. These sites are blog ready.

So if you have or are thinking about a business website, be sure to look into WordPress and other similar sites. The ease, efficiency and capabilities of these sites can help you and your business grow and progress for great success!

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Please feel free to reprint this article in your newsletter, ezine, blog, etc as long as resource box is included and unchanged. And also please feel free to email me if you have questions about anything on our site. Thank you!


How to Use or Not Use Images on Your Site

0
0

We have all heard the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. In some cases that could very well be true. Graphics and images can bring your site to life, grabbing your visitors’ attention and achieving the desired conversion results. Images can add drama, excitement, truth and more to your site to make time spent on your site an experience to remember.

Studies show that one well-placed image can raise your conversion rate by as much as 25%! But despite all the amazing results images can achieve, if used incorrectly, they can also have the reverse effect.

Look over the ten tips below to see what you can do and what you shouldn’t do to change the overall effect of the graphics and images on your site.

1. Use Images to Bring out Emotion – People are ruled by their emotions. Using pictures to help bring out these emotions can be very successful. Place images on your site that will bring out the positive of what you have to offer. If you sell home décor, don’t just show pictures of the products. Show someone happily and proudly showing off her home with your décor to her friends. Getting your prospects to feel good is a major part of making the sale!

2. Placement is Key – People will scan your webpage in a very specific way. Our eyes tend to follow a clear pattern. Placing images in key spots in this pattern will often get more results. To start with, you will want a professional quality banner placed at the top of your page. This will draw your visitors’ into your site for further scrutiny. Amidst your body copy, place images where they will enhance the information you are offering. Do not place your images randomly all over your site. This could easily distract and confuse your readers.

3. Use Quality, Professional Images – Be sure your images are not blurry or hard to see. Don’t use flashy, loud or obnoxious images. You want the images to be simple and color compatible to your site. You want the images to bring out your content, not distract from it.

4. Do Not Use Clipart – Although there is a lot of free clipart available, it is not always a good choice. Clipart is very childish looking and cartoonish. Of course, there are sites that clipart would work well for, so by all means then use it. But if you need something to send a more powerful message, clipart is not the answer.

5. Slow Loading Pages – One of the most annoying things we can experience is a webpage that takes too long to load. People will more than likely not wait any longer than 5 – 10 seconds for a webpage to load. With this in mind, you want to make sure you do not use too many images or slow-loading images that will cause your readers to leave. This is one case where less is more!

6. Alternative Text or Tags – Alternative text or tags are also known as alt tags or alt text. This is done by adding text into the html code of the image. You want to do this because the search engine spiders cannot read images so you need to add keywords and descriptive text to achieve SEO from the image. For example: If you sell jewelry and post an image of a diamond ring on your site, the search engine spiders will not recognize the image as a diamond ring. So, you just need to add a bit of alt text like so alt=”diamond ring” to your html code for the image. This will enable the spiders to read the image thus increasing your SEO.

7. Branding – Branding is when your company is immediately recognized by just an image or phrase. This is important because it gets people to connect with you and your company and it builds your reputation. For example: When you see a little white apple with a bite taken out of it, what company comes to mind? Simple graphics and images can do a lot for your business. Many companies will also use images to create a mascot to brand their business. Mascots can bring personality and life to your business while making it more memorable. We all know what company comes to mind when we see a little green gecko or a dancing peanut. This can happen for your business and reputation as well.

8. Website Related – One thing you want to make sure you do not do is throw up a bunch of pictures because they are pretty and look good. You don’t want to use images as decorations. The images you use must be related to your site and the content you provide. Don’t use images as you would knick knacks in your house – they will just clutter up your site.

9. Rotating Images – Images that showcase products by rotating 360 degrees has been shown to increase conversion rates substantially.

10. Be Creative – In this day and age the possibilities are endless so dig down deep into your creativity and come up with something so amazing it will take your business to new heights!

Images are one of those things that can do wonders for your business but they can also hurt your business as well. So, learn everything you can about how to use graphics and images to build your business. Test different images to see which ones increase your conversions and which ones do not. The extra work will definitely be worth it!

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Please feel free to reprint this article in your newsletter, ezine, blog, etc as long as resource box is included and unchanged. And also please feel free to email me if you have questions about anything on our site. Thank you!

Conversion Rate Optimization for Web Developers

0
0

What’s the goal of a website? If your answer wouldn’t be agreeable to the marketing types you work with, then you need to know about conversion rate optimization (CRO) – and how it can make all the difference in a site, as well as your own career.

CRO means testing several designs – or versions of a single design – to identify hidden problems with a website that could cost business for the site owner. The simple truth is that esthetics and strategically placed visuals can make a big difference to increase conversions. So, once you know how well visitors are delivering on the business goal(s) of the site, you can figure out what to change to increase the conversion rate. A fresh set of eyes – trained in web copywriting and design – can help you interpret the analytics information, and be a valuable source of recommendations.

Of course, you can get CRO services from any number of places. You can go to a big web design firm and, after you dole out 15 grand or more, you will likely have a design that fits your online target audience.

Search engine optimization (SEO) companies do many aspects of CRO well: testing headlines, the call to action, content, images, etc. But SEO firms don’t address conversion-based web design as well as a web designer or design firm.

Testing designs for conversion should be a normal part of any web design project, if the goal is to get a response from web visitors. But testing different designs doesn’t have to be difficult (or expensive), especially for a talented and reasonably priced web developer. The problem is that most talented, reasonably priced web developers don’t have a clue about testing their designs for conversion. But they might invest in getting the proper resources in place if businesses asked for it. Where are the talented, reasonably priced web developers who engage in conversion-based design?

Working upside-down

I find that many websites are designed upside-down. That is, the site is more about what the company wants to communicate than about what the target audience is after. {Case in point: When was the last time you actually clicked – let alone read the information – on an “About Us” page? Information like that is usually tailored to the ego of the company’s leader(s).}

This kind of upside-down website focuses on getting tons of traffic so they can sell-sell-sell. . . without thinking through how their target audience perceives and interacts with the website.

If conversion is the goal of all marketing, then the key to getting the response you want from a site is to engage the target audience by building the site for and about them and what they want.

Failing to plan is planning. . .

SEO and paid search campaigns play a big part in planning for a good conversion rate, especially when content is designed specifically to engage the target audience. Otherwise, you waste a lot of costly traffic on content that doesn’t convert.

In the past, most web developers did not consider the implications of SEO during the design phase. Thankfully, that has changed, and most web designers now bring in an SEO professional. In fact, it’s rare to find a web designer who does not also attempt SEO, but that’s a discussion for another time.

But that old pattern remains because today, most web developers do not consider the implications of conversion rate optimization DURING THE DESIGN PHASE. Let me illustrate.

Many businesses get into Internet marketing like this:

• Design or upgrade the website.

• Implement Google Adwords, social media and/or SEO.

• Ask what the target market thinks.

It’s a ready-fire-aim approach to internet marketing that wastes time and resources. But there is a better way:

1. Know the target audience.

2. Design the site and develop content to tap into the target market’s motivations, following SEO best practices at each step along the way.

3. Test the site by letting your users’ natural actions help you craft the design and content that gets the best results.

4. Continue testing to gain optimal ROI.

CRO certainly isn’t difficult, but it does require on-target analysis of a site’s strengths and weaknesses (and, sometimes, the willingness to set aside egos) in order to develop a site that truly functions effectively.

For developers and designers, there’s no downside to conversion-based design. Nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain.

About the Author:
Tom Shivers is an SEO consultant and president of Capture Commerce, founded in 2000 to provide tailored Internet marketing that gets conversions.

 

Top Ten Ways to Peeve Your Website Visitors

0
0

How did peeves become pets? Don’t know. Don’t really care. But all of us have our pet peeves when it comes to surfing the net for information. 
angry woman
Here are the top 10 according to many surveys:

1. Pop Ups

Pop ups come in many flavors: entry pop ups, exit pop ups, delayed, small, large, multiple, Flyin, scrolling, always on top, browser stopping, surf interrupting, must be cleared to move on, Viagra, and the ever popular porn.

Except for an occasional squeeze page to get a free ebook or report, web surfers HATE pop ups.

So why do they continue to litter the Internet landscape?  Simple. They work.


2. Extra Software Needed to View Site

Don’t blame Canada. Blame Adobe.

Adobe made the Acrobat reader a must for viewing PDF files mainly because:

- It solved a need. Every page now printed out the same regardless of which printer or operating system was being used. It could even be made interactive for form completion.

- Adobe gave away millions of the free readers before publishers adopted the new PDF format as a standard for ebooks.

Acrobat users now demand PDF files in most instances where ebooks used to have various formats including “exe”. Hackers have made downloading exe files from unknown sources an unsafe activity.

As standard as Acrobat now is, the same is not true for Flash, Shockwave, Deja Vu, and a host of other add-ons with various degrees of support.

I don’t need to sit through a 2 meg Flash intro when what I want is information. Apparently, many others agree. You can add Flashblock to your FireFox browser and decide for yourself when to allow the Flash to load.

3. Dead Dead Dead Links

Nothing hacks me off faster than finding a spot on anchor text link that goes nowhere.

It’s like having your mouth water over a menu special only to have the kitchen say they have run out.

4. Registration Required to Visit Site

Some sites think their bytes don’t stink. They think you should register and login to see anything beyond the home page.

What they are doing is asking me to get married before the first date.

What’s in it for me?

In this Internet day and age, a company and site has to build trust before a random visitor is going to cough up a name and email address.

Show me a little leg first.

5. Slowwww Pages

If I have to wait more than 4 or 5 seconds to begin viewing your site, I am gone – never to return.

If your servers are slow, find a new ISP.

If you loaded your pages with Flash, MIDI, audio, video, or other files that load with the page, dump them. Put up links instead. Let the visitor choose if they want to read or watch the video.

6. Outdated Content

One huge advantage of the web is the ability of bloggers and other Drudge wannabes to bypass traditional media and post news online instantly.

If you have not updated your website in 14 months, what does that tell me about your company.  Certainly, you are less than a cutting edge solution for my problem.

7. Bad Navigation

Web designers prefer dazzle over function. Function is boring. Who wants a simple text link when a pop up Javascript navigation bar impresses the client?

I do.

So do the search engines.

Every web page needs recognizable, underlined text links on every page, preferably top and bottom.

Don’t make me waste time trying to find the internal page I am really looking for.

8. No Contact Information

Poor contact information is a binary pair of bad navigation. How many sites have you been to where you cannot find a phone number, a street address, or even an email address?  Plenty.

I think it’s sweet that you put up an email contact form on your site, but I prefer to use my default email compose screen. Every web-based email form is different. I don’t want to waste time learning to use your form when my email client works fine.

What are you hiding?

9. No Decent Site Search Tool

There is no excuse for this one. If you have a large website with dozens or hundreds of pages, give me an internal search box to find what I need.

Google and Yahoo! and many others will give you the tool – free – to put on your site. Use it.

10. Disabled “Back” Button

I don’t want a website to dictate how I experience their site. I am a guest on your site. I don’t need to come back to your page when I hit the back button. That’s why I hit the back button in the first place. You don’t have the information I am looking for.

In a similar vein, I don’t like to see other right click functions like “view page source” disabled. I don’t need to steal your HTML code, but if I want to, disabling right click will not stop me. I might want to see how you achieved a certain formatting effect. If I am impressed, you can bet I’ll be back.

Pet peeves take many forms online. No list like this is complete, but any webmaster that can avoid these 10 major annoyances is a hero in my book.

I look forward to visiting your site.

Author: Charles Lamm is a retired attorney who can be reached via email at focus@clixforbrix.com. His articles are posted on his blog at: http://www.virtualjoefriday.com/.

bluebar

 

How to Create Killer Website Landing Pages

0
0

What is a landing page… this is a page on your website, focused
on important information about your company, your products
or services, informational and educational content related to your
business, sometimes offering free materials to the visitor, such as
e-books, etc.

landingpages

 What are landing page  goals?

* Obtain a registration typically  generating a contact lead.

* Explore and convey your company’s valued proposition offer that differentiates your site from all the others that the visitor may also be visiting to research their buy. Define your distinct ability to provide something more than all the
other sites.

* Communicate the value of your branded product and your organization’s integrity.

* Just in case the visitor does not want to provide their information at the
time of the visit, be sure to communicate predominantly other contact means,
providing them with the control to contact you (e.g. your primary company
phone, sales numbers, technical and basic information lines of communication).
This provides contact information without forcing their hand into providing
you their information.

A landing page must be keyword-rich, optimizing it for the search engines.
The search engines crawl these primary landing pages. The first step is to
have an attention-grabbing <H1> Header tag. Subsequently, it should be
followed by content that provides a solution via your products or services that
address the visitors particular issue. Landing pages are the key to a successful
website. You utilize these main landing pages to capture your audience and
keep them on your site, which will result in conversions and a ROI. These
are the gems of your website and should be optimized as such.

The user is taken to your first landing page and immediately, literal seconds
pass, before they make the decision to stay and explore your site.  That is
how very critical landing pages are. Literally, this means that within less time
than someone can truly perceive what they are looking at, they are drawing
conclusions that will impact the rest of their experience.

Make your landing pages count by using some basic optimization techniques,
such as the following:

* Instantly conveying the value your site offers and creating strong incentive
to contact you by providing a clear title and description and an enticing layout.

* Focus your visitors, every chance you can get, to contact you by providing links,
images linking to the contact us page; you may even offer free informational
materials to get them to complete the contact us form.

* Always include your social media sharing links, encouraging visitors to
spread the word that your website has something valuable to offer.

* Beware of what information you request in your contact form. You cannot
expect them to fill out a complete page of information and be willing to do so.
Just keep it simple, but be sure to obtain the important information needed
to contact them.

Not only do you need to optimize your landing pages for search engines, you
should take a step-back and consider as to what key words the user is entering
in the search engine. These terms and phrases speak to the search engine and
provide a better opportunity to have the visitor find your landing pages. In the
same thought, your meta-tags, each individualized for each landing page, must
convey the common terms visitors are searching for. Marrying the landing page
content with audience intelligent meta-tags is another feather in your website
cap. Essentially, make a point to consider exactly what is driving visitors to your
landing page.

Some thoughts on your page layout… it is a fact that the eyes are drawn to certain
things and you should use this research to your advantage. Here are some factual
layout points to consider:

* A studied and proven focal point on a landing page as the visitor moves left to
right on your page, is grabbing their attention with faces. That’s right. Faces
intrigue visitors and they will immediately be drawn to them. A poignant trick
is to utilize facial images, but incorporate them into your landing page copy,
tying one to the other.

* A controlled, often fixed design will be your best option for the visitor’s
experience. It keeps the layout clean and delineated, without overwhelming
the audience.

* Provide multiple and consistent ways for the visitor to easily communicate
their needs and interests. The communication between the audience and your
company is vital to your conversion rate, which means you transform a lead
into an actual customer of yours.

* Your audience will tend to view your landing page from the upper left hand
side first, so leverage images and content to provide the most punch in this
location. Utilize their natural viewing of the page to your advantage.

* It cannot be stressed enough how very important the headline and web page
title are. They are key items that have the greatest potential to provide an
impact on the viewer, reflecting your conversion rate and ROI. Include
keywords that leverage your websites relevance.

Landing pages can literally make or break your conversion rate and ROI.
Do not venture into a website without researching what you need to present
to the audience, build their trust, and obtain leads.

About the Author:
Article by Jess Holmes. I have an AS in Paralegal Studies from Edison College.
I have a BA in Information Technology from Florida State University. I have a
Master’s Degree in Software Engineering from Capella University. I am the
Owner/Vice-President of PageDragon.com. My specialty is Internet Marketing,
SEO, and SEM. I also perform website design and programming for our clients.
PageDragon.com can customize an intriguing look and feel for a client’s website
that will catch anyone’s eye. PageDragon.com takes your awesome website and
makes it shine on the search engines.

bluebar

 

Bounce Rate: The Arch-Nemesis of Any Website Owner

0
0

If a lot of people come to your website and then leave
immediately, you have a
bounce rate problem on your hands.
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who
come to your site and then
depart without viewing any other pages.

bounce

A high rate usually means that your site isn’t satisfying users’ needs for one reason or
another.

It is the arch-nemesis of any website owner.

A high bounce rate could hurt your business, especially if you’re investing your
marketing dollars in SEO or PPC advertising. Reducing your website’s rate is the first
step to improving your website’s overall performance and conversion rates. To
reduce your site’s bounce rate, you need to make a powerful first impression and
engage visitors from the moment they enter your site. As a rule of thumb, a normal
bounce rate for a website is about 50%. If your website’s rate surpasses 60%, you
should be worried.

Here are some things you can do to lower your website’s bounce rate and boost
visitor retention.

Decrease Load Times

If your website has lots of widgets, plug-ins, high resolution images, and other
extras, you might want to remove them in order to decrease load times. Users with
slow Internet connections will leave your site if it takes too long to load.

Improve Readability

Contrast is essentially the difference between two colors. If your website’s design
doesn’t have good color contrast, it’ll strain a visitor’s eyes and make your site
difficult to read, which could lead to an increase in bounce rates. A common culprit is
white text on a black background.

Keep Content Clear & Concise

One of the most common causes of high bounce rates is confusion. If people can’t
figure out what your website is about upon first glance, they won’t stick around. To
prevent this from happening, write clear, concise content that fulfills a visitor’s needs
and avoid writing vague, general content. Additionally, be sure to include clear calls
to-action in highly visible locations, so visitors know exactly what to do next.

Check Browser Performance

Make sure that your website is compatible with all major browsers, including Safari,
Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Firefox. Use an analytics program to
determine if parts of your site have trouble loading on certain browsers.

Make Sure Navigation Is Clear

Your site’s navigation should be clear and easily accessible. People won’t stay on your
site for very long if they have trouble finding the pages they’re looking for. Consider
repeating the navigation menu in your site’s footer. Add a search box and site map to
your website if your site has a large amount of content.

Use the Right Keywords

Look at the keyword report in your analytics program to determine which keywords
have the highest bounce rates.  Targeting popular keywords is useless if the traffic
they bring isn’t relevant to your website. Too often, websites target certain keywords
but fail to deliver the content those visitors seek.

Avoid Distracting Visitors

Don’t interrupt visitors who are engaged with your content with audio-ads, pop-up
ads, and the like. Your goal should be to present the information that visitors seek
and stay out of their way. If you try to get visitors to sign up for your newsletter,
subscribe to your blog or chat live with a representative while they’re immersed in
your content, you could frustrate them and cause them to click away.

About the Author:

Ed Kundahl is president and owner of Allentown-based IdeaOverTen, an Internet
marketing agency and Web development company that offers clients total search
marketing and interactive media solutions. His roots are in small-business search
engine optimization and marketing and making sites user friendly and accessible to
search engines. He can be reached at ed@ideaoverten.com.

goldline

 

Effective Web Design – Ten Rules

0
0

Most of the people think that it is visual appearance that
determines a site’s success or failure,  but in fact it is usability
that determines a site’s fate.  No doubt that visual appearance does have
involvement in a site’s success but first thing is usability. After all it’s all
about the user; in the end a user has to use the site and has to decide
everything.

web

So, most of the designs we do see over different websites are user-centric. Before
talking about principles of web design, first take a look at how users look or interact
with a website and their basic patterns of behavior.

Visitors glance at every new page and scan some of the text and normally do click at
something of their interest on a website and if they don’t find it of their interest then
Back button is clicked and search is continued. In all this process there may be the
large parts of text at which they even do not even look at. Overall users do appreciate
quality content even if a page is filled with lots of advertisements and is not well
designed then too they don’t mind reading it. Second thing to notice about them is
that they don’t read they just scan the whole thing and normally they are impatient
i.e. they do return if they don’t find what they were searching for or if the page takes
too much of time to load. They usually follow their intuition and want to have
complete control.

After having a glance at user’s behavior let’s talk about the basic rules of web design
now the principles of web design are:

Rule #1 Web Page must be obvious and self-explanatory – Website’s navigation and
architecture must be user friendly in all respects. A web designer’s basic objective
must be to don’t let users think and eliminate question marks related with usability
of the site.

Rule #2 Keep user requirements minimal – Let user explore, discover and test your
site and services without filling up long web forms and forcing them to share their
private data.

Rule #3 Attract users – Integrate images and web 2.0 elements in your website to
make it more attractive. Make your website eye catching providing both static and
dynamic content.

Rule #4 Make uses of Modern web designs – Simple 1-2-3-done steps, large buttons
with visual effects are definitely better as compared to simple web elements.

Rule #5 Effective Writing – Fine-tune your writing approach to users’ preferences
and browsing habits. Talk business; avoid company specific or unfamiliar technical
names.

Rule #6 Keep it simple – should be the fundamental objective of the site design.
From the user point of view, the best site design option is to keep pure text without
much advertisement in it.

Rule #7 Divide the content – into digestible pieces of information to reduce the load
cognitive load for the visitors as complex structures are harder to read, scan and
analyze and work with it.

Rule #8 Express yourself effectively – Follow the visible language which has three
basic fundamentals as organize i.e. provide user with a clear consistent structure,
economize which includes elements like simplicity, clarity, emphasis and
distinctiveness and communicate i.e. match your expression with user capabilities.

Rule #9 Conventions are not always bad – Conventional designs doesn’t result in a
boring website as they reduce the learning curve and can help you gain users’
assurance and belief.

Rule #10 Test early Test often – This so called theory should be applied to every web
design project. Testing is a repetitive process i.e. one must keep testing to produce
useful results.

This article is contributed by a professional web designer who never compromise
with the quality of his work that what makes him globally renowned. He writes
formative articles on several buzzing topics relevant to the professional website
designing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Manan_Kumar

goldline

 

10 Tips to Upgrade Your Call to Action

0
0

calltoaction

A call to action is a button, graphic or text message in place to motivate
your visitors to complete the desired goal.  The goal being signing up,
subscribing, purchasing, etc.  
The better your call to action, the higher
your conversion rate.
 

Here are some examples of calls to action:

Subscribe Here
Order Now
Try Our Free Demo
Sign Up Here
Call Now

These are some of your most basic calls to action but it is not as simple as it sounds to
get people to respond to these calls.  Below are ten ways you can beef up your
response and increase your conversion rate.

1. Make It Simple – Your call to action should be clear, concise and not cluttered or
overloaded with distractions.  Do not confuse your visitors with too many offers,
choices or actions.  Cluttering your call to action with too many items might cause the
person to lose confidence in making a choice at all. 

2.  Test and Test Again – Always test your call to action button for maximum
efficiency.  What will increase conversions for one website might not for another, so
you need to find the call to action that will work best for your business.  Using
different text messages will produce different results.  Try changing your text.  For
example:  “Download Free Report” might work better than “Free Information”. 
Maybe “Add to Cart” will not work as well as “Get Started Now”.  Test other
components such as color, design and location.

3.  Color – Color does make a difference.  Different colors bring out different
emotions and put people in different moods.  Determine which emotions you need to
encourage in your visitors and use the appropriate colors.  Red is a color of passion
and energy.  Red motivates us to take action.  Blue is a color that brings out feelings of
trust and integrity.  It is a color of quiet honesty.  The color green creates feelings of
stability and balance.  Green also indicates prosperity and strength. The psychology of
color is a fascinating subject and can make a substantial difference in the response to
your call to action.

4.  Location – We have all heard the popular saying for brick and mortar
businesses: Location, location, location.  This is also true for many aspects of an online
business.  Where you put your call to action can be just as important as the colors or
text you use.  Make sure your call to action button is visible immediately.  You don’t
want people to have to scroll down to find it because they might just leave your site
before seeing it.  You also want your button on every page of your site.  Many people
believe using a pop up or slide in is considered spammy but they can be very
successful.  You should also have a call to action in multiple locations on each page. 

5.  Design – You want your call to action design to be visually attractive and
appealing to the eye.  Once the eye is drawn to it, you want it to get the reader’s
attention and keep it.  Color, text, shape, size and content all have an impact on the
button’s effectiveness.  There are no set rules on how to design your call to action. 
You must try different design aspects and test them for results. 

6.  Make Me an Offer I Can’t Refuse! – The first thing a person will want to know
is what is in it for them.  Make sure you give them a good reason with low risk to
respond to your call to action.  For example: “Pay Nothing to Get Started” or “30 Day
Free Trial”.

7.  Sense of Urgency – Creating a sense of urgency or time clock for your offer can
give people the little boost they need to take action.  “Only 10 Free Trials Available”
or “Free to Get Started for a Limited Time”.  Statements like these can get more
people to respond and increase your conversions.

8.  Use Testimonials – Customer testimonials are very powerful and can offer
proof that your offer is exactly as good as you say it is.  Sprinkle short but effective
testimonials into your call to action. 

9.  Add a Bonus – Give a little extra for each click.  Add a discount or free gift if the
person completes the call to action.  You see charities do this all the time.  Donate now
and receive a free t-shirt, daily planner, or whatever free gift they may be offering. 
Many calls to action rely on this tried and true method.

10.  Social Sharing – Encourage people to share your offer with others.  Make it
easy for them by adding a share button to your call to action.  Also make sure that you
share your call to action with your friends and followers.  Infographics are very
popular these days so put your call to action in the form of an infographic and share it
across your social networks.

Your business needs a credible amount of successful conversions to survive.  By using
the above tactics and optimizing your call to action, you will motivate people to
respond and your conversion rate could substantially increase.

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business.  Terri Seymour
can help you make money online.  Find out how to increase your traffic and sales
with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: 
==> http://www.seymourproducts.com/

Please feel free to reprint this article in your newsletter, ezine, blog, etc as long as
resource box is included and unchanged.  And also please feel free to email me if you
have questions
about anything on our site.  Thank you!

goldline

 


Six Tips to Improve Your Online Shopping Store

0
0

    1-1204463487cJKy                  

There is immense potential in online shopping and hence lot of analysis
involved in this area. Many firms are in the race of getting more customer
attention and knowing what exactly will work for the firm can help. The
climate is increasingly competitive, and it is imperative to know what can
get you on the right platform and build a solid reputation. We have
analyzed and listed six tips that can help improve performance of your
online store.

Tip 1: Three-Second Test

The first impression is very important. People form a first impression on
others within the first seven seconds. The same applies for online shops
also. It is simple.  You just have to ask two questions:

Can the shoppers find out what the website is selling?

Will the shoppers trust the website and use their credit cards on the
site?

These are the pain points of a website, and after this, there is engagement,
interaction and sales conversion.

Tip 2: Multiple Layouts

It is important to know which pages can convert more customers. Different
approaches, items and aesthetics can help the visitors be turned into
shoppers. It is also important to find out what works well and will help in
the long run. Take a test and see the outcome of various layouts on various
customers after seeing the conversion trend. Take an example of website
selling rock-climbing supplies, trying to promote new shoes. In such a
scenario, pictures can be used with attractive text, in another format; they
may use a video explaining the effectiveness of the shoes and hands on
experience of a climber who has used the shoes.

A third form can be Flash display that gives out key features and
descriptions once the user mouses over. The store can test on these three
different strategies to see which one has helped most to generate revenue.

Tip 3: Display of Price and Shipping Clearly

The aim remains to get rid of the pain points and help in better sales. It is
important to examine the fear involved in the process of shopping and
removing that fear from the mind of shopper. Some shoppers may hesitate
to buy a product because of the hidden costs involved. Shipping is one such
example. The website should make sure that the prices are inclusive of all
charges and are clearly displayed.

Such an approach can generate understanding and confidence among the
buyers.

Tip 4: E-mail Subscriptions

The buyers may like purchasing from your website, but it is important that
they get devoted to your website. This will happen by mode of social media,
word of mouth and e-mail marketing. The e-mails can prove to be a direct
from of interaction between the product and the customer. The customers
are directly linked to the brand by this mode.

You can use some java-enabled pop-ups to get the customer to your site
and then give them attractive first-time deals to stay with you. Future
communications will also be facilitated with the help of this mode.

Tip 5: Social Media Integration

Word of mouth is now spread on social media. Fellow consumers can be a
good source of information or product review. The trust factor comes in
place when we talk about recommending or appreciating a product. You
can include the share button on your product page so that the presence of
your product is felt by everyone. With lot of sharing and suggesting, the
brand will be improved and will be included in the conversations in social
media.

Tip 6: Contact Information

It is of great help to have a human face behind your business relationship.
You must offer all contact information in a straight-forward form. This will
lead to better answers to any customer questions and better decisions made
by the customers. Overall, your company will have a reputation of one that
cares. If the customers can access your website directly and get the
information they want, this will give them better knowledge of exchanges,
returns, etc. This will involve some cost, but it will be worth considering the
consistent brand reputation that is built as a result.

An online store can help figure out what struggles are faced by customers
and finding any new possible opportunities. Correct contact information
can help build lot of trust. Make sure customers can contact you via e-mail.
Also, try integrating social media to improve your reach. By helping the
customers, you can improve your image, income and outlook.

About the Author:
Article by Angel T.  Start your own online business now by building up
an online shopping store with Magento or nopCommerce eCommerce
software. Best Mangeto hosting can be found at
http://www.besthost4web.com/best-magento-hosting.html and best
nopCommerce hosting can be found at
http://www.besthost4web.com/best-nopcommerce-hosting.html.

goldline

The Seven Deadly Sins of Website Copy

0
0

websitecopy

Throughout my research, I’m always surprised when I stumble
onto
websites that are professionally designed and seem to offer
great products
and services, but lack or fail in certain important
elements.

Elements that, with just a few short changes, can help multiply the results
almost instantaneously.

Generally, I have found that there are seven common mistakes. I call them
the “Seven Deadly Sins.” Is your website committing any one of these?

1. THEY FAIL TO CONNECT

Traffic has been long touted to be the key to online success, but that’s not
true. If your site is not pulling sales, inquiries or results, then why would it
need more traffic?

The key is to turn curious browsers into serious buyers. Aside from the
quality of the copy, the number one reason why a website doesn’t convert is
that the copy is targeting the wrong audience or fails to connect with them.

First, create a “perfect prospect profile.” List all the attributes,
characteristics and qualities of your most profitable and accessible market.

Don’t just stick with things like demographics and psychographics. Try to
get to know them.

Who are they, really? What are their most pressing problems? What keeps
them up at night? How do they talk about their problems? Where do they
hang out?

Then, target your market by centering on a major theme, benefit or
outcome so that, when you generate pre-qualified traffic, your hit ratio and
your sales will increase dramatically.

Finally, ensure that your copy connects with them. Intimately. It speaks
their language, talks about their problems, and tells stories they can easily
appreciate and relate to.

Since this is the most common error that marketers and copywriters
commit, and to help you, follow the following formulas.

The OATH formula helps you to understand the stage of awareness your
market is at. (How aware of the problem are they, really?)

The QUEST formula guides you in qualifying and empathizing with them.
And the UPWORDS formula teaches you how to choose the appropriate
language your market can easily understand, appreciate and respond to.

2. THEY LACK A COMPELLING OFFER

“Making an offer you can’t refuse” seems like an old cliché, but don’t
discount its relevance and power. Especially in this day and age where most
offers are so anemic, lifeless, and like every other offer out there.

Too many business believe that simply offering a product or service, and
mentioning the price, are good enough. But what they fail to realize is that
people need to intimately understand the full value (the real value and,
more importantly, the perceived value) behind the offer.

Sometimes, all you need is to offer some premiums, incentives and bonuses
to make the offer more palatable and hard to ignore. (Very often, people
buy products and services for the premiums alone.)

Other times, you need to create what is called a “value buildup.”

(In fact, premiums are not mandatory in all cases, particularly when the
offer itself is solid enough. But building value almost always is.)

Essentially, you compare the price of your offer not with the price of some
other competing offer or alternative, but with the ultimate cost of not
buying - and enjoying - your product or service.

This may include the price of an alternative. But “ultimate cost” goes far
beyond price. Dan Kennedy calls this “apples to oranges” comparisons.

For example, let’s say you sell an ebook on how to grow better tomatoes.
That might sound simple, and your initial inclination might be to compare
it to other “tomatoe-growing” ebooks or viable alternatives.

But also look at the the time it took for you to learn the best ways to grow
tomatoes. Look at the amount of money you invested in trying all the
different fertilizers, seeds and techniques to finally determine which ones
are the best.

Don’t forget the time, money and energy (including emotional energy
people save from not having to learn these by themselves. Add the cost of
doing it wrong and buying solutions that are either more expensive or
inappropriate.

That’s what makes an offer valuable. One people can’t refuse.

3. THEY LACK REASONS WHY

While some websites are well-designed and provide great content, and they
might even have great copy, they fail because they don’t offer enough
reasons for people to buy - or at least read the copy in the first place.

Visitors are often left clueless. In other words, why should they buy? Why
should they buy that particular product? Why should they buy that product
from that particular site? And more important, why should they buy now?

What makes your product so unique, different and special? What’s in it for
your customers that they can’t get anywhere else? Not answering those
questions will deter clients and impede sales.

John E. Kennedy, a Canadian fireman and copywriter at the turn of the last
century, talked a lot about the power of adding “reasons why.” His wisdom
still rings true to this day, and we know this from experience.

Once, my wife had a client whose website offered natural supplements.

It offered a free bottle (i.e., 30-day supply). But response was abysmal.
Aside from being in a highly competitive industry, the copy failed to allay
the prospect’s fears. They thought it might be a scam or that there’s a catch.

So all she did was tell her client to add the following paragraph:

“Why are we offering this free bottle? Because we want you to try it.
We’re so confident that you will see visible results within 30 days that you
will come back and order more.”

Response more than tripled.

Similarly, add “reasons why” to your copy. To help you, make sure that it
covers all the bases by answering the following “5 why’s:”

  • Why me? (Why should they listen to you?)
  • Why you? (Who is perfect for this offer?)
  • Why this? (Why is this product perfect for them?)
  • Why this price? (Why is this offer so valuable?)
  • Why now? (Why must they not wait?)

4. THEY LACK SCARCITY

Speaking of “why now,” this is probably the most important reason of all.

A quote from Jim Rohn says it all, and I force myself to think about it each
time I craft an offer. He said, “Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its
value.”

People fear making bad decisions. With spams, scams and snake oils being
rampant on the Internet, people tend to procrastinate, and they do so even
when the copy is good, the offer is perfect and they’re qualified for it.

Most websites I review fail to effectively communicate a sense of urgency. If
people are given the chance to wait or think it over, they will. Look at it this
way: if you don’t add a sense of urgency, you’re inviting them to
procrastinate.

Use takeaway selling in order to stop people from procrastinating and get
them to take action now. In other words, shape your offer - and not just
your product or service - so that it is time-sensitive or quantity-bound.

More important, give a reasonable, logical explanation to justify your
urgency or else your sales tactic will be instantly discredited. Back it up
with reasons as to why the need to take advantage of the offer is pressing.

Plus, a sense of urgency doesn’t need to be an actual limit or a deadline. It
can be just a good, plausible and compelling explanation that emphasizes
the importance of acting now - as well as the consequences of not doing so.

For example, what would they lose out on if they wait? Don’t limit yourself
to the offer. Think of all the negative side-effects of not going ahead right
now.

5. THEY LACK PROOF

Speaking of the fear of making bad decisions, today’s consumers are
increasingly leery when contemplating offers on the Internet.

While many websites look professional, have an ethical sales approach, and
offer proven products or services, the lack of any kind of tangible proof will
still cause most visitors to at least question your offer.

The usual suspects, of course, are testimonials and guarantees. Guarantees
and testimonials help to reduce the skepticism around the purchase of your
product or service, and give it almost instant credibility.

(I often refuse to critique any copy that doesn’t have any testimonials. It’s
not just to save myself time and energy. I would be wasting my client’s
money if the only recommendation they got from me was to add
testimonials.)

Elements of proof is not just limited to guarantees and testimonials, either.

They can include the story behind your product, your credentials, actual
case studies, results of tests and trials, samples and tours, statistics and
factoids, photos and multimedia, “seals of approval,” and, of course,
reasons why.

Even the words you choose can make a difference. Because, in addition to a
sense of urgency, your copy also needs a sense of credibility.

Today, people are understandably cynical and suspicious. If your offer is
suspect and your copy, at any point, gives any hint that it can be fake,
misleading, untrue, too good to be true, or too exaggerated to be true…

… Then like it or not your response rate will take a nose dive.

So, help remove the risk from the buyer’s mind and you will thus increase
sales - and, paradoxically, reduce returns as well. Plus, don’t just stick with
the truth. You also need to give your copy the ring of truth.

To help you, follow my FORCEPS formula.

6. THEY LACK A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION

Answer this million-dollar, skill-testing question: “What exactly do you
want your visitors to do?” Simple, isn’t it? But it doesn’t seem that way with
the many sites I’ve visited.

The KISS principle (to me, it means “keep it simple and straightforward”)
is immensely important on the Internet. An effective website starts with a
clear objective that will lead to a specific action or outcome.

If your site is not meant to, say, sell a product, gain a customer or obtain an
inquiry for more information, then what exactly must it do? Work around
the answer as specifically as possible.

Focus on the “power of one.” That is:

  • One message
  • One audience
  • One outcome

If your copy tells too many irrelevant stories (irrelevant to the audience and
to the advancement of the sale), you will lose your prospects’ attention and
interest.

If it tries to be everything to everyone (and is therefore either too generic or
too complex), you will lose your prospects completely.

And if you ask your prospects to do too many things (other than “buy now”
or whatever action you want them to take), you will lose sales.

Use one major theme. Make just one offer. (Sure, you can offer options,
such as ordering options or different packages to choose from. But
nonetheless, it’s still just one offer.)

Most important, provide clear instructions on where and how to order.

Aside from the lack of a clear call to action, asking them to do too many
things can be just as counterproductive. The mind hates confusion. If you
try to get your visitors to do too many things, they will do nothing.

Stated differently, if you give people too many choices, they won’t make
one
. So keep your message focused or else you will overwhelm the reader.

7. THEY LACK GOOD COPY

It may seem like this should be the number one mistake.

While it’s still one of the top seven mistakes, it’s last because the ones
above take precedence. If you’re guilty of making any of the previous six
mistakes, in the end your sales will falter no matter how good your copy is.

Nevertheless, lackluster copy that fails to invoke emotions, tell compelling
stories, create vivid mental imagery, and excite your prospects about your
product or service is indeed one of the most common reasons websites fail.

Top sales trainer Zig Ziglar once said, “Selling is the transference of
enthusiasm you have for your product into the minds of your prospects.”

Copy is selling in print. Therefore, its job is no different. In fact, since
there’s no human interaction that you normally get in a face-to-face sales
encounter, your copy’s job, therefore, has an even greater responsibility.

It must communicate that same enthusiasm that energizes your prospects,
excites them about your offering and empowers them to buy.

Aside from infusing emotion into your copy, give your prospects something
they can understand, believe in and act upon. Like a trial lawyer, it must
tell a persuasive story, make an airtight case and remove any reasonable
doubt.

Above all, it must serve your prospect.

Many sites fail to answer a person’s most important question: “What’s in it
for me?” They get so engrossed in describing companies, products, features
or advantages over competitors that they fail to appeal to the visitor
specifically.

Tell the visitor what they are getting out of responding to your offer. To
help you, first write down a series of bullets. Bullets are captivating,
pleasing to the eye, clustered for greater impact and deliver important
benefits.

(They usually follow the words “you get,” such as “With this product, you
get.”)

But don’t just resort to apparent or obvious benefits. Dig deeper. Think of
the end-results your readers get from enjoying your product or service.

Do what my friend and copywriter Peter Stone calls the “so that” technique.
Each time you state a benefit, add “so that” (or “which means”) at the end,
and then complete the sentence to expand further.

Let’s say your copy sells Ginko Biloba, a natural supplement that increases
memory function. (I’m not a Ginko expert, so I’m guessing, here. Also, I’m
being repetious for the sake of illustration.) Here’s what you might get:

Ginko supports healthy brain and memory functions… so that you can be
clear, sharp and focused… so that you can stay on top of everything and
not miss a beat… so that you can be a lot more productive at work… so
that you can advance in your career a lot faster… so that you can make
more money, enjoy more freedom, and have more job security… so that(and so on).

That could have turned another way depending on the answer you give it,
which is why it’s good to repeat this exercise. Here’s another example:

Ginko supports healthy brain and memory functions… so that you can
decrease the risks of senility, Alzheimer’s disease, and other degenerative
diseases of the brain… so that you won’t be placed in a nursing home… so
that you won’t place the burden of your care on your loved ones… so that
you can grow old with peace of mind… so that you can enjoy a higher
quality of life, especially during those later years… so that (and so on).

Remember, these are just examples pulled off the top of my head. But if
you want more help with your own copy, my FAB formula is a useful guide.

Bottom line, check your copy to see if you’re committing any of these seven
deadly sins. If you are, your prospects won’t forgive you. By not buying,
that is.

About the Author:
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker, and
consultant. Visit his blog and signup free to get tested conversion strategies
and response-boosting tips by email, along with blog updates, news, and
more! Go now to http://www.michelfortin.com. While you’re at it, follow
him on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/michelfortin).

goldline

Choose the Right Color for Your Website

0
0

color

In website development, it is very crucial to choose the optimum
colors for the web pages. Choosing the perfect blend is
important in order to effectively communicate the message
among the visitors, and create brand awareness. So here, we will
see some tips to choose the color scheme of a website.

Understand the colors:

You may not know, but every color is associated with a specific thought or
feeling. So it is very important to understand the significance of these
colors so that you could communicate your correct purpose among the
viewers. Let us see some of the colors as example:

Red: This color stimulates the mind and tickle the senses, and therefore,
often used to alert or alarm people, for example – warning labels and stop
signs. Red is also known to enhance appetite which is probably why it is so
frequently used in the fast food industry by companies like McDonald’s,
Burger King and Wendy’s etc. Make sure you never overdo this color, as it
can make people feel overwhelmed or intimidated.

Yellow: It is the color of cheery or warm feeling. However, make sure you
never used it as text as yellow text on a white background is nearly the
hardest thing to read.

Blue: It is the color of trust, loyalty and safety. Many of the e-commerce
sites also have a touch of blue to convey trust. However too much of blue
may appear boring or old fashioned.

Green: This color represents nature and health. It is associated with
environment friendly products.

White: White represents purity, cleanliness and innocence. Doctors are
the best example.

Black: Black conveys authority, frequently used for policemen, FBI agents,
etc. Furthermore, it is the best color for text.

Once you understand the meaning of each color, you will be able to choose
the right blend to convey the appropriate message to the target viewers.

Keep strong contrast between background and text

It is very important to keep contrast between the background and text
written on a web page. The best combination for readability is black text on
white background, however there are many other excellent combinations
also available. Apart from white, other effective background colors are dark
blue, gray and black.

Use online tools

There is a wide range of color scheme tools available on the web. You can
use any of these tools to get the right blend that matches the requirements
of your website. You can first pick a lead color for the site and then check
the suggested colors that go with it. Some of these color tools also have pre
made color schemes where you just need to browse and select a color
scheme that appeals to you.

Keep it simple

At last, the most important thing; always keep it simple. Implementing too
many colors on a web page can be confusing or overwhelming to the
viewers. A confused viewer may end up becoming the customer of some
other company with better website. Use color combinations judiciously, so
as to keep the effect maximum on to your audience, even while keeping it
simple.

So, these were some general tips to help you out with the color scheme of
your website. When you hire web designer, make sure that he uses them as
and when required. It will help you transform your audience into your
potential customers, and amplifying your business prospects.

Hi, everyone! I am Pauline Taylor. I am a content developer and I like to
share opinion on Color for your website which can be perfectly done by
Hiring website designer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pauline_Taylor

goldline

 

A 10 Point Checklist for Choosing Your Domain Name

0
0

domain

When getting started with a new online business one of the first
things you need to do is choose a domain name.  This step is
much more important than you might realize.  An appropriate
and effective domain could decide your website’s fate.

Unfortunately many people will be so involved in the design and set-up of
the website they will overlook the importance of selecting the proper
domain name.  Your domain name will be your website’s identity and it will
also be the doorway for people to purchase your products and/or services.

The following checklist will guide you and help you keep in mind some of
the things you need to consider when choosing your domain.

1. Keep It Short and Simple – Keeping your domain name short,
simple and easy to remember will make it easier for people to get to your
site.  You want a domain that is easy to spell and type.  Don’t use big fancy
words or commonly misspelled words such as believe, amateur or
collectible.  You can find lists of the most commonly misspelled words and
if they are in your domain, consider using a thesaurus to find an
alternative.

2. Use Your Name – In my opinion, it is a good choice to use your name
in your domain.  This will be a binding agent for your website your
business and you.  If your last name is long and hard to spell, consider
using your first name.  This way if people do not remember your entire
URL, they will be likely to remember your name and can still find you.  I
have had many people who did not remember my specific URL search for
me by using my name.

3. Don’t Try to Be Cute and Clever – Cutesy and fun work with some
things but it is not appropriate for your domain.  Don’t use puns or a
“clever” play on words.  For example: Flickr.  Using this trendy name
probably sounded like a good idea at the time but they finally had to
purchase the correct spelling domain flicker.com Doing this will just make
your domain hard to remember and/or it will more than likely get typed
incorrectly and you lose the traffic.

4. Hyphens and Numbers – There are actually a couple of advantages
to using hyphens but in my opinion, the disadvantages outweigh the
advantages.  Hyphens actually make it easier for the search engines to
distinguish your keywords.  Hyphens could also make it possible for you to
get the domain you want if the regular version is already taken.  But,
hyphens will more than likely cause you to lose traffic because people will
not always realize your url contains hyphens.  If your domain is beautiful
jewelry.com and you tell people to check out your site, Beautiful Jewelry,
you will lose traffic.  It is easy to lose the hyphen when spreading the word
about your site.  And it will make it more complicated for people to
remember. It’s the same with numbers.  BeautifulJewelry1.com will be
much less remembered and found then BeautifulJewelry.com

5. Make It Keyword Rich – You definitely want to do some keyword
research and choose one or two of the most relevant keywords for your
site.  Using relevant keywords will help with the search engines but more
importantly it will be much easier for people to find your site.

6. Stay Away from Slang – Using slang words for your domain is not a
good idea for much the same reasons as using a trendy play on words.  It is
just too easy for people to forget or misspell your domain and end up
somewhere else.

7. Match Your Domain to Your Website Name – If your website
name is All Auto Parts and you choose the domain carparts.com you may
lose traffic to whomever owns allautoparts.com. If your website name and
domain match, people will be more likely to remember them than having to
remember a different domain.

8. Beware of Copyrights – Never use a domain or part of that is already
in use.  Always check your choice at whois.net to see if anyone is using that
domain and with copyright.gov to be sure you are not infringing on
someone else’s copyright.

9. Don’t Use Word Strings – These types of domains are extremely
hard to remember and making a mistake while typing them can be very
easy.  Don’t try to put everything you sell in your domain.  For example:
chairstablesbedssofasandmore.com I have seen domains like this and it is
nearly impossible to remember everything so it just gets lost and forgotten.
Something much more appropriate would be AllFurniture.com

10. Use .Com – Although there are many domain extensions available it
is always best to go with .com if possible.  Most people will assume you
have a .com URL so unless you stress your .net or .org extension at all
times, it is best to use .com.  This is the choice people will make when
typing in your domain.

Remember that your domain is not just where your site “lives”.  It is a
crucial step in becoming an online business owner. Take the time to really
think it through, do the research and choose a domain that will help bring
you success!

About the Author:
Terri Seymour has over 16 years of internet marketing experience and has
helped many people start their own business. Visit her site for three free
gifts including The Big Book of Social Media Tips and How to Market Your
Online Business for Free: http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Please feel free to reprint this article in your newsletter, ezine, blog, etc as
long as resource box is included and unchanged.  And also please feel free
to email me if you have questions
about anything on our site.  Thank you!

goldline

12 Web Design Fumbles You Might Be Making

0
0

 

website

If your website is your place of business you must build it for your
customers’ needs as opposed to your own. Many people make the
mistake of filling their website with useless graphics or meaningless
text. Ask yourself this question, “Is this helping my customer in any
way?”

When building your website, there are many small and overlooked mistakes you
could be making. The list below covers some of the more common blunders that
can easily be fixed.

1. No Consistency or Uniformity – Your website should remain uniform
throughout. Do not make each page a different color or design. This will only
succeed in confusing your customers and more than likely cause them to go
elsewhere. Design your website to flow easily and consistently.

2. Confusing Navigation – Having a uniform design is one major step to user
friendly navigation but you must also use simplicity and cleanliness. Do not
clutter up your pages with ads, graphics or flash. Keep your pages, clean, sleek
and easy to follow. I have been to some sites that had dozens of banners lining up
both sides of their pages. This is not only annoying but will cause you to lose
most of your visitors quite quickly!

3. Ineffective Color Choices – Something seemingly irrelevant as color can
have a lot to do with your site’s success or failure. Research the psychology of
color and make wise choices for your business website. When choosing your
color scheme, consider your target market, the message you want to send out and
the color’s emotional effect on your visitors.

4. Click to Enter Site – Have you clicked on a link anxiously wanting to see
what a site has to offer and then you see a page that says, “Click to Enter Our
Site”? I have seen this numerous times and frankly it always baffles me why
someone would do this. You have just seconds to capture a person’s attention so
why would you put a meaningless message and extra click for them to deal with?

5. Elusive Contact Information – You want your visitors to feel that you are
there for them when they need you so be sure to have easily accessible contact
info for them to use. Some sites unfortunately do not provide contact info of any
kind and the first thought that brings to mind is that they do not want to be
known or bothered. That will not work for a business.

6. Forced Music – Do not force your visitors to listen to music or a sales pitch
or watch a video. Too many sites have automatic music or videos when you land
on their homepage. Give your visitors the choice to listen. Do NOT force-feed
them these audios or videos.

7. Content Full of Ads – One thing I find very annoying is reading an article
and having to go through several ads within the article. I don’t know who came
up with this idea but I find it to be very annoying and distracting. In my opinion,
providing helpful, clean content is much more effective than filling it up with ads.

8. PDF Files – When providing information and content to readers, do not use
surprise PDF files. PDF files can clog up a person’s computer and become very
troublesome. If you do have a PDF file available, be sure to let the person know it
will be a PDF so they are aware.

9. Empty Palace Syndrome – Building a beautiful palace and not putting
anything in it would not be very practical or effective. Think of your website in
the same way. Do not focus everything on design and then forget about content.
Content is crucial to your success so build a simple, easy to use website and fill it
full of up-to-date content.

10. Non-Usable CAPTCHA – I find these to be one of the most annoying
things used by many websites. I have had to leave numerous sites because the
CAPTCHA was not readable or working properly. If you find it necessary to use
this annoying feature, please be sure to check it and make sure it works and can
easily be used.

11. Registration Required – Do not require your customers/readers to
register for your site unless it is absolutely necessary. Then, be sure to use a
simple, clear, concise form. Keep the clicks to a minimum and do not ask for a
person’s life history.

12. Hard to Read – We have all seen the sites that have harsh background
colors with a non-contrasting text that could not be read. Be sure to provide easy
to read text. The best color combination is the standard black or dark gray text
on a white or light pastel background. This is the easiest on most eyes. White text
on a black background is very hard on a lot of eyes so that might not be a good
choice.  Also, consider your font. Use a simple clean font without all the curlies
and cute designs.

Although this list is a small portion of things to consider when designing and
building your website, these tips should help steer you towards more popularity
with your visitors and an increase in your business success.

About the Author:
Terri Seymour has over 16 years of internet marketing experience and has helped
many people start their own business. Visit her site for three free gifts including
The Big Book of Social Media Tips and How to Market Your Online Business for
Free: http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Please feel free to reprint this article in your newsletter, ezine, blog, etc as long
as resource box is included and unchanged.  And also please feel free to email me
if you have questions
about anything on our site.  Thank you!

goldline

 

Viewing all 46 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images