Optimizing Your B2B Website

For Maximum Conversion Ratio - Web Hosting Tips

Marketing a service or product to another business is quite different from promoting to the general public - let your web hosting provider explain. Business owners, or those in charge of acquiring your product or your services, have certain expectations, not only of you and your business, but of your website, as well - these web hosting tips can help your B2B website.

The Needs-Driven Buyer

A lot of people literally browse the web, moving from their social site space to a Wiki site before bouncing over to their favorite political blog. B2B transactions are needs-driven – the buyer isn’t (usually) browsing, s/he wants to make a purchase, or at least contact. And do it simply.

Because many visitors to B2B sites are busy execs, they don’t have time for a lot of flashy bling. They don’t need to be sold on the product. Chances are they’ve used it before. They understand the benefits of what you sell. These buyers have one main concern: quality of service.

This means two things regarding site text development. First, you can eliminate, or at least soften, the sales pitch. If that B2B buyer found your site, chances are the sale is almost made. (Emphasis on almost). Second, you can and should feature copy that highlights your commitment to customer service.

Call Me.

The combination of a well-designed B2B site and a toll-free number is potent conversion rate fuel. The buyer, in a hurry and eager to get this “chore” off the to-do list, can find the product online, do price comparisons and place an order with the company that sells the service or goods by phone.

A toll-free number shows an inherent commitment to customer care. It also allows instant access to your business to place an order or ask a question and then place an order. It’s another means for buyers to connect with you and that’s always a good thing.

Display that 800 number above the fold on the home page, the contact us page, order form and all product pages. Keep it in front of the visitor at any point s/he might be ready to make a purchase.

Add Payment Gateways

Some companies have systems that make it less attractive to place an order using a credit card or other payment gateway, such as PayPal. Some businesses require a purchase order number, a shipment tracking number, an invoice, and payment will be made within the business standard of 30 days. Now, you have to be a little careful, here. The anonymity of the web makes B2B site owners easy pickin’s for black hats so there’s no need to ship $10,000 of computer gear just because the buyer is another business, or appears to be, any way.

Require new customers to open an account with you – even if the buyer never expects to make another purchase. Before you extend credit run a credit check and pull a D&B report. If the company is legitimate it’ll have a credit history that you can check out quickly.

Make it clear (homepage clear) that you DO accept “Net 30 days” customers once credit has been verified. This simplifies the order processing for that new company – the one that appreciates your understanding and accommodation of standard, corporate red tape.

Also, as far as payment options are concerned, allow your regular buyers to set up a simplified, even one-step checkout. It’s a time saver at the other end. Log in, fill the shopping cart and go through a one-page checkout sequence. It’s a sales booster. It also establishes long-term relationships with your best buyers.

Provide Complete Contact Information

If yours’ is a larger, departmentalized business, be sure to provide telephone numbers for various, common buyer needs. Have as many different in-roads to your people as needed. Obviously, you want an order line (toll free, remember?), but you may also need a tech support line, customer or account service line, billing line and so on. All of these contact points should appear on your B2B Contact Us page. Make it easy to get in touch with the right person.

Provide Numerous Shipping Options

The B2B world moves quickly and your buyer may want that order shipped overnight or standard ground to save money. Shipping is not a “one size fits all” process in the business arena. Offer all major shippers to B2B prospects because many companies maintain UPS, FedEx or some other private shipper accounts. Once again, your commitment to quality of service shows.

Get It Right. Every Time.

Businesses have expectations of their suppliers and vendors. Again, many of these purchases are needs-driven. The buyer needs it now!

That means you and/or your shipping department have to get it right every time. If you’re shipping hundreds or thousands of packages each day, you’ll need Grade A database software and a highly-automated content management system (CMS) to track what’s where and why. You miss a critical shipping date and you may well lose a valuable customer forever.

Getting it right involves more than just on-time delivery. It involves everything from the site’s use of industry jargon (sometimes a good thing, sometimes not) to the product pictures to something as subjective as the look and feel of the site.

If your site looks professional and ready to “get right down to business” you’ll project a more positive image. Your web site is your company’s first contact for many buyers. Make it B2B friendly and that improved conversion ratio will provide the hard data you need to prove that online business can be efficient, reliable and friendly.

“Give us a call. We’d love to hear from you.”

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Web Designer’s Notebook:

Web Hosting Provider Suggests - Get Creative, Interactive. Get ASP.

ASP stands for active server page. If you’re a professional (or semi-professional) designer, you, no doubt, employ ASPs in your site designs. But, if you’re a DIY site designer, you might not be so familiar with this code booster so take a few minutes to learn some ABCs about ASP.

What Is ASP?

Well, first off, it was created by Microsoft and comes as part of Windows 2000. It’s also available for free download if you’re running Win 95/98 or NT, so you got to love the price.

Let your web hosting provider explain

ASP - Active Server Pages - is used to create “dynamic” site pages – site pages that change with each visitor, or pages that provide information that’s updated by the minute - let your web hosting provider explain. For example, using an ASP, you can welcome a repeat visitor by name and even recommend purchases or information of interest based on the customer demographics stored in your site database. Amazon does that and they’re doing okay.

Unfortunately, there’s still no worldwide, accepted standard for browsers so ASP must be converted to HTML before being delivered to the user’s browser. This isn’t a big deal. The process takes place on the server side. So, you can code something (a header, for example) in a file once and that header will show up on every site page. That’ll save you hours of hand coding, i.e. $$$$.

ASP coding also creates a faster, less doggy site with quicker downloads and faster response times to browser requests. ASP converts to HTML minus all “human” elements of HTML, like punctuation. This shrinks file size significantly, delivering browser requests much faster.

It Doesn’t Matter What Browser the User Views

ASP technology employs server-side scripting (the script is stored on your web server, not within the user’s browser) so whatever browser is being used, ASP adapts. Here’s how it works: ASPs employ the .asp extension instead of HTML pages that have the.htm extension.

When a user requests a page with an .asp extension the server converts the dynamic ASP script to plain-old vanilla HTML before delivering the page to the user’s browser as requested. And since all browsers recognize HTML (web standard), dynamic ASPs can still be viewed by the site visitor.

It Does Matter What Server You Use

ASPs can’t be opened simply by clicking on a link and then viewed within the browser. First, the page must be requested (a log-on is a de facto request). Second, it must be requested through a web server that supports ASPs – and not all do. So ask a potential web host if your server is ASP-enabled to deliver more zip to your site.

Making the Most of ASPs

Most of the non-moving parts of a website are created using HTML and text where desired. However, it’s easy to create HTML-based forms that the visitor completes. Then, using ASP, server-side scripting, you can create a page to the specific likes and dislikes of the user.

Users can change background colors to make text easier to read simply by requesting it through standard HTML server requests that deliver customized pages best suited to the needs and preferences of each user.

Designers can build ASP elements – intrinsic objects – to individualize each page of the site. ASP utilizes a set of objects designers use to respond to browser requests. These objects include Session, Response, Application, Server and Request. Using these defined objects, designers can construct dynamic, interactive pages that deliver just the information requested by the user. And delivery time to the user’s screen is almost instantaneous.

Use What You Know: JavaScript, VBScript or Jscript

ASP also provides the functionality of the most popular standard scripting languages: JavaScript, VB Script and Jscript (the Microsoft version of JavaScript). There’s no learning curve. Simply go with what you know to create fully-interactive, customized pages using all of the functions of standard scripting languages.

From a structural point of view, there’s nothing that makes ASPs magical. They’re simply text files with an .asp extension and HTML server-side script. The technology, itself, is basic, but highly functional in increasing everything from page views to repeat buyers.

This server-side framework gives even DIY designers an easy formula for creating site pages that suit the needs and preferences of each visitor. It’s this kind of “personalization” of the web that’s bringing scripting technology to the next level.

BTW, take a look at ASP.NET – the next refinement in ASP technology. Short or no learning curve, increased design flexibility, increased site stickiness, more interaction between site and user, complete customization, less hand coding and more striking effects.

Take a few minutes to add zip to your home page and to customize pages to visitor preferences, driving your conversion ratio to new heights as you do.

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Your Website - Don’t Forget the Seniors

or They’ll Forget About You

Your web hosting provider explains...

The special needs of senior citizen computer users is often overlooked by site designers and owners - let your web hosting provider explain. The image of Grandpa Simpson talking into a waffle iron leap to mind. But the fact is, there are more people over 60 than under 16 years of age. With improved health care and lifestyles, seniors are using the world wide web in ever-increasing numbers. But according to numerous tests conducted on experienced web users at both edges of the age spectrum (16 – 85), senior citizens do NOT view the web the way a 16-year-old does.

That means if you want to attract this expanding demographic (with disposable income) you’d better listen to mom and dad – just like mom and dad always said.

Get It Right, Dagnabbit!

Webcredible, a UK-based site dedicated to improving web usability for all people, conducted and published the results of a study consisting of 16 usability tests to find specific information on two test groups – one consisting of younger users, 40 years old or younger, and a second test group of older users over 65 years old. All considered themselves computer literate and web savvy.

The results of this, and other tests, show very different search patterns, keywords and web interactivity within these two diverse groups.

When many older users weren’t able to track down information on a government site, they often blamed themselves, i.e. “I must have done something wrong.” However, many older web users were confident that the glitch was the fault of the computer or the site, as in “I hate it when it does that.”

Younger web users have fewer problems finding what they need. That means you, as a site owner, have to adapt your site for the growing over-60 crowd that’s coming on strong.

This belief that (1) they have made a mistake and/or (2) the computer is “broken” makes senior surfers less likely to try something new or, more importantly, accept something new. They’re less likely to experiment, surf, or click on a button or link that they don’t understand. There’s also the belief on the part of less savvy seniors that they might “break the computer.”

Not so with younger test subjects. If they ran into a problem, the site was usually listed as the cause. They were more likely to click on text embedded links, explore unknown sites and give information online. With social sites growing like mushrooms, these young people have been online all their lives. And they know how to re-boot if necessary. Not so with most senior users.

Senior users showed stronger emotions about their online experiences than younger users. Words like “love,” “hate,” and “stupid” were commonly employed by this older demographic. Only one test subject from the younger population used such emotive descriptors. It’s reasonable to assume that those who have never known a world without a web are less “blown away” by whatever they see online.

Older surfers use the web differently. If you don’t know how to reach this audience, you’re losing sales.

On-Site Practices

Older users are more likely to rely on search engine results than to click on a link to find your site. However they find you, they don’t behave the same way that younger users do.

For example, more older users failed to scroll down a home page than younger users. So what does that mean to you, the site owner catering to an older demographic? Keep everything important “above the fold” because a lot of visitors are never going to see the site sale banner at the bottom of the page.

Young users (not necessarily more experienced users, however) scroll. Again, it’s reasonable to assume that younger users are more comfortable with standard web features like scroll bars and text links.

As the Webcredible report states, “In our opinion, this is likely to be attributable to older users not having fully internalized the concept of browser-windows often requiring scrolling – a concept novel to computer-technology.”

Older users are also less likely to understand the meanings of commonly-used, web-based words or acronyms like home page, URL and site map. So, provide explanations of these common terms using mouseovers to produce flyouts that explain unfamiliar words and help the older user navigate your site.

Label links clearly. Within the two test populations, older user clicked on non-links an average of 14 times per testing session compared with just five times for the younger users. Now, if a senior user is clicking on something s/he thinks is a link but nothing is happening, that potential buyer won’t stick around to figure it out.

*Important note: Older users, by a significant number, preferred to have links change color after a visit. It didn’t seem to matter to the younger demographic that just plowed on through. But, again, adjust your site to the preferences of the older buyer. The younger ones already get it.

Another practice that differed significantly among the two test groups was their willingness to download from the web. Older users were less inclined to download, fearing viruses, worms and other malware injections. Younger users (not always wisely) were much more inclined to download, assuming that their firewalls and bug sniffers would keep them safe. Not always the case.

Same deal with opt-ins. Older users were less likely to provide an email address than younger users. There’s an inherent fear factor that you, the site owner, must overcome when older visitors are prospecting your site for goods or services. Building trust and ensuring that all transactions are completely safe should be displayed prominently throughout the site – not just at the start of the checkout sequence.

Another finding indicated that older users were much more likely to use a site’s search feature than younger users. It makes sense. The younger user is happy to ping pong from page to page until finding the right stuff. Older users, who are in general, less trusting of computers and the web, are likely to conduct their business and get offline as quickly as possible. Old habits die hard and, if you don’t recognize that, you’re losing business.

Another finding? Older users wouldn’t strain to read small type or type that was difficult to read against a colored background. One way to address the small type problem is to provide a “Make type bigger” option. Why make it hard for older users when you can solve the problem with a single click?

Getting the Job Done - Faster

It took older users twice the amount of time to complete a task (like complete a form) than the younger test population. With that in mind, make sure any on-line tasks are explained simply, with no jargon, so that anyone can complete the task faster – young or old.

Solutions to many of these problems are self-evident. Larger type. Smaller blocks of type. Explicit, unambiguous instructions (“Next do this!). Make links more colorful and larger than non-links. Even add a “Click here for more information” notation to clarify what the user should click on. Help identify non-links disguised as links to lower frustration levels of these buyers with money in their pockets.

Add a simple “Scroll Up/Down” box on the site. Don’t expect older visitors to use the scroll bar. So, give them an alternative to ensure your entire page is read.

Look, older web users aren’t stupid. But they do have special needs. Accessibility needs (How easy is it for me to find what I’m looking for?), design issues (Can you read what that says?), navigation issues (How do I get back to that page from before?) and a general mistrust of all things digital. Address these special needs, provide the assurances older people want and need and you’ll see your conversion ratio increase accordingly.

FYI, this blog post was written by a senior citizen and I ONLY buy online.

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Webmaster News Roundup

Web Hosting Provider - Webmaster News

Google news

Most of Google's news this month has been in the advertising arena - web hosting provider explains.

Some Google text ads are running on mobile phones for free until November 18, 2007. The ads appear when people use their mobile phones to search Google. As with online text ads, users can click on the links to go to advertisers' websites. Landing pages may be adapted so that they display better on mobile phones. Advertisers can opt out at any time, and if they don't opt out, they'll be charged for mobile ads effective November 19.

DoubleClick is also offering advertising services for mobile phones. DoubleClick's technology converts ads to fit mobile phone screen sizes, and mobile ad scheduling is integrated with online ad scheduling.

Google announced its acquisition of DoubleClick in April 2007, but the deal is now considered a proposed acquisition while concerns about competition and privacy issues are investigated.

With Gadget ads, Google offers more ways for advertisers to engage their audience. Advertise can include video, images, real-time data feeds, and other features using Flash and HTML. Gadget ads are intended to function more like content than typical ads, and they offer a variety of targeting options.

Google Print Ads for newspaper advertising now has a free print ad tool to go with it. Advertisers can enter their text and images in pre-designed ad templates, and the ad tool automatically generates several designs for advertisers to choose from. Ads can be edited and resized.

Webmaster tools now have some new features, including subscriber stats and improved navigation.They're now available in 20 languages.

On a different note, Iran has blocked access to Google and Gmail. No reason was given, but Iran has already banned thousands of websites with sexual and politically critical content as well as social networking sites.

Yahoo news

Yahoo is making several new acquisitions and partnerships this month.

Yahoo has announced their agreement to acquire BlueLithium, a major online global ad network. With BlueLithium as a wholly owned subsidiary, Yahoo will be able to offer more advanced targeting and analytical tools, among other features.

The news site Buzztracker has also become a Yahoo acquisition. BuzzTracker technology will be used to improve the breadth and relevancy of Yahoo News, and Buzztracker founder Alan Warms will be the general manager.

Yahoo has agreed to acquire Zimbra, an email and collaboration software provider. Zimbra's technology and relationships with large ISPs will help Yahoo expand their offerings and partnerships.

Yahoo UK and Ireland now have a deal with Bebo, the most popular social networking site in the UK and Ireland. Yahoo will sell ads for Bebo, and with Bebo's information about the 16-to-24-year-old market, Yahoo will be able to offer their advertisers more enhanced behaviorally targeted advertising. In addition, Bebo will integrate Yahoo Answers so that users can take part from the Bebo site, and Yahoo will create a Bebo toolbar.

AOL news

AOL is taking steps to increase their role in online advertising. They aim to have local portals in 14 countries and cover over 95 percent of the European online market in the next 18 months, starting with the just-launched AOL.it in Italy.

Back in the US, AOL is moving their corporate headquarters from Dulle to New York City to be central to the media advertising marketplace. Their recent advertising business acquisitions have been combined in their new Platform A, which offers advertisers a range of targeting and measurement tools.

AOL has also signed a new agreement with Hewlett-Packard. HP will offer co-branded and localized versions of their portal, toolbar, and search on HP computers.

Bluestring is a new AOL project where users can store photos, videos, and music, and combine them into multimedia presentations.

Netscape, an older AOL project, is undergoing a transition. Social news has been migrated to Propeller.com, and Netscape is returning to more traditional news.

Other search engine news

Project Gatineau is the name of Microsoft's beta free web analytics tool. According to this presentation with screenshots, one of the aims of Gatineau is to take on Google Analytics.

At Ask.com, users can now embed mapped results into their own web pages. More map features are in the Ask.com blog.

Other news

The mobile phone company Nokia has entered an agreement to acquire Enpocket, a leader in mobile advertising. Nokia expects to build on their mobile advertising services by using Enpocket's platform and partnerships with advertisers, publishers, and operators.

1001 days after it was released, the Firefox browser reached 400 million downloads. The July 2007 statistics at w3schools.com show Firefox with 34.5 percent of the market share, while the IT Productivity Center shows Firefox at just over 14 percent in the same month and at 17.4 percent in September 2007.

20 years in jail for typo-squatting? That's what a Nevada man is facing for pretending to be an intellectual property lawyer to scam typo-squatters out of the domains they'd registered. He was caught after one of his victims became suspicious and contacted authorities.

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Industry Hubs: Be the Center of Attention

With help from your web hosting provider

Companies, large and small, are employing every means available to get their messages across to the consumer and professionals in their particular fields. TV adverts, print ads, radio advertising, company websites and, yes, industry hubs - web hosting providers help.

An industry hub is a website that focuses on one industry, one product, one service or a single cause and they do a number of good deeds for both company and consumer:

• Web hosting provider explains - Industry hubs provide useful information, often on specific products or services produced by different manufacturers or service providers. This keeps industry insiders informed on what’s new.

• They usually provide unbiased informational content about the industry that is the site’s focus.

• These sites provide easy access to websites of product or service providers.

• Some industry hubs offer CEU training for professionals required to pick up a certain number of continuing education units annually.

• They provide an outlet for their corporate partners to broadcast webinars and podcasts, saving the corporation time and money in developing these channels independently.

• They provide a low-cost alternative to smaller companies to gain web exposure throughout the year – for a fixed price.

• Even multi-national conglomerates use industry hubs. Just one more means of getting the word out – one that doesn’t blow the marketing budget to bits.

• Everybody wins – the consumer, the manufacturer and the site owner – a win-win-win proposition.

Paying the Way With Corporate Partners

Industry hubs provide another revenue stream for the site owner – sponsorships, also called corporate partnerships. Sponsorships that provide on-going web exposure to both industry insiders and outsiders looking for a way in.

You see this kind of sponsorship everywhere today. Watch a NASCAR race on TV and you can hardly see the car under all of those decals and stickers. And every one of those adornments was bought and paid for by some business. The bigger the banner and the more prominent the banner or decal placement the more it costs the sponsor. So, if companies are willing to pay big bucks for a bumper sticker-sized advert on a race car, how much will that company pay for a permanent channel on your website? A lot – if you do it right. And right means providing symbiotic services that help the corporate partner, your industry or market and, ultimately, the consumer.

What’s Your Specialty?

If you’re going to build an industry hub, it makes sense to know something about the industry. So, what’s your background? Do you have inside sources or easy access to the CEO? If so, you’ve got the makings of an industry hub.

This is the home page of audiologyonline.com, an industry hub that focuses on the hearing health industry. The site is partially monetized through corporate partners - manufacturers of hearing devices and hearing health organizations. And these aren’t small, mom ‘n’ pop hearing aid developers. This website is an industry hub, making it the center for all things associated with good hearing health. Just take a look at some of the sponsors Audiology Online has on board.

Dr. Paul Dybala, President of Audiology Online

Sponsors like these hearing aid manufacturers and hearing health organizations are glad to have another outlet to reach the buying public.

Dr. Paul Dybala, President and Editor at audiologyonline.com described this hub as a “…clearing house of information for those in the hearing health industry. It’s much more than a sponsorship. We offer online training, access to web casting capability to our corporate partners, we attend the trade shows and keep the entire [hearing] industry informed about the latest trends in this important technology.”

Hearing health is a good cause and sponsors are eager to reach buyers, in part, because the hearing aid market makes up 2% of the entire buying public in the U.S. But what about other industries?

Here’s an industry hub, sometimes called an industry portal, for the construction trades. Called Construction WebLinks, the site provides a broad array of information from trade organizations to companies that are hiring to individual job listings. So, whether you’re the CEO of a building company or a plumber looking for new clients, this is one site you’d want to bookmark and check everyday.

Construction Weblinks caters to the building trades market, providing a great deal of information all in one place. Easy, convenient and extremely helpful.

Who Needs an Industry Hub?

Industries, obviously, but it doesn’t stop there. NFPs use them, associations and trade groups, even geographical regions. The hub shown below is for a site promoting products and companies located in Africa.

Any group that shares a common bond benefits from an industry hub or portal.

Individual companies or sources of labor gain additional exposure. Professional groups get their message out (the insurance industry uses several industry hubs including the Insurance Information Institute.)Medical groups, legal associations, educational and research groups – all benefit from the additional exposure that an industry hub provides. Of course, those interested in the hub’s latest information benefit from the convenience of finding the latest the fastest. And finally, the site owner benefits by (1) providing a useful service and (2) generating income to pay the bills.

What to Include on Your Industry Hub.

Do a little research on industry hubs (Google it) and you’ll quickly get the idea. Industry hubs are advocacy groups, information centers and community bulletin boards. They’re also classrooms, seminars and person-to-person networks.

Assume that anyone visiting your hub has some knowledge of the industry, the products, services or the association’s message. So dive right in. Some useful information includes:

• Contact information for associations and companies related to the topic of the hub

• Trade association information

• Instructional or educational content (sometimes this appears in a blog, but many hubs also use the email or newsletter approach instead)

• Industry news and trends

• Movers and shakers

• Employment opportunities

• Timely data (an investment hub wants the latest stock ticker numbers)

• Research reports and other results

• Links to sponsor companies or other sponsor entities

• Goodwill content (impartial content to industry insiders)

• A forum for the exchange of insider opinion and activity

• Industry FAQs

• Links to institutions of learning, i.e. voc-tech schools, colleges and universities, etc.

• Letters to and from the editor (adds that personal touch and builds that all-important sense of community)

The list does go on, but when compiling a list of features remember to keep the site’s features relevant to the site’s topic. You can range far and wide with content as long as it ties back to the site’s topic and provides the latest news, opinions, opportunities and such.

So, what’s your specialty? Whatever it is, an industry hub (portal) can help individuals, help companies struggling to get some much needed attention (and credibility) and it can be a money-maker for you. All you need is the knowledge and some web space and in no time, you’ve become an industry analyst-expert-insider.

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Happy Landing: Getting the Most From Your Landing Pages

Tips from your web hosting provider

Many site owners, newbies and old vets, think that if they maintain a captivating, enticing home page they’re home free. Nothing like a good home page to draw in visitors and keep that bounce rate down to nothing, right?

Well, sort of. No doubt about it, you do need an attractive, eye-catching, intriguing home page to entice visitors to stick around long enough to see what you have to offer (a statistic called page views indicates the number of pages visitors saw before leaving and it gives you a very good idea of how long that visitor stuck around, and even why s/he left, but that’s another story).

Sure, the home page has to have eye appeal but not all visitors are going to find your site via the home page. In fact, just as many will find your site via a landing page.

What’s a Landing Page?

Each page of a website is spidered and indexed within Google, Yahoo or some other search engine. And not all of these pages will be cataloged together. In fact, they’ll be cataloged by the search engine’s taxonomy - the sorting and classification system employed by a particular search engine. (And of course, the taxonomies of the big search engines are all different. You can’t win.)

Web hosting provider explains landing page concept

A landing page is a specific page designed to sell a given product, service or message - let your web hosting provider explain. Let’s say you run a big, online clothing store. You sell men’s clothes, women’s clothes, kid’s clothes – the whole product line for the whole family. Well, one of your site’s zones is going to be “women’s sweaters.” That landing page will be sorted into a different classification than, say, children’s outwear.

A search engine user, who queries “women’s sweaters” may discover that your site’s “women’s sweaters” landing page pops up at the top of the SERPs, though the rest of your digital shop doesn’t appear at all.

That’s how you often land in the middle of a website. That landing page, according to search engine taxonomy, had more relevance than your site’s home page. And it does for someone looking for women’s sweaters.

This means that any landing page must have the staying power to keep visitors staying on site.

 The Well-Designed Landing Page

There are several critical functions of the well-designed landing page. First, it must provide the information to tell the search engine user where they are and why. Remember, the user just clicked on a SERP link so the landing page should provide reassurance that “you’re in the right place.” Put your logo up on every landing page so visitors know where they are.

The Zone Page

A zone page is often a landing page. When visitors, who land on the homepage, click on the “For Women” link, they’ll be taken to a zone page – the women’s section. Here, they’ll be able to click on links to specific item classes like women’s sweaters. For visitors who arrive via homepage, the zone page will always be a landing page. And, depending on how your site is constructed, it will also often serve as the landing page for search engine users who click on your SERPs link.

Again, tell visitors where they are: “Welcome to OfftheWrecks.com” women’s clothing section.

Provide a prominent home button on this and every other page (landing or otherwise) so that visitors who get lost can always get back to the home page and start over.

You can also do a little selling here. The organic visitors won’t have seen your snazzy, zippy home page so a little eye candy and some catchy text is definitely the way to go – even though it’s one of 30 zone pages you have. Take the time to write a little paragraph of soft-sell directly above the links to specific products. Use it as a call to action, encouraging the visitor to keep exploring.

The Product Page

Search engine indices have billions and billions and billions of web pages indexed – many of them product pages. This way, if a buyer conducts a search for an Acme 338-XB107 (just made that up), your product page may be the first page the visitor sees, making it, and all other product pages, potential landing pages based on how the search engine has each page classified.

Here, you can assume the searcher knows what s/he’s looking for. Who else would be looking for an Acme whatchamacallit? So, as usual, tell the visitor where they are (use your logo), provide ordering options – an “Enter Quantity” form or a toll-free order/customer service line. These are buyers not browsers so make it as easy as possible for them to buy. Today. Now, even.

In fact, if they’re regular buyers (the best) you can even set up a one click checkout to keep things simple and to keep them coming back.

Also, be sure to provide all product information – total, complete – so the prospect can determine that it is, indeed, that Acme 338-XB107 and place the order with confidence.

The fact is, almost any page can be a landing page – and, by coding each page of your site, you can be sure that all desired pages are indexed, thus spreading your presence over numerous categories within the search engine taxonomy – a very simple, effective strategy.

The points are these:

Consider every page a potential landing page. Include all contact information and all assurances that the visitor is where s/he wants to be.

Use zone pages to sell – a little. Most visitors will see one or more zone pages, based on how many different items or services you sell. Use these pages to provide “Where am I?” information, a link to the home page and to tell readers why your items are the best

Product Pages. The most specific and complete information you’ve got. Also, easy ordering. Regardless of how the visitor got to that page, you want them to have all the facts before they place an order. Cuts down on returns – a lot.

Take Me Home. You know, not all web users are even aware of the back button on their browsers. It’s true. That means all navigation must be screen driven – on the computer screen in a place where even a five-year old could find it. Make sure that the visitor can return to the homepage with a single click from every other page on the site.

If you assume that a snappy home page is all you need to build site traffic think again. You don’t know which page a visitor will land on. It’s kind of up to the search engine and its taxonomy. However, you can assume that every page has the potential to be a landing page (not the back office of course, but the presentation layer for sure) and, as such, each page on your site should be attractive, informative and provide easy navigation and ordering options.

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Your Space:

The Growing Popularity of Personal and Small Business Websites

With the ever-growing popularity of youtube.com, myspace.com, facebook.com and other “social websites” everybody can create their own online personae. With the help of your web hosting provider, anyone can create a presence on the web and become a star. The biggest problems with these sites is that they’re public (though some offer privacy filters) and you’re limited by the toolbox provided by the social site.

So, you can do some things on myspace but there are limits on everything from templates to type fonts. Further, your space on these sites is buried among a million other profiles so the only way a particular searcher is going to find you is if s/he has the exact URL for your space on a social site. (Forget the on-site search feature. Very few users actually list real names, and for good reason. The web can be a creepy place.)

Finally, a “space” on a social site isn’t very finished, polished or professional. It’s usually a mish-mash of rip art, music downloads and personal stories – not a place you want to be if you’re looking for some online privacy and convenience. Oh, and lots of design options.

Web hosting gives you control

What you need is a personal or small business website – one you control and one you can design to suit your specific purpose and your web hosting provider can help. Ask yourself these questions.

Do you think it’s hard to build a website? Think it’ll cost a couple of thousand dollars to have someone design a website? Well, the fact is, building a website is really easy and it costs a lot less than you’d imagine. In fact, for $7.00 a month, you could build and keep your own personal, family or tiny business website. No sweat.

How do I build a website?

A good web hosting company provides all the tools you need. You register a domain name – your online address, like thewilliamsfamily.org, through your web host. Some hosts will sign you up for free. Others charge a few bucks but it’s not a lot.

Then, you sign up with your web host – the company that will broadcast your site on the world wide web. That’s the $7.00 a month – your hosting fee. Once you’ve signed on and you have your domain name registered, you can go to work.

Today, making a web site is simply a matter of choosing a template from dozens of options, choose the color scheme that best suits the purpose of the site and “Add text here” when you’re prompted to name your site, add site text and so on. You can add a blog so you can easily make posts to be read by others – what’s on your mind or what’s going on at home.

You can also make your site public or private – your choice. A private, family site, an online space to swap family pictures and other personal information, can easily be password protected so only those with the password (family and friends) have access to the site.

Easy, private or public, low-cost, global communication. Now, who might be interested in something like that?

A Family Site

Perfect for families who live apart. You can upload pictures of the grand-kids and tell your folks what’s new at your house. And the parents can simply log on and respond to your blog posts.

It’s so low cost, you can post anything – kids’ artwork, pictures of the house – it’s endless. And, if you have a family member in the military service, stationed overseas, a family site is the perfect way to stay in touch and bring a little piece of home into the life of a loved one.

The Personal Gallery

Got a talent? Something the world should know about? Maybe you create beautiful oils or hand-blown glass object d’art. You’re a poet, a serial novelist, or just someone with an opinion. Forget public blogging. You’re a voice in the wilderness on the web. You don’t have enough control over those free blog deals. You’re limited to everything from file transfer size to site censorship (big time).

Create your own global presence to showcase your talents. Let the world hear your voice and see the beauty you create. And don’t forget to include email contact information (unless you don’t want to be contacted). Have some fun with your fans and maybe make a few new friends who share your interests.

The Teeny-Tiny Businessperson

We’re not talking small businessperson – someone with a couple of employees. We’re talking the one-woman-show. Graphic designers, search engine optimizers, copywriters – the growing band of work-at-home soloists who need web space to advertise and provide samples for prospective clients.

Here’s the homepage of a copywriter. Now, this freelance writer refers potential clients to the site. First, having your own website adds just a touch of biz-cred. But it’s also the best place to strut your stuff when you client is in Sweden.

You can spend an hour on the phone describing to a prospect just what a great website designer you are, or, you can send that prospect to your site with all the bells and whistles.

There is no lower-cost means of getting exposure for your talents than the Teeny-Tiny Businessperson site.

The Local Pizza Place

Or restaurant, spa, paint store or other strictly local retail outlet. Let’s say you run a local pizza place. Customers call in their orders by phone, or they come to your shop and wait while dinner bakes.

But what if your customers could order online, while playing a shoot-‘em-up on the computer? Do you think you’d sell more large half-mushroom, half-peppers? You bet you would.

Local spa? Okay, describe the sumptuous surroundings in pictures. List services and fees and let clients book appointments online. You can do all of that for $7.00 a month.

When you’re trying to reach the local market only – people within driving distance – you can provide a map to your store and even printed directions on how to get there. You can post daily specials and online discounts. (Just print out this handy coupon).

You get the idea. Then, plaster your website’s URL on pizza boxes (Easy ONLINE Ordering), business card (Avion Beauty Spa, YourAvion.com) and anything else you print and use within the community like letterhead stationery.

It’s so easy and it’s so inexpensive, there’s no reason you, your family, your one-man-band or tiny, local retail shop shouldn’t exploit the world wide web for all it’s worth.

$7.00 a month will keep you in touch in ways you never imagined.

So imagine what you could do with your own website. What are you waiting for?

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Use Site Search Results

Site search is a valuable tool for your site visitors — usually. Many people go straight to site search to avoid having to navigate through multiple pages, especially when they're at an unfamiliar website. But if they don't find what they're looking for via site search, some will leave.

Web hosting tips

Web hosting tips: Site search is also a valuable tool for webmasters. Site search data (query logs) can be used to improve site navigation, content, and the quality of site search results. In addition, search terms used in onsite searches are often good SEO terms to optimize the site for offsite search engines.

What to measure

Site search engines can report a range of data, which provides rich information for webmasters. It indicates exactly what site visitors are looking for, where they are when they can't find it, and whether they find what they want. These are some site search measurements that provide data you can use to improve your website:

Search results

• Most common successful searches - What keywords and their variations do visitors search for the most and find?
• Most common unsuccessful searches - What keywords and their variations do visitors search for the most and not find?

Behavior of searchers

• When people start to search - What percentage of site visitors work their way through the site before going to the search box compared to those who search right away?
• Top pages that visitors start to search from - Is what those visitors are looking for related to the content of the page they were at?
• Number of searches done per session - Are visitors using variations of search phrases to try to get results?
• Percentage of visitors who click on search results - Did they find what they were looking for with their first search attempt?
• Conversion rate of searchers - Does your site get more conversions from visitors who use site search or from those who don't?
• Percentage of visitors who leave the search results page - What search terms were those visitors looking for? Did the search results have pages with those search terms?
• After visitors leave the search results page - Do they use the site navigation to continue looking? Do they exit the site?

Query logs and site navigation

While some people don't bother with site navigation and just go to the search box, others use the search box only when site navigation has failed to lead them to what they want. Query logs data will tell you the percentage of each type of site visitor at your site. Incorporate the most-searched-for terms into your navigation, and the second type of site visitor will be able to find what they want faster.

Unless the pages that queries originate from were landing pages, they're where the searchers became stuck. Look for patterns in what they were searching for from those pages. Consider adding menu links or links in context from those pages to the pages with what those searchers were looking for. For strong search patterns, call-out boxes help draw attention to the destination pages.

Query logs also indicate the pages that visitors went to after searching. If there's a pattern to their actions, add navigation from the pages they started searching at to where they went afterwards.

Look for patterns in the types of from pages (the pages where the searches started) and the to pages (the pages where those who don't leave the site end up after searching). Perhaps a number of your site visitors are looking for pages with more product information, size charts, shipping costs, or contact phone numbers, for example. Add links from the starting types of pages to pages with the desired type of information.

In addition to adding more links, a more detailed site map and FAQ as well as page summaries with searched-for keywords will aid in navigation.

Query logs and site content

Some search terms may be synonyms or variations on the wording of your website text. If your site has content about what visitors are searching for but doesn't have their search terms, add the search terms where they work with the text.

Look for patterns in what people search for and what they buy. If people who search for certain terms tend to look at specific products or sections of your site, use that information to tailor those product descriptions or sections more for that audience.

Consider the search queries for products or information that you don't have a list of possible new products or content for your site. If you sell clothing for adults and people are searching for children's clothing, for example, you know that at least some of your site visitors will be interested if you add children's clothing to your product line. If people are searching for product reviews or more in-depth descriptions, adding those types of content will benefit your current site visitors and provide more content to bring new visitors to your site.

Query logs and site search results

Look through your query log for search terms that didn't get results when your site has relevant content. If your site search engine has the following features, add these terms where they fit:

• Spellcheck - Add any spelling variations you find, including misspellings, typos, and spelling variations, such as -ize / ise endings.

• Synonyms -

  Update your synonyms or thesaurus file with country-specific terminology (for example, cookies / biscuits) and related terms.

• Word form variations - If word form variations (singular/plural words and stemming) aren't included automatically, add singular/plural variations as well as the noun, verb, and adjective forms of common search terms.

Other tips to improve site search

• Have the search box where it's easy to find. At the top of the page or next to the menu are common locations for it.
• Offer advanced search options such as the ability to sort and search by date, product type, or database fields.
• Display results in categories: product descriptions, press releases, reviews, etc.
• Include page summaries with search results.
• Provide suggested related alternatives if no search results are found, such as results for words with similar spellings.
• Cross-reference search results by including results that searchers may also be interested in.

Related blog articles

• You Need Successful Website Architecture
• How Accessible Is Your Website?
• How Important Is Website Usability?
• How to Drive Visitors From Your Website
• How to Research Customer Service Satisfaction

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Freelance Web Site Designer’s Log:

Managing Website Time Wasters - Web Hosting Tips

As a web designer you know, better than most, that time is money. When you’re adding new hardware, or trying to configure new software, you aren’t making money. In fact, you only make money when you’re actually designing and building a client’s site.

Each day, the independent site designer faces an onslaught of time-wasters, aka money-wasters. Here are some web hosting tips on how to manage those website designers that are time wasters - improve your bottom line.

Vendors

If you outsource your copywriting or hand coding, you’re dealing with vendors. Vendors are variables – some good and low maintenance, others always late, always with a ready excuse and always with re-dos because somebody wasn’t paying attention. So….

…if you find someone who does the job without a lot of fuss and hassle, pay them well, give them a lot of praise for their work and leave them alone. A good vendor is a partner in your success so when you find one, keep him happy.

On the other hand, always be on the lookout for a replacement coder if your current vendor is costing you time (money). Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by jettisoning your incompetent coder before you have a new one. Find the replacement, dump the time waster. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and you’re wearing Milk Bone underwear.

Clients

Most of us would agree that 20% of our clients eat up 80% of our time. These time wasters are usually beginners who don’t even know what questions to ask. So, you end up spending hours on the telephone explaining what an active server page is. That’s wasting time.

So are re-dos. That’s why you should have a written design plan, with detailed site map, to show all new clients. Make sure they understand that when they sign off on the written plan, there’s no turning back, or if there is turning back, it gets billed at your usual rate.

Some clients just want to talk. You find yourself talking about a new car or some new business venture that has nothing to do with you. Of course, you have to listen politely. Even if they weren’t a client. But it doesn’t take long to differentiate client types. The chatty, phone callers should be encouraged to use email.

The alpha male client (sometimes female but really alpha) wants things done now. His way. These time wasters always want to put their nose on your baby. You’ve designed the perfect site and even thrown in a few extras. Then alpha dog comes along and wants changes – lots of them.

There’s really not much you can do with clients like this. It’s no longer about the site, it’s about the client’s ego and need to control. Ask for all requested “must-haves” in writing. And inform the leader of the pack that any changes she wants after that will be billable hours.

Life

This is a tough one. The kids need to be picked up. The shelves are empty and you’re on deadline. A couple of things, here. First, just because you work at home doesn’t mean you have a lot of free time. In fact, the successful, freelance site designer usually works seven days a week – a lot of hours. So, you shouldn’t be the one who does the chores around town. You take your job seriously, ask your family to do the same – and pitch in.

Second, maintain a home office with a door. Spouse, neighbors, kids – the whole world should understand that, if that door is closed, you’re working and shouldn’t be disturbed unless the house is on fire, in which case, don’t forget to grab your laptop and external hard drive.

Get a second telephone line for business use only. Turn off the house phone. It sounds like a radical concept, especially in this age of cells, iPhones, PDAs and other “connected-to-the-matrix” gadgets. But, that’s why answering machines were invented and can you really afford to chat with your sister for an hour? That hour just cost you $100.

Yourself

Yep, you’re the biggest time waster of them all. Admit it. You’ve got a few game sites you visit. You belong to a fantasy football league and sometimes you even steal a nap mid-afternoon. Who’s going to know, right?

It takes self-discipline to keep your focus and, yes, regular breaks are important – especially when you’re working on the minutiae associated with designing and building a top notch site. Some designers actually use a timer to let them know when it’s “time” to take a break, grab another cup of coffee and get back to work on those flyouts.

Breaks are good. They rejuvenate and most designers find that they get their best, most creative ideas when they’re away from the computer – away from the challenge or problem. So take breaks but don’t lose your focus.

It’s so easy to be distracted with endless phone calls (at all hours of the day and night because you have clients 14 time zones away), on-going, problem-solving for vendors (What am I paying him for?) and life’s little distractions that pull you away from what you know you should be doing. Work.

You can’t eliminate all of the time wasters in your life, but by setting limits and managing your time more carefully (fully recognizing that the two hours you spent at the mall cost you $$$) you can increase your bottom line by increasing productivity – more output in less time.

And when you’re “the company,” increasing productivity is a huge part of improving your quality of life. You can sell your skills. You can sell your knowledge and experience. And you can sell your time. Don’t give it away. It’s just too valuable.

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15 Web Hosting Tips to Keep Visitors on Site:

Cut Your Bounce Rate; Boost Your Conversion Rate

For you, a small site owner, getting visitors to your site can be an arduous process. Building links popularity, syndicating content, the cost of each PPC – it’s tough for the little guy to get a little notice.

So, once you’ve got a visitor on site, doesn’t it just make sense to do everything you can to keep that person from bouncing off to another, more interesting, more diverting and entertaining site. You bet it is.

Web Hosting Company Provides Tips on Cutting Bounce Rate

And here are some tips from your web hosting provider to help cut your bounce rate.

1. Give them some real information. Not just sales hype. Not just product descriptions, but genuine, instructional or educational content. Those serious about making a purchase will take the time to read what you have to say.

2. Keep sales text separate from informational text. This prevents spider confusion when crawling a site. One way to keep informational content separate is to create an “Archives” or “Library” section which contains only real, utile information. Leave the sales pitch for the products page (see #6 below).

3. Add a blog or forum. First, it’s easy to do. A good web hosting provider will provide blog and forum modules that you simply add to your site with a click. An open blog allows anyone to make a post. Good for user-generated content. A closed blog allows users to leave comments about the posts you make. Either way, you generate interest and let visitors be heard.

4. Keep your navigation simple. The navigation bar should be clearly labeled and appear in the same place on every page.

5. Add a site map. Some visitors bounce because they get lost in your 200 page site-maze. Add a site map and make it accessible from every page. Help visitors find what they’re looking for.

6. Provide complete product information. Features, benefits, uses, whatever – tell the visitor everything s/he needs to know to make an informed purchase.

7. Lighten your pages. Web users aren’t patient. Most of us have the attention span of a gnat and waiting for a heavy page to download is going to send us reaching for the back button of our browsers. Your pages – all of them – should load in 10 seconds or less. After that, web users start to drift off,

8. Make every page a home page. Some visitors won’t land on your home page. They’ll land on a more relevant interior page – a product page, landing page or some other page of your site. Keep each page attractive and engaging. Also, make sure the visitor can access the home page from whichever page s/he lands on.

9. Contact us. Everybody has an opinion, though not all opinions are created equal. Even so, provide a “Contact Us” page with an email and telephone option. You’ll be able to answer customer questions and gain some very useful marketing data.

10. Move it. With the expanding use of DSL and cable, you can send more information faster. A Flash demo of a product in use, or a how-to assembly video says, a lot more than you can say in words. “Movies” keep people around to learn more.

11. Make it personal. Using your database, you can create a dynamic home page – one that’s different for each visitor. Greet each repeat visitor by name (Welcome, Bob) and provide some buying suggestions based on past buying history. If it works for Amazon, it’ll work for you.

12. Create trust. One of the biggest hurdles small site owners must overcome is the trust factor. There are a lot of rip-off artists on line so do everything you can do to build the trust of the first time visitor. Sign up for Verisign and join the BBBonline. Inform visitors that all purchases are SSL secured and provide a means of making a purchase without giving out a credit card number, i.e. PayPal.

13. Grammar matters. Spelling, too. Spelling, grammar and punctuation errors won’t necessarily kill a sale and, most of the time, the visitor won’t even notice. But those who do will question just how reliable you are. If your site text is filled with spelling mistakes and other mis-cues, the knowledgeable visitor just may move on. Remember, you’ve got a lot of competition online so do everything to perfection.

14. Keep green. If your blog posts are from ’06 you’re stale. Keep content green and fresh. If you can’t afford a copywriter, do it yourself. Or, use syndicated content from sites like goarticles.com. It may not help you with your site’s PR but the content will, most likely, be new to the visitor.

15. Add pictures. Page after page after page of text will bore anyone. There’s plenty of free clip art available so break up the text with a picture or two. Sure, everyone will recognize it as clip art but at least it’s a little bit of eye candy.

There are other things you can do. Give visitors a free download. Add a referral page and award visitors who refer new customers. Hide Easter Eggs on the site offering free stuff. Think about it. What do you look for when web surfing?

Give your visitors what they want and they’ll stick around longer to learn more about your products or services. Even better, some of them will make a purchase right then and there and others will bookmark your site for a return visit. Either way, you win. You make the sale.

B-to-B Follow-Through: Web Hosting Provider Tips

Don’t Let a Hot Lead Cool Off

You get B-to-B visitors to your site. Some browse and leave. Some opt in for the newsletter, others request information by completing a form – including telephone number. Each a visitor. Each with specific, different needs.

There have been a lot of studies on whether and when to contact prospects who want you to contact them or don’t want you to contact them.

Web hosting article on B-to-B, Ecommerce Sale, and Science

Web hosting tips: Determining how to turn a hot lead into an ecommerce sale is part stats and science, with a whole lot of intuition added to the mix.

The Abandoned Shopping Cart

Most site owners see their fair share of the abandoned shopping cart – filled to the brim with products or services, then abandoned for some reason by that visitor. It’s safe to assume that visitor was going to make a purchase (not always, but most of the time) and just because that lead left, it doesn’t mean the deal is dead.

You’ve got the email address of the visitor. A follow-up email might just show your concern for customer service. Or, to some, it might smack of Big Brother and be downright creepy to receive an email from a site you just left.

Studies show that the immediate email is a turn-off to most recipients. It actually makes them angry, and you can hardly blame them. You’re annoying them. A recent study on B-to-B contact best practices, sponsored by the telemarketing firm of FranklinCovey and published in Marketing Sherpa, recommends a follow-up contact within hours of the visitor abandoning the shopping cart. Sales reps taking part in the study indicated that response rate dropped off sharply in day 2 after abandonment leading to “four times fewer conversions and six times fewer completed contacts.” The visitor had lost interest after that much time and, in some cases, didn’t even remember visiting the site. Too late.

May I Help You?

When you do re-establish contact, be pro-active, courteous and helpful. Your email should not try to sell anything except your concern for the satisfaction of the visitor.

Here’s a sample that won’t alarm the reader and may get you a few call backs.

Dear Visitor:

We hope you had a pleasant experience when you stopped by our website thenameofthewebsitegoeshere.com and we’re hoping that we could be of some help. If you would like to speak to one of our knowledgeable representatives at your convenience, simply reply to this email or give us a call at (123) 456-7890.

We’re here to help in any way we can.

Again, thanks for visiting our site and please let us know how we can meet your business needs.

All the best,

Jane Smith, Director of Client Services

The Opt-Ins

These visitors expect to hear from you. They gave you their email addresses and maybe additional information like street addresses or telephone numbers.

Follow-up immediately (within 10 minutes) with a thank you AR that explains the benefits, publishing schedule, items on sale – whatever the opt-in opted for. Now that’s speedy delivery.

However, do be careful. The last thing you want to do is pester a potential hot lead. So, make the initial contact immediately and then wait at least 24 hours before either (1) making a telephone call or (2) sending the newsletter or other information requested by the visitor.

It’s a matter of balance. Too eager and you’re scary. Too laid-back and you’re not on the ball. Moderation in all things.

The Subscribers

These are site visitors – usually B-to-B visitors – who actually leave contact information on your site. It might be a request for additional information from a purchasing manager or a catalog request – “Please add our company to your catalog mailing list.”

If possible, these individuals should be contacted the day they visit your site. They should be contacted by a senior level rep, a decision maker. Do NOT let a minimum wage phone rep contact the other company. This is a white hot lead. Put your best salesperson on it.

Telephone Contact

All B-to-B sites have telephone contact information. If a call is received via your special site number, the receiver of that call should be instructed to patch the call through to sales immediately. If a potential buyer is ready to make a purchase of 25 million doo-dads, you want that sale to go through – smooth from end to end.

If, for some reason, a salesperson isn’t available (maybe you’re a one-man show and you miss that key call while picking up the kids at school) get right on it. The longer you wait the less you care. At least that’s how the caller will view it. So, return the call and if you can, follow up with an email, as well, providing all essential information requested by the caller – including your name, position and alternate means of contact.

Think Before You Do Anything

You don’t want a hot lead to cool off but you don’t want to get all psycho on a prospect, either. Put yourself in the visitor’s place. Would you want a follow-up telephone call from your friendly (fill in the blank) salesperson six minutes after you clicked on the “Send Form” button. You, the site owner, might think it’s just good customer service.

But some of your prospects are going to be totally creeped out by a company so desperate that it calls at 7:00 AM, or worse, keeps calling. You want to keep the lead hot, the prospect engaged.

You don’t want a visit from the local police about a stalking complaint.

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How to Make Your Web Pages Download Fast

Web Hosting Tips for Faster Download

You click on a link or enter the URL in your browser. And you wait.

For how long? The Web has become faster for many people because of available high-speed Internet connections, but faster connections have created expectations of faster downloads. Online, the tolerated waiting time is measured in fractions of seconds.

Factors in web page download speed include the location of the datacenter in relation to the site visitor, server capacity, the visitor's Internet connection speed, and web page content. To improve the first two factors, choose a web hosting provider with quality servers in a good location for your target audience. The third factor is beyond our control. Concerning web page content, we can do a lot to improve download speed.

Reduce total page size

File size is a major factor in download speed that we can control. Opinions about what the maximum page size should be range from 20 KB or less up to 100 KB, including images. While there is no magic number, smaller is better.

The individual files you upload to your site may not be big, but all the files that together constitute each page contribute to page download speed. To see the page size when a page is displayed in Internet Explorer, go to File (or right-click) and choose Properties. To see the size of individual images, choose Properties after you right-click on each image.

To reduce total page sizes, go through each page and take the following steps where feasible:

Put CSS and JavaScript in external files. When CSS and JavaScript are on each page, they have to be downloaded every time that each page is downloaded. Keep your CSS style sheets and JavaScript in separate .css and .js files so that those files need to be downloaded only once.

Keep meta tags short. Search engines have character limits for how much of description meta tags they display, which is another reason to keep description meta tags short. Limit them to 150 characters, and they aren't likely to be truncated. Most search engines don't use the keyword meta tag. If you have a keyword meta tag for the few search engines that use it, include only the most important keywords.

Limit the amount of text per page. In addition to helping keep file size down, less text per page makes each page easier to read and can increase keyword density.

Reduce bytes in HTML code:

• If you include comments in the code, keep them brief.
• Use relative links instead of absolute links for internal links, e.g., filename.html instead of mysite.com/filename.html.
• Don't use graphics for text. Graphics add to download time, and search engines can't index the text. Specify backgrounds via CSS instead.
• Remove unnecessary white space.

Code pages to current standards and practices

Use valid HTML. HTML that isn't coded correctly may display pages properly in some browsers (although not necessarily all), but mistakes in the coding can cause delays in page downloads. Run each page through an HTML checker such as W3C Markup Validation Service to identify coding errors, and then fix them.

Remove unnecessary code. Some WYSIWYG editors add a lot of coding that serves no function and just adds to the file size.

Avoid frames. With frames, browsers have to download the frameset page and then each frame in the frameset. If you have to use frames, keep each frame and image small.

Use tables correctly. Tables were never meant to be used for layout. Use them for tabular data and for layout, use CSS. CSS uses less code and allows for faster downloads. If you have to use tables, follow these tips:

• Avoid using nested tables (tables within tables). Browsers can't load content in tables until they've reached the end of the last table in nested tables, which can cause a considerable delay in page download.
• Break big tables into smaller tables so that the content for each table can load before the browser is ready to load the whole page.
• Specify table HEIGHT and WIDTH attributes. With these attributes specified, in particular the width, browsers can calculate table dimensions before loading the entire table.
• Check table cell widths. They should equal the total table width or the table will take even longer to load and may not display properly. Percentage cell widths help avoid discrepancies in table widths.
• Use CSS for table specifications. For example, instead of including valign="top" in every cell, add td {vertical-align:top}; to your style sheet.

Optimize graphics

Graphics can add greatly to download time. On the other hand, a lot can be done with graphics so that they download faster:

• Use graphics only when they add value to the page.
• Use the same graphic more than once when possible. It needs to be downloaded only once.
• Specify their height and width. Doing so speeds up download time.
• Compress .jpg files as much as you can to reduce the file size without losing noticeable quality.
• Use .png format instead of .gif for graphics. .png provides better compression without reducing quality.

Minimize HTTP requests

Each file that browsers have to download — for example, images, style sheets, and scripts — adds to the total download time per page. Browsers need to go to the web server to get them, and each trip, or HTTP request, takes time. Some ways to minimize HTTP requests:

• Use one style sheet for all your CSS.
• Combine all your JavaScript in one .js file.
• Combine multiple images into one image using image maps.

How to check web page download speed

Free web page download speed tests are available at these sites:

• Web Page Analyzer from Website Optimization: website performance tool and web page speed analysis
• URI Valet
• Cyber-Junkie Download Speed Test

Related blog articles

• How to Drive Visitors From Your Website
• Cascading Style Sheets: Separating Content From Design
• .png Gets Its Due: Image Format Recognized by IE 7
• How Accessible Is Your Website?
• Script Functionality: What Does Your Web Hosting Company Provide?
• Web 2.0 for Webmasters
• Website design and content: simplicity?
• What to Look for in a Web Designer

Designers Take Note: Web Hosting blog

Designers take note, this web hosting blog has important articles and tips to help make your website a success!

Web Designer’s Log:

Six Easy Ways to Make Your Clients Smile

Tips from a Web Hosting Provider

There are lots of freelance site designers out there. The website, Elance.com, lists more than 6,000 site designers – all competing for the same 200 low-paying gigs. In this environment of too much talent, too little work, the independent designer, working out of a spare room, must recognize the importance of keeping clients happy. A happy client will come back to you for site updates and when new features are added. A happy client will recommend you to business acquaintances. A happy client will pay the invoice within 30 days.

Your web hosting provider can help

Designers, freelance or big, corporate operations, must take steps from initial contact to beta testing and launch, to ensure that the client is happy. Here are six tips from your web hosting provider that’ll enhance your reputation for delivering quality services and innovative site design.

1. The Discovery Phase

We’ve all encountered clients who have a general idea of what they want but don’t really have any specifics. “I want a web site for my dating service” may be the only input you get from a client. That’s what the discovery phase is all about.

This is your time to ask questions. Here’s the absolute, bare minimum you want to know:

1. Who makes up the target demographic? “Describe your ideal buyer” is a great way to learn more about who the site owner wants to reach. Understanding, completely, who the site targets will determine everything from layout, motif and content tone.

2. What is the most-desired action? Does your client want visitors to read something, buy something, bookmark the site, tag the site, opt in for a newsletter – what are the client expectations for on-site activities?

3. Product and/or service highlights. What makes these products or services better than other options? With the client’s input during this early stage of production, you’ll be able to prepare a UPS – a unique positioning statement – for your client.

4. Deadline. Too many designers take on too much work within too small a time frame. This leads to design mistakes, coding mistakes, wasted time and missed deadlines. Before you accept a job, make sure you can deliver on time. Clients don’t like missed deadlines. It makes them mad.

5. Budget. This will determine how much time you can and should spend on the project. And note, many projects start out small but grow as the site owner learns more about available features.

6. Discuss features. Many first-time site owners don’t even know what they need. Do they think a blog would help? Have they thought about a secure checkout? An archives, an AR newsletter or free downloads updated weekly? What can they do to keep the site sticky? Layout the menu of options and lead the novice e-tailers through the options.

2. Get it in writing.

This one is so obvious but a lot of designers will take on an assignment without a signed agreement in which all terms are laid out including pay dates and project milestones. You can write up a very simple contract using samples on the web. Make sure everything – EVERYTHING – is spelled out. And avoid boilerplate, i.e. “The party of the first part, hereafter known as the designer…” Who can read that? Just a simple work-for-hire (or some other terms) agreement, scheduled delivery dates, final deadline, services to be provided – “I’m going to do this. You’re going to pay me that on these dates.”

3. Clients should understand that you bill for what you know, not just what you do.

Explain this point up front. It may be difficult for a new site owner to understand why your design is going to cost $5,000 while the next closest competitor will do it for half that.

While you may charge more, you bring more to the table. Knowledge of SEO and SEM, ways to monetize a site, how to grow a site, low-cost hosting (think reselling to boost passive revenues) – clients don’t hire you just to build a website. There’s a lot of hand-holding going on throughout the design and testing phases of site development, and your prospective client should understand that you’re a knowledgeable expert and a problem solver. Not some rookie hack.

4. Stay in touch throughout the project.

Never go for a week or two without calling every current client to provide an update. If the client is calling you for update information, then you’ve waited too long.

This is a great way to avoid going too far down the wrong road. During your regular discussions, ask the client to sign off on each stage of site development before moving forward. This saves a long-list of re-dos at the back end of the project. And re-dos are expensive.

Always, always return client calls or emails ASAP. It’s biz-death to ignore a client – even the ones you wish you hadn’t taken on.

5. Follow up.

Once the site has tested and site maps have been submitted to the major search engines, your job is finished – or is it? Stay in touch with past clients. Don’t be a pest, but an occasional e-mail or telephone call is fine. “Just checking in to make sure everything’s as it should be.” You should care about the success of your clients’ sites and track that success.

Even offer some suggestions or make a few quick fix-its “on the house.”

6. Under Promise; Over Deliver

If you claim that you’ll build the best site since Bill Gates was just a millionaire, you’ve set the bar pretty high. If you tell a client you can have the project finished by the 15th, even though you know you’ll never hit that deadline, that client will not be happy mid-month. S/he will be stuck with you because s/he’s in to the project way to deep to bail out and ask for a full refund.

Look, you’re much better off being straight with a client. Set reasonable milestones and final deadline, allocate design dollars for maximum payback, ensure the client has reasonable expectations given the budget. In your proposal, add an extra week to the design phase and an extra week to the development phase. Then, deliver early. What a nice surprise – especially if the site is eye-popping, drop-dead beautiful.

Site design is a ruthless, dog-eat-dog industry with more freelance designers starting their own businesses everyday. That’s why you have to “Handle With Care” all of your clients, big, small and even teeny. It doesn’t matter.

Use open, on-going communication, a proactive approach, keep the client involved in the decision-making processes throughout development and testing, make sure that both sides “get” the deal before the contract is signed, and keep in touch after project completion.

One final thought that should go unsaid, but what the heck. Honesty. Integrity. Decency. Courtesy. Fairness. These aren’t business characteristics, they’re human traits and good ones, at that. These, and other values, should form the foundation of your freelance business. Sure, you’ll occasionally take a bite in the butt. However, the vast majority of your clients will not only respect your work, they’ll respect you, the businessperson. It’s something you don’t always find these days.

And building a business on these pillars of virtue will set you apart from much of the pack. Hey, you just wrote your UPS!

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Keywords With Kick:

Five Web Hosting Tips to Boost Keyword Power

Chances are, as a site owner, you fall in to one of two groups: (1) you thought a day or two about what you’d enter during a web search for your site, or (2) you bought or downloaded (OSS) a keyword generator and let the software make keyword selections.

A couple of problems here. First, it’s your site, it’s your business, it’s your expertise and skill set, so the keywords you might select will vary from those used by a novice, a first-time searcher or the individual search engine user who isn’t exactly sure what s/he is looking for.

Second, machine generated keyword lists are based strictly on data. Now, a good keyword generator will access that data from the search engine itself, and therefore makes a great tool for jogging your brain over to other keyword paths, but no one knows your customer better than you do. You know the buzz words, the insider jargon, the needs and wants of your typical buyers. And that’s important to developing a list with kick.

Yes, use the keyword generator and your knowledge of the market. But also apply some plain old imagination to the process based on some broader factors. Here are five tips from your web hosting provider that will help to deliver more power to your keyword set.

1. Avoid keyword stuffing.

Keyword stuffing is off-putting to site visitors and search engine spiders – a double whammy. Stuffing is the practice of overloading site text with keywords (an SEO strategy that went out in 1998) or stuffing the site’s HTML meta data with every possible keyword and variation (including common misspellings by search engine users) until the HTML keyword tag is so bloated it’s virtually undecipherable by a spider.

A site text keyword density of 2% (3% maybe) is nice. The words flow naturally and the writer of the SEO content has a little more creative latitude to write something that will also interest humans.

There’s a debate among e-commerce experts on how many keywords should be used in a site’s meta data. Some believe it’s okay to load up this section but remember, this information will be spidered, meaning that letter strings will assessed to fit that search engine’s index taxonomy. If that spider is “confused” about the nature of the site because you’ve loaded the keyword tag, description tag, title tags and other HTML spider food with 100 different keywords, your site may be mis-indexed, and it’s a sure bet that it won’t be well ranked.

2. Consider the broader picture.

Your keywords, once selected, will be used in a number of ways. For example, a site keyword (one of a select list) would probably appear as the header or line of text in a PPC link. That develops organic synergies between search engine user and link.

Keywords will be used in paid links, embedded in hosted content and be a critical part of your HTML description tag – the description that appears under your link on the SERPs. So, if you select a bunch of keywords that only 62 other people on the entire planet have ever heard of, you’ll get a lot of traffic from those 62 industry insiders but don’t expect the inexperienced purchasing manager to know what a GRT600-D is.

The point: consider the broader use of keywords than just identifying your site to passing spiders. They’ll be incorporated in a number of other branding and marketing campaigns so leave your copywriter and graphics designer with some wiggle room when it comes to keyword selection.

3. Consider website topicality.

Different search engine users will be looking for your site for different reasons and from widely divergent perspectives. For example, let’s say you own a publicly-held company that leases oil rigs to small oil companies.

Some search engine users will be looking for your site because they need to lease some equipment to put down a few wells. Other search engine users would include investors looking for a good penny stock in the oil and gad sector of the market, part of an asset portfolio diversification.

Both of these search engine users would be interested in your site but from two completely different perspectives – leaser-customer and potential shareholder-owner. Your keyword list should be based on the topicality of your site from all perspectives.

4. Don’t always go with the most popular keywords.

Keyword generators will provide the most popular keywords used by Google, Yahoo and Inktomi users during a user-defined time frame. However, good keyword software will also indicate second-tier keywords. Here’s an example from Yahoo using data generated in September, 2007 using the keywords scuba diving.

By adding these lesser-used keywords to your final list you accomplish two goals: you’ll pay less per click with PPC programs, and you’ll eliminate some of the higher-ranking competition who bid on the most popular keywords regardless of cost per click. It extends limited marketing dollars.

5. Develop your selection criteria.

This is perhaps the most overlooked step in the development of a keyword list with kick. There’s an almost infinite number of keywords and phrase combinations so consider all of the following when deciding whether a keyword is on or off your gold list:

• popularity
• topicality (investment, oil leasing, penny stock, oil rigs, etc.)
• utility in developing other elements of the branding campaign
• PPC costs
• utility in developing site text and features
• currency (Note that in the second tier keyword list above that specific locations are queried. This will change depending on the season of the year.)
• longevity (for permanent inclusion on keyword list; not critical to testing)
• SEO including proper indexing based on search engine taxonomy
• testability (how can the keyword be used during site testing and metrics analysis)

The simple point is this: the development of a keyword list with kick requires more than some good guesses and a “let’s see if it flies” approach. Site tweaking time (that’s time you’re NOT running full steam ahead and therefore NOT maxing your revenues) can be significantly reduced.

One final point: 15 or 20 well-considered keywords, chosen based on your online business needs, will outperform the site that uses every keyword and variation good, bad or indifferent. (Indeed, a poorly developed keyword list can hold back the growth of your site – permanently.) So, consider keyword list development an on-going process of refinement, building on what works and avoiding what doesn’t.

Why use 100 keywords when 20 will do the trick. When putting together your list of keywords, less is more. Go for quality, applicability and topical utility to see the results you want to see.

Multi-Channel Product Access:

Reaching the "Spoiled" Consumer - Web Hosting Tips

How many ways can consumers buy the products you sell?

The buying practices of many consumers have been changed by the world wide web. The brick and mortar outlets are still top pick with shoppers. However, a recent study indicates that more than half of all consumers consider access to goods in a variety of ways very important. Not just a store. Not just a website. Not just a toll-free number or quarterly four-color catalog. Different consumers want product access through a number of channels. And these aren’t browsers. They’re comparison shoppers, hands-on shoppers, convenience shoppers - people who will make a purchase.

Web Hosting Tips - Ecommerce Websites and the Buying Decision

Web hosting tips are provided by this article and include consumer and product access strategies.

The majority of respondents to the survey indicated that it was important to their buying decision to be able to complete the transaction in the store. Today.

These same consumers indicated that they also wanted access to product information and order placement through the store’s online website and they considered it important to be able to place an order by telephone, whether shopping online or by catalog.

Further, close to 66% of survey participants indicated that they also considered it important to be able to cancel or change an order in person, online or by telephone at any time before the order ships or is removed from the store’s physical plant – the retail outlet.

Consumers have become spoiled with all of the channels available to shop and make purchases. Web hosting articles explain this theory. The big box stores like Wal-Mart and Target still rely on flesh-and-blood foot traffic, though many of these operations maintain a significant web presence, as well.

And the individual, small retailer, who owns the local hobby shop in town, still counts on walk-ins to his or her store. However, that same small hobby shop owner should have a website to compliment that real-world outlet. And on that website, which provides global exposure for that small hobby shop, the owner should strongly consider adding a toll-free number to accept telephone orders. In other words, the more channels available to consumers to access your products and product information, the more sales you’ll generate.

The Appeal of Offline Shopping

People still go shopping in the store! Just check out the local mall as the holiday season approaches for irrefutable, empirical evidence. It’s a zoo out there. And given the hassles of driving to the outlets, parking the car, walking to the mall entrance, locating the store you’re looking for on a “You Are Here” map and actually getting to that retail outlet, it might be hard to understand the appeal of this 20th century approach to buying products. Especially if you’re a site owner wondering why people are going to all that trouble when you sell the same products online.

Consumers dedicated to the mall experience cite a number of reasons for their preference. The reason most often given is “I can get it now.” To some folks in some situations (“Oh no, the television just blew up!”) getting the product today is critical.

Other factors that come in to play? The consumer can touch the product, try out the features and make a well-considered, consumer decision to buy or not. There’s no worries about the security of the transaction. Since it’s made in person, and the item can be paid for with cash, there’s less security risk, though it is important to note that several major retailers have been hacked and sensitive customer data, i.e., credit card numbers, have fallen into the hands of the black hats, so this consumer perception is somewhat unrealistic.

Other reasons consumers give for wading through throngs of caffeinated, stressed-out shoppers include the social aspect of shopping. That’s one reason every mall has a food court – usually a big one. A few hours of shopping, a quick lunch, and more shopping is what the experience is all about. It’s actually fun for lots of people to go to the mall.

The Expanding Appeal of Online Shopping

There’s no doubt that consumers have grown comfortable making purchases on the web. In 1999, fewer than 5% of buyers made a purchase from a website. In 2006, the last time annual consumer spending stats were released, the number of consumers buying online had risen to an estimated 38%, making the web the fastest growing marketplace in history.

And the reasons consumers give for their preference for online shopping aren’t surprising, though they may suggest features you might want to add to your site. The number one reason consumers buy online is convenience. They can shop at 3:00 AM in their PJ’s if they want to. Try doing that at Home Depot and you’ll get yourself arrested.

Another reason for shopping online is the ability to comparison shop. With search engines indexing more and more product pages, it’s a snap to compare prices by make and model number, whether we’re talking digital cameras or a washer-dryer combo.

The web is also a great place to access information about a product, including reviews by previous buyers, magazine and technical reviews and detailed product information. In fact, a large segment of the buying public uses the web to access information on a product before heading off to the local mega-store to make the actual purchase.

There’s also a strong perception among web buyers that prices are lower online. Lower overhead with the savings passed on to the consumer. This isn’t always the case and it’s a misconception that has led to some questionable marketing practices. The giant electronics chain, Best Buy, has been caught offering products at one price through their site, drawing buyers to their stores and upping the in-store price, much to the chagrin of many careful consumers. Not quite the old bait-and-switch but darned close.

Finally, consumers like web shopping because they know, right away, whether the product is available. There’s nothing more frustrating than going to the mall to pick up a sale item, only to be told that the item is sold out “but here’s a rain check.” Great, now you have to go back. Not so when buying online. And many consumers give “product availability” high value when shopping.

The Appeal of a Toll-Free Number

Is there a big, toll-free telephone order number on every page of your commercial site? There should be. Yes, it’s an additional expense every month but it opens another buying channel for potential customers and can you really put a price on that?

A toll-free number allows buyers to talk to a human being. (BTW, those automated ‘press one’ answering systems will send some buyers screaming from the room. When a buyer calls to place an order, a human should answer to take that order.)

If your sales justify the expense, go with a commercial answering service – something that’s now outsourced to other countries to keep costs down. It’s your choice based on your budget. Just make sure that the telephone reps have a well-written script and access to a detailed knowledge base that you (or your product experts) prepare. Don’t expect your telephone reps to rely on a website product description to answer a complex question. Provide the scripts and the FAQs – in bulk.

Marketing Synergies

As you open additional marketing channels, for example email, direct mail catalogs, flyers, brochures and other marketing collaterals, post that toll-free number and your URL on every page.

Invoices, letterhead stationery, automated invoices, auto-responders, downloadable reports and other text-based information should show the URL and toll-free-number above the fold – top of the page.

And be sure to notify site visitors that they can visit your store and then provide a map. Encourage visitors to “Stop on by. The coffee’s on us.” This strengthens the relationship between where the visitor found the product and/or information and where s/he’s going to buy the product – your brick-and-mortar on Main Street.

Your customer service scripts should also reference your site. A simple “Please visit our website at (insert your site’s URL here)” will do it. Also, use these reps as sales generators telling callers about on-site specials. With each of these marketing channel interactions, you’re creating a larger presence and increased credibility with potential buyers. And that means more sales in more ways.

The thing is this: create as many channels to your products as you can. It’s what today’s “spoiled” consumer expects. Then, develop marketing synergies between these various channels to see an even bigger return on your marketing investment.

Web Hosting Blog

Website Source provides relevant web hosting articles for webmasters in their quest for website success!

How to Build Traffic to Your Website - Web Hosting Tips

Every website has a reason for existence. Getting traffic to that website is essential for the site to serve its purpose. Your web hosting provider lists some website strategies.

The more methods you use to increase site traffic, the more successful your efforts will be.

Develop a quality website

The steps listed in this article are useful only if you have a quality website to start with:

• Know your target audience, and tailor your site for them.
• Make it visually appealing.
• Make its purpose clear.
• Provide quality content written for people and free of grammatical and spelling errors.
• Organize the content well with easy-to-use navigation.
• Use valid HTML.

To learn more, see these web hosting articles:

• Identify Your Target Audience
• The 5 Worst Home Page Mistakes
• When to Hire a Web Designer
• On Writing Copy — Avoid These Mistakes
• Writing for the Web Versus Writing for Print
• Writing for Search Engines without Shooting Yourself in the Foot
• How Accessible Is Your Website?
• How to Drive Visitors From Your Website

Optimize your site for search engines

For most websites, the majority of traffic comes via search engines. SEO (search engine optimization) at the website level starts with these steps:

• Research the best keywords to use at your site. Make a long list of relevant short-tail and long-tail keywords, including differences in phrasing. If your location is relevant, include location keywords, such as your city and perhaps your neighborhood.
• Choose which keywords to use on each page, and give each page a different focus.
• Use those keywords in key places: the <title> element, heading tags (especially <h1> and <h2> tags), navigation, anchor text, and content text.
• Write a relevant meta description tag for each page.
• Monitor your traffic stats and further optimize your site for keywords that you'd like to get more traffic with.
• Monitor what keywords the competition is using, and if you want traffic for those keywords, optimize your site for those keywords and variations of them.
• Avoid black hat SEO techniques.
• Continue adding and revising site content to keep it fresh.

See also these SEO articles:

• Making the Most of Keywords
• Making the Most of Keywords Part 2
• Keyword Selection
• The Short Tail and Long Tail of Keyword Use
• How to SEO Your Website Fast
• HTML and SEO: Optimization Behind the Curtain
• Information Architecture and SEO
• Getting in with Search Engines and Searchers
• Search Engine Traps: Don’t Get Snared
• Black Hat & Gray Hat Tactics: Is It Really Worth It?

Acquire inbound links

Inbound links are part of SEO; search engines treat quality inbound links as votes for the site they link to. Getting other people to link to your site is easier when each page has quality content that's original and useful. People will link to your content from forums, blogs, bookmarking sites, and other social media sites after finding it through search engines or other methods. Other ways to acquire inbound links:

• Suggest reciprocal links with webmasters of related but non-competing sites. (But avoid excessive reciprocal links, which Google frowns upon.)
• Request one-way links from webmasters of sites whose audiences would benefit from your content.
• Ask manufacturers of products that you sell to link to your site.
• Get your site listed in relevant directories, including local and industry- and topic-specific directories.
• See who links to your competition, and try to get links from those sites.
• Write articles relevant to your site content, include a link to your site with them, and have them published at other sites.
• Include a link to your site in your signature at forums.

For more information about acquiring inbound links, see these articles:

• Link Building Strategies
• Get Inbound Links from Authority Sites
• Content Syndication on Your Website and Link Building
• The Competition's Links

Get your site listed in search engines

If you've followed the above steps, you don't need to submit your site to most search engines. They'll find it by following links from other sites. Adding a Google sitemap to your site will help search engines crawl your site and index all the pages. It will also help you identify any problems search engines may have indexing your site.

Beyond the main search engine results, you can get your site listed in the following types of search engines, among others:

• Specialty search engines for your website content area
• Local search engines
• Search for mobile phones
• (If your site has videos) Video search

See also these articles:

• Search Engine Traps: Don't Get Snared
• Getting in with Search Engines and Searchers

Create regular fresh content for your website

Quality website content will help get your website off to a good start. But search engines need to frequently find new content at your sitefor it to maintain its position in search results. Regular new content also leads to more inbound links and provides more reasons for site visitors to return to your site.

You can create the content yourself, and you can have user-generated content, such as product reviews or a forum. A blog is good way to get new content online often and fast, and with RSS feeds, it can reach a wide audience almost immediately. See these articles for more information:

• Add Some Glue to Your Site: Let’s Get Sticky
• Blogging for Business
• Getting the Most from Your Post
• SEO Your Blog
• Really Simple Syndication (RSS): Get the Word Out

Promote your website locally

We've already mentioned location keywords and local search engines and directories. Even if you don't offer local services, optimizing your site for local search is useful. Some people prefer to do business with local companies, and additional links are valuable for SEO.

If you serve the local community, you can advertise locally in addition to optimizing your site for local search. Include your URL with all advertising so that people can go to your website for more information.

See also these articles:

• Local Search
• Reaching Local Audiences with Our Websites
• Localized SEO
• How to Keep Buyers from Going to the Store
• Low-Cost Site Promotion: Use Everything You’ve Got

Promote your website online

Any or all of these promotional methods can increase traffic to your website:

• Pay-per-click (PPC) ads
• Banner ads at relevant sites
• Advertising in relevant ezines
• Press releases with links to your site
• Newsletters sent to opt-in subscribers
• Free offers at your site, such as free online tools
• Contests

See these articles for details:

• Getting Started with Online Advertising
• Advertising with Google AdWords
• Which Is Better: PPC or SEO?
• Marketing Mistakes
• Writing Online Press Releases
• Build Your Subscriber Lists
• Improving Mailing List Opt-In Rates
• E-Mail Campaigns: Don’t End Up in the Trash Bin
• Free Offers and What's in It for You

Use social media sites

Site visitors can bookmark your site at social media sites such as del.icio.us. To make it easier for them to markmark pages at your site, you can add social media buttons to your pages. You can also create portable content such as videos for YouTube and other video sites, and you can create your own profile at social media sites and add content yourself. See these articles for details:

• Socializing Your Site to Success: Using Folksonomy to Build Traffic
• Web 2.0 for Webmasters
• How to Market Your Brand via Social Media Websites
• Give Visitors a Voice and Grow

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About to Give Up On Your Website Strategy?

Let Your Web Host Show You How To Make Things Right

Let’s say that you built a great looking website, you hung out at webmaster sites and blogs like this one, and you did everything you read. You followed the “Five Tips to Web Success” and even paid $395 for a book on how to optimize your site. And, after a year, your digital doorway is covered in cobwebs.

Is it time to quit, cut your losses, throw in the towel? Well, if you’re selling the Ebola virus, probably. It wasn’t a good business model in the first place.

But, if you think your business model is sound, it hasn’t been replicated 1,200,000 times and you’ve already invested the time (and money?) to give this online dream a chance, don’t quit.

First, you’ve already put in the time – the most expensive component. Second, if you’re like most new businesses, you’re using a shared web hosting service – less than $7.00 a month – so that’s not going to break the bank. No, instead of pulling the plug, rethink your business and marketing strategies and start employing some guerrilla marketing tactics.

Analyze the Site’s Problems

There are like a billion site metrics programs you can buy or get free (OSS) but trying to make sense of this jumble of numbers is like trying to read a foreign language. One way to simplify metrics analysis and actually make them useful is to buy software that provides GUIs – (that’s gooies) – graphical user interfaces.

Some produce heat maps that show site page hot spots, some offer percentage overlays showing how many visitors went here or there, and some provide numerical listings that don’t require a Harvard MBA to analyze and put to good use. Forget the number crunchers. Go gooey. Check out Crazy Egg.com for an example.

Two important points about metrics analysis. Metrics show you what’s already happened. It’s old news as soon as you get it. It doesn’t tell you what’s happening now or what will happen. It’s an important point to remember when planning your comeback assault.

The second point is this: metrics are very easy to misinterpret. You make a change, see an improvement (or decline) and assume the change was the cause. Post hoc ergo propter hoc: After this, therefore because of this. Simply because you see a specific result doesn’t mean it was caused by any changes you made. Heck, Goggle might have hiccupped.

 Simplify, simplify, simplify. – Henry David Thoreau

The man had the right idea. Go through each page of your site and find ways to simplify – simplify the text, graphics, animations, navigation, objective – anything and everything. Most site owners optimize for search engines. Optimize for humans, who by the way, look for very different things than search engines look for.

Cut All Unnecessary Costs

If you’re paying a drop shipper to ship three units a week, do it yourself until you can justify the cost of the shipper. You don’t need a bookkeeper (though you should have an accountant for tax purposes), you don’t need fancy office furniture and you can store inventory in the spare room (unless it’s that Ebola; store that in the garage).

If your site is up and running (as in fully functional and secure) your only cost should be web hosting costs and that’s loose change. Cut it to the bone, even if you really do want that new Blackberry. (“But honey, I need it for business!”)

BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE

The online gurus want you to believe that there’s some magical, mystical formula that you can follow to build your site to success. If there were one formula, we’d all be driving Ferraris.

Ecommerce is no different than any other commerce going back to when cave clans swapped shiny rocks. The same principles apply.

For example, the ‘experts” like to toss around the term “viral marketing” like it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. Well, viral marketing has been around since the hula hoop craze. It’s just a digi-geek term for word of mouth (WOM) marketing. A single video on You Tube got over 1 million hits in less than 24 hours. Why? Word of mouth. Media exposure. It was everywhere and everyone wanted to see it for themselves.

Conversion ratios? Nothing more than how many visitors turn into buyers (and hopefully you can figure out why).

Your marketing, on site and through remote or PPC marketing, should appeal to basic human emotions – love, fear, belonging and so on. Humans haven’t changed. Just the way they access marketing.

Conventional Wisdom is… Conventional

Hey, do those flashing links telling you (and a million other visitors) that “You’re the 10,000th Visitor and You Win a FREE iPod” make you want to click on the link? Maybe once to see what the catch is, and there’s always a catch. But once you’ve seen it, it’s not an effective marketing tool.

Come-ons, bogus promises, the hard sell – this stuff works on the lowest common denominator and that’s it. The only people who are going to click on your “Win an iPod” link are six-year-olds who like the blinking lights.

If you want to get noticed, think outside of the box – the computer box. Some very smart guy registered the domain name perezhilton.com, built a celeb-gossip website and is now a regular on the talk show circuit. From unknown to self-appointed celeb commentator in 12 months. That’s thinking outside the box, though there are probably better ways to spend your time than chasing Brangelina around the globe.

If you’ve seen it, we’ve all seen it. Time for a new idea. A national treasure hunt with a big prize, a buried treasure chest or a dream date with Perez. Who knows what the next big thing will be, but it could be yours.

So, the heavy lifting has been done. Play with your toy. It’s not costing much, so try something out of the ordinary – even controversial. Controversy sells. Just ask Perez Hilton.

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E-Mail Campaigns: Don’t End Up in the Trash Bin

Web Hosting Tips

E-mail marketing is a fundamental element of online promotion. E-mails can be personalized, targeted, automated and even gussied up with template-based backgrounds and animated images. All good.

So, why do so many e-mail campaigns fall short of expectations? And, what can you do to enhance the success of your next e-mail series?

Web Hosting Provider Explains Email Campaign Strategies

This article is provided by your web hosting company and will list some of the reasons email campaigns, email campaigns and online promotion techniques are not successful.

Manage Your Subscribers

Not all subscribers are alike. Some are opt-ins who look forward to your updates on new product listings and sale items. Some are previous customers. And some of those e-mail addresses ended up in your database simply because a visitor clicked on an in-bound link but bounced off the landing page. “Ooops, I clicked the wrong button.”

Managing this list of potential e-mail newsletter recipients is critical to the success of your next e-mail campaign. Most recipients are going to relegate your e-mail to the trash bin if you don’t target everything from the subject line text to the call to action.

Create Different Subject Line Text for Different Groups of Recipients

Create subject lines for each category of recipient. Opt-ins want to read what’s new so the prominent positioning of your company name is often enough to entice these eager readers. Sample subject lines:

BugsnSuch.com: Here’s this month’s issue of Ant Farming for Profit

BugsnSuch.com: The Latest News for Beekeepers

BugsnSuch.com: Huge Tarantula Sale Just for You

These’ll work for opt-ins who are into bugs ‘n’ such dot com.

Previous customers know you and, if they’ve had a good online buying experience with you, they might take a look to see what’s new. They may not open every e-mail you send but it’s reasonable to expect them to open some – if they aren’t buried under an avalanche of promos from your e-business.

If these previous buyers didn’t have a good buying experience (it happens, though you should make sure it doesn’t happen often) there’s little you can do to turn around this dissatisfied buying segment. There are simply too many other options to your site. Sample subject lines for previous buyers:

bugsnsuch.com The arachnids miss you!

bugsnsuch.com Special sale for our best customers

bugsnsuch.com FREE gift for our valued regulars

Notice that the company name still takes the most prominent position in the subject line box. However, the following text is a little more specific – targeted at individuals in your database who have made a previous purchase.

Finally, for those recipients for whom you have little or no information, use the subject line to introduce your company.

bugsnsuch.com We want you to go buggy with us

bugsnsuch.com Make easy money as a worm farmer

bugsnsuch.com 50% off your first bug purchase

The Main Body

Keep it short and friendly, regardless of which group the recipient falls into. Even your most ardent customers aren’t going to sift through pages of hype so go with a soft sell approach and, again, keep it short.

Avoid long paragraphs. Break up the text into little, bite-sized pieces of actual information – a new product description, the terms of the special sale or an explanation of how to use the special sale code to save 50% at the checkout. Short and sweet. Don’t assume the reader has a long attention span. Most of us don’t these days.

Be sure to include a link. If it’s a general e-mail to unknown recipients, the link should be to your site’s home page. If the e-mail is introducing a new product, the link should take the reader to that product’s landing page within your site. In other words, don’t make the reader search for what you’re selling. You want them on the right page with a single click. That’s how you boost conversion ratios.

Provide contact information including a telephone number and a street address, as well. Potential buyers take comfort in knowing that you’re a real business and that they can call in case of problems.

Finally, close with a friendly call to action. Now, most site owners (and a lot of copywriters) think of a call to action as a strong sales pitch. It shouldn’t be. A good call to action should advise the reader what s/he should do next – to take action. Should they click, call, save the e-mail – what should they do right now? What is the expected action they should take? Answer those questions in your call to action and you’ll see a much better return on your e-mail efforts.

Track Results

Using basic site metrics analysis software and e-mail coding, you’ll be able to tell which e-mail pulls the best with the different categories of recipients. Obviously if one e-mail pulls 8% (that’s pretty good) keep using it rather than the text that only pulled 0.5% (not so good).

Build on a good thing. Once you’ve got an example of an e-mail that pulls well, analyze it from the customers point of view. What appealed to the reader to make that call or click that link? Low prices? Quality goods? What, in the e-mail, brands you as a worthwhile source of products and information?

Refine the strong points through revision. A single, product description may result in a major jump in sales. Okay, use that information to refine your e-mail and site text following that model of success.

Be Judicious

No one wants to see junk e-mail day after day, even from a preferred retailer. We see marketing in the newspaper, on TV and billboards, we hear the same jingle over and over on the radio – we’ve become numb to marketing. Thank goodness for the TV remote. Channel surfing has become an art thanks to promotion overload. How many times can you sit through the same commercial?

Undertake every e-mail campaign with care. Don’t be a pest. Send personalized, follow up e-mails to respondents, not the automated, “do not reply” type of e-mail. You want the reader to reply again and again.

However, also note that respondents are more approachable and therefore more open to frequent e-mails. Non-respondents may just become annoyed at the “all-too-frequent” appearance of your company name in their inboxes, so these prospective buyers should receive e-mails less frequently than those who do respond to previous e-mails.

It’s a matter of degree. Even too much of a good thing is still too much. E-mail campaigns can be extremely effective when targeted at different categories of buyers, and the e-mail itself actually has something to offer in the way of information or purchase savings.

If you keep sending them hard-sell hype, they’re going to keep sending your e-mails to the trash bin. Remember, it only takes a click to read your e-mail. It also only takes a click to send it to the trash bin.

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