Design your website the way people will use it

December 14, 2009
People don't read websites - well, not when they first land on them.

They scan the page to see if it feels like it contains the information they're looking for.

And they scan the page in an "F"-shaped pattern - generally, two horizontal stripes and a left-hand vertical. Take a look at these examples from web-usability guru Jakob Neilsen's eyetracker studies:


Note: the hotter the colour, the more the viewers looked at that area.

So, what does this mean for your web page design?
  1. Hit the reader with important information at the top left of your page - once you've grabbed their attention, they're more likely to hang around
  2. Use direct language - say exactly what you do. Anything cryptic or clever will be lost on people who are scanning for specific words
  3. Use sub-headings and bullet points to draw the eye down the page - if you have a second or third message to get across (ie different services you offer) make sure it's visible without scrolling
Read more of Jakob Nielsen's superb insights at his website
 

Google Adwords: Improve your campaign without losing what's working

December 7, 2009
The godfather of Google everything, Perry Marshall, sent me this vital information in his latest newsletter.

It tells you everything you need to know about improving your Adwords Campaign without taking a serious dip in performance during change-over:

After hundreds of Adwords account consultations, I've often seen that a guy can have an account that's a real mess, but it's still working, still profitable. Great improvements can and must be made, BUT must be done without screwing up what was...


Continue reading...
 

A short rant about "Solutions"

November 26, 2009
I offer Business Solutions

What does that tell you? Not much!

You're either: 
screaming at your screen - "just tell me what you actually do!!"
or
you've switched off and moved on...

and if you use the word "solutions" that's exactly how your reader is reacting

Act NOW

Scan all your copywriting - website, brochure, leaflets, everything

Be precise in your wording to make it easy for your reader understand how you can help them.

End of rant.

Continue reading...
 

Pay less per click

November 26, 2009
How much are you spending on Google Adwords?

Probably far too much for the business it brings in. There are 2 key steps to maximise your Return on Investment:

1 Improve your PPC Quality Score
2 Improve your "Clicks to Customer" Conversion Rate

The common factor in both these steps is the Landing Page your adword leads to.

Did you know your competitors could be paying less per click than you but still get a higher position on search pages?

That's down to Quality Score.

Google rates you on how releva...
Continue reading...
 

Why are press releases good for getting search traffic to your website?

October 29, 2009

To get a good search engine ranking you need to build links to your website. How can press releases help? 

 Press Releases are great for Search Engine optimisation. If you want to rank highly on the search engines for your industry you need to get good quality on topic web pages linking to your website. It used to be that any link pointing to your website would do, but now search engines look more at the quality. The press release is basically an article about your industry that you can make l...


Continue reading...
 

Survey Monkey is the business

October 29, 2009
Have you heard about Survey Monkey? It's a *free* survey build and manage website. Take a look.

As you'd expect, only very basic surveys are free, but it's a good way to get some initial feedback for a new product/service you're planning to offer or get customer satisfaction ratings for your business.

I put a mini survey together for this website - please take a look:

Click Here to take survey


Continue reading...
 

Should I pay to get to the top of Google?

October 29, 2009

Many web marketing specialists claim they can get you to the top of Google - how do they do that? 
 
The best web marketers have been established for several years and have networks of directory sites which all link into a sizeable web that the spiders find very attractive. Hence they can guarantee that your website will get found. But you will have to pay to get a slice of their intellectual property.

One of my favourite web marketing specialists is livetech.co.uk - check out the natural ra...


Continue reading...
 

Does your eNewsletter pass the spam test?

October 29, 2009

When you email a newsletter, are you sure it actually gets seen by your recipients? Did you know that up to 46% of all permission-based emails are blocked by over-zealous ISP's spam filters.

So even when people subscribe to your newsletter - it may not even reach them. Most filters spot when the same message is being pushed to many of their customers, but also the language you use can have an adverse effect on whether your message is allowed or blocked.

I came across this website which will ...


Continue reading...
 

What keywords should I use to promote my website?

October 29, 2009

How can you be sure you're using the best keywords when you submit your website to the search engines? 

You know you need to find keywords that lots of people are searching on, but the only way to give yourself an advantage on search engines is to find keywords that are not being heavily used by your competitors.

Luckily Google (where would we be without them!) have a tool that allows you to check out these two factors. Check it out here



Continue reading...
 

How easy is it to do my own web marketing?

October 29, 2009

Money paid to a consultant on web marketing is money well spent? Not when you're paying them to do what you can do for free.
 

Why all the mystery that surrounds submitting your website to the search engines. Is it a complicated procedure? How much will you be charged by a consultant?

Don't pay a penny - it's dead easy to do it yourself. Here's the google sumbission page http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl

Go to it!


Continue reading...