Time To Move Up To a Dedictaed Sever? It Is If You Want To Grow Your E-biz.

If you're still using shared hosting, there's as many as 2,000 websites on your shared host's gear.

You're competing for CPU access, bandwidth and your site is at greater risk of cross-side server attacks.

Maybe it's time to move on up to a dedicated server.

Dedicated Hosting Services:

Not Just For The Big Guys Anymore

Chances are, if you’re like most website owners, you started with a shared hosting program with a web host. In this case, you rent a given amount of disk space and share use of resources, like bandwidth and CPU access, with other shared hosting account holders. In the case of shared hosting, a web host can cram over 1,000 sites on a single box (server). If some of your neighbors are bandwidth hogs, it could mean longer download times and slower response times from your site when interacting with customers.

And customers aren’t a patient bunch. In this day of DSL and cable modems, web users want speed. They expect it, and if you aren’t delivering content fast, some site visitors are going to grow tired of watching that blue line slowly crawl to the right. They’ll click off and go somewhere else to purchase products or services.

Dedicated Servers

Just as the name states. Dedicated service consists of one box, one business. This provides unlimited access to all the server’s assets. No competition for CPU access. When you subscribe to a dedicated hosting program you rent the whole server.

In addition, the host provides an operating system (usually Linux, Windows or some variant), ecommerce software bundles that include site building software, a secure checkout, a database and other site enhancement tools, like blog modules that you can plug in with a couple of clicks on the administrator’s console and, if the host is good, you’ll also get access to 24/7 tech support on a toll-free line. Lesser-quality hosts (that still may charge high monthly hosting fees) provide email-only access to tech support. You, the webmaster, prepare a trouble ticket that’s emailed to tech support (somewhere on this planet, but that’s an assumption) and wait for a response and a fix. When your server is down, your business is down. How long can you afford to be offline?

Who Needs Dedicated Hosting?

Not everyone. That’s why shared hosting is the best option for start-ups. The hosting costs are low, usually less than $7.00 a month, and until your business concept and execution have been proven, don’t spend extra for dedicated hosting services. It’s like driving a thumbtack with a sledgehammer. Overkill.

However, if your site has been up for a while, it’s no doubt changed with the times, with a menu of new features and increased interactivity with visitors. For example, a blog takes up disk space and bandwidth as you and your site community interact. RSS feeds, a fully-customizable content management system and other front store and behind-the curtain features all take up disk space.

And, if you’ve enjoyed retail success online, chances are your product offerings have expanded over time. You’ve added pages to your site, pushing your shared hosting space to the max. Well, a good host will sell you disk space a la carte (by the gigabyte). That’s one way to expand. Or you can take the plunge and sign on for a dedicated server.

Multiple Sites

For many site owners, once they get “the bug” and see that there’s money to be made on the W3, building additional websites takes on greater appeal. If the site owner is clearing $500 a month with one site, 10 sites should deliver a $5,000 return each month. At least in theory.

If you manage multiple sites, all of which are deep in features (you manage 12 blogs, for instance), it’s time to move to a dedicated server. You can run a number of different domains from one server, expanding your web presence. In fact, if you plan on building more than one website (and why not, it doesn’t cost any more each month), a dedicated server is a must. A simple administrator console will quickly provide access to site data and activity from many different sites.

Site Functionality

Some sites contain 20 or 30 pages of static text and a simple opt-in form. However, for enterprise-grade businesses and web retailers, a dedicated server is a must-have. Many business sites contain hundreds of pages and are employed for a variety of purposes such as email and other inter-department communications.

Remember, you can customize your dedicated server any way you want to best suit your business needs. So, you’ll get much more functionality from a dedicated server – especially important when you’re running a virtual office with employees spread out across the globe, or a company with several brick-and-mortar outlets all delivering data simultaneously.

Data Security

If your database is loaded with sensitive, personal information like customers’ names, addresses and credit card numbers, you’ve taken on the responsibility of keeping that data secure from hackers.

Using a dedicated server, you can install your own security software and hardware – multiple layers of security on top of the security the web host provides as part of its service to you.

Managed or Unmanaged Hosting?

Dedicated hosting is offered in two formats: managed and unmanaged.

With unmanaged, dedicated hosting you’re responsible for the whole shebang. So, you and your team are responsible for everything – from the installation of your customized database to the creation of customer service responders. You do it all.

The advantage of unmanaged dedicated hosting is cost savings. Since the web host doesn’t do any hand holding (except for routine trouble-shooting) you’ll pay less for an unmanaged, dedicated server. However, either you’ll have to study up on site construction and connectivity to an ever-growing web, or pay some design guru to build the site to meet your company’s needs.

Also, with unmanaged hosting you’re responsible for your server security. It’s your anti-virus software, your hard-wired firewall, your everything.

Managed dedicated hosting puts you in partnership with the web host. You work with the host techs to come up with business solutions. If you’re employing your dedicated server in a variety of ways, services have to be synced up. Storage space has to be configured and managed so inter-office emails remain secure in transit. Hackers love dedicated servers because they know that these online businesses house hacker gold – personal information and lots of it.

Managed dedicated hosting also delivers managed database services for the most popular database platforms, i.e. Oracle, MySQL, Microsoft, etc. With managed services, you’ll also receive customized, configured security that syncs up with the box’s server-side software.

Managed dedicated hosting is also necessary to create multiple, “virtual servers” for different business functions that may or may not include interaction with clients and customers. Working in tandem with the host’s on-site team of networking professionals, you’ll create the superstructure of your online business – communications, data collection and collation, accounts management, inventory management and all of the other functions of a busy and growing company.

Shopping for a Dedicated Web Host

If you opt for unmanaged dedicated hosting, you will save money. However, you should compare disk space allotted, CPU speed and other apples-to-apples comparisons to get the most for your hosting costs. It’s a simple calculation of: features + cost = value.

However, if you envision an expanding business that relies more and more on the web and the Internet ( they’re two different things) to conduct daily operations, you will pay more for managed service but the price you pay for that extra attention will deliver a site that functions as you envision.

Before you sign an agreement with any web host, contact the business solutions professionals on staff. Discuss your current needs and needs going forward and get a feel for how the team adapts to your thinking.

As in any business, including the web hosting business, the client or customer is always right. So look for input from professionals and follow good advice when you get it, but make sure the managed services team at a prospective host is prepared to solve your online business needs – from site migration to multi-purpose server apps – to your specifications.

Once you find the right team, with the right attitude and the understanding that their success is dependent on your site’s ability to meet all of your business objectives, you’re not just getting a dedicated server, you’re getting experience and peace of mind that your site will be right, right out of the gate.

Looking for the right webhost for your proposed venture into the world of ecommerce. Come on it's fun. Drop me a line and build a web-based business together.

Webwordslinger.com

BOOST YOUR SITE'S CONVERSION RATIO: IT AIN'T BRAIN SURGERY!

IF THEY AIN'T BUYING, WHY MAKE IT HARDER?

SIX STUMBLING BLOCKS TO AVOID - LIKE NOW.

Six Stumbling Blocks to Making That Sale:

Why Make It Harder to Sell?

What if you went to your favorite clothing boutique and discovered the door was locked? A note on the door states “Please enter your access code to enter.” Access code? Never mind, I’ll just go across the street to buy a new tie.

In the real-world retail sector, merchandising is a science. Makers of your favorite breakfast cereal fight for shelf position at the supermarket. They all want the eye-level shelf because that’s where most shoppers look first. The boxes of cereal on the top and bottom shelves don’t move as fast because of shelf placement.

And how about those displays of soda and hot dog buns you see at the end of each supermarket aisle. This is prime selling floor real estate and food makers pay the store for these prized locations. Same with all the gum, candy and other “impulse” items by the checkout. Those products are there because people waiting to get checked out buy them on impulse. “Oh, I deserve a treat,” so a Mr. Goodbar gets tossed into the shopping cart along with this week’s fabulous edition of The National Enquirer. The buying activities of store shoppers are studied, critiqued, focus-grouped-to-death, analyzed, utilized and ultimately, the entire store is arranged to generate more sales.

Well, the same principles apply to website design. The design of your website can make it easier or harder for a visitor to make a purchase. Here are six stumbling blocks you can remove from your site today to see your conversion ratios improve in a matter of days. Really.

1. Eliminate the member log-in from the home page. You see this a lot and you wonder what the site designer was thinking. When most visitors see a log-in box, they know they’re giving up their email addresses to gain access to the goodies on your site. And they expect the back sell – the sell that takes place once a visitor opts in.

But it makes no sense to place the opt in log-in on the home page because visitors don’t even know what their opting for yet. Instead, use the home page to entice the visitor deeper into the site. Show visitors that by opting in they get a valuable service or good information – free. In other words, prove the worthiness of site information before making the pitch for an opt-in.

2. Provide good information free. And plenty of it. Articles, stories, pictures of products in use embedded in informational content lends credibility to you, the site and the product.

Often times, buyers don’t know what they don’t know. They’re trying to learn as they window shop and you’re going to teach them by providing good informational content about product pros and cons. You want the buyer to purchase the right product. It saves time, money and the hassles of returns so teach and sell on your site. It’s a potent combination. And it works, too.

3. Make it easy to find the right item. There are two ways to do this. Use both.

There’s a web design dictum: The fewer the number of clicks the more sales. Absolutely true. The easier it is to make a purchase the more purchases will be made so making it easy to find a specific item, or to browse items, is essential.

Most sites use a “Products” link off the navigation bar, which works fine if you only sell a few items. This drill down screen can also be used as a product category directory with links taking the visitor to a specific product ‘section’ of the site. This is especially useful for companies that market diverse inventory.

However, even this drill-down design requires some discretionary thought on the part of the site visitor, and if seems like a hassle, a lot of visitors will get tired of endless clicks and move on to a simpler site.

The second option – and frankly a must-have in this era of site interactivity – is a ‘Site Search’ feature. By far the fastest way to find a specific item by name, by make, model number or any number of other search criteria. A ‘site search’ feature contributes to the reason most web shoppers shop online – convenience.

Everything – everything – about your site should point to ease of use, accessibility, functionality and moving the visitor through the purchase cycle without so much as a blip.

4. Add shopping cart convenience. Even if you sell a limited number of items, offer visitors the opportunity to place items in their digital shopping carts – even if it’s one item.

The shopping cart should allow the visitor to:

• Review items purchased.
• Change quantities.
• Delete items.
• See the total cost of items in the cart.
• See the shipping and handling costs for the items in the cart.

Also, throughout the purchase cycle, reassure the buyer by providing prompts on each page. A perfect example: a link to the “Check-Out” on every page – prominently displayed. Easy, easy, easy. Shoppers want convenience and reassurance that “they’re doing it right.”

5. Check out your checkout. Remember that number of clicks axiom from above? This is doubly true during the checkout sequence. Simplify the process for first-time buyers by limiting the number of pages (clicks) required to “get outta here.”

Simultaneously, provide reassurances that the buyer is doing it right. If a piece of information hasn’t been entered properly, return to the form page and tell the visitor what needs changing. Don’t make them figure out what they did incorrectly. Tell them so they can fix it and get outta here.

Provide a final review page of all order information as entered by the buyer. Even the most seasoned web buyer sits at the monitor reviewing everything – name, address, credit card number, quantities and so on. It’s so much easier to get it right the first time than to hassle with returns or unfulfilled orders because of some confusion.

Finally, there needs to be some trust building going on during the checkout sequence. Knowledgeable buyers look for security logos from companies like VeriSign. They also look at the address box of their browser to make sure there’s an ‘s’ in ‘https’ indicating a secure site. Provide buyers with assurances that all is secure just before they click the ‘Submit Order’ button.

6. Deliver an immediate order confirmation. As part of the checkout sequence, buyers provided an email address. Once the buyer has made the purchase an auto-responder should be generated describing all details of the purchase, including tracking information. This assures buyers, cuts down on customer care calls and enables quick resolution of any customer complaint. (Good customer care is a basic building block of any retail business, online or in the real world.)

It’s simple, or at least it should be. The first time buyers are gently guided through the purchase cycle, reassured at every stage and in control, and regulars should have the convenience of providing all information required for a one-click checkout. Ship it here. You’ve got my credit card. I’ve got other things to do. Convenience. That’s what today’s web buyers want.

Think of it this way: a confused customer is a gone customer.

Yeah, I know, it sounds like a lot of gibberish until YOU get down to business. If you have a web biz or you're planning to launch one( who isn't), sweat the details. Call me and let's solve problems before they become problems.

Later,

webwordslinger.com

I CAN MAKE YOUR WEB-BASED BUSINESS DISAPPEAR!

NOW WHATCHA GONNA DO?

Disappearing Domains

I can buy a dedicated server from a web hosting company and load it up with two or three thousand web sites. I can set it up so you'd think I was the web host, when in fact, I'm simply reselling web hosting services at a nice profit.

All I need is a server in my dorm room closet. Then, when I get tired of the hassels of customer service, or I graduate, I can simply shut down that server and when you log on to your site's dashboard, you get a 404 message - can not conect to server - because I turned off the server.

Your business disappears in the night without a word. All your hard work, all the money you invested, all your income - gone with the flip of a switch.

Scared? You should be.

If it happens to you what have you lost? Much more than just your website. You also lose access to your site’s databases – databases filled with invaluable customer information. You also lose inbound links, critical to higher page rank. Even worse, you disappear from search engines altogether. You can see how this nightmare can go on to the point where you’ve lost it all – and who knows where your web host is. Maybe he graduated from high school.

There are lots of horror stories about deleted domains – websites that have been zapped simply because the owners forgot to pay the annual domain registration fee, for instance. If you’re the forgetful type, you don’t want to work with a host that deletes your livelihood over a $4.95 charge – but it’s happened.

What are the domain registrar’s responsibilities?

There is some law and order on the W3. A consortium called ICANN oversees the relationships between web hosts and site owners. You can access the agency’s rules and regs on-line to see what your “legal” options are when you encounter a problem with your web host. Any reliable hosting company is going to adhere to ICANN guidelines. Look for some kind of sign that a potential web host is ICANN-savvy.

Next, before you sign up for an expensive, long-term subscription for hosting services, read the TOS – the Terms of Service. And not just the big text, either. Before you sign up with any web host, read the entire TOS – even the finest of fine print. Know how a given host deals with deleted accounts and what steps the hosting company takes to provide access to databases and other critical information if your domain is deleted, and what steps it takes to rectify the problem if technically feasible. All of this will be laid out in the TOS. Read it very, very carefully.

However, if you’re reaching for a copy of your host’s TOS, chances are you already have a problem and you’re looking for the host’s contractually-binding responsibilities. So, even if you’ve been zapped contrary to ICANN guidelines or even the TOS of your web host, there’s not much you can do about it. It would cost much more to litigate and even then, getting payment is going to be difficult if not impossible. (And don’t think the unscrupulous web hosts don’t know this. They count on it!)

It all comes down to the way web hosts treat their clients and fulfill the legal requirements of a client subscription. Some web hosts operate out of a spare bedroom (or even a closet) and just don’t have the time to oversee simple, administrative chores like automatic domain renewal for their clients. If you’re working with an unreliable or uninvolved hosting company, you may get deleted, along with an auto-responder in your inbox.

On the other hand, working with an engaged web host – one that provides the tools you need to build a site to success – eliminates a lot of uncertainty and sleepless nights. It’s all about the quality of the hosting services you receive.

The quality of hosting

How do you know your site won’t be vaporized overnight without so much as a heads up from your hosting company? Fly-by-night web hosts disappear all of the time, taking with them their subscribers’ money and all of that hard work. It’s a fact, not all web hosts provide the same level of service, or the range of services, that better web hosts do. That’s why it pays to shop around.

As you’re comparison shopping look for signs of reliability. Does the host’s site look good? Is the text professionally written or is it just some kid working out of his dorm room hosting a few hundred clients on a shared server? It doesn’t take much to call yourself a web host. A small investment in server hardware, administration software and the ability to take credit card payments are about all you need to call yourself a web host company.

However, it takes much more to call yourself a good web host. Think of your web host as a silent but critical partner in your on-line endeavor because, in fact, that’s just what a web host is. Why? Because if you lose access to the world wide web, you lose access to your customers or clients and you aren’t making any sales during downtime. So you want reliability – even if it costs a few bucks more each year.

What are the “signs” of quality web hosting?

Does the host offer an automatic renewal service? If it does, it’s a sign that the host is involved in the success of its clients.

Does the site display any logos – the ICANN logo, the on-line Better Business Bureau or some other affiliation that instills confidence? Look. Ask.

Are the TOS clear, simple and straight up? It’s in the best interests of a quality hosting company that clients not have any misunderstandings before buying hosting services.

Does the host offer 24/7, US-based tech support? If your site has suddenly disappeared you want to talk to someone who can fix the problem – now!

You also want to look for a host that’s been around for a while. Now, this is no guarantee that your site won’t be deleted for some infraction (or for no reason at all). The nightmare scenario described above involved a huge domain registrar with a long-time, web presence.

Is the web host involved in the success of its clients? The good ones are because it’s easier to keep a client than find a new one so quality web hosts build their client bases by delivering quality services, near-perfect uptime, tools and applications required to build and launch a website and grow it to profitability. The more freebies a web host offers the better. That’s a great measurement of how the web host sees its responsibility in your partnership.

So, scour the blogs, read the reviews and visit each potential web host’s site for a thorough evaluation. Read the TOS agreement from top to bottom so you understand just what you’re getting and for how long. Finally, look for a web host that wants to partner with you for mutual success.

Websites will still disappear and the horror stories will continue to make the rounds on the web. But if you go with a hosting company that delivers, has a track record and a commitment to your site’s success, the likelihood that your site will be deleted are greatly diminished.

Your web host is your on-line partner. That's why it pays to shop around and not let cost be the only deciding factor. Looking for some web-based business security? Drop me a line. Let's get you hooked up to a web host that'll look out for YOUR business' best interests.

Webwordslinger.com

THE HEADLINE IS HALF THE JOB!

LOWER YOUR BOUNCE RATE 100% FREE!!

Hey, now that’s a headline that got your attention, didn’t it? You’re still reading so it did get your attention – and that’s what a good headline on your homepage does. It gets attention.

There are plenty of high-priced, Fortune 500 company sites that have ignored this basic marketing axiom – headlines grab attention. Don’t believe it? Okay, imagine the next issue if your favorite magazine arrives with no contents page, no headlines or subheads – just big globs of text and pictures without any captions. How long are you going to wade through all of that content to find the stuff you really want to read?

Same idea with your website. A grabber headline will lower your bounce rate because more visitors stick around, pulled in by a great headline.

Okay, what’s a great headline?

A good headline is one that keeps the visitor on site. So what are we talking about, here? What’s going to keep a visitor from bouncing?

Self-interest headlines identify the benefits of the product or service to the reader. The objective of these headlines is to be as specific as you can about the benefit(s). For example:

Double Your Portfolio Return Without Risk

Backache? Let Acme Pregnancy Pillows Make You Comfortable

Lose 30 Pounds in 60 Days: FREE Recipe Book

Notice that each headline defines specific benefits: double returns, get comfortable, lose weight easily. Self-interest headlines describe the key benefits of whatever it is you’re selling.

A note worth noting here: web users are NOT idiots. Headlines like:

EARN $5000 a DAY FROM HOME

DOUBLE YOUR MONEY IN 60 SECONDS

BUY RENTAL PROPERTY IN FRANCE:

EARN $10,000 A MONTH WITH NO MONEY DOWN

STAY YOUNG FOREVER WITH ACME ALGAE DRINK

(May not be legal in all states.)

You still see this ridiculous bombast all over the web. Look, all you site owners who are doing this. Web users are smart so treat them with respect and don’t insult their intelligence with this kind of hype. Self-interest headlines work but screw the top back on the hype jar. People aren’t idiots.

News Headlines present information without any sales spin, though spin is usually the point.

HERBENOUGH EARNS SEAL of APPROVAL

XZY ENERGY BRINGS OIL TO THE PIPELINE

DOCTORS AGREE ON GLAUCOMA TREATMENT

Now, the news headline should be void of any type of sales or promo. Think of it as a press release or newspaper headline. These headlines work well for NFPs, service organizations, pharmas, micro-cap companies (penny stocks) and other agencies projecting a non-commercial, online persona.

Even though these headlines should be void of sizzle, they should still draw the attention of the reader. Boring doesn’t sell. The sites that use this type of headline are usually sites that attract the needs-driven buyer – the guy facing foreclosure or the gal who just lost her health insurance. Needs-driven buyers want information. They don’t want (or need) a lot of sales hype. The sale is already made.

Intrigue Headlines appeal to the curiosity of the reader – evoking a need to learn more.

DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS?

IS THAT A UFO IN YOUR LOCKER?

WAIT’LL YOU GET A LOAD OF THIS!!!!

Hmm, do I have any of these symptoms? Hey, I better do something. These headlines tease the reader into digging in and reading the rest of the piece, which can include some sizzle, but please remember the hype quotient (HQ). Keep it to a minimum.

Designing the Perfect Headline

Check out that sub-head: perfect headline above. So, if you’re a site owner and you’ve read this far, you’re going to want to learn some tips for developing the “perfect headline.” Get it?

So, okay, the headline should fall into one of the three categories described above. The headline should be the largest design element above the fold on the homepage. Bigger than your business logo, company name, contact information – the perfect headline demands attention.

Turn the spotlight on the reader. Don’t talk about “me” and “my.” Who cares? Talk to “You.”

WOULD YOU LIKE TO EARN EXTRA INCOME?

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR WATER IS DOING TO YOU

YOUR FUTURE BEGINS TODAY WITH US

People are motivated to read content that applies to them. It may sound callous, but it’s the old “What’s in it for me?” mentality. So tell the reader what’s in it for her – in the homepage headline.

Avoid any kind of negativity. It’s okay to say “We’re the best.” That’s positive. It’s not okay to say “Our competition stinks.” Way too negative so keep the focus on your positives, not the competition’s negatives.

Tests indicate that long headlines, as long as no scrolling is involved, work as well as short headlines. So, go for it:

EARN MORE MONEY THAN YOU EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE

WITH ABSOLUTELY NO RISK TO YOU

AND NO COST TO YOU

A BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY THAT HAS UNLIMITED UPSIDE

WITH VIRTUALLY NO DOWNSIDE WHATSOEVER

You get the idea. Visitors will read the long headline as long as it continues to point out benefits to the reader. So go short or go long. Just keep it focused on the reader.

Avoid headlines designed to show just how clever or witty you are. Again, the site headline is designed for one purpose – to grab and hold the visitor’s attention, not to “wow” the visitor with your rapier wit.

Don’t use industry insider jargon, either. You can’t be sure who will be reading the headline and if it’s a clerk in ‘Purchasing’ he may not understand the headline.

Finally, test different headlines to determine which is stickiest. You might think it’s the greatest headline ever written but if it isn’t pulling, move on and try something else that focuses on the benefits of the product or service to the reader.

NEED SOME HELP GETTING YOUR SITE COPY JUST RIGHT? YEAH, YOU BETTER. DROP ME A LINE. LET'S GET STARTED BUILDING YOUR WEB BUSINESS.

Webwordslinger.com

Keep Ém On Site Longer: 10 Tips

10 Tips To Lower Your Bounce Rate

A site’s bounce rate is a measurement of the number of visitors who stopped by the site but immediately clicked off to another site, aka, bounced. There are lots of reasons web users boing from one site to another, which means there are lots of things you can do to lower your bounce rate and keep visitors on site long enough to convert.

Here are ten tips to help you take the spring out of your web site.

1. Don’t assume the visitor lands on the home page. A visitor can enter from a number of access points. For instance, by conducting a search for a A324 converter, the visitor might land on the product page for said converter. (There’s no such thing, btw.)

This means that many different pages may be the doorway to your site so treat each page as a home page. Read on for design suggestions from your web host.

2. Keep critical information above the fold. Above the fold is an old newspaper term that described the newspaper’s front page “above the fold.” This is where the most important (or sensational) news is placed in newspapers today.

In website terms, above the fold is everything seen by the visitor without the visitor having to scroll – prime site space. Your most important information should appear here. A recent study on how different groups of people use the web showed that the 50 and older crowd don’t scroll as much as their web-wise grandkids so if you want it read, keep it above the fold.

3. Web users scan your site pages from upper left to lower right. So, what visitors first see in the upper left corner of their browsers will often determine if they stay or boing, boing, boing.

4. Create compelling headlines. “Who else wants to make a million dollars before bedtime” and other web clichés do not compel visitors to stick around to read your long-form, Dan Kennedy template sales letter. Headlines create interest among human readers and search engine spiders who recognize headlines as important text. So make your point in and add keywords to headlines.

5. Layout your home page in a three column format. Using three columns, you can create three headlines above the fold. If two headlines don’t capture the attention of the visitor, maybe the third one will.

Again, also useful in optimizing your site so make sure to build keywords into your headlines to keep everything in sync and max the utility of both the site text and your top tier keywords.

6. A picture IS worth a thousand words. A visual image (not just text) above the fold naturally draws the eye and attention of visitors so a small image or an image banner is helpful in breaking up blocks of text, and starts off the visitor slowly. A walloping pile of text, no matter how compelling, isn’t going to appeal to those “on-the-fence” visitors looking for a specific service, product, message or arcania.

A couple of points. First, if you’re using a photo, make it a photo worth seeing – a photo that instantly delivers your site’s message. Google “pre-fab homes.” You won’t see innocuous clip art. You see beauty shots of the prefab on a snowy evening with a warm fire going in the fireplace. So don’t waste pixels. Maximize every one.

Charts and graphs are a terrific way to transmit a lot of information in the blink of an eye. You can write pages of text testifying that your stock picking formula is the best, or you can create a chart showing your online portfolio delivering gains of 150% a year. A chart showing rising value (whatever the product or service) makes a strong statement very quickly.

Charts and graphs are also useful in making complex information more accessible to the reader. Your typical visitor won’t read through pages and pages of company financial statements but s/he will make a buying decision based on proof in image form.

7. Make navigation simple enough for a well-trained chimp. If the visitor is confused, even for a moment, you’ll see a bounce. Life is too short to “figure out” how this works. We’ve grown extremely impatient in the digital age and if it even LOOKS hard, boing.

Keep your navigation bar in the same place throughout the site and provide the option to return to the home page from every page of the site. A visitor may get lost and want to start over, learn more or use the links on the homepage to further explore the site.

8. Appeal to the drives of your ideal buyer. Needs-driven buyers have already determined that they’ll make a purchase and pay a lot if the purchase meets their needs. For example, there are a million books for sale on the web telling you how to avoid foreclosure “even if the sheriff is knocking on the door!!!!”

Okay, now that’s a needs-driven buyer. Facing foreclosure. Sherriff at the door – that site visitor will pay $99 for an e-book download if s/he believes the product provides (or is) the answer to his or her foreclosure problems. That’s a needs-driven buyer – a prospect who needs what you market – products or services. These buyers are less concerned about how cool and stylish your site is, how many interactive features it has and so on. These people are looking for solutions and benefits.

Other on-line shoppers are more casual in their buying habits. For example, many browse the web to comparison shop for prices and then run off to the big box store to make the actual purchase. Or, they just may bounce to a competitor site to make their online purchase. It’s a very fickle marketplace. But…

… if something catches the eye and addresses the drives of your demographic bulls-eye, your bounce rate decreases quickly. This means:

• Know your target demographic. Describe your perfect buyer.

• Know your products – inside and out.

• Know the motivations of your ideal buyer – need, the desire for prestige, acceptance, to be part of something larger (to belong) – what motivates your buyer? Example? A site selling acne cures should appeal to the consumer’s natural drive to improve his or her appearance in order to better “fit in.” The human desire to belong and to be accepted is what fuels the cosmetics industry, the fashion industry and other “personal signature” industries.

So, the owner of the acne cure site can create three distinct headlines that address the drives of buyers of skin care products and place them above the fold: (1) Look Better The Natural Way, (2) Why Dermagel Really Works and (3) Stop Covering Up – three headlines aimed with laser precision at a site selling acne cures and other sensitive skin care products.

9. Real information. Not sales hype. If site visitors discover useful information that will directly benefit them on each search engine accessible page of your site, they’re much more likely to stick around and learn a little something.

Sure, if you’re operating on razor-thin margins and “Low Cost” is your prime selling point (WE BEAT ANY PRICE ON THE WEB) then that needs prominent, “can’t-be-missed” display on the home page – somewhere. But to lower your bounce rate, add a little informational content or a big link to your site’s information bank, blog or archives. There’s plenty of opportunity to make a sale once the visitor has begun to explore your site for additional, useful information.

10. Don’t follow the herd. 6,000 new websites hit the W3 each and every day. There are over one billion active websites worldwide. And if your online sporting goods warehouse site looks like every other sporting goods warehouse site you’ll continue to see a higher than acceptable bounce rate. You’ll never get your bounce rate to zero. All you can hope for is to lower it.

One last humbling fact: the average web user decides whether to stay on a site or move on in less than six seconds. Six seconds!!! That’s how long you have to compel the visitor to stay on your site before bouncing off to some other site.

Six seconds. How can your site grab attention in just six seconds? That’s the challenge we all face as site owners.

If your site visitors are bouncing like ping-pong balls, give me a call and let's find away to keep them on site long enough to close the sale.

Webwordslinger.com

Data Miration Requires Careful Planning

Website Migration:

Movin' On

Unless you’re a fully-registered chiphead, chances are you don’t have a clue about moving your site from one web host to another. So, despite shoddy service, unacceptable downtimes and the fact that you’ve been hacked twice, you stay with your current web host. Why?

Because the prospect of site migration has all the appeal of a root canal. So many things can go wrong. It’s going to hurt. You’ll get stressed out. You’ve heard the horror stories (web myths) of sites simply disappearing from Google SERPs, or disappearing altogether, floating somewhere out in the ether.

Well, migrating an active, fully-functioning, income producing business from one web host to another is a serious step and yes, there can be “problems.” Compatibility issues, connectivity issues, even editorial issues. Some web hosting companies refuse to take business from the “adult entertainment” industry, for example. So yes, there are concerns about migrating a site and yes, you should be concerned.

Dissecting a Website

If you’ve been up and running for a while, and you sit down each morning and log on to your administrator’s console, you may have lost sight of the fact that a commercial website is actually a collection of different “modules” designed to work in sync.

So, you have a database. MySQL perhaps? That’s one component. You have a shopping cart and secure checkout like osCommerce. That’s another component. You maintain an active blog. Yet another component. And syncing up all of these modules, so sales are automatically recorded in the database, for example, has been a generational process. No doubt, you’ve added features, changed the look and maintained other iterations of your current site, but it all happened gradually – over a period of months and even years.

To migrate your site successfully, you want three things:

- seamless transitioning from one web host server to another

- complete and accurate functionality

- a strategy

A Seamless Transition

The objective is a seamless transition from one web host server to your new host’s server. It should happen in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, if you haven’t checked for software and services compatibility, your site may be down for a day or two. Maybe a week or two while you switch over to software compatible with your new host.

If this is your business, any down time is wasted time. Okay, if you’re down for a day, no biggie, right?

But if your site is off the radar for a couple of weeks you’re going to lose sales, future sales and, if you happen to get spidered while your site is down, you’re likely to get slammed by search engines. In one case a page 1 Google link dropped to page 32 of the search engine’s results pages because it was down for two days so a seamless transition isn’t a luxury. It’s a must have.

Complete and Accurate Functionality

In developing your migration strategy, provide time for complete testing of your site on the new server. Glitches may be found that require some adjustment to the underlying HTML code, or the presentation layer. You want to discover all of these problems before you launch through your new web host.

A Strategy

To ensure the seamless, fully-functional site you have now remains fully-functional and looking good, use the resources of the web host. What, the host doesn’t offer assistance with site migration? Then, this is not the web host you want. The better web hosting companies will not only help you develop your migration strategy, they’ll actually help you affect the migration when you’re ready to throw the switch.

A Couple of Obvious But Critical Points

• Always consult with client services at your new web host. Be prepared to describe the components currently in place.

• Back up your entire site six ways from Sunday.

• The data in your database will have to be moved. Back up this data separately.

• Keep your current site active during this planning stage.

• Recreate your site on the new host server and test for everything from browser compatibility to server access though the new administrator’s dashboard. Stress test the new site.

• Once you’ve determined that all systems are go with your new provider, throw the switch. Take your original site off-line as you bring your new site online.

Work with the professionals at your new web hosting company to ensure that all data is transferred and properly secured at the server level, and to ensure that the migration of even the busiest commercial site is seamless, delivers 100% functionality right out of the gate and that all potential migration problems have been identified and mitigated before the launch of the new site.

Quality hosting is based on the premise that if your online business is successful, the web hosting compnay will become successful as its ever-expanding client base remains on line and profitable. So, these web hosts WANT to help you be successful.

Sure, site migration is fraught with potential dangers if handled in a slipshod fashion. But, if you work with the techs at your new host – experts who should be more than happy to provide all the hand holding and technical assistance required to enable that seamless transition – it can be virtually painless.

Consider the service you receive now from your provider. If it doesn’t exceed expectations, don’t let site migration web lore put you off. Working with client support, you should expect and receive that seamless, fully-functional migration and never miss a beat with customers or search engines.

Just starting out? Looking to change hosting services? NP. Drop me a line and let's do this the smart way.

Webwordslinger.com

Seven Tips For Selling To The Rich

Seven Tips to Reach the Rich:

Marketing to the Luxury Consumer

There was a time when the world wide web was NOT the place to sell $100,000 diamonds or fine works of art. It was a place to shop for books, a few music downloads and maybe buy some electronics gear. The luxury consumers, the ones with the resources to buy at Tiffany’s without so much as a second thought, weren’t going to buy their diamond tennis bracelets at higgenbottomsjewelrywarehouse.com where the motto is: “If we don’t say ‘howdy’ your purchase is free.” That type of hometown marketing doesn’t work with those for whom money is no object.

And isn’t that the perfect customer? For all of us?

The Nouveau Nouveau Riche

There’s a new species of luxury buyer. This isn’t old Harvard or Yale money. This is wealth created by the class nerd who developed a software company that he sold for $500 million when he was 25 years old! (Who’s laughing now?) This new demographic is usually a professional, well-educated, two incomes, money in the bank and discretionary income at his or her disposal.

Reaching this market segment requires an understanding of the motives that drive these individuals to purchase – especially to purchase on line. From you.

Prestige and Indulgence

These deep pockets buyers are usually driven by the fashionistas – the media segment that tells us what’s hot (just ask Paris) and what’s not. They’re shopping, not just for a winter coat, but a signature statement – a statement that’s made by wearing designer clothes, for example.

You can buy a warm winter coat at LL Beans for less than $100 but where’s the prestige in that? Instead, this market segment looks for the designer label. The coat won’t keep them any warmer but it does exude prestige and indulgence – because of that designer label.

To reach this market segment, brands must be created and presented in a luxurious manner. Brand names count, whether it’s clothes, appliances or automobiles (especially automobiles).

It’s Not About the Money – Most of the Time

Most of us look for sales, squirrel away money in our IRAs and worry whenever the stock market hiccups. Not so with those who enjoy true financial freedom. When you’ve got millions, a market blip isn’t worth fretting over. So, the natural appeal to site owners to emphasize low prices – a natural selling point for the run-of-the-mill consumer (me) – doesn’t carry any weight with the luxury buyer. In fact, it works against the sale.

There’s a promotion concept called ‘velvet rope marketing’ – marketing designed to appeal especially to the well-to-do. We all recognize the turquoise Tiffany’s box and there’s no such thing as an entry level Jaguar. They’re all pricey.

However, today’s luxury, online buyer is just as likely to visit the Target website as the Tiffany site. It makes sense. These buyers may still look for sales on name-brand cookware at Target because cookware doesn’t have as much power to make a strong, personal statement as a $1,000 Gucci hand bag.

So how do you create a site that appeals to this new breed of online buyer? Here are some suggestions.

How To Convert the Luxury Consumer

1. Perception is reality to this demographic. Consider the coat example above. The LL Bean coat is made well and will last forever. However, the perception is that LL Bean sells to the masses, which they do. And I love my Bean parka.

Create the perception of elegance with a well designed home page and stylish product pages. Create a site free of AdWords and affiliate links. That is NOT what velvet rope marketing is about. Instead, think elegance, distinction and pampering.

2. Speak the language of the buyer. In this case, your buyers know fashion, they know prestige and they recognize the importance of making an independent statement. So, despite the fact that many of these buyers will only purchase brand names, they’ll mix and match brands to create their own, unique signature look. So, no men’s suit buyer is going to go 100% Hugo Boss or Ralph Lauren. That would indicate that the buyer is a slave to fashion.

3. So, build a site that let’s the luxury consumer mix and match from different product pages to see how the whole ensemble works. It’s these kinds of useful, upscale features the new, luxury consumer appreciates. It shows you understand them, their needs and drives and your site is designed to accommodate those needs and drives.

4. Offer special services. Buying services, for example, indicate a velvet rope level of customer care. Buyers provide birthdays and other important dates, provide the gift recipient’s profile, likes and dislikes and you take care of the rest. You, or your professional buyer, picks out the item, elegantly gift wraps it and makes sure it’s delivered on time to the right person.

This ‘concierge’ service can extend in other directions. Using a customer’s previous buying history, you can make gift suggestions for certain people for whom the buyer has previously purchased. Subtle but very effective.

5. Provide a toll-free number and make sure your customer service staff is well rehearsed with complete scripts to manage any contingency. Your phone staff should be courteous, alert and – this may hurt a little – they should also be given the training and authority to make decisions.

The upscale customer doesn’t want to hassle while the client care rep gets approval from a supervisor (who may or may not be available at the moment). This affluent buyer wants answers and resolutions to his or her problems. A well-trained and trusted staff can deliver this level of service routinely. (BTW, client care reps should be U.S.-based and available 24/7.)

6. Hit the mark every time. Track orders, ensure prompt shipment, include an easy ‘return kit,’ including pre-printed return label so all the buyer has to do is affix the return label to the shipping box over the mailing label. Simple and that’s what affluent buyers are looking for.

7. Provide lots of site space for product images. Clothes should be photographed using a model so the buyer can see the outfit or piece of clothing on a human, not floating in front of negative space. Don’t skimp on product pictures. They should be properly lit and shot, which means if you don’t know one end of a fill light from another, hire a pro to snap product pictures for upload.

This is a newly-defined demographic – one driven by the media with TV shows about Hollywood glam and glitz and who’s showing in NYC this week.

Know your brands. Know the motivations of this status-conscious buyer, provide the personalized service these buyers expect in the brick-and-mortar shops they frequent (too bad you can’t offer them a latte while they try on the latest from Europe) and create a site that has the look and feel of fashion chic and online professionalism.

Remember, it is absolutely NOT about the money so play down cost and play up style, distinctiveness and the message broadcast to the rest of the world by the products you sell.

I have arrived.

Having touble hitting your demongraphic sweet spot? Drop me a line and let's target your marketing with laser precision.

Webwordslinger.com