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. Need some suggestions on keeping visitors on site longer? Drop me a line or give me a call and let's see why they're bouncing.

Webwordslinger.com

Build a Boutique Ad Agency In The Spare Room

Meet New Clients Over Lunch Instead Of At "The Office"

A boutique advertising agency is small but nimble, offering a variety of services to an array of clients, each of whom wants something different. To become a successful service provider, working out of a spare room over the garage, takes hard work, innovative, on-going promotion and quality word of mouth (WOM).

So, if you’re thinking of building a boutique agency, here are some tips to get you off on the right foot. (Oh, and these service providers earn a nice living. At least the good ones do.)

1. Think locally. Act Globally. Farm the local business community first for clients. Every small business has a web site. Every one of them advertises somehow.

But don't limit yourself to the locals. Build an attractive website that will be seen by the world. You’ll be amazed that folks from Malaysia call and want some consultation on introducing a new product to the U.S. market and could you advise them.

Sure, why not?

2. Track local media. I don’t want to get hung up on localization, but a boutique ad agency has a built-in trust factor with local businesses so that neighborly trust enables you to skip the trust-building phase and get down to business because both you and the client know “ol’ Sam.”

3. Optimize your web site for both global and local search. Add your town, state and zip code to “advertising agency Trotwood Ohio.” More and more search engine users are savvy to local search and prefer to work with someone close by.

4. Provide a menu of service offerings. Most clients don’t want to go from here to there. They want a project manager who can take care of the editorial development, the graphic design, the upcoming company picnic. The more services you provide, the more services you sell.

Consider the following:

• search engine optimization

• content development including blogging and optimized site text

• site design

• print ad design

• graphic arts

• multi-media including DVD products

• event planning

• on- and off-site marketing

You get the idea. It doesn’t take a lot of time and it doesn’t cost a dime to call the local Ramada to get a conference room rate for your event planning file or a rate card from the local press. Valuable information that you can collect during “down” time.

5. Join the Chamber of Commerce. Total no-brainer. Once a month the CoC gets together for a networking lunch. Bring business cards and strike up friendships. Don’t sell. That happens organically as more and more members know who you are and what you do.

6. Join the Better Business Bureau. A trust builder. And it goes without saying, keep your record spotless. People do check with the local BBB and if you have a couple of outstanding complaints, you ain't gonna land the gig.

7. Advertise your own services, as in. follow your own advice. You should have a small print ad running daily or weekly in the local newspaper. First, you want that name recognition and second, buying ad space in bulk saves you beaucoups bucks.

8. Plan meetings to take place in public places. The last thing you want is your deep-pockets client tripping over a sippy cup on the way to your spare room office. Talk about amateur night, even if you are the best there ever was.

Find the right location for client meetings (their offices) or a local eatery and always pick up the tab.

9. Build authority and expertise. Enter industry competitions and tout your wins and quietly forget your failures. “Gold Medal Winner, National Design Show” listed on the stationery builds credibility. And of course, such an award is worthy of a press release to the local paper. Get that free ink.

10. Perception is reality. High-end stationery, a professionally designed web site, a pricy suit – all say success and that you “get it.” Create a professional persona and you are a professional.

Need more advice on growing a web-based biz? Stop by SEO Juiced often for tips and advice or drop me a line and let's talk about your dreams.

Webwordslinger.com

Recovering Lost Data or SEO Stuff That Makes You Cry

When Your Hard Drive Melts, There's Only One Thing To Do

You have a lot of data stored on your hard drive – everything from a master’s thesis to critical business documents to a note to Aunt Helen. And like most of us, you just take it for granted that when you turn your system on tomorrow morning, all of that data will still be there on the hard drive.

Problem is, hard drives are dynamic storage devices, they have moving parts and they’re used day in and day out. And after a while, they fail. Now, sometimes you’re lucky and your system starts giving you signals that not all things are right. It locks up, you have to reboot three times, some of the programs no longer function – all symptoms that something’s wrong.

Recognizing these problems, you start backing up everything of value stored on the dying system’s hard drive. Sometimes you get it all (or at least everything you need) sometimes not. Data loss is a common phenomenon but, in many cases, the data hasn’t vaporized. The computer just can’t find it.

Hard Drive Partitions

A hard drive, while one mechanical device, can be configured or partitioned. A partition is simply a segment of the hard drive disk that acts independently from the rest of the disk. Partitions are used to apply one operating system for partition A and a different OS for partition B. Or, in networking situations, a single hard drive can be partitioned so that each network user has a distinct piece of the pie.

Some computer users partition their hard drives for personal and professional activities. In any case, even though your data seems to have disappeared, it may simply be misplaced on another section of the hard drive, so that the hard drive can’t find it. It’s there. It’s just in the wrong place.

Storage File Systems

In simple terms, a file is used by an operating system (Windows XP, for example) to organize data in one (or two, three, four….) places, while identifying available hard drive space for additional storage in other places. This, naturally avoids accidentally overwriting stored data, among other things, and it’s done automatically.

Each time the operating system creates a new file (of data or available storage) it creates a partition – disk space that can be accessed by the file system as different drives, i.e. the C: drive, D:, E:, F: drives right on down the line. Physically, it’s just one hard drive but, with the partitions, it appears to the user to be several, even many, different hard drives.

NTFS & FAT

It stands for NT File System. FAT stands for File Allocation Table. Both are used by Microsoft operating systems with NTFS being deployed in Microsoft OS NT, 2000 and XP. NTFS automatically stores backup copies of critical disk information to help recover data that’s been lost.

Let’s focus on NTFS since it’s in most widespread use. NTFS employs something called a master boot record (MBR) and a table of all hard drive partitions. The MBR and partition table are located in the first sector of the hard drive.

This is the critical part. The partition table and Master Boot record control which partitions, if any, can still be accessed, i.e. can still be booted. If the partition table and/or MBR are corrupted, the hard drive won’t show any stored data. It will look blank. However, your data is still there.

The Recovery of Critical Data

The single-most important thing you can do when you’ve lost data is simple. Do nothing! Don’t try to write something to the hard drive. Don’t reinstall the operating system. Don’t try to restore deleted files from the recycling bin. Any one of these steps is going to make a bad situation worse. So, when you lose data – touch nothing.

Why? Because hard drives don’t actually delete anything, even after you’ve deleted the file. The file is still there. It’s just labeled as useable storage space and used when needed. The same thing is true of hard drive partitions. If you accidentally erase a partition, no data can be accessed. The OS won’t recognize that there’s data stored on that partition or disk segment.

So, if you start trying to fix your system without knowing what you’re doing, you may inadvertently overwrite the very critical data , or its partition, you’re trying to retrieve. So, slowly back away from the keyboard and don’t try to fix anything.

If You Know What You’re Doing

If possible, transfer the drive to another computer using the same file system as the system from which the damaged hard drive was removed. This should enable you to at least boot the computer since the OS is functioning. Once the system is up and running, you’ll have an idea of what data is still available and what data is gone for good.

To do this, open Windows Explorer to see what you have on your C:, D:, E: etc. drives. If you’re lucky, you may be able to retrieve your critical data through Windows Explorer, simply by moving those important files to a new location that has not been damaged or corrupted, or moving those files to a different storage device altogether.

If OS files have been damaged, you won’t be able to access the data because Windows won’t boot up without those missing operating files. However, you can try using a different operating system to see if data access is possible.

File Recovery Programs

There are several file recovery programs that equip you to boot the damaged system with a different operating system. Again, some of these software tools will actually enable you to access Windows Explorer and allow you to save your data to an outboard storage device like a zip drive or outboard hard drive. If you can do this, do it and be glad you got back what you once thought was lost.

Some recommended file recovery systems include Winternals Disk Commander and ERD Commander. However, it’s important to note that these tools will boot your system to DOS level. They won’t open Windows. However, they will provide screen-driven directions to help you recover your data. Please note that these recommended software tools, and other data recovery tools, are pretty expensive because the manufacturers know just how desperate you are to recover that lost data so be prepared to spend a few bucks.

FINDNTFS

FindNTFS is freeware that’s capable of finding lost data and copying files that have been misplaced or lost altogether. However, it may be free but if you don’t know what a directory is or how to recover txt files, even if it’s free don’t try to fix the problem yourself.

If You’re Like Most Of Us

First decide how critical the data is. If you just lost the great American novel on a fried hard drive, it’s very critical data. On the other hand, if you lost your list of addresses for the community club, you can probably find another copy on someone else’s system.

If you determine that the data is irreplaceable but you aren’t familiar with directories, partitions, FAT, NTFS, DOS or even what a hard drive looks like, don’t try to fix the problem yourself. There are three ways to go.

First, look through the local newspaper under service providers. You’ll probably find a couple of geeks with ads for in-home computer service. (Don’t be surprised if they’re high school kids, who generally know more about this stuff than the older crowd.) When talking to these whiz kids, make sure you explain the problem in detail and get the assurances you need that the data can and will be recovered. Ask the service provider how s/he intends to recover your information. You may not understand the answer completely, but you’ll get a sense of just what this computer expert can do for you.

The second alternative is to pack up the box (the computer with the hard drive inside) and bring it to your local computer repair store. Again, explain in detail just what you’re looking for – lost data retrieval. If the techie doesn’t imbue you with confidence, move on to alternative three.

There are companies that do nothing but retrieve lost data. They’re very pricey (again, they know just how desperate you are) but you’ve got the best chance of recovering that critical data by putting your problem into the hands of a professional who does data recovery everyday.

One final thought: consider the purchase of an external hard drive that backs up everything in tandem with the hard drive inside your computer box. You can purchase one of these safety nets for less than $150 and, in the event of catastrophic failure, you’ve got all of your data backed up on a completely separate hard drive.

Losing critical data is not only frustrating, it can cost you a bundle unless you know your way around a hard drive, partitions and all. If you don’t know what you’re doing, do nothing. Even if you do know what you’re doing, don’t touch anything. Once the damage has occurred the best thing you can do is leave it alone.

Leave it to a professional if the information is that important because if you try to tinker your way to the recovery of critical information, the chances of you actually recovering the lost information diminish.

And in that case, you’re just plain out of luck.

Lost something? Need something? Drop me a line or give me a call. Love to chat.

How Much Are You Worth? Pricing Services

REMEMBER: Clients pay you for what you know, not just what you do!

Pricing your services, whether as a web writer, site builder, virtual assistant or some other web-based biz has always been tough. You need to pay your bills but the competition is fieresome - especially when your bidding against overseas outsourcers willing to build a fully functioning (?) web site for $500.

So how do you pirce your services to compete against the low-ballers - the college kids willing to work for jukebox money, the work-at-home parents looking to pick up a few extra bucks each month and the company in Bnagalore that cranks out press releases like sausage.

It's important that all service providers remember two things: (1) clients pay you for what you know and (2) they pay you to deliver the goods on time and above spec. Always over-deliver. It builds a stable client base.

Recognizing the value of and building a long list of dedicated, happy clients is the goal of any web site designer, SEO, copywriter, graphic artist or any other creative type working in the digital matrix. That’s the objective.

And that means talking to potential clients – a lot. Now, if the rent is due tomorrow and you don’t have the proverbial “two nickels to rub together” you don’t have much choice in whether to take a low-paying job from a site owner who “found your name on Elance” or some other site but doesn’t want to pay the $10 fee to post a project on Elance.

Man, if the person you’re talking to doesn’t want to pay the $10 fee, how hard is it going to be to get paid when the project is finished?

I’m a nice guy, but…

…at least once a week, I get a call from a prospect who has a lot of questions. How do I do this? Who would you recommend for that and on and on. Now, I’m a nice guy and I usually end up giving away the information the caller asks for in the hopes that it will lead to some paying work down the line.

I want to show the prospect that I know what I’m doing and know how to speak webspeak, but once I get rolling, I’ve given away so much SEO, SEM and site design info the caller either (1) has the answers to the questions s/he had and therefore doesn’t need my expensive writing and SEO services or (2) after taking careful notes during our hour-long conversation, the caller can hand those notes to a much less expensive site designer, SEO, copywriter or other service provider and implement my plan.

The result? After I hang up with these callers I kick myself around the office for 20 minutes, pound my forehead against a (not-too-hard) wall and howl like some crazed, rabid wolf. Oops, I did it again.

So, how do I discreetly tell the prospective client…

…that it ain’t free? That’s a tough one. You want to demonstrate that you know your stuff but you don’t want to educate a potential client out of possible future work. You also don’t want to sound like some spoiled brat, “I know something you don’t know.”

The fact is most clients don’t know what they don’t know. And you have that information. It’s important to make a distinction, here. Yes, you’re paid for your time (though not as much as you think you’re worth) but you’re also paid for what you know.

Went to see my doctor the other day. I spoke to her for less than five minutes on a quick check-up of a procedure done a few weeks earlier. She poked my “owie” with a pencil a couple of times, looked at it with a magnifying glass, pronounced me healthy and escorted me to the door.

Now don’t get me wrong. My doctor (Hi, Jennifer) is the tops. Absolute best. But a couple of weeks later, after my insurance company got through processing my claim, I owed Jennifer and her practice $79.87 – and that was after my insurance company paid it’s itty-bitty bit.

Did I complain? (Well, yes a little, but not because of Jennifer’s bill.) I’m not paying for the office visit (under five minutes) or the pencil poking. I’m paying this professional for what she knows. Four years of college. Four years of med school. A one-year internship and two-year residency. In that time, somewhere, my doctor learned how to poke my boo-boo with a Venus Velvet #2 pencil and give me a clean bill of health.

My attorney charges $400 an hour. It costs me $40 just to wish him a happy holiday. And if I have a legal question, forget about it. I’m paying $40 every six minutes Todd and I speak.

Is it the time I spend with these professionals? Marginally. I mean six minutes out of the work day should be worth something. But the fact is, I’m paying for knowledge not time. This ain’t no Mickey D’s. Clients pay me because I can save them time and even more money. They pay me for what I know.

So, what do I say to the caller with a lot of questions…

…and won’t let me off the phone?

Be polite. Again, most of these callers don’t know the value of the information you provide. Most don’t know you have a $1,000 consulting fee. Most don’t know the difference between an SEO and an SAT, so patience is a virtue when contacted by someone unfamiliar with the world of commercial search engine marketing.

Provide answers but don’t give away the farm. It may seem so simple to you, but to an outsider it’s all geek speak.

Let the caller know you have the answers and the expertise to fulfill his or her needs but don’t give it ALL away. This is your living we’re talking about, and wasn’t there something about a rent check due?

At some point – after you’ve demonstrated that you’re a nice, knowledgeable professional – the questions have to stop and the caller goes on the clock at your consulting rate. It may feel funny but your insider information is your product and you have the right (no, the responsibility) to sell it.

Simply tell the caller that this is your livelihood and that your consultation rate is X number of dollars an hour and you’d like the opportunity to help because you really can solve the client’s problem(s).

Some cold clients will view this as a money grab, and chances are, these tightwads will go elsewhere for more free information. Bye-bye. Ta-ta. So long. But most people (new site owners or soon-to-be site owners) understand the value you, as a site designer, copywriter, SEO or some other digital savant, bring to the equation.

Oh sure, there are other site designers or wordsmiths who will do it for less. A site owner can outsource copywriting by the pound (as little as a dollar a page) but the copy reads like it was written by the Kwiki Mart’s Apu or Gregor from Romania. And you can find a site designer who can build you a site, launch it and hope for the best but, for all you know, your site designer is two pages ahead of you in reading Websites for Dummies.

Honesty is the best policy…

…when dealing with new clients. Lay it all out for them – the steps in putting together a web site. Ask questions. Do they have a secure checkout? How about an insecure checkout? (Just kidding.) Most clients call site designers, copywriters and other professionals with an idea. That’s it, just an idea.

Or, occasionally you’ll encounter the client who’s got 1,000 pages of text on liquid fertilizer stored on his hard drive that he wants you to turn into a website. Wait, did you just hear an alarm bell go off?

Don’t wing it. Develop a rate card or some kind of standard pricing. You can gradually increase your rates as you develop a larger client base of happy customers, but when someone calls, about the only thing they really want to know is “How much?”

And you want to give them an answer – and not one off the top of your head. Offer an hourly fee, a per page fee or a flat-rate based on your knowledge of how long it takes to accomplish a particular task.

Don’t under-value your knowledge. If it takes you five minutes and you earn $500, good for you – especially if the information you provide prevents the client from making a $10,000 misstep.

Once you’ve established the price for services to be rendered, it is perfectly acceptable to ask for an advance. 50% of the total project price is standard with the rest due upon completion of the project to the client’s complete satisfaction. Never start a project without receiving at least partial payment upfront. Without it, the client has no stake in the work and can simply stop taking your calls.

On the other hand, with the client who’s got $5,000 out there as a down payment to build a web site, your calls will go through. And that’s the way you want it.

Love to hear from you. Stop by webwordslinger.com to see what copywriting, SEO and on-line marketing services I can provide to grow that web-biz of yours.

Later,

editor@webwordslinger.com

Solid Gold Data: Mining Metrics

Keepin' An Eye On the Competition.

Data mining is the practice of collecting and storing information in humongous data bases. The information is gathered from opt ins, on-line surveys, forms and other “voluntary” means of collecting information, usually from customers and buyers and about customers and buyers.

Who uses data mining? Retail outlets, insurance companies, banks, airlines and other industries that not only collect data, but derive benefit from analyzing that data in a scientific, systematic manner to improve service and profit margins. And if it works for the big guys, it’ll work for you (only on a slightly smaller scale).

What are we looking for?

Using data mining technology, industries are looking for trends before they become trends. Relationships between customer A and widget B. Patterns of activity, unusual events – the list is endless and growing all the time.

The fact is, billions and billions of pages are stored on computers and billions of those billions of pages are available through any search engine. And while this information can help your on-line activities in a general way, data mining your own historical repository of data will reveal useful information about activities closer to home – yours!

If you’ve been in business on-line for any length of time, even a couple of years, you’re sitting on solid gold marketing data. Your database of customers and what they bought, where they live and how they pay. And you can use an analysis of this information to improve the performance of your web site.

How can it help me?

Probably the most useful way data mining will help small- to mid-sized site owners is by defining the target demographic – the characteristics of most buyers. Men or women? Age? Zip code? Income bracket? Using data harvesting and analytic software, you’ll quickly be able to develop a picture of that perfect buyer – the one who buys the most, most often.

This information equips you to develop marketing campaigns targeted specifically at your key demographic. If you’re selling knitting supplies, using a Harley-Davidson as the centerpiece of your e-mail campaign probably won’t pull as much as a nice picture of a kitten playing with a ball of yarn. Data harvesting enables site owners (and huge media and retail conglomerates) to target their marketing with pinpoint precision. (You don’t think those Gap ads were created by accident, do you?)

Interactive Marketing

Of most importance to on-line business owners, interactive marketing appeals to visitors to your web site. What can visitors do? Where can they go? What can they learn? And see?

By analyzing harvested data, you can track the movements of site visitors to determine which features draw attention and which are just taking up space. “Google Analytics” will even perform the analysis for you, indicating in GUI form which site pages attract attention and which are quickly passed over.

For on-line retailers, this kind of analysis defines your most valuable digital real estate and, obviously, this is where you’d place your most popular or profitable products, announcements of upcoming sales and other “targeted” information.

Is it working?

It would be nice to know if your Adsense program was pulling better than your banners placed on a dozen different sites. Data harvesting will give you the answer quickly once you establish a baseline.

The baseline is what’s happening now – the status quo. With an established baseline, you have a yardstick by which to measure whether your PPC program should get more dollars while your click-through rate on banners isn’t worth the money you’re spending.

Is it bogus?

Large, on-line (and real world) retailers use data harvesting to better detect fraudulent activity. For example, MasterCard will quickly contact cardholders in whose accounts unusual activity has occurred. For example, using data harvesting, the credit card company knows you’ve never made a purchase of anything in Taiwan. Then, in a matter of two hours, 23 transactions from Taiwan all show up on your card. Now that’s called an anomaly – something out of the ordinary.

The MasterCard program continues with follow through. The cardholder of the account in question is likely to get a call from a MasterCard representative to see if, indeed, you did purchase 23 racing bikes in Taiwan within the past 24 hours. If not, they can often void the transaction before it actually takes place.

Will it make my customers happier?

Much. You’ll be ahead of the curve on spotting trends so you’ll have the latest when visitors come to shop. You’ll be able to better predict seasonal buying patterns for your particular goods or services. You’ll be able to improve warehousing, order handling, inventory management and more – even if the inventory is stored in a spare bedroom.

Where do I get this wonderful tool?

You’ve got the data – or at least you should have it, if you’ve been in business for a while. That customer data just needs to be analyzed to better equip you to refine your site, better target your ideal buyer, identify trends ahead of the competition, better identify fraud and deliver the precise product at the precise time to the exact right buyer. Metrics and analytical software, like Google Analytics, will help crunch the raw data into meaningful results.

If you haven’t started using the information you have on your hard drive, you’re wasting some of the best information you’ll ever have concerning the success of your business.

Use it or lose it.

Need more information on what your competitors are upto? Who doesn't. Call me or drop me a line and let's mine that gold.

Accessibility: It's What a Blog is All About

Is your web site accessible?

Accessibility, when discussing web sites, includes a number of factors: easy navigation, understandable site text, no dead ends requiring a browser back click to escape (lots of users don’t even know browsers HAVE a back click).

Let’s start with the bottom line- yours: the easier it is for a site visitor to perform the most desired action (MDA), the more times that MDA will be performed.

Let’s Start With Navigation

Whether you go with a navigation bar at the top of the screen or a menu list in the first column far left, your navigation must be:

• simple
• unambiguous
• truthful
• always available
• always in the same location

Avoid numerous tabs, drop-down or flyout menus. Keep it simple. If visitors are faced with too many choices too soon on arriving at the site, chances are they’ll bounce.

Keep the navigation unambiguous. It’s routine to have a "Contact Us” page on a web site. If you label the contact link “Company Authority,” visitors are going to be totally confused. And again, bounce.

Truthful is just what it says. If the link says “Product Descriptions,” don’t make the visitor read through another landing page of sell copy. Deliver what the link says and go directly to the products.

Always available is an aspect of keeping visitors on site longer, and the longer they stick around, the more likely they are to perform the MDA. So, the navigation bar or menu should be available from every page so the visitor can surf at will, unencumbered by what YOU think the visitor wants to know.

Finally, keep the nav tabs in the same place. Don’t move them from bar to menu and back to bar. The last thing you want is a visitor trying to figure out how to return to the contact page to make contact.

Keep it simple. The fewer clicks required to get the visitor to perform the MDA, the better. So, go through the process and eliminate every unnecessary side road, dead end and yet another landing page.

Accessible Content

If your client site is for a professional medical dispenser, you can assume that the visitors have some knowledge of the subject, i.e. you don’t have to start from square one. But you still have to stay on target pointing out the benefits of buying the client’s medical products.

On the other hand, if you’re writing text for a hearing aid retail outlet, accessible text is understandable by the reader. So first, toss the thesaurus. Find the simplest, shortest way to say what needs to be said about products and services.

Be helpful and supportive to the new visitor. Make things simple to find, simple to learn and simple to bookmark. Returning visitors are gold. Eventually they buy something so earning a bookmark is a very good thing.

Skip the hype. Educate the visitor using simple terms, no jargon and listing benefits rather than features. This is the stuff site visitors want to know.

Finally, lay out the text so it can be scanned rather than read. No big, long paragraphs. Visitors scan from upper left to lower right so put your most important info upper left on the screen.

The easier it is to buy something, opt-in for a newsletter, or to complete a form, the more often those MDAs are performed. So make it as simple as possible (why do you think Amazon offers a one-click checkout? How easy can it be?).

Accessibility benefits both site owner and site visitor – a win-win. Also a no brainer.

Need some help with your website? NP. Visit my site and let's get down to work.

Hey, Where the Heck Did I Go? SEO Disappears From Blog!!!

Apologies for not tending to this blog more frequently. I keep two other blogs active and this poor, lonesome pile of pixels seems to be neglected. So much to do, so little time.

So, where the heck did I go and what can we learn from this unexplained absence?

Working for a Livin'

Love Huey Lewis and the News. Any way, I've been writing for clients whose checks clear. And the topics are all over the board, from selling services in a small community to knowledge management and its inherent bias. (Actually the most fun of all.)

Here's the point: you never know what's going to float over the transom and land on your desk so (1) remember every inane fact and statistic you ever hear and (2) learn to use the web to research 'cause if it's been wrote it's somewhere on line.

If you want to do this for a living, or at least make it worth your time, you have to be able to conduct research quickly - plow through an academic article and make sense of some technology you never heard of. So, first I've been working and that's always a good thing for a good copywriter. Oh, and blogs take second place to a check that clears.

Flogging My Blogs

In addition to this little piece of heaven, I post to two other blogs and have a website that is the ultimate landing spot for prospects. So, I post to my other two blogs more frequently and the more I (or you blog) the faster you get indexed. It's amazing. I can post this little riff this morning and this afternoon they'll be and e-mail alert in my in-box. I love search engines.

But search engine bots get tired of coming back and seeing the same-old same-old. So, add a post now and then. In this case, I post 4-6 times on my other blogs and that drives more traffic to my site than Google organic for my primary keyword - freelance seo copywriter. 

Off-site blogs  create more targets for surfers. Just make sure that all of your contact points are linked so your blogs are tied to your Linkedin profile, MySpace, twitter, etc. This creates your own little weblet, which in turn, creates a larger presence on the web and more site traffic

And I've seen a nice little jump in my alexa.com numbers, my google analytics and I've gotten three new gigs in the past month from folks who saw a blog post, a piece of syndicated content or an answer on Linkedin - all free, guerrilla marketing.

So, I am sorry for being absent but I have been working building SERPs links. Last time I checked i was over 1,800.

Get the picture?