You may have noticed, I’m not a big fan of fancy graphics or colours on a website.
I think too many website designers get hung up on making the website look pretty.
I’ve seen many ugly websites sell tremendously as their message was clear and to the point.
If your website is overloaded with fanciness, a visitor with a low spec PC will give up on you. Other visitors will get distracted by all the noise.
No, I’m all for keeping things simple, easy and quick.
Monthly Archives: January 2010
Colours and Graphics on Websites
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Filed under Tips
Write Content For Scanners
Filed under Tips
When you write content for a webpage, it should be written so a reader can easily scan for relevant facts.
No one reads webpages like a book , they scan. If your page doesn’t load quickly they will soon navigate away.
Scannable content includes images. titles, subtitles and bullet points.
Eyetracking studies have shown that people view a webpage in an F shape. The content along the top and down the left side is viewed most.
Add bullet points part way through to break up the text and this will be viewed as well.
Google Trends and Insights
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Here’s a couple of really nifty free Google tools if you want to see what keywords are hot or not.
Google Trends and Google Insights give you a historical trend of keywords and predict where their demand is going. They also tell you what is currently hot.
Stay Focused and Twitter Will Convert
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I’m starting to hear stories of people using Twitter to generate leads which convert to orders.
Twitter can sap your time. Most people use it in an unfocused way thats why. Or tweet about meaningless stuff.
Here’s the account of a colleague I know from Wealthy Affiliate University
He got this going from scratch around Dec 09 focusing on heavy metal guitar
Phil’s Twitter Account
As of todays post he’s up to 1300 folllowers. Question is, will they convert?
I was fairly convinced they would when I watched the Twittollower video which he’s subscribed to.
It’s not free. I’m watching Phil’s progress to see how well it performs. I think the concept of Twittollower is good. Maybe in a month or two I’ll invest when I have a niche to promote through Twitter.
Choosing a Domain Name
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What do you call your new website?
First, don’t go the “Virgin” route. They have spent millions promoting that brand.
You probably don’t have that kind of cash.
Go the “Ronseal” route. It must do what it says on the tin.
Select a searched-for keyword that is directly relevant to your business solution.
With a bit of work you can find a good 2-word phrase though consider a 3-word one.
Use a domain checker (like 1 and 1) to see availability
Try phrases with and without hyphens between the words.
One of my businesses is called physiobench.com though I’ve got a lot of promotional websites with hyphens between the words – its easier for people clicking on the link to understand what the website does.
Go for .com or .net if global.
For puleconsulting.co.uk I want people to know I’m UK based so I’ve used .co.uk
Email Marketing – Keep it Plain
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I’ve just listened to a webinar by MailChimp who provide email marketing solutions.
After listening, I still prefer the plain text version – I like the idea that it’s the same format as any other email I receive.
Personally, I don’t like emails where the recipient has to click to download pictures.
But I like to keep things simple.
Using Affiliates to Promote Your Product
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The US are particularly strong at using affiliates to promote their products through ads, articles, blogs.
It’s easy to set up.
Perhaps the best known in the UK is Affiliate Window.
Across in the US, it is Commission Junction & Share a Sale.
For digital only products, take a look at Clickbank.
Website Market Research
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Here’s a great site to use for some online research into the demographics of a website. It’ll tell you who your audience is by age / sex / ethnicity / kids / income levels.
Quantcast
It’s probably worth also checking out one or two other similar sites to make sure the results tally
