Think of it: A cheap, direct means of working one-on-one, one-to-many with
customers, partners, prospects. The ideal means of educating... informing...
persuading. That's what management sees when you mention one of the "hottest"
communications tools available... blogging. Technorati, a research firm that
tracks Internet activity, reports that it currently tracks 70 million blogs—up
from 35 million blogs less than a year ago—and that 22 of the 100 most popular
Web sites in Q4 of 2006 were blogs.
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I hesitate to single out a handful of "must-have" words for your Web site. It
brings to mind the overblown promises of "power words". However, some words
really can make a difference on your site. They are not "powerful" in isolation
but, in the right context, can make an important difference. Look through your
site, your emails and your newsletters—and consider the places where these words
could make a difference. Then make some changes and test the results. As always,
the proof is in the testing.
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Designing a site for the visually impaired is not difficult but it does take
some time. The main thing you need to keep in mind is that software programs for
the visually impaired convert what they "see" on the page and read it out loud
to the user. While all government web sites are required by the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) to be accessible to the blind, private web sites should
also provide those features necessary for the visually impaired.
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Social networking websites like YouTube and MySpace are popular because they
allow computer users to share videos they've created (or found) and by
commenting on what has been posted to the site. Some advertisers have created
websites or web pages where users are encouraged to submit original content,
often as part of a contest. A solid Terms of Use policy can sometimes save an
advertiser from getting into dangerous legal territory with user-generated
content.
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One of the hot topics in e-commerce is trust. Specifically how to encourage
trust in Internet consumers. Everyone online with a product or service to sell
says the same thing: trust me...regardless of whether you can or not. There are
several services online - some free, some not - that will "objectively" assess
your credibility and allow visitors to your web site access to that information
or other information relating to your reliability and/or customer service.
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If your company blog isn't getting the results you were expecting, start by
examining your blog's content. Consider how your blog is positioned: Are you
using it as a selling tool, or as a tool to communicate with your customers and
provide them with engaging information? Many companies make the mistake of
focusing almost exclusively on the products and services that they provide, thus
replicating information that can be found on the company's main website.
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While making web sites involves technical, visual, and editorial skills, I would
argue it is primarily an editorial job: at least I should like never again to be
presented with a pilot site where all the important decisions about content,
layout, organization, and navigation have already been taken, and then to be
asked to "write the copy"—in effect, to fill in boxes. So, to help make the case
for writers and editors, here are my 10 tips.
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My recent Websites: You've Only Got 3 Seconds column got a great deal of
response One reader, Jan Limpach of Cleveland-based search engine optimization
firm Keyphrase-Marketing, emailed me with some confusion. He followed the links
to NextStage Evolution's website and was...uh...unimpressed. Was this the site
used by the company behind those incredible articles? "Well, uh...yeah," I said,
my head hung in shame.
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Web 2.0 is the name given to the post dot-com boom and bust of Internet growth.
Companies such as eBay, PayPal and Amazon have proven that business can be
conducted on the Web and it can be profitable. Internet growth and business
management in the post dot-com bust world can be described in one word:
Collaboration. Here's how to tap into this Internet boom you’ve got to learn how
relationships are built online and capitalize on it.
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Do not switch your domain unless you have no other choice because no matter how
popular your website is domain switchovers are far from enjoyable. After all,
even losing a single week of significant traffic for a popular site could cost
many thousands or even millions of dollars. On the flip side of the coin, less
trafficked websites (i.e. Mom and Pop sites, small B2C websites, etc.) usually
experience a longer wait time so they experience a different type of pain.
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In the B2B world, your Web site contains a lot of glossy sales information. It's
more akin to the traditional sales pamphlet and less transactional than in the
B2C world. It's like a book, and the home page is the introduction and table of
contents. How is a book put together? The author doesn't throw every page on the
floor in a pile and say "read whichever page you want." There's order,
storytelling, and narrative.
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There are many sayings about the power and longevity of first impressions. The
one I like best is "you never get a second chance to make a good first
impression." Human first impressions have an analog on the web. The first
impression a website or marketing material creates leaves a lasting impression
that influences all future transactions. Visitors might shop a site but not
convert on it and not know why.
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It is up to businesses rather than banks to instill more confidence in consumers
about the safety of online transactions, according to research from Symantec. A
Yougov survey, of 2,500 UK adults, carried out for the security company has
found seven in 10 people said they would feel more comfortable carrying out
online transactions if they were given assurance that online retailers were
taking steps to secure their data.
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