Simple Web Designs

Internet Marketing Basics

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 08:30:41 +0000

More than a Brochure

The Web has more in common with the telephone than print. It is different from traditional media in many respects. Even Internet advertising requires a different approach than off-line advertising. Exploit the Web’s unique qualities to provide a richer experience for customers and prospects. Here is what I do for you: • Rank well with the Search Engines • Attract interested targeted visitors • Focus on the needs of their visitors • Keep visitors on site (and encourage repeat visits) • Get the desired response (contact, buy, etc.)

Scout the Competition

Find out what your competitors are doing on the Web. Spend a few days checking out how your competitors are using the Web. Analyze each site. How does the site help tell the world about that company’s products or services; is it easy to use; is it enjoyable to use; does it add value to the company’s customer service; is it integrated with the company’s other marketing efforts.

Integrate

Be sure your website is integrated with your company’s other marketing activities. Don’t make the mistake some traditional companies do and create an Internet effort that is disconnected with your company’s off-line efforts. Your website should be connected with your company’s off-line efforts. This means more than throwing the company Web address in your ads.

Why Most Websites Fail

The content on most sites is not focused on the needs of customers so that when visitors do stop by, they “click out” instead of clicking on the client’s money-making links — those links that lead to sales/service contracts/leads/referrals/contact.

Position Your Business Now

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 08:12:16 +0000

Consider that 80% of customers are now doing an online search before going shopping. Only 50% of businesses have an online presence, but within the next 10 years that number will rise to 99%. You need to position your business now. Having a website that ranks well will continue to rank well in the future. Don’t get left behind! Here is how I do it:

1) Define the purpose of the site
2) Identify your client’s target
3) Conduct a competition survey
4) Define the features of the site
5) Identify keywords
6) Develop the wire frame
7) Create the storyboard

Make it Easy to Navigate

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 08:03:41 +0000

Links

All of your hyperlinks should be clear to your visitors. Graphic images, such as buttons or tabs, should be clearly labeled and easy to read. Your web graphic designer should select the colors, backgrounds, textures, and special effects on your web graphics very carefully. It is more important that your navigational buttons and tabs be easy to read and understand than to have "flashy" effects.

Colors

Link colors in your text should be familiar to your visitor (blue text usually indicates an unvisited link and purple or maroon text usually indicates a visited link), if possible. If you elect not to use the default colors, your text links should be emphasized in some other way (boldfaced, a larger font size, set between small vertical lines, or a combination of these). Text links should be unique -- they should not look the same as any other text in your web pages. You do not want people clicking on your headings because they think the headings are links.

Clickability

Your visitors should be able to find what they are looking for in your site within three clicks. If not, they are very likely to click off your site as quickly as they clicked on.

Make it Easy to Read

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 08:00:46 +0000

Most Important

The most important rule in web design is that your web site should be easy to read. What does this mean? You should choose your text and background colors very carefully. You don’t want to use backgrounds that obscure your text or use colors that are hard to read. Dark-colored text on a light-colored background is easier to read than light-colored text on a dark-colored background.

Alignment

Keep the alignment of your main text to the left, not centered. Center-aligned text is best used in headlines. You want your visitors to be comfortable with what they are reading, and most text (in the West) is left aligned.

You Want Clean Design

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 07:48:36 +0000

Animation and Sounds are Distracting

How can anyone concentrate on reading what’s on your site when there are things flying around the page? It’s like trying to read a newspaper when someone’s poking you in the shoulder repeatedly. Also, visitors who have slow connections may resent that you wasted their time by forcing them to load animations and sound files against their will.

Simplify

Conventional wisdom is that people will be drawn to an animated ad, but it’s actually the opposite: Readers who are assaulted by blinking ads are more likely to leave the site immediately without clicking on anything, and are far less likely to bookmark the site, return to it, link to it, and recommend it.

Oraganize

Your site must be easy to navigate. Keep all the pages and posts on the sidebar and make sure it is easy to return to the home page with one click. Also, break the content up with headings and bold text. This makes it easy to read and emphasizes whats important.

Generate More Customers

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 07:33:16 +0000

1. Keep it simple

If you offer too information you lose customers. Tell the customer what you do and what’s in it for them. Internet shoppers have short attention spans. Make it short and make it obvious, eliminate guesswork.

2. Set yourself apart

When a customer sees your listing on Google give them a reason to click on your site first. The title that Google presents must have something like READ THIS FIRST or COUPON SPECIALS. I doubled the traffic to my carpet cleaning website with this simple strategy.

3. Get on Google’s front page

This is where most websites fall short. Customers will rarely go to your site if its not on the front page. Its not that difficult to do. You must first find out the search terms people are using and them target links using those words. This is called SEO (Search Engine Optimization).