On occasion I get asked questions about HTML design techniques and technical constraints. The bottom line is that keeping it simple and using a proven email broadcasting provider is key. Some very smart people have researched HTML email design guidelines and their advice should also be considered. I found this carefully written post via Roger Johansson’s blog, 456 Berea Street.
8 comments July 10th, 2007
2 comments June 11th, 2007
On occasion, I talk to prospective clients who have a relatively low amount of cash flow. Some of these are ready to spend many hundreds of dollars on Web site re-designs, SEO experts, and pay-per-click campaigns. If you are becoming desperate at the lack of growth in your sales base, here’s what I suggest you do before you start throwing money into risky SEO, Pay-per-Click and re-design projects.
Stick at the email campaign effort for several months by watching response and adjusting your offers or email design accordingly. If there is a market for your product, this approach should have a measurable effect and should begin to raise cash flow. After you’ve learned about your market and expanded your income by taking this approach, you will be in a better position to evaluate SEO, Pay-per-Click, and re-design services.
3 comments June 9th, 2007
Attitudes Towards Web Based Marketing Strategies
Let’s face it, most of us are followers. As such, our ideas are a reflection of our associates. Nowhere does this seem to be more true than in our attitudes and behaviors related to advertising and marketing initiatives. So what are the trends in attitudes towards Web based marketing these days? I’ll make some observations based on my experience, and welcome you to contribute to the discussion.
Mediocre: It seems to me that most “normal” (companies outside of new media) small medium size businesses view online marketing as something that, like newspaper advertising, must be done but cannot be expected to produce results. These companies half-heartedly use a small portion of their budget to maintain a neglected Web site and may spend a small amount on mis-managed pay-per-click campaigns. As expected, they get no little or no return on their investment.
Zealots: A less common and more transient group of businesses are searching for a magic bullet. This group spends a great deal of money buying links from Web sites, running poorly conceived pay-per-click campaigns that direct large amounts of traffic to a single landing page that doesn’t continue the conversation started by their pay-per-click ads. They also keep an eye out for the latest trends and adopt them all, one by one. This group gets some results, but because they are frenetic in pursuit of a magic bullet, their ideas are never fleshed out. The return rarely pays for the investment.
Let’s face it. I’m over generalizing. Nobody really fits into a “camp.” At least only a few. I’ve taken both approaches mentioned above. I’ve gotten both manic and discouraged about online marketing. Is there a better way?
I think so. Here are a few components of a successful online marketing strategy:
These ideas are a start towards a coherent online marketing strategy. Do you have any to add? Please comment below.
April 24th, 2007
Squidoo offers an exciting set of tools to help novice Web site owners and writers get their ideas in front of a broader audience. If you have a well developed concept that you want to share with the world and an offer on your Web site that you want to promote, Squidoo will give you plenty of room to pull together resources and show your expertise.
And here’s the good part … When you get traffic to your site from your Squidoo Lens, you can be sure that those visitors are interested in your offer. In general, they will fall into two camps: Prospective Customers, and Interested Competitors. Your chance of gaining a new customer from this group of visitors is much higher than general search engine traffic.
Give yourself several hours to repurpose writing you’ve used elsewhere or create new content, pull together a list of links to resources you think will add value, and you’re on your way to a decent Squidoo Lens.
Have fun testing Squidoo as a marketing tool and let me know how it works out for you. Also, don’t forget to tell others about your Lens. 
Mine is here.
April 21st, 2007
I just listened to the Marketing Monger podcast interview with Luke Wroblewski of LukeW Interface Designs. This is some good commentary on Web interface design dos and don’ts along with general marketing information that Luke has gleaned from over 10 years in the Web design industry. Have a listen.
November 8th, 2006
This article I recently wrote for Ezinearticles.com admittedly hits the surface of a very large topic, but it might serve as an introduction to marketing with pay-per-click advertising for someone.
Read the article: 5 Easy Steps to Test a Business Idea for Under $1000
October 28th, 2006
Have you ever wondered how experts use Wordtracker to keep their clients’ sites at the top of the search engine results pages? What can you learn from their methods? How can you apply their strategies to your own website to get outstanding results?
September 7th, 2006
The months of November and December account for at least 28% percent of retail sales and are also a peak web browsing and purchasing season. With this in mind, it pays to prepare for the increase in traffic the Christmas season will bring no matter the size of your Web site. Retailers are already gearing up for Christmas in late August, so you will be in good company as you prepare for the Holiday Season.
Content is the life-blood of an online business, so most of these tips will focus on your Web site’s content. Here are Seven Tips to help you bring your Web site up-to-date for the Christmas Season:
Monday. Proofread. You probably won’t like this very much, but you need to read every page on your Web site to make sure it accurately reflects your current product or service. What changes have you made to your business offerings lately? Nothing is more embarrassing or counter-productive than promoting a product you no longer carry or misrepresenting your product on your Web site. Trust is vital to the online exchange of services and products.
Tuesday. Remove Ambiguities. Think about questions clients, customers, and friends have asked about your business over the last year. What seems absolutely self-evident to you, but is misunderstood by others? If questions are coming at you from left field, it may be time to add a Frequently Asked Questions page or to update your existing page with clear answers to those not-so-self-evident questions!
Wednesday. Revive Your Web Site’s Look & Feel. Take new product photos and replace the old ones on your Web site. Liven up your pages with new graphics and stock photos as needed. Add a slideshow or flash presentation to your home page or other appropriate landing pages to grab the attention of more visitors.
Thursday. Learn from Competitors. Visit your the Web sites of your competitors and compatriots for new ideas regarding content you can add to create value for your customers and clients. Add New Content: Articles, White Papers, Tools, etc.
Friday. Research to Improve Your Search Engine Traffic. Put on your thinking cap. On a blank sheet of paper, write an unedited list of search terms that you think potential clients and customers might use to find your Web site. Concentrate on phrases in the two to three word range. Spend about 15 minutes searching Google for these phrases. Does your site come up on the first few pages? If not, don’t panic. Consider ways you might be able to add the phrases you consider most important to the HTML titles and body copy of a few relevant pages on your Web site.
Tip: A good place to get search term ideas is from your server logs. These record all visitors to your Web site and often specify search terms used to find your pages. This may spur you on towards finding additional related phrases that are not in use now.
For added effect, visit Wordtracker and purchase a low-cost daily subscription (Support me - find an affiliate link here) to research the keyphrase list you created. Find the most effective phrases. Concentrate your efforts on those.
Saturday. Evaluate the contact channels your Web site provides. Do your contact forms work? Is your email address clearly visible? Is your business address included in the footer of EVERY page? Is your telephone number available on every page?
Why should you be redundant with regard to contact information? Most Web site visitors these days come either from pay-per-lick advertising or search engine results pages. They are seeking highly targeted content and have a cynical distrust of Web only businesses. Showing your physical address and offline contact information on each page declares your location in geographic space as a real and accountable entity.
If you disagree with my reasoning above, at least include a prominent “contact” link on each page.
Sunday. Rest. Relax. Perhaps mull over in the back of your mind any promotions or events you can offer your customers and clients during the coming months. Find a piece of paper and write them down if you wish. Be completely non-judgmental. You’ll evaluate them later.
If this blog post left you wanting more, Harvey Ramer has also written a short e-Book called A No-Nonsense Guide to Creating Your Web Site Design Plan that you may find helpful.
September 7th, 2006
What’s the difference between a Web page titled:
Bob’s Doggy Treats
And one titled:
Bob's Doggy Treats
Maybe more than you think … it’s all in the apostrophe.
Recently, I noticed that a client had pasted their business name from Microsoft Word into their Web site title tag without converting their apostrophe from Word’s character entity to the straight text-only apostrophe that HTML requires.
Initially, I was not very concerned until I Googled for the client’s name and it was nowhere to be found. Other similar business names were in the search engine results pages where my client should have been. Though most Web browsers are able to interpret the Word markup visually, it made no sense to Google, who treated the apostrophe pasted from Word as part of the business name instead of punctuation. For a business who relies on search engine traffic, this can be a costly mistake.
This post is a short reminder that cutting and pasting from Microsoft Word into a Web page document is ALWAYS a bad idea. If you need to cut and paste, a short workaround is to copy from Word into a text editor like Notepad. Then, copy the text from Notepad into your Web page. This removes most of the extra characters could potentially harm your Web page.
1 comment August 28th, 2006
CSS Web design, e-commerce Web design, and internet marketing issues from the desk of Harvey A. Ramer at Design Delineations.
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