All the products that you want to sell online are ready. You have already signed up with the Google Adsense program or with other affiliate marketing programs and you have already prepared the ad you want to post on your affiliate’s site. Your mind is now set to being the next most successful online businessman. But is there anything else that you might have forgotten to prepare? Maybe none. But how about your landing pages? Are they all set for your business?
Landing pages are simply web pages where visitors are directed to whenever they click a result in a web search or whenever they click a web ad. For affiliate marketing, landing pages would refer to the web page where you, as a merchant, would want your potential customer to be directed after clicking your ad on your affiliate’s website. Landing pages are, at most times, nothing really different from other web pages in a particular website, especially if the said website is an e-commerce site. Some online businessmen would even use the homepage of their websites as the Landing Page for their ads. Are these businessmen making a big mistake? Or should you follow their method in creating landing pages for their ads?
Well, you can always follow what most online retailers do, directing their potential customers to the homepages of their websites. But if you want to achieve something more from your online business, and if you want to earn a lot of profits, you better create a special landing page for your web ads. Why? Here are a few reasons why you need to use landing pages for your web ads. And take note, it would do you a lot better if you create a great landing page than a so-so one.
Reason no. 1: It is the only way you earn conversions in an affiliate marketing program.
There are a variety of affiliate marketing programs today, but most of these programs let the merchant pay the affiliate in a pay per click basis. Basically, all you have to do is sign up with the program and submit your ad. The program owner would then distribute your ad to various affiliates who would then place your ad on their websites. Whenever your ad is clicked, a visitor would be directed to your landing page and you would have to pay the affiliate for his service.
As a merchant, you earn in an affiliate program through conversions—that is whenever a visitor that is directed to your site actually buys a product on your site. Without these conversions, you actually earn nothing from the program. Also, the more visitors that your affiliates have directed to your site, the larger would your expense be. And the only way that you can recover from these expenses is through conversions.
Now, you sure won’t get any conversion if you have posted an ad on your affiliate’s site without an actual landing page for the potential customer to be redirected into. It’s just like advertising a product without actually having a store to sell your product. Your advertisement may be enticing enough to encourage people to purchase a product, but without the landing page, how will they know how to purchase the product
It is therefore important to have landing pages for your ads because it is the only way for you to earn something in an affiliate program. Without landing pages, all you do is spend money paying your affiliates without actually getting anything in return.
Reason no. 2: Other web pages may just not be enough.
Many people make the mistake of making their website’s homepage as the landing page for their ads. The same is true for those who make use of other pages like a “contact us” page or a product page. Homepages are often designed to serve multiple users and contains a lot of links to other pages or to other websites. The same is with the other two pages mentioned. If you want to be successful in an affiliate program, we’re sure that you don’t want your landing page to cater to the needs of various people, most of which may not be really interested with your product.
When choosing a landing page, you must always have the customer directed into that page in mind. Therefore, your landing page must be relevant to the keywords and the contents you placed on your ad. It is also important that the landing page can induce your visitor to take action—that is to purchase your product or at least provide leads for potential customers.
Final Word
You probably entered into an affiliate marketing program with these things in mind: to save on advertising expenses and to gain more profit. But if you get into an affiliate marketing program without actually having a landing page, you’ll end up paying too much without getting anything in return. So if you still don’t have a landing page for your ads, you better start creating one now. And don’t get us wrong; it isn’t enough for you to have just a landing page—it should be a great landing page!
Want to find the best money making programs on the internet? Click on the following Link to find out more!
Packed with insider tips and tricks, this how-to guide is fully revised to cover the latest version of Google Analytics and shows you how to implement proven Web analytics methods and concepts.This second edition of the bestselling Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics is the perfect book for marketers, vendors, consultants, and Webmasters who want to learn the installation, configuration, tr…
How much money are you losing because of poor landing page design? In this comprehensive, step-by-step guide, you’ll learn all the skills necessary to dramatically improve your bottom line, including identifying mission critical parts of your website and their true economic value, defining important visitor classes and key conversion tasks, gaining insight on customer decision-making, uncover…
The key to all effective landing pages is to make the intended points quickly, clearly, and convincingly. After presenting an attention grabbing headline your landing page must now transition into the message it intends to communicate.
Now remember a landing page should be brief and to the point. Upon reading the headline the website visitor will be presented your opening paragraph.
You’ll want to:
a) Continue the thought of the headline.
b) Clearly and emphatically state the problem.
c) Transition into the solution found listed below in the bullet points.
The use of bullets helps the reader isolate and identify the points you are making. Whether you use bullets, numbers, or letters the format is the same. This will help to insure your message is received by the reader in a organized fashion with minimal distractions.
Let’s have a look at just what type of information your bullet points should contain, what is the intended message, as the website visitor reads them.
• You are offering a free giveaway to entice the visitor to subscribe to your list. Your bullets should focus on that. Let your sales page sell your product, your Squeeze Page needs to emphasize primarily on the free giveaway.
• Be clear on what it is you’re offering as the promotional giveaway. List its benefits to the reader individually to allow each benefit to ’sink in’ as they’re reviewed.
• When possible number your benefits. This makes it more tangible for the reader and serves to ‘magnify’ the overall effects of the advantages your promotional giveaway offers them.
• When your reader is unlikely to know something don’t be afraid to use the word ’secret’ in your description. This raises the level of ‘desire’ within the readers mind due to the sense of ‘exclusivity’ associated with the word.
• Don’t misrepresent anything. Over the top claims (hype) that you’re unable to deliver will quickly build you a bad reputation. Even though you’re motivated to get a reader to subscribe to your list a tarnished reputation is just not worth it.
Landing pages are intended to be brief and to the point. Making the most of the few words you use on this page is important. Emphasizing the benefits a visitor will receive from the free giveaway you’re offering in a clear and concise manner is your main goal.
About the Author
TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina. For additional online success tips and a free guide that demonstrates how to find both profitable markets and products visit:http://blogbrawn.com/14488/
When I google something, the only results that come up are spam websites. Help!?
Recently, when I google something it only leads to spam websites. The blue link you click on says the right thing, but the green site address says it is a spam website. For example, I googled “capital of Alaska” and got this:
Alaska – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (blue link)
[7] Juneau, Alaska’s capital city, though located on the mainland of the North American continent, is inaccessible by land—no roads connect Juneau to the …
www.geenergyfinancialservices.com – 240k – Cached – Similar pages (green site address)
Note that the top is legitimate – Wikipedia, but the website that it leads to (which is the green site address) is a spam site. How do I fix this and what is wrong?
Thanks
**I do not need to know the capital of Alaska, That is just an example**
You’ve got a virus, I’ve had one of these before and it was annoying to get rid of.
Run a virus scan and if you need any virus programs then download AVG/Malware bytes.
“Good things, when short, are twice as good.” ~ Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom
Wow! You’ve opened your door for business, (albeit via a website), and you’re anxiously awaiting your first sale. And you wait… and you continue to wait… and after 2 weeks nothing’s happened. Whoa! Wait a second here – what’s going on? Why aren’t the masses flocking to your website to purchase the latest and greatest shazam shiner or whatever product/service you happen to be offering?
Before you start revamping your whole website and spending thousands of hard-earned dollars on new graphics, designs etc., what exactly is your landing or home page saying about you and your company?
Have you made it perfectly clear from the nanosecond your potential client’s mouse lands on your first page, what wares or services you provide? Or have you done what I call the ‘song and dance’ online writing routine where you’ve used heaps of flowery, flattering prose and all you’ve managed to do is confuse the reader to the point they have no idea what you have to offer?
I’ve seen hundreds of these sad sites which I’m sure you as an avid internet surfer have as well. They’re the sites that have amazing flash animations, surreal voice-overs welcoming you to “LaLaLand” and bedazzle your eyes with colorful images dancing across the screen. Yet when the flashing lights have dimmed, you still have to have text for the reader to absorb – and crystal clear words at that – or your potential client is off to visit another dancing duck site quicker than you can say ‘Ptizlefik.’
The landing or home page of any website that aspires to do e-commerce has to be as close to perfect as a carefully prepared and baked soufflé. One bad ‘ingredient’ or doing jumping jacks while your creation is cooking and poof – there goes all your hard work into the kitchen garbage can. Or in the case of your website, no clicks equal no sales.
Here are 3 super simple ways to ensure that your landing page provides ‘eye candy’ and information simultaneously:
1. Get straight to the point. Whatever business you’re in, state it in the opening paragraph. Don’t make the reader guess or even worse, make an assumption on what they ‘think’ it is that you do, because we all know where that wonderful word ‘assume’ can lead, right? If the reader can’t figure out what your business is about in 5 seconds, trust me, you’ve lost them and they’re on to the next company they found in their search list.
2. Offer the reader a free sample of your wares. Hey, you wouldn’t buy a car unless you took it for a test drive would you? Then offer your potential online customer the same deal. Give them a small sample of your services or products for free because after all, everybody loves the notion of getting something for nothing. Whether it’s a free report that is directly linked to your services, or a free trial sample of your products, your offer will have left a wonderful warm and fuzzy first impression. And yes, even online first impressions DO count!
3. Watch your adjectives! Remember when I mentioned about using flowery, flattering words? I call this sort of text ‘fluff filler’ – done by people who love putting in reams of meaningless words for the sake of seeing ink marks on the page (or in this case, the computer screen). Be careful of the adjectives you do use and place them wisely! Overused and worn-out words such as ‘fantastic, wonderful, amazing’ etc. should be used sparingly and not repeated over and over ad infinitum. After the reader has seen the word ‘fabulous’ for the 35th time, they may start to think of you and your product as ‘frivolous.’
When I write copy for my client’s website pages, I endeavor to use as few words as possible on their home/Landing Pages, as well as cram in as much information I can in the simplest manner possible. Those precious 5 seconds which you have to make a lasting first impression doesn’t leave any wiggle room for errors with mere words.
I guarantee you that if you make each syllable count you’ll see your bottom line soar. And isn’t that why you went into business for in the first place?
About the Author
Marlene Oulton, resident wordsmith of marleneoulton.com derives great satisfaction from assisting authors, writers, coaches and SOHO entrepreneurs produce clean, crisp and concisely written articles, newsletters, website copy and other literary works. Known as “The Words Lady” by her clients and friends, her articles can be found on various online article sites. Visit www.marleneoulton.com to find out more on how she can make your words sing and dance… without adding music!
How much money are you losing because of poor landing page design? In this comprehensive, step-by-step guide, youâll learn all the skills necessary to dramatically improve your bottom line, including identifying mission critical parts of your website and their true economic value, defining important visitor classes and key conversion tasks, Â gaining insight on customer decision-making, un…
Your web site is a businessâdesign it like one.Billions of dollars in spending decisions are influenced by web sites. So why aren’t businesses laser-focused on designing their sites to maximize their Return on Investment (ROI)?Web design can do more than make a site look goodâit can be a powerful strategic weapon that enhances financial returns and creates competitive advantage.It’s time…
How much money are you losing because of poor landing page design? In this comprehensive, step-by-step guide, you’ll learn all the skills necessary to dramatically improve your bottom line, including identifying mission critical parts of your website and their true economic value, defining important visitor classes and key conversion tasks, gaining insight on customer decision-making, uncoverin…
Landing Page Graphics
What is wrong with this web page? It happens every time I try to use it?
I have been trying to fill out some government forms on the Ontario Land lord and Tenant web site.
When I try to type figures in the boxes provided, it will only let me type in the $ area and not the cents area or to the right of the decimal point, so the final figure printed out is incorrect.
The page is very jumpy as well, almost impossible to scroll these 12 page documents.
Sometimes, the mouse pointer stops working as well and the arrow just runs all around the screen. It won’t stop until I unplug the computer and start all over again.
I can’t even close the page because the mouse pointer won’t work.
What’s up with this? This is the only web site that this happens.
This is the page I am trying to fill out. Is it just my computer?
http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/graphics/stel02_111558.pdf
I already have Adobe Acrobat Reader 9. Is there a more recent one?
I would contact them by E-mail or phone and tell them to have their website repaired. could be that someone has tried to hack it. Not all of us love our Government.
FSX flight thru a hurricane with landing using Active Sky X (ASX) and X Graphics
News Alert: Your home page may not be the most viewed page on your website.
The content on your homepage is very important, but it’s only the first step. If you want to bring traffic to your site, “landing pages” is the answer.
A Landing Page is the first destination a visitor “lands” after clicking on a link or advertisement. This is a tested and proven internet marketing strategy. The main goal of a landing page is to produce a “conversion,” whether it is a sign-up, sale or lead. By optimizing your landing pages and sending traffic to the right landing pages, you can significantly impact your site’s revenue.
Depending on their search criteria, potential customers may bypass your home page entirely. Therefore, you should tailor each page toward one of your products or services. By tracking the traffic of these pages, you get feedback on how to hone in on the messages and offers that are most effective without having to constantly tinker with the rest of your website.
When you are ready to build a landing page or optimize existing ones-here are a few tips to keep in mind.
* Define your conversion. Before you design your landing page, define that page’s conversion activity. Ensure each step in the conversion process either states or supports your website’s proposition. For example: With a newsletter landing page, the conversion activity is entering an email address into a form and clicking accept.
* Give the visitor what they are searching for. Most people are looking for quick answers to their questions or solutions to their problems. This is not your homepage. The information that you provide should be compelling and relevant to the search terms that brought the visitor there. If a visitor is searching for information about “weight loss,” the landing page should talk about weight loss and how your website addresses it.
* Keep the form simple. The fewer fields, the more likely someone will fill them out. Landing pages should provide solutions, not inundate visitors with more to think about. Make the input cursor jump to the next field, and allow users to tab around fields. Auto-populate any fields you can. Don’t ask for city, state or province if you ask for a ZIP or postal code.
* Stay focused. Avoid promoting or linking to other areas of your site. The point of the landing page is to prevent your visitor from wandering.
* Keep focus above the ‘fold.’ Pay attention to the virtual fold (the bottom of the screen before scrolling). Place enough content above the fold to allow your visitor to make a decision about continuing on the site. If a visitor has to click or scroll to figure out what your website offers, the only thing they’ll click is the “back” button.
* Improve readability. Make your landing site simple to figure out how to convert. Place the important information (whether it’s your copy or image) close to the middle. Never distract the user from that focal point. Customers tend to interpret “dead” space or too many graphics as the end of the information. Also, try to reduce the number of columns for easy readability. Make your links blue and underlined. Use black type on white background in a 12-point font or larger. Make buttons stand out through size and color. Use action text on buttons such as, “Click here to receive your free ebook.”
* Provide multiple response methods. You should determine what your website’s single goal is before designing a landing page. Then, develop your landing page for that purpose. If you would like to give visitors the ability to respond in ways beyond the form- such as: emailing you or calling you (some give out Skype numbers, etc.) then make the contact information and calls-to-action prominent.
* Test and test again. The only reliable way to improve your landing page performance is to test it. Test the entire user experience and ask yourself these questions:
1. Is there a focus on the whole page?
2. Does the message match the advertisement?
3. Did you eliminate all distractions?
4. Are there enough conversion exits?
5. Does the landing page enhance your website’s image?
Carefully design your landing page as described above while keeping it simple and to the point. With your appropriately targeted landing page, your website visitors will convert into customers. An effective landing page will be one of your best draws for the traffic you so desire.
About the Author
JD Reilly is committed to helping others succeed at internet marketing with tested and proven products and strategies. The success is built upon-A focused target market, A product people are hungry for, A marketing strategy and Automation. Learn the step by step process at http://jdreilly.biz
Landing Page Design Examples
Kidnapping Commission hidden in your web page design!
As a person almost obsessed with web marketing, I am often disagree with my friends on the web site designer for what is important. They know that I love and I mean no offense and all is well.
For all Webmasters particularly those with sales commissions of other people's products, design flaws web really hurts. Here are some common and some defects not so frequent that they can steal commissions hide your affiliate links from visitors without their knowledge, to send visitors to landing pages reduce harm your sites search engine ranking and wasting your valuable time on maintenance and monitoring.
The resolution of these defects creates a clear path to Web design more productive and higher commissions.
1-404 diseases.
Test your site for this widespread disease and deadly disease that keeps sending your prospects to land ever 404 server. Go to the homepage of the website, which in our case title = "> http://www.askdomain.com "http://www.askdomain.com. Then add a bar and some time after the main URL. For example," emailmarketing.html. " The complete URL of this example is http://www.askdomain.com/emailmarketing.html
What do you see? Our home page, right?
Now go to your own website and repeat the process. Enter a URL Web site page that you know does not exist. Do you see an error message related to 404? If so, your site is difficult to lose traffic and customers earned potential. Contact your web hosting provider that will help remedy this place and a custom error message in place. An error message 404 custom display your marketing message or redirects these lost visitors to your page.
2 – long affiliate links and ad blockers
long links Affiliate always create problems, especially when they are broken in email campaigns. But now there is a greater threat: the ads blocking. These sequences control lock to see their ads and affiliate links and banners, assume that the customer does not want to see and completely block the view. The dark humor is your your stats banners and links are displayed, but visitors do not see them. What impact will their sales and commissions?
The most popular Internet Security and Firewall software comes with default blocking ads on! Most if not all users will never take the time to close because of you or me.
This blessing, forcing us to solve several marketing problems in the same time.The solution is quite simple and is done in four stages.
Step A – Create an internal directory and call something like merchants or resources. We use "find" in one of our websites.
http://www.dailyfinder.com/find/
Step Two – Create a page named after the merchant. In this case, called "the business end of websites." The full URL Appearance of the following:
Of course, in this example we use a little more sophisticated and websites database and that is why you see these strange codes "v19605".
Go ahead and test in the URL, you will not see any difference in fate, but the ad blockers can not block the former but not the second. You can lose one and commissions are paid with others. There was no significant difference, do not you think?
This process will also improve domestic basis word association, we will discuss later in the articles.
3 – Published work in progress
Do not use your project site as a Web Archive work in progress. Each time you do your work in progress or the script page on your website, you may have them included in the search engines. Go to Google and type: Site: www.yourwebsite.com
At the risk of doing too obvious, I should mention that in the URL above, I mean, to replace the term "yourwebsite" with your current website.
See the list. Are these pages you have listed in search engines? Click on some links do not stop not in the error 404?
Remember that each page of your site unproductive, can replace a productive and completed the page on Google and other search directories. Can you see the damage it can cause? Yes, you can always recover but how long will it take?
Work currently not part of your website. Complete their projects before putting them online.
Caution – Before you remove a page, make sure you have a copy of security and its measurement error 404 is in place.
4 – Lack robots.txt file.
Certain directories and files are necessary for the operation your website, but have no commercial value that you want to announce to the world. text file robots.txt tells the search engines to leave these files are not only and forefinger and Internet browsers. For example, the image of your telephone directory or policy contains nothing of value to say visit the engines Research does not bother with them. An example of a robots.txt file that excludes these directories is as follows:
Earlier in the day I was reading an article from the Wizard’s page and ran into some inspiration for a deck. I can’t really think of what to change, and this deck has some potential. Just curious what the community thinks, would this do well in tournament? If not why.
Love the whole X mana idea, pretty beast.
This deck has great potential. With the right cards in hand you can kill off your opponent pretty quickly.
Hamletback Goliath would be beast here. Whenever a creature comes in, you can put X +1/+1 counters on Hamletback, where X = creature’s power. That ability, added with Protean Hydra = WOWW.
A creature that would fit the theme (sort of) is Flameblast Dragon. When it attacks, pay X(R), and it deals that much to Target creature or player.
Landing Page Inspiration
Amazon.com: What they didn’t teach you in school:Life long learning tips to land a job straight out of school
Paperback EAN: 9780620430593 176 pages Publication Date: 01 March 2009 Publisher: Mouse Hand Country of publication: SOUTH AFRICA
Biography
Justice Mandhla is the entrepreneur and a ground-breaker and judicious risk-taker who creates opportunities for young South Africans to find jobs and to create wealth not only for themselves but for South Africa as a whole. He believes students can find jobs because of the skills and talents that they possess. He wrote his first book “What They Didn’t Teach You in School: Long Life Learning Tips to Land a Job Straight out School” to empower the new generation in job search strategies.
Synopsis
In less than six months Justice Mandhla has produced a ground breaking book which is currently sold digitally as e-book and as a print- based book sold nationally and internationally on most online bookstore retailers.
It is a focused and fantastic piece of work, a step-by- step guide for school leavers and graduates for landing a job straight out of school.
It emphasizes that preparation and attention to detail is vital before you decide to leap into serious job search process.
This high quality book uses a unique style that is easy to read with plenty of examples on interview techniques and how to answer questions to bring extra understanding to its subject matter.
This exclusive limited edition is available on Print on Demand basis.
Justice a full-time Internet Marketer received his inspiration from business leaders such as Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.
For every book sold 10c donation will be made to the Association for the Blind.
About the Author
I have a Human Resource background and I am committed to long life learning.
One of Obama’s biggest lies yet?
On the anniversary of the moon landing, Obama told the crew of the Apollo space station, “The country continues to draw inspiration from what you’ve done. I should note, just personally, I grew up in Hawaii, as many of you know, and I still recall sitting on my grandfather’s shoulders when those capsules would land in the middle of the Pacific and they’d get brought back and we’d go out and we’d pretend like they could see us as we were waving at folks coming home. And I remember waving American flags and my grandfather telling me that the Apollo mission was an example of how Americans can do anything they put their minds to.”
According to Obama’s biography, he lived in Jakarta Indonesia as a child from 1967-1971 with his mother and stepfather. It wasn’t until he was 10 years old that he moved to Hawaii, and he was only 8 when the moon landing occurred.
Yeah, that goodness for the watchdogs at WND. Let’s hear the spin machine rewrite Dumbama’s history and verified facts. Unlike his alleged birth certificate he continues to pay dearly to keep hidden.
The most comment type of Landing Page is a name Squeeze Page. The Name Squeeze page is design to capture the visitors Name & Email address. There are many different formats for a name squeeze page, but still to this day, one of the most popular and easy to set up is the – Above the fold & No graphics design.
Lets look at the in a bit more detail:
Above the fold:
Above the fold is a term used when all of the content of the website is viewable without the use of a side scroll bar. In other word all of the content can be seen without the user taking any action. This is a great technique and has been proven to convert at about 20%. The reason for this, is that is compiles to the 8 second rule – 90% of all visitors to your website will leave within the first 8 seconds. So, by having everything on display, (including the opt-in form) your visitors don’t have to think, they know exactly what they are going to be getting. so they either signup or go away.
No Graphics:
Exactly what it says on the tin, No Graphics. By having no graphics on your landing/name squeeze page, you are limiting the amount of distractions that have the potential of drawing the visitors eyes away from the action step that you want the visitor to take. In this case, Opt-in to your form.
When I first start most of my landing/name squeeze page, I will use this structure. But, This is only a starting ground. I will constantly be split testing two landing/name Squeeze Pages together. this is a great way of increasing your conversion rates.
Split Testing:
Design two landing/name squeeze page, one will be your standard landing/name squeeze page and the other will include an extra feature. The extra feature can be graphics, ling copy (No longer above the fold), Offer FREE gift and incentives, Different headline & what ever else you want to test, Only test one thing at a time. Then, by using a simply using Googles page optimizer, you can test which page will out pull the other page.
For this example, lets say you have added a header graphic.
The pages will be displayed page ‘A’ then ‘B’ then ‘A’ then ‘B’ then ‘A’ then ‘B’ etc. You can then easily see which page is giving you the higher conversion rate (by using Googles conversion tracker). The page that has the highest conversion rate is called the handler. This page stays and the other is deleted.
Then you start the process again, only this time using the controller against a new page. The new page will be exactly the same as then handler, but this time you would change the headline.
Conversion rates:
– Perfect.
I have personal run pages that have converted up to 40 – 50%, I also know of internet marketer that have pages that convert up to 70%. But, this is not common place for most people.
Here are two of my examples:
http://www.ebookscomputer.com - 30 – 40%
http://www.ebookscomputer.com/Temp2 - 40 – 50%
Be aware that these landing/name squeeze page do not work for every industry. That is why you need to test, test and test again. Its those who test that get the outstanding results.
Good Luck!
Jeff Spires
About the Author
For FREE killer secrets, tips & tricks on how to Build a Killer Landing Page. Go to: Download Internet Marketing Ebooks
Download 8 bonus Ebooks for FREE, Instant access. Hurry! Before this offer ends.
Getting 1000s of visitors to your web site doesn’t guarantee sales, but writing effective web copy and designing an effective landing page that holds a user’s attention is the key to converting visitors into buyers. Good web copy clearly helps your visitor understand what is expected of them and should effectively pre-sell your product with the words you use. Once you can achieve this, your web…
How much money are you losing because of poor landing page design? In this comprehensive, step-by-step guide, you’ll learn all the skills necessary to dramatically improve your bottom line, including identifying mission critical parts of your website and their true economic value, defining important visitor classes and key conversion tasks, gaining insight on customer decision-making, uncover…
How do you cite information from a website IN an essay? I know you can write the authors name after the sentence you write referencing their work, but what if there is no author? And when I reference the same website again and again, what do I do since there are no page numbers?
for example, this is the website I am using with bits and pieces of information from it: http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3537762/Travelers-from-an-antique-land.html
(NOT a works cited; I already wrote my works cited with MLA format and whatnot)
If there is no author u usually write the first couple words of the title of the article, since that is what comes next in a works cited. If you reference the website again and again you just keep writing the same thing again and again.. Most teachers aren’t going to look through your online sources anyway they don’t need to be able to check up on EVERY one of your facts, just try to give as much credit to people as they deserve for your paper. You can also use footnotes- where you put a little 1 at the end of the sentence instead of ( ). And then at the bottom is ur works cited that says 1. and then has the work cited there.
Dental Website Design: What is Best for My Practice?
There are as many ways to design dental websites, as there are ways to create and build dental practices. When designing your dental facility, you need to take many things into consideration: funds available, your technical needs, the image you want to project, the number of patients you want to be able to treat, remodeling or new construction, etc.
Dental website design also requires that you consider many elements and deal with them as prudently as a building project if you want the results you expect.
Some dentists just want to have a basic presence online; other dentists want to challenge or overtake the competition. When they consider the artistic design they want to see in their dental Internet site, some are not too worried about it and others demand nothing less than award winning beauty and class.
Which type of dental website is the best form of dental marketing? Which dentists need exceptional website design? Who should pay more for their dental website? When should design take precedence over content? Is a Flash animation Internet site better than a SEO (search engine optimization) content rich website?
Let’s look at each type of web site design so you can make a more informed decision. There are at least 6 categories of dental website design and price ranges you might find in an Internet search:
1) Business Card Dental Websites : price range is $0 to $500*
2) Informational Internet Dental Sites: $500 to $2,500*
3) Image Builder Dental Websites: $2,000-$5,000*
4) Comprehensive Dental Internet Sites: $5,000 to $10,000*
5) Leadership Dental Web sites: $5,000 to $15,000*
6) Search Engine Optimized or SEO Dental Internet sites: $3,000 to $20,000*
For each design style, answers to these specific questions will be provided:
• What kind of dental website is this?
• Who needs a dental web site like this?
• What can it do?
• How is cost determined?
• What should you pay?
*These are just close proximity costs for all dental Internet marketing firms and depend on the website design qualifications discussed in this dental marketing article. Your brother’s friend’s cousin’s neighbor might be able to design a dental website for less.
1) Business Card Dental Websites: $0 to $500:
What kind of dental website is this?
There is very little design (usually) involved in this site. Often it is one page, the dental logo (if the dentist has one) and some mention of services with address, phone and email. The navigation and header bar might match the color of the dental logo, but artistic cohesiveness is minimal.
Who needs a dental web site like this?
This type of website is for dentists who know people are looking for them online, but are not very interested in growing their business or aren’t concerned about being found in general search engine searches (Google, MSN, or Yahoo). It can also be a good plan for the dentist that wants something now – they have printed up marketing materials with their dental web site address and are just not ready to do more. If you are just starting out – want to be online like everyone else – but are not ready to develop your “complete” dental image – this could be your destination. Cosmetic dentists focused on bringing in more cosmetic dentistry patients or increasing their large restorative smile makeovers clientele would not benefit from this type of site in most markets. The competition in cosmetic dentistry requires more than one or two pages of “evidence of value”. Family dentists who also want to do a few cosmetic cases each month would only want to use this as a short-term strategy.
What can it do?
It can provide a bridge to that day when the dentist is ready to more. For those who are looking for a basic presence for the long run, it will provide a base to direct their marketing and a way to hook up to various dental Internet directory services such as FindADentist.com or SuperPages.com so prospective dental patients can get more than an address and phone number.
How is cost determined?
The zero dollar cost can come from you creating the site yourself, a relative “who knows design”, or various “free” web site design sites. These “free” companies usually require some type of monthly “hosting” fee. The larger amount comes from a more sophisticated design and someone who will take more care in your design needs. The higher cost design means you hopefully get more than someone cramming your photo and dental logo into HTML code.
What should you pay?
If you’re a dentist in a small market or rural area or are not in need of tons of dental patients today, you might want to test out some of the lower cost options like your telephone or yellow pages company Internet directory. Dentists who want to do more soon or are in a highly competitive market should not create a “cheap” look that might damage their image for the long-term. Even if it’s a small, business-card-sized dental website, you might want to find a designer that knows how to create an effective transition image website. While I believe very few should go this way – if you want to be successful – there are good ways and bad ways to go about it. Choosing the platform for your dental Internet site can be thought of in terms of building a dental practice next to a Black and Decker outlet store versus a Day Spa. Which will reflect better on your dental brand?
2) Informational Dental Internet Sites: $500 to $2,500
What kind of dental website is this?
This type of design brings more “evidence of value” to the fore. There is some artistic and branding cohesiveness involved in this type of dental Internet site design. However, mostly it is about providing information on the dentist, the dental practice and its dental services. There are usually a few more photos than a biz card site and you might have some custom “artistic choices”. This type of dental website is often pleasant to look at, just not beautiful or breathtaking. It might be 3 to 15 pages in size (or bigger) depending on what route you take. The design is mostly a navigation bar on the left and header bar on top and text/photos to the right. Your dental logo colors might be part of the design if it’s not a “restricted” stock Internet site.
Who needs a dental web site like this?
This type of Internet site better serves dentists who want to provide a context for the value of their dental services beyond the “grocery list” of services group. A cosmetic dentist needs to explain why the dental consumer should want this type of service and why they are the right choice for cosmetic dentistry. Family dentists and orthodontists need to create a story to prove the value of their services too: if there are ten competitors in the community, you don’t want to be the last choice. An informational site works good as a “starter site” especially if you just want to test the waters. If you are in a highly competitive retail market or segment of the dental arena like extreme makeovers, than this design probably won’t give you the boost you want. Posting all your smile makeovers (before and after photos) will help: but informational design, which might include some blended branding elements, does not usually have the Wow factor many extreme makeover type candidates will expect.
What can it do?
This dental web site design will “tell” people you know what you are doing. It might not be a design that Wows, but it can provide information that is very helpful in the decision making process: before and after photos, testimonials, and an explanation of what cosmetic dentistry, orthodontics, or other services can do for their lives, and the dentist’s expertise, etc. Whereas a business card Internet site will verify that you exist, an informational dental website will actually start creating more patients.
How is cost determined?
This kind of website design takes more thought, more planning, copywriting and much more programming than a one or two page business card site. Should you have 15 links on your home page that link to every page that can overwhelm the visitor or 5 links that narrow down their navigation choices to better define your brand? Which should be more prominently featured: the dental practice’s look and feel, the dentist or that you are a Sedation dentist? These decisions can slow the process (and make for a better product) but this requires some amount of time, which is money. Usually you will get a page limit (5 or 10 page website), and then a per web page charge. Some web design firms charge upfront for copywriting or it is extra. You might get a per photo limit. All these factors control the price and as you can probably tell, the price can keep going up.
What should you pay?
Some dentists are not very interested in design artistry or advancing their “visual brand”, but want their ideas and the value of their services and dental expertise to be explained effectively: those dentists will benefit from this type of website design structure. A web site design firm that does all kinds of sites and has thousands of clients might do it for less than a grand, but a dental marketing firm can add the type of insight that puts your site in a league all by itself. It all depends on your perspective of value: something you probably discuss with your patients everyday. While you could develop a dental website like this on your own or with a “bulk” web design group (for “near zero” dollars), it is not as easy as it seems to create an effective dental Internet site. When you are ready to take the leap, make sure you know what you’re getting. Going too shallow on price can mean you go without some specialization you really need: like the contractor that has never built a dental practice and forgets to put plumbing in the operatory.
3) Image Builder Dental Web sites: $2,000-$5000
What kind of dental website is this?
This type of website design provides a level of image, brand and identity development that many dentists believe is necessary to encourage people to accept comprehensive dental treatment and/or a cosmetic smile makeover. Since the consumer makes choices based on many stimuli, it is important to try and cover all the bases. You can tell them till you are blue in the face about the effects of bad hygiene on your informational web site, but often it is a visual stimulus that gets them to stop and consider your plea. Creating a dental Internet site that incorporates an above average visual theme (best when designed with your dental logo as a theme element) encourages the visually inspired consumer to take another look at your evidence and read more thoroughly about your value.
Who needs a dental web site like this?
About one in 10 dentists would need to move to this level. If you want to standout from the crowd, this web site design style offers the capability to do it. A good informational site is like a very functional dental practice that offers nice but basic amenities with efficient service. A good image dental website is a facility where fresh flowers greet you at the front desk and a coral aquarium comforts you in the reception area. Dental patients who have only been to the “functional one” will think it is just what a dental practice (or website) should be. But if they are ever exposed to the comforting practice (or image web site) it will be difficult to make them believers in “functional” again. If you believe there is no competition for patients in your area, you probably don’t need an image website. However, if you want to capture the dental consumer who wants a higher level of care, then an image dental website can make the difference for many people. Remember you may not be visually inspired, but many of your target dental patients will be.
What can it do?
This type of dental website design provides many consumers with a positive and powerful link to your personality (or the personality of your practice) that words and even pictures (before and after photos, beautiful models or photos of your dental office) cannot. Imagine a beautiful dental practice with a national expert dentist, and a superior dental team, all the latest technology and every spa amenity built five miles down a scenic yet dusty, dirt road. While you got the land cheap and the county promises they will pave it in the near future, visitors will be infrequent. There are many dental Internet sites built like this: without a dental brand that has been paved properly. You could be the top website on the top five search engines and never get someone to go deeper than your home page. In many sites there might be a blob of text here or a photo there, but nothing guiding their visual journey. A good image website will bring in dental patients that want exactly what you’re offering: nothing more, nothing less. It depicts your level of customer service, smile design, and comfort. It encourages “dental patients” to become “smile enthusiasts”.
How is cost determined?
When creating a website like this, designers and writers want to know a lot about you. They want to understand where the design should go and not go. Should a photo of a beautiful model be employed within the design? What design elements of your dental logo can be accented or enhanced to create a seamless web design? Do you have a lot of before and after photos or is there some aspect of your expertise that can be highlighted (smile makeovers, neuromuscular dentistry, dental implants, etc.)? There is more artistic work required. An informational or starter website has a navigational bar on the left and a header bar on the top. An image site creates a seamless design from top to bottom and from side to side. Bluntly, there is more for you to critique so the designer needs to do more careful work and research so the final design is completed in a respectable amount of time. Throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks is not a good plan.
What should you pay?
No one should pay more than is necessary, but it mostly comes down to what kind of “image” design you like and who can produce it. It might be the guy down the street, it could be a big corporate website design group and for many dentists it is a firm specializing in dental marketing that knows what patients want. Should you pay more for a Van Gogh or for a Picasso? If you want to be the TOP dental Internet site in the state, you pay more than the dentist who just wants to feel good when he looks at his website and wants his new patients to feel good when they see it.
4) Comprehensive Dental Internet Websites: $5,000 to $10,000
What kind of dental website is this?
This Web site is basically a larger version of an informational or an image website. It just holds more information and has more visuals (photos, etc.) than its cousins. It has anywhere from 20 to 100 or more pages and probably is written by a dental copywriter. It might have Flash animation to spice up its look and boost the value of some of its information presentations.
Who needs a dental web site like this?
About 1 in 50 dentists could utilize a dental Internet site like this. Dentists with a large library of before and after smile makeover photos, an extensive history of dental CE, teaching, speaking or lecturing, and/or a good background noted in several dental public relations efforts can best use this type of site. No one is going to read or look at everything presented on a site like this, but it provides enough evidence to prove any expertise claims you might be promoting. You pick the “real” dental expert: 1) “Hi, I am really, really, really good at what I do: now look at my 5 page website. 2) “Hello, I have learned from the best, but you should review my qualifications first: take a look at my comprehensive website filled with all kinds of proof.”
What can it do?
This dental website design level will encourage, enlighten, inspire, transform, and cajole. Encourage belief in your values. Enlighten consumers about what is possible now. Inspire them to take action to make their lives better. Transform them from dental insurance reliant to cosmetic dentistry aware. Finally: Cajole them to call you ASAP.
How is cost determined?
Dental websites like this are not very common. The big website behemoths are really not ready to create this site for you: cookie cutter is much more profitable for them. This is really where custom work starts. Even doing an image website can be “stock” because it is a home page and a few other pages. Many design websites that seem to promote custom design are just changing colors, photos, reversing design elements, etc. and are not actually starting from scratch. However, once you get to this level – over 15 or 20 pages, the dental web designer needs to be intimately involved with your concept. You don’t want someone else’s design for this type of site. You also don’t want 50 links on your home page to every page on your site – unless you want to confuse visitors about what your dental brand is. You determine what the five or so most important parts of your brand are and then everything else branches off from there. Think of comprehensive dental website development process as you would creating a new dental practice. What would happen if you asked the contractor who put in your foundation to furnish your office? Even I could furnish a dental office! But some things that “we all can do” should be left to someone who has the actual talent and experience. Of course, if you want me to furnish your dental office, my cousin loves to go to garage sales and I’m sure he could find you something NICE.
What should you pay?
I figure this type of dental website should generate “at least” enough to pay for itself in the first six months to a year. Therefore, I would not pay more than what you make off of one good smile makeover case or three or four 6 or 8-unit cases. This is for the initial Internet site design phase not additional updates or maintenance. Family dentists, Pediatric dentists, orthodontists and other specialists (if a web site like this needed in their market) the cost should reflect the value of 3 new patients every month to one every other month: depending on your per patient profits. Also figure the website will have a shelf life of 5 years: give or take one year, depending on how competitive your retail area is. Of course, many dentists will not be satisfied with these results, but this gives you a basis for making some ROI decisions. Depending on your retail area some Internet dental marketing will be required to encourage better ROI site activity.
5) Leadership Dental Web Sites: $7,500 to $15,000
What kind of dental website is this?
This Leadership website has many amenities besides a news page to announce the latest happenings at the dental practice and a complete image blend. It can have a Flash animation dental logo presentation, Flash smile shows, a large before and after smile makeover library, public relations elements and features, educational presentations (Flash), lecture schedule, etc. It might be a Flash website with links to HTML pages. The size is usually over 25 pages – especially if it is not a Flash site. It should be a dental website design award winner.
Who needs a dental web site like this?
About 1 in 200 dentists or fewer require this level of web site design. You don’t have to be a lecturing dentist or a celebrity dentist to go this route. It might be that your retail market is very competitive and you want to stand out from the crowd. You might be producing the income you want, but see the need to head off the competition. The market can change quickly and many dentists recognize today’s method might not be tomorrow’s success. If you are not too concerned about being first on the search engines and just want to Wow and inform, than a website designed completely in Flash animation could be advantageous in developing a leadership position.
What can it do?
This dental Internet site design can enhance every element of your dental brand so you gain and/or hold a high level marketing position. It should create a different level of patient: more informed and more excited about the value of restorative, esthetic or cosmetic dentistry.
How is cost determined?
Much of the cost of this dental website design is determined by time (the size and complexity) and the custom elements you want. There are stock Flash designs and “half-custom” designs, which are on the low end of the spectrum. Then there are from scratch custom dental marketing elements that will be on the higher end. If you write it yourself, you will save money on dental copywriting.
What should you pay?
It really depends on how much time you want to put into it. If you want great custom design with very good copywriting, employ a firm that specializes in dental marketing design and writing. If you want your site to kind of look like someone else’s and read like it too than a “half custom” firm will do just fine. However, sometimes you can get custom work for the same price as “half custom”. Watch out: there some big dental agencies that have so much overhead that they need to charge as much for “not really custom work” as smaller design groups do for custom.
6) Search Engine Optimized or SEO Dental Internet Sites: $3,000 to $20,000
What kind of dental website is this?
This type of website is liked by search engines: Google.com, MSN.com, Yahoo.com, etc. Type in a term like cosmetic dentistry, neuromuscular dentistry or cosmetic dentist or just plain dentist and the state and/or city you live in and you will see why many dentists want this type of website optimization. It is a text rich website: Flash sites need not apply at least most of them. You can make a Flash dental website more friendly to search engines but never as good as a non-Flash site. (A complementary HTML Internet site is one way to increase your Flash site’s exposure to search engines.) However, you can have Flash animation elements and still get great search engine receptivity. It probably should be at least 20 pages and continue to grow and change each quarter if not each month. It should have an updatable page where you can input news regularly about your dental practice. This design can be an image or informational website and can have a lot of images (before and after photos and practice photos). To create a search engine friendly site requires special coding and copywriting enriched with dental SEO friendly terms.
Who needs a dental web site like this?
This really depends on whether you want to be near or on the top of search engine searches. This is a marketing strategy more than a design per se. It is not a one-time deal: it requires constant changes and monitoring of the search engine rules. Because they regularly change their search algorithms you might be on top on day and down or out the next. It works best for those in areas where few sites are optimized. Say you have a cosmetic dental practice in Springfield, Illinois and no other dentist is marketing cosmetic dentistry. Then a site focused on this topic could have a good chance of being ranked number one. However, if you are in Los Angeles, CA, your chances are much lower of getting a high ranking unless you are focused on a narrower concept such as neuromuscular dentistry.
What can it do?
It can increase the number of phone calls and emails especially in the first few weeks of a high ranking such as one, two or three. This lets you know your website is actually working for you. After that it should keep creating leads for you at a good pace until another dentist takes over your spot. Unfortunately, for some areas it might take many tweaks of your dental Internet site design and SEO content before anything occurs. One argument against reliance on search engine optimization is that you don’t really create new converts you are just waiting for the current ones to locate your dental website. Proactive, external dental Internet advertising such as magazines, direct mail or newspaper presents new ideas like smile makeovers to new people. Meaning if you are not willing to do both in some consistent form, you might only have limited success. (SEO is just one-way to get noticed on search engines: search engine advertising is another way: with Google or Overture, which is MSN, Yahoo and others.)
How is cost determined?
The cost of a SEO dental web site design is determined by the number of pages and images you need optimized. There is often an initial fee to do the basic changes along with the per web page charge and an ongoing fee to keep you near or on the top of the search engines you want to be on top of. Once again there are SEO firms that specialize in search engine optimization for all kinds of websites and there are dental marketing firms specializing in dentist web sites who have SEO expertise. Which is best for you? Maybe an analogy using dental practice construction might help: Imagine getting the most productive, highest profile contractor in the state to develop your dental practice versus getting a contractor who has developed five really nice practices in your area to design it. One might have a deeper background in contracting, but which one will be more likely to anticipate all of your needs from a dental perspective?
What should you pay?
If it is an image website design with Flash animation and has many pages, you will be paying on the high end. If you choose an SEO group – not a dental marketer – you might pay more for optimization but less for image design, which they won’t probably do very well. You can get good SEO coding and SEO rich content (copywriting) and keep the page numbers down under 15 and get a less expensive site. However, a smaller Internet site probably would not battle the behemoth dental competitor, but it might work in a smaller and/or less competitive retail community. If you are cranking in 1.5 million dollars per year with one dentist and want to keep that pace in this changing environment – a $20,000 SEO image website probably makes sense. Few doctors will get the number one spot so the cost can vary greatly to get near or on top. Expect to pay more the tougher your dentistry market is and if you really want the top spot. Google.com has a good primer on SEO and pay per click. Here is a place to start: Google SEO reference page.
CONCLUSION: You Need a Dental Website Design that Reflects Your Practice Image
When a dental marketing firm designs dental logos, brochures and presentation folders, they don’t design them to favor the image of a family and pediatric dental practice when the client runs a cosmetic dentistry and spa dental practice. You also need to make sure your website does not stray from your image. Therefore, if you have just purchased an older dental practice and have one year of experience, a leadership web site would be a stretch. Conversely, if you have a dental CV a mile long and/or dozens of before and after smile photos, a business card web site shoots your potential in the foot.
From a cost perspective, never pay more or less than you have the potential to garner from the dental Internet marketing generated. If you’re serving a middle class clientele that will focus mostly on what their dental insurance pays for, a Lexus dental website would not make sense. Then again, dentists who want people to promote their extreme makeover expertise should not drive up in a used Ford Taurus. Of course, you could create a web façade that makes you seem more than you are. But once the patient walks into your dental practice, this façade of a website can cause significant consumer confusion, which means they are a lot less likely to commit to your treatment plan.
Your dental practice image and the web image should correspond to create true brand cohesion to build your dental practice long-term. Patients will recognize inaccuracies. Remember, referrals are still important. For example, if you are in an older dental practice and are not going to build or significantly remodel in the next two or three years, your web site, and the rest of your image, should reflect much of this reality.
There are patients for every type of dental image: from both sides of the fee spectrum. For example, a “low cost looking” dental web site (done well) can attract even high-paying customers because they perceive you as taking care of business first and worrying about your image second. Not “wasting” your money on “frivolous” extras. Of course, another spectrum sees this as cheap and lacking the comforts they require. Therefore, knowing who you really are (and/or want to be) helps you decide which level and type of dental website is best for your practice.
Dental marketing firms are no different. There are about 200,000 dentists in the US and Canada: one in 400 will want and benefit from the services of my dental Internet marketing company over the next 10 years. They will see and believe something positive about me that others do not. If they believe something about me, or my marketing company, after reviewing my website and that turns out not to be “true”, I will not gain a client or the relationship will be very short.
They might be wrong – but my dental marketing website needs to speak correctly to the type of client I want or I gain few clients. That’s because my website is me, and my company, to a large extent. You will need to think of your dental Internet site in the same way.
Finally, when choosing a dental Internet site developer, consider three things:
1) Have a “buyer beware” attitude. “Free” might not be free. No obligation might include some obligations. Etc.
2) Do some cost versus benefit competitor research. Every dental marketing firm comes at it from a different direction. Cheaper might mean less benefit and higher cost might mean they have too much overhead not better products.
3) Call me old fashioned, but I still believe in people… Don’t let the “Internet” be the final arbiter of your decision: make sure you feel comfortable with your choice including the person you are directly working with. They should get to know you beyond your payment method and the colors you like. A dental website is a major part of your image and Internet site building software alone can’t flesh that out.
Don’T Destroy Your Search Engine Advertising With Bad Website Design
So, you’ve embarked on a search engine advertising program, maybe even SEO. Whether you’re doing this on your own or using an SEO firm, there are key points to become aware of.
If you miss these, you won’t increase conversions.
What good is a Number 1 organic search engine raking or AdWords ad listing, if you don’t have increased sales or if you don’t generate more sales leads?
Too often, we get all focused about the Internet advertising — the ads, the offer — that we don’t think the whole process through step-by-step and consider the experience our website visitors will be having.
If we did, we’d be thinking “big picture” and we would head off some of these potential problems before they occur.
Overcoming Your Website Visitors Anxiety
When people come to our website it’s natural for them to feel anxiety. After all, look at all the cr*p on the Internet today, all the too-good-to-be-true products and services.
But when you and I offer REAL products or services, we have to overcome that concern, even if we’re treating our site visitors fairly and not making outrageous claims.
So, how can you overcome these anxieties?
1. Offer more than a 1-page website. Credible companies have multi-page websites, including Privacy Policy, Terms of Use | Service and About Us pages.
They also have more than 1 page about their products or services.
I’m surprised by the number of 1-page websites I see from companies using infomercials to advertise their products. Often, they have the purchase form right on their home page, their only page.
Websites that are only 1-page don’t seem credible. And having the purchase form right on the home page comes across as very pushy!
2. Next to any sign up or contact form buttons clearly state that you don’t sell your customers’ private information and link to your Privacy Policy page.
3. Effectively communicate what your Value Proposition is, also called your Unique Selling Proposition. If you don’t know why someone should buy your product or service versus your competitors’, now is the time to figure it out. (And by the way, based on my experience, if you don’t know this, you’re not alone, by any means.)
But our websites have to be about more than just us. They have to be about our visitors. What’s in it for THEM, to do business with us? What unique voids in the marketplace can we fill?
As a Small Business Owner, Personally Relate to Your Site Visitors and Communicate Directly with Them
People don’t buy from websites, they buy from people! So, how can you apply this to your own website?
1. For many small businesses and solo proprietorships, their website text should speak to your visitors directly in first person.
This should be written from the voice of the owner or President. They shouldn’t use third person, institutional-sounding language, getting rid of “we” and “our”, using “I” instead, speaking first person, in an actual conversation. Don’t try to sound like you’re Microsoft!
And while your at it, be careful about overuse of words about you…whether “I”, or those words, “we”, “our” or “us”.
Check out the WeWe calculator (Google: wewe calculator). Make sure to focus on customer-focused words and NOT on words about you or your company.
2. Include your picture on your Web pages.
For a larger small business trying to make that personal connection with their website visitors, try the idea used by the nutritional supplement company Lumina. (Google: Lumina Health Contact Us)
In this execution, notice how Lumina gets you to relate to their customer service department. I still remember it was John I spoke with and that’s been over 1 year ago that I called them!
Again, people buy from other people, not from websites.
For us as small businesses, why should we sound large, pretending to be something we aren’t? And why should we run from our advantage of being small: low overhead, friendly, personal service and accountability, among other advantages.
Make Each Step in Your Marketing a Smooth Handoff from One Step to Another
If you’re running pay per click advertising, make sure your ad matches the experience your website visitor will have when they come to your landing page. Actually, this same principle applies whether you’re using search engine advertising or organic search engine optimization.
Quite often when I’m Coaching my small business owner clients or performing the service of an SEO Firm, I find the wording for their organic listing or AdWords ad says one thing and their landing page says something that doesn’t sound the same.
This causes confusion is the best case scenario. In the worst case, it causes a lack of trust. Dangerous!
We should understand our products or services. And we know what we want our visitors to do on our site.
Our potential customers may not understand either. We need to think like them, when we explain what we have to offer them and how to use our website to take advantage of what we have to offer.
And when “shifting” from one page to another, we need to hand-off from one page to another naturally and smoothly, like a car with a smooth automatic transmission.
Don’t advertise one offer in AdWords, only to have your landing page sound like it was written for another advertising offer. I see this problem a lot!
Often times, having an affordable SEO firm reviewing what you’re doing can offer easy, inexpensive fixes that can yield big improvements in your search engine advertising conversions.
Your Action Plan
Let’s review what we’ve talked about.
First, overcome visitors anxieties by offering a multi-page website which answers questions about your company and your services or products, while inspiring confidence in your company. Effectively communicate your Value Proposition.
Second, personally relate to your site visitors. Avoid using the wrong words that may put off your site visitors. Use your picture on your Web pages.
Third, hand-off from one page on your website and one step in your selling process to another smoothly and naturally. We should understand what we want our site visitors to do, but they won’t unless we make the process really clear.
Whether your using an SEO Firm or doing the work yourself, if you take these steps, your search engine advertising plan will convert at a MUCH higher rate, when you take these steps.
About the Author
Do you want to grow your business online? Paul Marshall offers Affordable SEO services and d-i-y SEO Coaching. Learn more at:http://strategicwebmarketing.net/search-engine-positioning.html and receive your Free Introductory Consultation, just visit his home page: http://strategicwebmarketing.net
Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
An important aspect of website design is to reduce web page load time to the lowest possible. A slim trim website design is in some ways like an attractive athletic woman, so let us call this article “A website weight loss programme” that will help you make your web pages load much faster. Why is it so important to reduce website load time? A website has global reach but Internet connection speeds in various countries are not the same. A lot of dial-ups and slow broadband connections still exist. Recently published research has revealed that unless massive amounts are spent on improving Internet infrastructure, more visit to :-www.instant-website-security.comthe average global connection speed may show a dip by 2010. Even for those who do have high-speed connections, the total number of relevant websites on the Internet is growing fast. This directly translates into less time spent by the viewer per web page. Generally speaking, patience is a rare commodity in today’s world of reducing resource-to-consumption ratios. Do you want to neglect a large proportion of potential worldwide customers just because your web page load time is slow? If not, then follow the steps below to reduce website load time. Women usually work on trimming the hips, shaping legs and removing cellulites in various places. Similarly, I have classified below “website weight loss programme” into three ‘broad’ categories: Graphics, Code and Other Factors. Please note that you should meticulously follow as many steps as you can to take the redundant fat out of your website design and reduce “website loading time” to a bare minimum. WEBSITE WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMME A. TRIM the Graphics (Slim hips:-) 1. Avoid Graphic Heavy or Complicated Web Design Website designs that use many images (especially those with special effects) generally take a long time to load. What if a good looking website keeps loosing valuable visitors just because its web pages take too much loading time? more visite to :-www.instant-squeeze-page-mastery.comTry to be discrete and use less number of images / graphics while maintaining the look and impact of the website design. Remember that text links are easily read by search engines and load faster than graphic buttons. Sometimes it is also possible to move large images from an important page to a section like “Gallery” to reduce web page load time. 2. Use Only Optimized Images Optimize each image in editing software like Photoshop. There are different image formats like GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF etc., so try to save images in the appropriate format. As a rule-of-thumb, GIF is more suitable for uniform color images and JPEG for real world scenes. GIF saved at 256 colors should be reduced (as much as possible) to 128, 64 or 32 colors without comprising image quality. To reduce website load time JPEGs should be saved in the lowest quality possible without spoiling picture impact. You can also use PNG if you are sure that your users are using newer browsers. 3. Specify Image Dimensions While inserting images in HTML always mention height and width attributes. This helps the web browser to know the image size before loading it. The browser will then reserve the area for the images while rest of the web page design continues to load, thereby reducing website loading time. Do not use the height and width tags for image size reduction. 4. Pre-load Your Images You can pre-load some heavy images of the next pages (that can be reached by clicking on links within the current page) by defining them at the footer of the current web page. For example, img src=”nextimage” height =”1″ width=”1″ inserts a 1×1 pixel image in the footer that is read by the browser when the code above it has been read. Thereafter, while your visitor is viewing your main page, images of the next page will continue to download to the viewer’s PC in the background and will reduce subsequent web page load times. This is not recommended for direct Adwords Landing Pages because Google has recently announced that high web page load time will negatively impact the Landing Page Quality Score. 5. Optimize Flash Files Animating important stuff can make an impact on the visitor. If possible, avoid animated GIF images in website designs; instead use Flash with discretion. Always use optimized flash files. There are so many ways to reduce Flash loading time that I will be covering this in a separate article.
Planning A Web Design Strategy To Include Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
The phrase “web design strategy means a range of different things to different people, and involves more than merely “design decisions. The term seems to imply that the issue is about color, page layout and the use of Flash animations. Yes, these factors are part of the big picture, but the “bigger picture is about the overall design of your website, meaning its entire “architecture.
You need to find out how your site’s overall “information architecture affects its visibility to search engines. The truth is, specific web page elements like your navigation scheme and technologies like CSS (Cascading Style Scripts) or JavaScript can either interfere with or aid a search engine’s ability to “spider and rate your site. Sometimes an element can do both, at the same time!
The whole topic of a “site architecture or web design strategy that supports Search Engine Marketing (SEM) has really been quite poorly addressed. Many companies that do SEM consulting have less than state-of-the-art knowledge of how information architecture and design strategy affect a site’s usability and organic rankings. If your consultant, or your own research, is focusing only on search advertising, media buys and bidding processes, you are not getting the whole picture.
A top position in the Google results is useless if site visitors aren’t being converted into buyers. A successful site architecture and site design strategy will address the needs of both the search engines and your visitors/customers.
Directory setups
Generally speaking, the pages nearest the root directory are the most important pages of your site. Essentially, by placing them near the root you are telling the search engines your priorities, strengths, and focus.
One of the oldest and “wrongest SEO myths, however, is that search bots won’t “crawl farther down that a third subdirectory. This is not true now, if it ever was, because as long as related pages are linking with each other in a “spider-friendly way, the search engines will keep on searching. Many experts in the field recommend that the most important pages (up to 200, if you have that many) can be kept in the root directory. This means pages that are important to your target audience, not your consultant or IT expert.
Navigation is key
A key element of your site design is the navigation scheme. Sets of buttons are generally friendlier than pull-down menus (DHTML), but plain old hypertext links are even friendlier than those buttons. While it is true that these text links are easiest for programmers to format (a click with CSS), the site design must consider the preferences of the end users, not the site designers or owners.
The fact is, many usability tests and user focus groups reveal definite preferences among Internet users for intuitive buttons and those dynamic, pull-down menus. Even though some usability experts may not recommend these latter approaches, you really must consider how the users react to them, since it is their actions that lead to sales and rankings, not the theories of the tech squads.
File names, directories, URL’s
When queried on which URL is more memorable – domain.com/car/seats.html or domain.com/carseats.html – more than 90 percent of people in an online survey reported preferring the one without the subdirectory. A surplus of “forward slashes” is a common complaint heard by site designers who take the time to check in with actual users.
Many SEM experts create extra subdirectories as a means of adding another keyword in a URL, assuming that it will help ranking. It is fairly well established that keyword-rich title tags are far more beneficial than keyword-rich URL’s. Never forget for whom you are creating those URL structures. It’s the users. URLs that are easy for users to remember are also easy for them to pass on to others.
Web page categories
Some usability professionals have broken web pages down into seven specific types, while others assert that there are 11, or an even dozen, or more. The actual number is not really that important. The knowledge to take away is that there are different types of pages that SEM-oriented web strategies must consider. Which ones you will employ depends both on your type of business and your approach. And how you will conceive, design and promote each web page will depend to a great extent on the type of page that it is.
Some web page types are home page, category/gallery page, advertising (landing) page, product page, news/media page, form page, services page, shopping cart page, search/results page and “credibility page. Each one naturally requires a different approach. It would be silly to optimize your product page the very same way you optimize some other kind of page, since optimization and design strategies differ according to many factors, not the least of which are the calls to action (CTAs) for each page type.
Layout, look and feel
Naturally, layout strategies will be as varied as the different page types, and a product page will not work according to the same principles as a news page. Of course, you also have to have an integrated and consistent overall design. When you are planning for a site, you need to focus not just on the overall effect, but all the individual ones that are put into play on each page. There must be some overarching sense to the site, while still allowing for differences at the page level.
Successful site design and web strategy entails issues of language, design, color, shape, layout, look and feel. The strategy must make sense while allowing for sufficient flexibility and creativity “along the way.” Certainly you want to improve the ability of search engines to access your keyword-rich content, but the bottom line is that you want to increase those site conversions. Keep your eyes on the prize and stay vigilant.
About the Author
Moonrise Productions is a custom web design company specializing in custom web development and design. Whether you need web application development or social network web design contact us and we’ll get it done right.
landing pages?
From a marketing point of view witch page do you think would successfully attract customers to purchase The Starry Night and why?
Is your life has become Dull & Slow? Do you feel Lack of Desire, Commitment &Happiness in your life? Do you have Free hours in your daily routine, but Don’t know How to Utilize it?
Well if your Answer is Yes to any to above asked Questions, Then you must read this article. Even Psychiatrists and Scientists have proven that Excitement and Desire is important to live a Healthy life Mentally as well as Physically.
On internet you will find many site related to Art & Entertainment, But only few comes out to be Useful & Realistic. I would like to share my Experience from such a site where I found almost everything related to the Topic. I am giving you some idea about the Information you can find on the site.
Body Art: Tattoos Galleries, Landing Page, LA Ink, Japanese Symbols, Tattoo removal methods and Procedures, Set Up & Tune Your Tattoo Machines, Trade Secrets And Tips, Run you own shop or want to open, etc?
Dance: Ballet, Hp-hop, Salsa, Pole Dance, Break Dance, etc.?
Fashion:Fashion buff, Improve your Personality, Run your Fashion Store, Designer Handbags, Women Accessories, Know Latest Fashion?
Film & Television: Unlimited movies, Satellite TV Software, 3000+ Channels & Radio Stations, Film Making & Hollywood, much more?
Humor: Be Funnier, Attractive and Centre of Attraction, Jokes Stories, Big Belly Laughs, etc?
Photography: Posing A Model, Digital Photography, Digital Backgrounds, Pinup Photography, Sell Photos, Images & Screensavers, Landscape Photography, Make Over $900/day, Portrait Photography Business, etc?
Radio: Tools For Radio & Advertising Professionals, Be Guest On Radio Talk Shows, Listen Favorite Talk Shows, etc?
Theatre: Christmas Nativity Play, Screenwriting, Drama Teaching, Scriptwriting, etc?
This site is a Gold Mine for House-Wives and Children?
I have given you just a Snapshot but you will find much more on the site. The feature by which I was so Impressed is the Varieties of Products you can find under one roof. Moreover site is Simple with no extra show off things. It would cost you nothing but, if you miss the chance, Opportunity will not come again. So Don’t Wait for Tomorrow Because Tomorrow Never Comes? Or visit
Today, a corporate web site is one of the most important marketing tools a small business has; and for many it is just as essential as having a phone number or business cards. Typically, companies rely on a variety of marketing “assets” like e-mailing lists, customer databases, and marketing materials to help them promote and build their businesses. But of all the marketing assets a business may have, its web site can be the strongest marketing asset of all, especially when it is part of a strategic, coordinated marketing plan.
A web site often includes the elements found in a marketing plan; from lead generation to advertising to online payments to customer service. With Web 2.0 interactivity now commonplace, companies can also add video, news feeds, online tutorials, and social networking integration to their web sites to further extend the site’s capability and meet their customers’ ever-changing needs and expectations.
An Online Advantage
Here are 7 reasons your web site could (or should!) be the strongest marketing asset available to your small business today:
Everything is in one place – web forms for lead capture, company videos, industry news feeds, links to resources and partners, online tutorials, customer service, events calendar, photo gallery, testimonials, marketing materials, etc., can all be included on your web site.
Integrates with other marketing – direct mail campaigns can reference online coupons or downloads on your site, email campaigns can lead to targeted Landing Pages, opt-in subscriptions can help build marketing email lists, social networking strategies can be integrated with the web site, etc.
Builds credibility with users – an outdated, unattractive web site sends all the wrong messages to your visitors, but an updated, user-friendly web site is an asset that and can instantly make you more credible and trustworthy, regardless of the size of your business.
Results can be tracked and measured – by using web analytics tools, you can track visitors, conversions, search engine terms and keywords, entry and exit pages, traffic stats, and a multitude of additional information.
Information can be changed and updated – unlike printed materials where you have to order hundreds (or thousands) of brochures or postcards that may quickly become outdated, your web site can be changed whenever information changes.
Local reach, global reach – and everything in-between. Depending on how you optimize and promote your site, you can target customers regardless of geographic location.
Works for you 24/7 – your site is available for visitors to do research or purchase products and services at their own convenience, at any time, regardless of your business hours.
Show It Off!
If you are not currently using your web site as a marketing asset for your business, here are some tips to help you combine your site with your overall marketing strategy:
Showcase your advertising and marketing online; e.g., re-use commercials, radio spots, print advertisements, coupons, flyers, etc., on your web site to extend their reach beyond initial audiences, and also stretch your investment at the same time.
Include your web address on everything – advertisements, business cards, vehicle lettering, name badges, logos, printed materials, etc., to drive traffic to your web site and help build your brand.
Update your web site on a regular basis – do something at least monthly to update the information, add new content, improve search engine positions, promote the site, build inbound links, etc. A stale, outdated site is not useful to your visitors, and is not much of an asset to your business, either.
Take it seriously! Consumers today are already online, and every touch point where you intersect with your customers and potential customers should ultimately lead them back to a great user experience on your web site!
About the Author
Lauren Hobson, President of Five Sparrows, LLC, has more than 16 years of experience in small business technology writing, marketing, and web site design and development. Five Sparrows provides professional website, marketing, and social networking services to small businesses and non-profits at affordable prices, giving clients access to customized services that meet both their needs and their budgets. More at www.fivesparrows.com. Copyright 2010, Five Sparrows. All Rights Reserved.
Where can I get a quote on web design?
I need to create a website for a company that generates leads to a product. This site includes the following sections: Home About Us Gallery Price (Approx 50 images) Contact FAQ landing page 2 landing site needs a logo and colors. Looking to hire a designer preferences Individual / programmer who can bring some creativity to the table. In addition, the site will also be in Spanish and some images in text mode rewrite Spanish (although most of the site will be in the text, not images). There are certain forms of contact should be configured as well. provider would be to clean 40-50 images to place on the platform and use of the watermark. Also want to develop a tool that can generate the model e-mails change based solely on the values selected (name, quantity, currency, etc.).
I am a single designer / programmer who can make little creativity to the table. In fact, I am a web developer, Internet marketing and online retailer. I design websites with marketing in mind (Unlike many web designers and programmers who can create a work of art, but I know little about what is effective). To a better idea of who I am and what I can do or be to contact me for a free consultation or marketing budget, is http://effectivemarketing4u.com/blog/hire-me/ Greetings, Kham Lee Tran
Are you sending all your online visitors to the home page? You may be preventing a large number of your clicks from converting because the message on your home page may not match the offer. Worse, the visitor clicks away because the information is not relevant to what he or she was looking for.
In online marketing a Landing Page, sometimes known as a lead Capture Page, is the page that appears when a potential customer clicks on an advertisement or a search-engine result link. The page will usually display content that is a logical extension of the advertisement or link, and that is optimized to feature specific keywords or phrases for indexing by search engines.
In pay per click (PPC) campaigns, the landing page will also be customized to measure the effectiveness of different advertisements. By adding a parameter to the linking URL, marketers can measure advertisement effectiveness based on relative click-through rates.
Improve your conversion rates by creating optimized landing pages with personalized URLs. They are designed to provide a more personalized experience and proven to dramatically improve conversion of clicks into high-quality leads and/or customers.
Top Landing Page Features
Creating a quality landing page aimed at improving conversion rates requires systematic and creative approach to marketing and web design.
1. Keep it Short Keep it short and to the point. Paragraphs should be no longer than three lines, if they are used at all.
2. Relevancy In the case of PPC landing pages you need to match the offer to your text ad copy. Keywords should be highlighted or displayed prominently. Keep it relevant to that person’s search query, because that’s all they care about.
3. A direct approach Bullet points work well online, to help communicate the benefits of a product or service. Keep in mind that people skim read on the web. Use bold text to reinforce key messages.
4. A clear call-to-action That potentially means a big Buy Now button, above the fold…
5. Fact over fiction Stick to the key facts and be transparent, especially when the landing page is related to an ad campaign. Do not hide the price. Product features, product features, product features.
6. Persuasion Persuasion means removing any links that might distract, focusing the consumer’s mind on the end goal: the checkout. This means writing compelling copy. Persuade visitors not to drop out by limiting their options – remove link navigation, for example. Prominently display delivery options and costs.
7. Clear scent trails How easy is it for a novice web user to get from A to B? You need to encourage visitors to walk / run down that conversion path. Conducting usability testing on your Landing Page Templates may also provide you with some answers.
8. Grammatical accuracy People don’t like spelling mistakes. First impressions count.
9. Reinforcing credibility Testimonials, press, partners and additional visible customer support are all strong traits of a credible campaign. All these things convey trust and respectability. They ease the mind of the prospective buyer, who might not know your brand. Trust is very important.
10. Good use of images and color Presentation (colors, graphics, icons) can play a big role in reinforcing purchase intent. Avoid clutter. Use white space and big fonts. Smart layout.
About the Author
Circle Limit Media is a full-service digital agency focused on providing innovative services in the field of landing pages in Los Angeles. Circle Limit has over 10 years experience delivering e-commerce for our client’s online, video and marketing needs worldwide. We bring boundless imagination with technological innovation to drive your business into the next generation.
Landing Page Layout Examples
Farmville Layout Ideas For Facebook Fans
Farmville is one of the most versatile games going. With a simple grid formation you can create your farm in an almost unlimited number of ways, just like a real farm! Here are a few Farmville layout ideas to give you some inspiration.
Inspect Your Neighbours’ Farms Closely
The first thing you should do is to simply look at the farms of your neighbours, especially those who are at intermediate to advanced levels. This can give you a good idea of how to organise your own farm.
To do this, either visit their farm or check out their profile photos as many players have screen captures of their farms stored there.
Decide What Kind Of Farmer You Want To Be?
What is your priority when it comes to your farm?
Do you want it to look nice and to make some good money? Or would you rather optimise it for money? Or do you prefer it to look absolutely perfect and you do not really care about money except to buy more stuff to decorate your farm with?
Going For The Gold
If your priority is making money then you should dedicate the vast majority (ideally 90% or more) of your land to growing crops on. It won’t look pretty stuffing all your animals and trees into a tiny corner but it will make you more money.
If you decide to go via this route then I recommend planting similar crops next to each other. For example, plant all your strawberries next to each other and all your pumpkins next to each other. If you follow this plan then they should all mature for harvest at roughly the same time and you won’t be wasting time moving around your farm and clicking all over the place.
Going For The Show
If you only care about what your farm looks like then you may want to sketch your idea before going ahead and creating it.
Some people use Photoshop, a spreadsheet or even regular grid-lined paper to sketch out and modify their ideas before going ahead and buying and placing the stuff they want.
If you need more inspiration for your layout and your neighbour’s farms just are not giving you what you need then check out the official Zynga Farmville forum. There are several threads (including one with over 600 pages) where people are showing off their farms.
Most of the Facebook Farmville Cheat hints, tips, growing your best crops, experience points, free stuff, how to level up in Farmville fast, trees guide. golden chicken, Farmville cash are discussed and published in other articles. Make sure that you read them and maintain your lead position in Facebook Farmville Game.
About the Author
For more information on FarmVille strategy guides visit All About FarmVille.
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