When I went into marketing/communications in the 80’s, things were simpler. I spoke 5 languages, which pushed me into this field. What else could I do, be a translator? Not on your life. Not when I could be creative, come up with quantitative studies and research why / how people buy.
It seemed simple, right? You have a product and you have to figure out a way to sell said product. You had magazine ad space, TV commercials, newspapers… every day, everywhere you looked, you’d see some form of advertisement. Eventually, we became desensitized to print and TV marketing – the traditional ways.
The Internet wasn’t used as it is today (although it still had some traction). The World Wide Web was the Wild Wild West. It was a “small” little marketplace, with a minor audience for client product promotion.
And Then Internet Entered the Scene… Fast Forward in Time
Advertising is more sophisticated now… but then, so are consumers. Way back when, we could survey the consumer, create charts, crunch numbers… it was all about data. Anymore, however, you have to understand consumer psychology.
Marketing has gone holistic. Yes, quantitative and qualitative data is still important, but we’re not looking at real numbers anymore. We’re looking at the consumers themselves.
What makes buyers buy? Is it the way a site looks? Does having the sidebar on the left gain a greater response than having the sidebar on the right? Are blue links more “clickable” then, say, green ones? Is “buy” more active than “act”?
What Are the Click Triggers?
With all the Google changes lately, you really have to pay more attention to your site. Of course, if you’re a regular reader, you know I push site attention anyway, no matter what Google’s doing. However, with all the vertical marketing possibilities, you want to make sure you get all the bang for your buck you can from any top listing you get.
So you study the click triggers – those beautiful little differences that cause people to click through: through to your website, through to your buy page, through to your “thank you”. It’s a step-by-step process, and you have to guide them every step of the way.
Ask yourself:
- Is my content sticky? Does it have good information worth reading?
- Are my headlines well written? Do they grab readers’ attentions?
- Do I let others (those who will tell me the truth) read my content before I put it up? Do they like it? Do I listen when they offer suggestions?
- Is it easy to navigate through my site? Does my site create a pleasant user experience?
Are You Ignoring the Individual?
This is the most serious question, and you need to really give it some thought. If your content completely targets consumers (i.e. all product/service focused) rather than having helpful bits of information, you could be losing out.
You can’t appeal to everyone; not everyone is your target market. You don’t want to get so busy trying to reach everyone that you miss those who might convert. Build your site, images, writing, etc within the context of your specific target, and then experiment.
Experiment….?
Yes, experiment. Human behavior and relevance is a beautiful thing. Being able to associate one with the other will have half your online battle won. However, you can’t just pull knowledge out of the air. You have to be willing to experiment – to test. Plenty of tools are readily available for just this purpose, such as…
Google Website Optimizer
A/B testing is in; guessing is out. If you think you might know why a page isn’t converting, that’s all well and good. However, there’s a difference between thinking you know, and really knowing. With a little A/B testing, you can find out what areas really are the problem and fix them.
Usabilla
Take a screen shot of your page and put it up on Usabilla. Let people know what questions you want them to answer and then send out the link. This little goodie can give you some very valuable insights in terms of layout and design.
4QSurvey
Very nice, very short survey. You can find out why people came to your site, whether they found what they wanted (giving you visitor satisfaction ratings) and get suggestions from them, all in the same program. Again, this is a very useful goodie.
The three above are just a few. There are, literally, tons of usability testing tools out there. Many are free; some cost, but are worth it.
You’re not going to get through today’s marketing world by guessing. You’re not going to make it with traditional marketing tools. You have to be willing to use everything at your disposal; you have to be willing to expand.
What changes have you made to keep up with online marketing and technology?
Post image via BDoughertyAmSchool
When I went into marketing/communications in the 80’s, things were simpler. I spoke 5 languages, which pushed me into this field. What else could I do, be a translator? Not on your life. Not when I could be creative, come up with quantitative studies and research why / how people buy.
It seemed simple, right? You have a product and you have to figure out a way to sell said product. You had magazine ad space, TV commercials, newspapers… every day, everywhere you looked, you’d see some form of advertisement. Eventually, we became desensitized to print and TV marketing – the traditional ways.
The Internet wasn’t used as it is today (although it still had some traction). The World Wide Web was the Wild Wild West. It was a “small” little marketplace, with a minor audience for client product promotion.
And Then Internet Entered the Scene… Fast Forward in Time
Advertising is more sophisticated now… but then, so are consumers. Way back when, we could survey the consumer, create charts, crunch numbers… it was all about data. Anymore, however, you have to understand consumer psychology.
Marketing has gone holistic. Yes, quantitative and qualitative data is still important, but we’re not looking at real numbers anymore. We’re looking at the consumers themselves.
What makes buyers buy? Is it the way a site looks? Does having the sidebar on the left gain a greater response than having the sidebar on the right? Are blue links more “clickable” then, say, green ones? Is “buy” more active than “act”?
What Are the Click Triggers?
With all the Google changes lately, you really have to pay more attention to your site. Of course, if you’re a regular reader, you know I push site attention anyway, no matter what Google’s doing. However, with all the vertical marketing possibilities, you want to make sure you get all the bang for your buck you can from any top listing you get.
So you study the click triggers – those beautiful little differences that cause people to click through: through to your website, through to your buy page, through to your “thank you”. It’s a step-by-step process, and you have to guide them every step of the way.
Ask yourself:
- Is my content sticky? Does it have good information worth reading?
- Are my headlines well written? Do they grab readers’ attentions?
- Do I let others (those who will tell me the truth) read my content before I put it up? Do they like it? Do I listen when they offer suggestions?
- Is it easy to navigate through my site? Does my site create a pleasant user experience?
Are You Ignoring the Individual?
This is the most serious question, and you need to really give it some thought. If your content completely targets consumers (i.e. all product/service focused) rather than having helpful bits of information, you could be losing out.
You can’t appeal to everyone; not everyone is your target market. You don’t want to get so busy trying to reach everyone that you miss those who might convert. Build your site, images, writing, etc within the context of your specific target, and then experiment.
Experiment….?
Yes, experiment. Human behavior and relevance is a beautiful thing. Being able to associate one with the other will have half your online battle won. However, you can’t just pull knowledge out of the air. You have to be willing to experiment – to test. Plenty of tools are readily available for just this purpose, such as…
Google Website Optimizer
A/B testing is in; guessing is out. If you think you might know why a page isn’t converting, that’s all well and good. However, there’s a difference between thinking you know, and really knowing. With a little A/B testing, you can find out what areas really are the problem and fix them.
Usabilla
Take a screen shot of your page and put it up on Usabilla. Let people know what questions you want them to answer and then send out the link. This little goodie can give you some very valuable insights in terms of layout and design.
4QSurvey
Very nice, very short survey. You can find out why people came to your site, whether they found what they wanted (giving you visitor satisfaction ratings) and get suggestions from them, all in the same program. Again, this is a very useful goodie.
The three above are just a few. There are, literally, tons of usability testing tools out there. Many are free; some cost, but are worth it.
You’re not going to get through today’s marketing world by guessing. You’re not going to make it with traditional marketing tools. You have to be willing to use everything at your disposal; you have to be willing to expand.
What changes have you made to keep up with online marketing and technology?
Post image via BDoughertyAmSchool
robert shumake detroit
Study: US Bumblebee Population in Sharp Decline - AOL <b>News</b>
The population of bumblebees in the United States is in a kind of free fall, dropping 96 percent over the past two decades, according to a new study that has scientists alarmed. Four species of bumblebees are in a rapid decline, ...
<b>News</b> Corp. Online Gaming Head Sean Ryan to Head Facebook's Social <b>...</b>
Sean Ryan, who arrived at News Corp. mid-year to set up a new online gaming unit, is moving to Facebook to head partnerships at its key gaming platform, according to sources. Currently, Facebook does not create social games, ...
New Edition of Huckleberry Finn to Drop N-Word: Instant Reactions
Auburn University professor Alan Gribben, along with NewSouth Books, plans to release a newly edited edition of the Mark Twain classic, with every instance of the N-word replaced with the word.
robert shumake detroit
Study: US Bumblebee Population in Sharp Decline - AOL <b>News</b>
The population of bumblebees in the United States is in a kind of free fall, dropping 96 percent over the past two decades, according to a new study that has scientists alarmed. Four species of bumblebees are in a rapid decline, ...
<b>News</b> Corp. Online Gaming Head Sean Ryan to Head Facebook's Social <b>...</b>
Sean Ryan, who arrived at News Corp. mid-year to set up a new online gaming unit, is moving to Facebook to head partnerships at its key gaming platform, according to sources. Currently, Facebook does not create social games, ...
New Edition of Huckleberry Finn to Drop N-Word: Instant Reactions
Auburn University professor Alan Gribben, along with NewSouth Books, plans to release a newly edited edition of the Mark Twain classic, with every instance of the N-word replaced with the word.
robert shumake detroit
When I went into marketing/communications in the 80’s, things were simpler. I spoke 5 languages, which pushed me into this field. What else could I do, be a translator? Not on your life. Not when I could be creative, come up with quantitative studies and research why / how people buy.
It seemed simple, right? You have a product and you have to figure out a way to sell said product. You had magazine ad space, TV commercials, newspapers… every day, everywhere you looked, you’d see some form of advertisement. Eventually, we became desensitized to print and TV marketing – the traditional ways.
The Internet wasn’t used as it is today (although it still had some traction). The World Wide Web was the Wild Wild West. It was a “small” little marketplace, with a minor audience for client product promotion.
And Then Internet Entered the Scene… Fast Forward in Time
Advertising is more sophisticated now… but then, so are consumers. Way back when, we could survey the consumer, create charts, crunch numbers… it was all about data. Anymore, however, you have to understand consumer psychology.
Marketing has gone holistic. Yes, quantitative and qualitative data is still important, but we’re not looking at real numbers anymore. We’re looking at the consumers themselves.
What makes buyers buy? Is it the way a site looks? Does having the sidebar on the left gain a greater response than having the sidebar on the right? Are blue links more “clickable” then, say, green ones? Is “buy” more active than “act”?
What Are the Click Triggers?
With all the Google changes lately, you really have to pay more attention to your site. Of course, if you’re a regular reader, you know I push site attention anyway, no matter what Google’s doing. However, with all the vertical marketing possibilities, you want to make sure you get all the bang for your buck you can from any top listing you get.
So you study the click triggers – those beautiful little differences that cause people to click through: through to your website, through to your buy page, through to your “thank you”. It’s a step-by-step process, and you have to guide them every step of the way.
Ask yourself:
- Is my content sticky? Does it have good information worth reading?
- Are my headlines well written? Do they grab readers’ attentions?
- Do I let others (those who will tell me the truth) read my content before I put it up? Do they like it? Do I listen when they offer suggestions?
- Is it easy to navigate through my site? Does my site create a pleasant user experience?
Are You Ignoring the Individual?
This is the most serious question, and you need to really give it some thought. If your content completely targets consumers (i.e. all product/service focused) rather than having helpful bits of information, you could be losing out.
You can’t appeal to everyone; not everyone is your target market. You don’t want to get so busy trying to reach everyone that you miss those who might convert. Build your site, images, writing, etc within the context of your specific target, and then experiment.
Experiment….?
Yes, experiment. Human behavior and relevance is a beautiful thing. Being able to associate one with the other will have half your online battle won. However, you can’t just pull knowledge out of the air. You have to be willing to experiment – to test. Plenty of tools are readily available for just this purpose, such as…
Google Website Optimizer
A/B testing is in; guessing is out. If you think you might know why a page isn’t converting, that’s all well and good. However, there’s a difference between thinking you know, and really knowing. With a little A/B testing, you can find out what areas really are the problem and fix them.
Usabilla
Take a screen shot of your page and put it up on Usabilla. Let people know what questions you want them to answer and then send out the link. This little goodie can give you some very valuable insights in terms of layout and design.
4QSurvey
Very nice, very short survey. You can find out why people came to your site, whether they found what they wanted (giving you visitor satisfaction ratings) and get suggestions from them, all in the same program. Again, this is a very useful goodie.
The three above are just a few. There are, literally, tons of usability testing tools out there. Many are free; some cost, but are worth it.
You’re not going to get through today’s marketing world by guessing. You’re not going to make it with traditional marketing tools. You have to be willing to use everything at your disposal; you have to be willing to expand.
What changes have you made to keep up with online marketing and technology?
Post image via BDoughertyAmSchool
When I went into marketing/communications in the 80’s, things were simpler. I spoke 5 languages, which pushed me into this field. What else could I do, be a translator? Not on your life. Not when I could be creative, come up with quantitative studies and research why / how people buy.
It seemed simple, right? You have a product and you have to figure out a way to sell said product. You had magazine ad space, TV commercials, newspapers… every day, everywhere you looked, you’d see some form of advertisement. Eventually, we became desensitized to print and TV marketing – the traditional ways.
The Internet wasn’t used as it is today (although it still had some traction). The World Wide Web was the Wild Wild West. It was a “small” little marketplace, with a minor audience for client product promotion.
And Then Internet Entered the Scene… Fast Forward in Time
Advertising is more sophisticated now… but then, so are consumers. Way back when, we could survey the consumer, create charts, crunch numbers… it was all about data. Anymore, however, you have to understand consumer psychology.
Marketing has gone holistic. Yes, quantitative and qualitative data is still important, but we’re not looking at real numbers anymore. We’re looking at the consumers themselves.
What makes buyers buy? Is it the way a site looks? Does having the sidebar on the left gain a greater response than having the sidebar on the right? Are blue links more “clickable” then, say, green ones? Is “buy” more active than “act”?
What Are the Click Triggers?
With all the Google changes lately, you really have to pay more attention to your site. Of course, if you’re a regular reader, you know I push site attention anyway, no matter what Google’s doing. However, with all the vertical marketing possibilities, you want to make sure you get all the bang for your buck you can from any top listing you get.
So you study the click triggers – those beautiful little differences that cause people to click through: through to your website, through to your buy page, through to your “thank you”. It’s a step-by-step process, and you have to guide them every step of the way.
Ask yourself:
- Is my content sticky? Does it have good information worth reading?
- Are my headlines well written? Do they grab readers’ attentions?
- Do I let others (those who will tell me the truth) read my content before I put it up? Do they like it? Do I listen when they offer suggestions?
- Is it easy to navigate through my site? Does my site create a pleasant user experience?
Are You Ignoring the Individual?
This is the most serious question, and you need to really give it some thought. If your content completely targets consumers (i.e. all product/service focused) rather than having helpful bits of information, you could be losing out.
You can’t appeal to everyone; not everyone is your target market. You don’t want to get so busy trying to reach everyone that you miss those who might convert. Build your site, images, writing, etc within the context of your specific target, and then experiment.
Experiment….?
Yes, experiment. Human behavior and relevance is a beautiful thing. Being able to associate one with the other will have half your online battle won. However, you can’t just pull knowledge out of the air. You have to be willing to experiment – to test. Plenty of tools are readily available for just this purpose, such as…
Google Website Optimizer
A/B testing is in; guessing is out. If you think you might know why a page isn’t converting, that’s all well and good. However, there’s a difference between thinking you know, and really knowing. With a little A/B testing, you can find out what areas really are the problem and fix them.
Usabilla
Take a screen shot of your page and put it up on Usabilla. Let people know what questions you want them to answer and then send out the link. This little goodie can give you some very valuable insights in terms of layout and design.
4QSurvey
Very nice, very short survey. You can find out why people came to your site, whether they found what they wanted (giving you visitor satisfaction ratings) and get suggestions from them, all in the same program. Again, this is a very useful goodie.
The three above are just a few. There are, literally, tons of usability testing tools out there. Many are free; some cost, but are worth it.
You’re not going to get through today’s marketing world by guessing. You’re not going to make it with traditional marketing tools. You have to be willing to use everything at your disposal; you have to be willing to expand.
What changes have you made to keep up with online marketing and technology?
Post image via BDoughertyAmSchool
robert shumake
robert shumake
Study: US Bumblebee Population in Sharp Decline - AOL <b>News</b>
The population of bumblebees in the United States is in a kind of free fall, dropping 96 percent over the past two decades, according to a new study that has scientists alarmed. Four species of bumblebees are in a rapid decline, ...
<b>News</b> Corp. Online Gaming Head Sean Ryan to Head Facebook's Social <b>...</b>
Sean Ryan, who arrived at News Corp. mid-year to set up a new online gaming unit, is moving to Facebook to head partnerships at its key gaming platform, according to sources. Currently, Facebook does not create social games, ...
New Edition of Huckleberry Finn to Drop N-Word: Instant Reactions
Auburn University professor Alan Gribben, along with NewSouth Books, plans to release a newly edited edition of the Mark Twain classic, with every instance of the N-word replaced with the word.
robert shumake
Study: US Bumblebee Population in Sharp Decline - AOL <b>News</b>
The population of bumblebees in the United States is in a kind of free fall, dropping 96 percent over the past two decades, according to a new study that has scientists alarmed. Four species of bumblebees are in a rapid decline, ...
<b>News</b> Corp. Online Gaming Head Sean Ryan to Head Facebook's Social <b>...</b>
Sean Ryan, who arrived at News Corp. mid-year to set up a new online gaming unit, is moving to Facebook to head partnerships at its key gaming platform, according to sources. Currently, Facebook does not create social games, ...
New Edition of Huckleberry Finn to Drop N-Word: Instant Reactions
Auburn University professor Alan Gribben, along with NewSouth Books, plans to release a newly edited edition of the Mark Twain classic, with every instance of the N-word replaced with the word.
robert shumake detroit
In this day and age being computer savvy has become a necessity. The more you can learn the skills needed to utilize this technology, the better off you will be. With people more accustomed to emailing and reading the news on-line, it is time to take it a step further. Not everybody views computer and Internet as a source of income. On the other hand, if you are knowledgeable enough, you can make a good living through its use. That scope can be augmented significantly with the addition of a website of your own. The next segment will highlight some of the benefits of having your own website:
1. LARGE SCALE ON-LINE BUSINESS:
These days you can run any sort of virtual business on-line. Take for example Amazon.com, which started out with a small inventory-filled basement and an on-line storefront, and it still maintains that same design in a larger scale. You can do the same for any products; e.g., dollar items. candles, auctions, etc.
2. BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS:
Operating a business obviously comes down to making money. You need a website with secure transaction features to be able to attract and retain customers. You can insert PayPal pay buttons or Google checkout buttons to your web page to weed out fraud buyers. That also gives your site authenticity as a business.
When the collection gets high, the small fees that come with it can be considered reasonable expenditure incurred.
3. BUSINESS RELATED CORRESPONDENCE:
It is always a good idea to have business issues separate from personal life. Most businesses get their domain registered. That package comes with several email accounts that can be used to do business related correspondences. Such provision can be extremely valuable in terms of tracking queries, complaints and potential buyers. Therefore, you can provide quality customer service even if you don't have staff on the phone 24/7.
If you are operating a business in large scale, it is better to get a domain registration with higher server capacity. In other words, pay more for more data transfer capability. Cheaper packages may run out of that data transfer limit quickly resulting in loss of revenue.
4. SECURITY:
a) It is better to do any business transaction through a secure website that cannot be accessed by hackers. You can also get your on-line business reviewed by BBB (Better Business Bureau).
b) You can also become Paypal or AlertPay verified. Buyers also feel comfortable doing business with authentic merchants.
4. AFFILIATE MARKETING:
You can use your own website to promote other businesses. Affiliate marketing has become very popular nowadays. The customer pool that you forward as an affiliate can be tracked by the parent company. Based on the promotion offered, you get a certain amount of money paid for the leads. Many large companies like eBay, Google, ClickBank, etc. have such programs.
5. OTHER REVENUE GENERATORS:
a) ADSENSE: Inserting Google Ads to your blog or other web pages can earn you money. The earnings depend on the number of clicks and the cost of impressions.
b) PPC/PPV: There are many Pay Per View and Pay Per Click programs that are doing good business. The businesses and potential customers find a common platform through such programs. On one hand, the cost for placing Ads is less. On the other hand, the targeted customers also get paid for viewing those Ads. The site generates revenue in the process through hosting.
c) TRAFFIC EXCHANGE: You can form a partnership with other sites to exchange traffic, thereby increasing the revenue.
6. PERSONAL USE:
You can use your site to post family photos and provide links. Friends and families can access and share the joy with you.
7. LESS USAGE OF COMPUTER:
As mentioned you can upload photos. You can also upload other files and prepare your web pages with links to those files. Therefore, you will be utilizing less memory of your computer. That, in turn will improve the computer efficiency. When you surf the Internet, whatever information you think is necessary, you can add a link to that from your web pages as needed. This kind of hypertext is nothing but the conventional book marking feature on your desktop.
8. TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE:
Success depends on how you configure your website / web page. You can add a calendar, an organizer / planner to your site. You can have your important events chalked out.
You have control over who accesses that information. You can either provide the link to your family or for a professional site, make it password protected.
9. SOCIAL NETWORKING:
These days you can participate in forums. People can form social networks through on-line chatting and blogging. This provides with interactive features that promotes social participation and dialog.
Again, you can generate revenue on the side by utilizing Adsense or other programs.
CAUTION:
i) You cannot upload any offensive materials to your site. There is an implied code of conduct for the use of Internet.
ii) You also don't want to have any sensitive material on-line, which can be accessed by anybody.
robert shumake
Study: US Bumblebee Population in Sharp Decline - AOL <b>News</b>
The population of bumblebees in the United States is in a kind of free fall, dropping 96 percent over the past two decades, according to a new study that has scientists alarmed. Four species of bumblebees are in a rapid decline, ...
<b>News</b> Corp. Online Gaming Head Sean Ryan to Head Facebook's Social <b>...</b>
Sean Ryan, who arrived at News Corp. mid-year to set up a new online gaming unit, is moving to Facebook to head partnerships at its key gaming platform, according to sources. Currently, Facebook does not create social games, ...
New Edition of Huckleberry Finn to Drop N-Word: Instant Reactions
Auburn University professor Alan Gribben, along with NewSouth Books, plans to release a newly edited edition of the Mark Twain classic, with every instance of the N-word replaced with the word.
robert shumake detroit
robert shumake detroit
When I went into marketing/communications in the 80’s, things were simpler. I spoke 5 languages, which pushed me into this field. What else could I do, be a translator? Not on your life. Not when I could be creative, come up with quantitative studies and research why / how people buy.
It seemed simple, right? You have a product and you have to figure out a way to sell said product. You had magazine ad space, TV commercials, newspapers… every day, everywhere you looked, you’d see some form of advertisement. Eventually, we became desensitized to print and TV marketing – the traditional ways.
The Internet wasn’t used as it is today (although it still had some traction). The World Wide Web was the Wild Wild West. It was a “small” little marketplace, with a minor audience for client product promotion.
And Then Internet Entered the Scene… Fast Forward in Time
Advertising is more sophisticated now… but then, so are consumers. Way back when, we could survey the consumer, create charts, crunch numbers… it was all about data. Anymore, however, you have to understand consumer psychology.
Marketing has gone holistic. Yes, quantitative and qualitative data is still important, but we’re not looking at real numbers anymore. We’re looking at the consumers themselves.
What makes buyers buy? Is it the way a site looks? Does having the sidebar on the left gain a greater response than having the sidebar on the right? Are blue links more “clickable” then, say, green ones? Is “buy” more active than “act”?
What Are the Click Triggers?
With all the Google changes lately, you really have to pay more attention to your site. Of course, if you’re a regular reader, you know I push site attention anyway, no matter what Google’s doing. However, with all the vertical marketing possibilities, you want to make sure you get all the bang for your buck you can from any top listing you get.
So you study the click triggers – those beautiful little differences that cause people to click through: through to your website, through to your buy page, through to your “thank you”. It’s a step-by-step process, and you have to guide them every step of the way.
Ask yourself:
- Is my content sticky? Does it have good information worth reading?
- Are my headlines well written? Do they grab readers’ attentions?
- Do I let others (those who will tell me the truth) read my content before I put it up? Do they like it? Do I listen when they offer suggestions?
- Is it easy to navigate through my site? Does my site create a pleasant user experience?
Are You Ignoring the Individual?
This is the most serious question, and you need to really give it some thought. If your content completely targets consumers (i.e. all product/service focused) rather than having helpful bits of information, you could be losing out.
You can’t appeal to everyone; not everyone is your target market. You don’t want to get so busy trying to reach everyone that you miss those who might convert. Build your site, images, writing, etc within the context of your specific target, and then experiment.
Experiment….?
Yes, experiment. Human behavior and relevance is a beautiful thing. Being able to associate one with the other will have half your online battle won. However, you can’t just pull knowledge out of the air. You have to be willing to experiment – to test. Plenty of tools are readily available for just this purpose, such as…
Google Website Optimizer
A/B testing is in; guessing is out. If you think you might know why a page isn’t converting, that’s all well and good. However, there’s a difference between thinking you know, and really knowing. With a little A/B testing, you can find out what areas really are the problem and fix them.
Usabilla
Take a screen shot of your page and put it up on Usabilla. Let people know what questions you want them to answer and then send out the link. This little goodie can give you some very valuable insights in terms of layout and design.
4QSurvey
Very nice, very short survey. You can find out why people came to your site, whether they found what they wanted (giving you visitor satisfaction ratings) and get suggestions from them, all in the same program. Again, this is a very useful goodie.
The three above are just a few. There are, literally, tons of usability testing tools out there. Many are free; some cost, but are worth it.
You’re not going to get through today’s marketing world by guessing. You’re not going to make it with traditional marketing tools. You have to be willing to use everything at your disposal; you have to be willing to expand.
What changes have you made to keep up with online marketing and technology?
Post image via BDoughertyAmSchool
When I went into marketing/communications in the 80’s, things were simpler. I spoke 5 languages, which pushed me into this field. What else could I do, be a translator? Not on your life. Not when I could be creative, come up with quantitative studies and research why / how people buy.
It seemed simple, right? You have a product and you have to figure out a way to sell said product. You had magazine ad space, TV commercials, newspapers… every day, everywhere you looked, you’d see some form of advertisement. Eventually, we became desensitized to print and TV marketing – the traditional ways.
The Internet wasn’t used as it is today (although it still had some traction). The World Wide Web was the Wild Wild West. It was a “small” little marketplace, with a minor audience for client product promotion.
And Then Internet Entered the Scene… Fast Forward in Time
Advertising is more sophisticated now… but then, so are consumers. Way back when, we could survey the consumer, create charts, crunch numbers… it was all about data. Anymore, however, you have to understand consumer psychology.
Marketing has gone holistic. Yes, quantitative and qualitative data is still important, but we’re not looking at real numbers anymore. We’re looking at the consumers themselves.
What makes buyers buy? Is it the way a site looks? Does having the sidebar on the left gain a greater response than having the sidebar on the right? Are blue links more “clickable” then, say, green ones? Is “buy” more active than “act”?
What Are the Click Triggers?
With all the Google changes lately, you really have to pay more attention to your site. Of course, if you’re a regular reader, you know I push site attention anyway, no matter what Google’s doing. However, with all the vertical marketing possibilities, you want to make sure you get all the bang for your buck you can from any top listing you get.
So you study the click triggers – those beautiful little differences that cause people to click through: through to your website, through to your buy page, through to your “thank you”. It’s a step-by-step process, and you have to guide them every step of the way.
Ask yourself:
- Is my content sticky? Does it have good information worth reading?
- Are my headlines well written? Do they grab readers’ attentions?
- Do I let others (those who will tell me the truth) read my content before I put it up? Do they like it? Do I listen when they offer suggestions?
- Is it easy to navigate through my site? Does my site create a pleasant user experience?
Are You Ignoring the Individual?
This is the most serious question, and you need to really give it some thought. If your content completely targets consumers (i.e. all product/service focused) rather than having helpful bits of information, you could be losing out.
You can’t appeal to everyone; not everyone is your target market. You don’t want to get so busy trying to reach everyone that you miss those who might convert. Build your site, images, writing, etc within the context of your specific target, and then experiment.
Experiment….?
Yes, experiment. Human behavior and relevance is a beautiful thing. Being able to associate one with the other will have half your online battle won. However, you can’t just pull knowledge out of the air. You have to be willing to experiment – to test. Plenty of tools are readily available for just this purpose, such as…
Google Website Optimizer
A/B testing is in; guessing is out. If you think you might know why a page isn’t converting, that’s all well and good. However, there’s a difference between thinking you know, and really knowing. With a little A/B testing, you can find out what areas really are the problem and fix them.
Usabilla
Take a screen shot of your page and put it up on Usabilla. Let people know what questions you want them to answer and then send out the link. This little goodie can give you some very valuable insights in terms of layout and design.
4QSurvey
Very nice, very short survey. You can find out why people came to your site, whether they found what they wanted (giving you visitor satisfaction ratings) and get suggestions from them, all in the same program. Again, this is a very useful goodie.
The three above are just a few. There are, literally, tons of usability testing tools out there. Many are free; some cost, but are worth it.
You’re not going to get through today’s marketing world by guessing. You’re not going to make it with traditional marketing tools. You have to be willing to use everything at your disposal; you have to be willing to expand.
What changes have you made to keep up with online marketing and technology?
Post image via BDoughertyAmSchool
robert shumake detroit
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robert shumake detroit
robert shumake detroit
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