Advertise a business website with search engines and free directories

Sources for free advertising exist on the internet and they’re not hard to find. The key to generate good leads from free advertising is to carefully select search engines and directories which are most likely to benefit your website.

First, let’s look at search engines. Ads abound from companies that will submit your website to ‘hundreds of search engines’ for a fee. Years ago, many search engines had their own database of websites, so it was beneficial to get listed on as many search engines as possible for maximum exposure.

Today, although numerous search sites still exist, the majority get their information from just a few of the ‘top’ search sites. Submitting your website to hundreds of search engines is no longer necessary. Simply submit your website for free to these core search sites: Google, Yahoo, Msn, and Ask. Make sure that you also submit a site map. A site map tells the search engine what pages are on your website and where they are within your site for proper indexing. Your webmaster or website designer knows how to do this.

Now, let’s consider web directories. Again, numerous directories exist that will list your website for a fee. Some of these directories are useful and worth the money. However, many are not. The largest difference between paid and free directories is that the free ones require a reciprocal link from your website to theirs. This is only fair considering that there’s no charge for the listing. A free directory has the potential of increasing website traffic if carefully selected for key features. Here are things to look for when submitting your website to a directory:

• The directory should be targeted to your business niche or have a category directly relating to it.
• Ideally, should also be categorized by location, i.e., state and city.
• The directory site should have a high Google page rank.
• Listing includes a direct link to your website.
• Allows at least a 200 character description of your website and/or links to a dedicated page.
• Listings are ordered alphabetically (not that important, but great if you’re name is at the top of the abc’s).

Before submitting your site to a directory, check out the number, type, and quality of the websites already listed. A directory with only a few listings (unless the directory is a start-up), poor quality websites or websites that don’t appear credible, rife with spelling and grammar errors, may indicate that the directory merely gathers e-mail addresses and phone numbers for spammers and telemarketers. Do some research; check out the websites already listed. There’s no sure thing in advertising, but with careful planning and wise selection, good use can be made of the free options that are already available.

Writing for your website - tips and techniques

Whether or not you choose to hire a professional copywriter to create content for your website, be aware that writing for the internet is a bit different than writing for printed collateral.

Writing for print captures reader interest with introductory phrases, sentences, and sometimes whole paragraphs before arriving at an article’s main point. Readers find it relatively easy to flip a magazine page or brochure panel to look for additional information.

In contrast, website visitors are impatient. If important information is not readily available, they will move on quickly. Most website visitors are lazy. Scrolling through long articles or clicking on links, hopping from page to page, isn’t fun. Therefore, website text must be concise and to the point.

You’ve got a lot of information to present to your website visitors. How do you coax them to remain at your site, look for more information, and ultimately make a purchase? Here are some website writing tips that (hopefully) will keep visitors at your website:

1. Select a readable font size - 10 points minimum, preferably 12 to 14 points.
2. Font color – Black text on a white background is easiest to read for most people. Except for small areas of emphasis, avoid very light text on a very dark background, i.e., white text on a black background.
3. Locate important information at the top of the page – Grab your reader’s attention with a descriptive, but brief, tag line followed by a summary of the major points.
4. Keep paragraphs short – Feed content to your visitors bit by bit. Information can be scanned quickly, and is more easily understood and retained.
5. Eliminate fluff – Useless text clutters the page. Descriptive words and phrases work well only when used to convey additional information about the product or service.
6. Stay on topic – Except for the home page which summarizes your products and services, each web page should address one topic and all content should be relevant to that topic.
7. Get feedback – This is very important. After you write your website copy, solicit the opinion of relatives, friends, and colleagues before your site goes live. Is it readable? Is it understandable? Is it interesting? If your acquaintances don’t know what you’re talking about, neither will your customers.

Good luck. After you launch your website, it’s a good idea to perform a monthly check of your text to make sure it’s still relevant and makes sense.

About All Custom Web Design writing services for the internet:
Web Page Text Writing and SEO Copywriting

The building blocks of a business website

Many people starting an internet business are overwhelmed by the number of choices that exist regarding what their website should look like and how it should function. Advances in web programming and the proliferation of reliable web authoring software make it possible to do almost anything with today’s website. In a previous post on business website design , we considered the pros and cons of template vs. custom design and described the fundamentals of a business website, ie, Home, About, and Contact pages. We’ll now discuss the basic building blocks which every website needs to satisfy visitors and encourage return visits.

Block One. Website content must be clearly focused on the ‘value proposition’. This means that, at a quick glance, your website must address what kinds of products and services are offered, how these products and services will be of benefit, and what is the promise for reliability and customer support.

Block Two. Information on the site must be relevant to the business. Limit web page text optimization to a few keywords and keyphrases. In this way, the website remains focused on the product and will rate higher in search engines.

Block Three. Provide information appropriate for the intended audience. It’s not a good idea to make your website everything to everyone. Direct your website copy to those people who will most likely be interested in your product or service.

Block Four. The website must be user-friendly. This means simple, reliable interface and navigation, easy link identification, and accessibility for people with disabilities.

Block Five - Website design layout, text and graphics should support efficient and easy search engine indexing.

I haven’t told you anything you couldn’t have figured out on your own. The point is not to get inundated by the numerous options that exist for website design layout and not to make poor decisions when faced with inherently bad design, even though it may look cool. Stay focused on the task at hand – building a usable, profitable website.

Should I use Flash effects in my business website?

Most everyone agrees that Flash effects offer a lot of eye candy. However, is eye candy necessary or beneficial for a business website? It depends on what type of business you have. The consequence of using Flash can be anywhere from extremely productive to absolutely harmful. After a brief discussion of what Flash is, we’ll look at the benefits and disadvantages of using Flash content for a business website.

What is Flash? Currently developed by Adobe, Flash is a way to add animation and interactivity to a website. Examples include advertisements, mouse rollover effects, and picture slide shows. Flash also enables video to be integrated into web pages. The Adobe Flash Player, available for free, enables a web browser to display Flash content.

What are the benefits of using Flash? Flash design saves space on a web page making layout easier and adds to the overall visual appeal of the website. For example, a long list of items can be displayed using one collapsible drop down menu. Clicking on a link can activate a pop up window containing a video or photo slide show. Link identification is clearer with mouse rollover effects. Flash can also simplify the process of filling out online forms.

What are the disadvantages of using Flash? The two primary issues associated with the extensive use of Flash website design is accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO).

Despite the ease with which Flash displays multimedia, Flash design may actually detract from website usability because text selection, scrollbar usage, and mouse right-clicking may act differently than with a non-Flash web page. Disabled visitors may not be able to benefit from Flash effects, and website accessibility may be limited. For example, people who are visually impaired, or who need large text fonts and/or high contrast color schemes, may find Flash sites unusable. Also, people who do not have the Flash Player installed and active on their computers cannot view a Flash website at all. Those who do, may have Flash or pop up blockers installed and won’t see the Flash effects anyway.

As for SEO, don’t expect natural search methods to yield great results with a Flash website. Flash content is invisible to search engines. Websites that are based on Flash design must resort to more expensive paid advertising techniques to get search engine visibility. If your website relies on SEO for traffic, a Flash site is not for you.

What kind of websites should utilize Flash? Multimedia and entertainment websites that require a heavy use of sound and video can benefit a lot from Flash design. Medium to large e-commerce websites can use Flash to more efficiently display products and streamline the ordering process.

The bottom line is to look closely at your requirements and see if you really need a Flash website. If possible, try to minimize Flash design. Your website will cost less to build and promoting it will be easier.

View samples of flash ad and banner design:
Interactive Websites With Multimedia Flash Effects

Ways to increase website traffic and sales – open a dialogue with your customers

In the early days of online retailing, websites were one-way monologues. This method of internet marketing persists even today. However, many online businesses are learning that maintaining a two-way dialogue with customers can boost sales and visits to their website.

People naturally like to talk, express an opinion, and say what’s on their mind. When we engage in conversation with our customers, we’re saying: ‘We value your opinion; we want to know what you think.’ This gives people a warm feeling of being considered important and in control. No longer are they staring at the equivalent of an online billboard, but are actually interacting with us. We’ve created a bond with our customers that encourage sales and return visits.

Here are some ideas to initiate and maintain a dialogue with your website visitors:

• Make use of a feedback form
• Create a blog
• Include live chat
• Add social publishing

A feedback form and blog is inexpensive, if not free, to implement. When hosted on your website, a blog increases website hits and may also increase search engine page rank. Live chat and social publishing can require modest to significant financial outlay but may be very advantageous as your site grows in size and popularity.

Whichever methods you use, make sure that your website or blog is frequently updated with new, relevant content and visitor input. Let people know that someone is home and ready to listen.

What makes a useable shopping cart and easy form entry.

The user interface criteria for shopping carts and forms are pretty much the same. For brevity, we’ll look at the shopping cart and conclude with a brief discussion on form entry.

No matter how great the service or product, your website shopping cart can create happy customers or have them running from you with a mere click. Shopping cart abandonment occurs primarily because the shopper doesn’t know how to complete a transaction. As a business website owner, focus your concern on the functionality of your shopping cart. (Leave the design details to the web designer.) A useable shopping cart must have these features if you want keep customers:

• Easily understood
• User friendly
• All charges clearly listed
• Merchant account provider prominently specified
  
  

What’s an ‘easily understood’ shopping cart? The answer can be different to different people. The basics are that the shopping cart should be easy to find on the website, how to add and remove items, and how to review all items and charges before hitting the ‘buy’ button.

A ‘user friendly’ shopping cart means all of the above in addition to being easy for the shopper to change information. For example, suppose I want to change my shipping address. I hit my browser’s ‘back’ button assuming I can just make my changes. I find that I must now reenter all information, not only the information I want to change. Some shopping carts display an ‘edit’ button to change information, but one can’t assume the customer will use it.

‘All charges clearly listed’ means just that – charges for products purchased as well as sales tax and shipping charges. Let shoppers know the full amount of the purchase before they submit credit card information and place the order. Don’t let valued customers wait for their credit card statements to figure out how much they were charged for tax and shipping.

Let your customers know who processes your credit card transactions. This information can be a credibility boost for a new business. Many shoppers will look for this information if they are new to your website.

The criteria for easy form entry is essentially ‘user friendly’, meaning that it should be simple to go back and reenter only the information that needs changing. To eliminate automated form entries, many websites use a method where the visitor is shown a combination of letters and must enter this information before the form can be submitted. Some of these letter combos are so difficult to decipher that robots, as well as real people, are unable to use the form. I prefer the method where the visitor is asked to solve a simple math problem. Numbers are easier to read.

The only way you’ll know if you've got a usable shopping cart is by testing. Before your website goes live, assemble a group of five to ten people and see if they can complete a simple purchase using your shopping cart. Even after your website goes live, conduct customer surveys to monitor the usability of your shopping cart and be prepared to make changes as needed to meet the needs of your customers.

How to optimize product photos and boost sales

Online shoppers look good and hard at the photograph of an item before buying. Your website photos could make or break a sale. Top quality product photos that encourage sales have the following characteristics:

• Clear and sharp
• Front, side, and rear views
• Large enough to show details
• Accurate color
• High contrast
• Fast download  

Clear and sharp – means just that. No blurry outlines. Identification of the product should be obvious.

Front, side, and rear views – gives the buyer a good idea of the overall dimensions of the product. Important especially for tech gadgets such as computers and cameras that have connectors on the side and back.

Large enough to show details – buyers are frustrated when they see a little blob and have to guess what it is or what it does. Enough said.

Accurate color – especially important for clothing, shoes, and accessories. Ensuring that the product exhibits accurate color online can minimize customer returns.

High contrast – one should easily be able to distinguish the item from the background. Light against dark or vice versa. The product should ‘pop’ from its background.

Fast download – online shoppers don’t like to wait and will abandon a site before a long download is complete. For a quick appearance, limit your photos to no more than 50kb in size, preferably less.
  
As a buyer, what are some of the things you would like to see in product photos?

Coming up in my next post . . . How to keep customers coming back with useable shopping carts and forms.