Making the Leap

Occasionally, I send secret shopping inquiries through my clients’ contact forms and see how they respond. Not only does this tell me if their forms are working correctly, but tells me how my clients respond to interested queries.

One of the biggest reasons I secret shop my clients is I want to make sure my clients aren’t losing out on valuable business because of the way they respond. Sometimes I will get complaints about lack of lead generation. One of the first thing I will do is secret shop them.

What I look for is:
1. How soon they respond to my inquiry
2. If they answer my questions
3. If they provide additional information that I did not ask for, but is helpful to know
4. If they link back to their website
5. If they provide their contact information in the email, including a phone number

Recently I secret shopped a client who said he was not getting any conversions from his web leads. He said he gets leads, but none of them ever respond back after he contacts them.

I secret shopped him, sending him some basic information on why I was contacting him under a different email address. This was his response:

“Thank you for your inquiry. I would be happy to discuss your specific question. However, we would need a phone number to contact you.”

Really??? You need a phone number to contact me? Though you just contacted me by email to tell me…you can’t contact me…?

While there’s no doubt that many of us like to communicate with clients by phone, you should remember that not all people feel that way. In fact, if your phone number is prominent on your site, you should assume that the person who contacted you by email would like to be contacted by email.

Not only that, but this reply is so general, it might as well be an auto-response. It may well be, in the view of a prospective client, who is at least hoping for some reference to the question he or she took the time to type into your form.

How do you make that switch from an email conversation to a phone one? My recommendation: Answer the question briefly, but helpfully, including that not every client’s case is the same and that, for a more accurate answer, you would like to meet with them or speak with them on the phone. Include all those little details listed above, especially your phone number, and encourage the person to contact you again.

Don’t lose prospective clients. If you are not answering your email leads personally, secret shop yourself and make sure whoever is answering them is doing a good job. Web marketing can be one of the most cost-effective ways to generate business. Make sure you are cashing in.

KINDNESS - a quick thought

“Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a battle.”
- John Watson

For some, it is really easy to get wrapped up in their own selfishness. Kindness does not have to be an epic act. It can simply be an acknowledgment that you do not see things from the same perspective as another.

While this thought is not directly correlated with Website Marketing, it does boil down to a common denominator: People.

My thoughts and heart goes out to the people of Myanmar. Life is precious and you never know when it will end. Take a moment today to reflect on how you treat others.

To learn how you can help the victims of the deadly Myanmar cyclone, visit here.

SEO-Friendly Webdesign

Some website designs perform better when it comes to search engine placements than others. While assessing a website to make it more SEO-friendly, here's a quick checklist of what to look for:

Navigation
Content
Doorway, Splash Page, or Hidden Text
Cross-Browser Accesibility
Focus of Message
Nuts and Bolts of Website Performance
Templates

I know that sounds like quite an intimidating and vague list of terms, but stick with me and I'll explain what each of them mean and why they’re important when considering your website's design.

1. Navigation

First off, Flash is a big no-no. But if your navigation has been designed in Flash, in the great words of Douglas Adams, Don't Panic. If your main navigation is a big Flash piece, understand first of all that search engine spiders can't read it. The robots merely see it as a big, moving image. They have no way to know if it's the impressively designed layout of your site, or a big dancing banana. To help them understand, we can add text navigation in conjunction with your Flash, so it is visible to both human and search engine eyes alike.

Ideally, your navigation will be created in text. Not sure which yours is? Simply try highlighting part of the words. If you can highlight the letters individually from their background, you’re looking at text. If not, it’s probably time to reconsider your navigation.

2. Content

The content itself should be easy to read and understand. Visitors to your site should not have to endlessly hunt to find what they are looking for. And, once they find what they're looking for, try not to confuse them with endless industry jargon. True, it's hard to replace some terms, like search engine optimization, but offer simple explanations to the necessary five-dollar words. Do your best to present one message per section (or page) when organizing your material.

3. Doorway, Splash page, or Hidden Text

Yet another big no. Doorway and Splash Pages are pages where you enter a site and see only a 'click to enter' flash piece or 'welcome to our site' in flashing red letters. Often these include hidden text—text the same color as the background—the use of which is a great way to get your site banned from the search engines.

The best way to introduce your site is to take visitors directly to it, not force them to wait through a collage of pretty but irrelevant images, and the best way to present text is in an organized, visible manner that won’t get you blacklisted.

4. Cross-Browser Accessibility

Although Internet Explorer still dominates as the most used browser, Firefox has shown the first-base player a few tricks, becoming widely popular and even changing the usability of Internet Explorer. (Remember the days before 'open a new tab'?) While it's widely accepted that diversity in the browser arena is a positive change, not every browser displays website code in the same way. In some cases, important elements of your design might be lost or not show up on as you intended. Make sure you’re checking in more than one browser to be sure the 47% of us who use a different browser are really seeing what you want us to see.

5. Focus of Message

So many websites lack a concise message. Are people able to understand what you are trying to say? Do images and shapes help convey that message, or do they distract from it? If we find that your site is offering conflicting messages, we'll inform you that your site is a good candidate for a redesign. The use of organized and clear content does in fact open more doors for SEO tactics on a website.

6. "Nuts and Bolts" of Website Performance

Quick Loading
Do visitors have to wait to view your website? Even graphic-heavy websites should load quickly. Images and content should not only look attractive, but must also be available very quickly, or you’ll lose your visitors before they ever see your site.

Page Titles
Page Titles are extremely important when considering your redesign. Not only do they help indicate what your page is about, but can act as an SEO boost for your site.

Meta Content and Alternative Content
Meta Tags may not be as important as they once were, but with the major search engines these days it still is prudent to have these included within the code of the site itself. We often come across high-end designs for companies of all sizes that do not include Meta content, and subsequently perform poorly on the search engines.

7. Templates

You may hear your account manager talk about getting you into a templated site. Don't be confused! While there's such a thing as a website template which means several sites may look exactly that same, when we're talking about the programming of your site, this could have a hugely positive impact on your site's performance. The more straightforward the code of a website, the more easily search engine bots can move through your site, determine what it pertains to, and catalog it—and the more likely they are to visit again sooner.

While we recommend custom designs for all clients when that option is viable, creating a site where the layout of each page looks similar and cohesive is highly important. Not only will it help your visitor understand that he or she is still on the same site, but it cuts down on the cost of those updates which are so important to make frequently to your site.

Any questions?

I hope you got to the end of that list of explanations and heaved a huge sigh of relief. You've already done everything perfectly? No problem? Fantastic!

If you're on the other side of the fence, however, and staring at your site thinking, 'This thing is never going to work,' don't be discouraged! Call or email your account manager and let us know your concerns. Not only do we want to make sure your site looks great, our goal is to help your site perform at peak level.

Our Client Open House and Luau

Fun Photos:

Delicious Fruit Ka-Bobs

Dancing the Night Away

More Tasty Treats

Musical Entertainment


Aloha.

How social networking is changing the web

Many users of the web now expect a more personal experience when they visit your website. We have all witnessed the huge growth of sites such as My Space, Face Book, Wink, YouTube, and Fickr. These sites are quickly outpacing many of the traditional websites in popularity. What does this mean to you? It is signaling that many Internet users want more personal contact. If you can portray a portion of who you are on a more intimate level potential clients will feel more at ease when choosing a service provider. No one likes to hire someone for professional services without more information. From the client's point of view they maybe more inclined to hire you if they realize you donate your time and services to worthy causes, or see you have close family ties. This helps them to perceive you as someone they can trust and feel comfortable with.

The other important impact of networking sites is the ability for your practice to set up a profile on such sites as LinkedIn, Plaxo, Corante, and Avvo. This is a great way to build links, and mass market yourself. They give you the ability to further personalize yourself. Many network websites are free, and give you the ability to blog, which also helps with your search engine popularity. If you haven't set up a profile on LinkedIn, Plaxo, Corante and Avvo please do so. Take advantage of their free marketing.

Firefox 3 in Beta Testing

Recently released is Firefox 3 Beta 5, a new version of my favorite browser Firefox.

While not all of my Add-ons/extensions function with the Beta version, it appears to be superior to its former self.

Firefox is quickly becoming the browser of choice for knowledgeable and savvy internet users.

Here are some fun statistics on browser use.

If you wonder why this matters, the answer is this:
Different browsers can display websites differently. As a result, it is important to test websites in multiple browsers to ensure they look great across the internet regardless of what browser a user prefers.

For more information about browsers, contact your account manager.

Understanding Optimization

If you're reading this blog, chances are good you already know that SEO is the abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization. What you probably don't know is what exactly that means. Granted, much of the information I hold is considered proprietary, but I can endeavor to help you understand that not all SEO is created equal. Let’s start with a little bit of history from here at Page 1 Solutions:

~~~~~
In the beginning was the Website. Though the Website was good - well-designed, easy to navigate, and abounding with content - the Website did not appear on the first page of most search engines. So the Optimizer introduced Coding to the Website to help the search engines easily "read" and understand what the Website was about. And for a little while, back in 2004, the Website performed extremely well on the search engines—even the coveted Google.

After a time, many other optimizers from many companies began to duplicate and improve on the coding, and the search engine market became greatly competitive.
~~~~~
That's just the basic back story to help understand why we do what we do every day. Now let's talk about what we earnestly desire to do every day for each of our clients, and why it is important:

Each of our clients' sites is treated to monthly directory submissions, link building, ongoing maintenance, and long-term analysis. (Long-term trends, usually 3-6 months, are much more indicative of how well a website is performing than a short-term stretch of only a few days or weeks.) More recently, we have also begun insuring each client's site is submitted to Google Maps (Google Local).

There are two primary additional strategies we have seen making a sweeping difference to optimization recently:

Perhaps the most important way to optimize your website is through continually adding new content. There is more than one way to do so, and each offers different benefits, but the benefits are enormous, not only to achieve your goals on the search engines, but also for visitors to your website, who are gratified and engaged when they are able to find information specific to what they are searching for.

Secondarily, though not without great impact, is the regular submission of articles or press releases to other websites. This provides both inbound linking and what those in the marketing industry like to call "buzz," when readers searching for information come across a new article which links to your site.

If you're missing either of these two strategies, your web marketing efforts may be said to be lacking, particularly in view of the changing competitive strategies of today’s search engine markets. Let me add here, that if your SEO contract doesn’t include these steps, chances are good that your marketing strategy is not lackadaisical, but merely needs updating.

SEO is a changing entity, exactly as your practice and website should be. Just as you are constantly searching out updated information, usually through continuing education or by keeping yourself abreast of the news in your practice areas, your website should continually be updated and recreated to suit the changing needs of your website visitors.

If your site is already hitting stellar page-1 listings, don't rest content to ride the current wave of success. New strategies for optimization are creeping up constantly, and while we don't recommend chasing every trend to the detriment of your site's stability, undertaking proven steps to keep your site at the front of the search engines' notice isn’t just an option, but a necessity.