Articles Archive

Ride Your Links to Success — September 17th, 2007
Think all links are created equal? Not so. Some links deliver a lot more in the way of information and prestige when it comes to search engine rankings and visitor retention. Learn which links work best for you, your customers and your marketing budget.

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25 Tips to Increase Conversion Rates — July 16th, 2007
A lot of site owners spend a lot of money on SEO. But once you have traffic, then what? How do you entice visitors to make a purchase? That’s where conversion optimization comes in – converting visitors to buyers. Here are 25 low- and no-cost tips used by the pros to boost conversion rates. Try them. You’ll like what they do for your bottom line.

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Conversion Rate Optimization, Part 2 — April 15th, 2007
Site success is often based on tweaking, which can be costly in the long run. If you're still tweaking six months into the game, something's just not right. Google's Web Optimizer helps walk you toward measurable results, easily.

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Conversion Rate Optimization, Part 1 — April 15th, 2007
How about a tool that gives you information that will increase site's performance, delivers advice from an "insider's" point of view and is free? Google's Web Optimizer puts the best face on your site, so partner with the world's most popular search engine to get the most out of your traffic.

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Advanced Link Building — March 15th, 2007
Creating non-reciprocal, in-bound links to your site takes quality content that can be syndicated to several sites or, it can become hosted content on a single, high-ranking site — for a fee. You pay the site owner who displays your informational content with a prominent, non-reciprocal link back to your site. It's a fast, low-cost means of getting your site identified as an authority site. And that authority designation is solid gold when it comes to search engine rankings.

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Identifying the MDA for Optimized Site Pages — September 15th, 2006
The most desired action (MDA) is the reason you're on-line and getting visitors to perform the MDA, regardless of what it is, takes some understanding of both site architecture and human nature. Improve the odds that the MDA is accomplished with these easy-to-implement tips.

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Online Business Profitability — August 15th, 2006
You may have a great looking web site and still crash and burn. Site profitability is more than just a factor of type font and color motif. If you want a profitable site (who doesn't?) you'll have to consider these critical factors.

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Working with Your Site Designer — August 15th, 2006
Whether you're new to the e-commerce realm or an old vet, it's important to know what you don't know and when to let your site designer take charge.

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Landing Page Usability — July 15th, 2006
A landing page has a specific purpose — to initiate the most desired action (MDA). Here's how you can create landing pages that deliver the MDAs you're looking for.

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Information Architecture — July 15th, 2006
Your site's information architecture is intended to enhance visitors' on-site experience, making it easier for them to find what they're looking for, and gently directing them around the site. Here are some "must-haves" on refining the organization of your site's content.

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Eye Ball Optimization. Most Desired Action. — June 15th, 2006
There are plenty of SEO strategies that actually work against making a sale. If your site isn't eyeball optimized (EBO) it isn't optimized, period. Remember, no search engine ever bought anything on-line.

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SEO Spam — June 15th, 2006
SEO spam is any tactic that attempts to corrupt or undermine a search engine's result pages by inflating a site's ranking. If you don't know about SEO spam, you don't know what could hurt you.

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Search Engine Promotion — May 15th, 2006
Step 1 in getting noticed on-line is search engine promotion – creating a site that SEs can weigh accurately and index to your specifications. Here's how.

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Search Engine Optimization & Semantics — May 15th, 2006
As SEs become more sophisticated in their abilities to index site content, site semantics become increasingly important. The next generations of SE algorithms will index content, not keywords. And that content better be right on target.

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Conversion Optimization — May 15th, 2006
It's not enough to drive traffic to your site via SEO. It's what visitors do once they reach your site that matters — and that's what conversion optimization is all about.

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The Importance of Content Architecture — April 15th, 2006
Most sites are doomed to fail. Fewer than six out of 100 sites succeed in accomplishing their MDA. That's why, when it comes to site navigation, it's smart to let the pros do it.

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Analyzing Amazon — April 15th, 2006
Amazon is a true Internet success story and though it built its reputation on low prices and speedy delivery, that's only part of the tale of this marketing behemoth.

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Tracking Visitors? — March 15th, 2006
Where your site visitors go and what they do while on-site reveals a lot more than you might think. If you don't track visitor activities, you don't have all of the information you need for real on-line success.

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Building Repeat Business — March 15th, 2006
What keeps you coming back to your favorite brick-and-mortar stores? The quality of the goods? How about the convenience? And let's not forget service. Well, these are the things visitors expect from your web site.

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Six Ways to Generate Additional Revenues from Your Site — March 15th, 2006
Sure, you're moving product. Lots of traffic, good conversion rate, growing revenues. Even so, you're not doing as well as you could be in the bang vs. buck equation. Check out how to pump up the profits generated by your site.

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SEO versus Marketing — February 15th, 2006
The information upon which you've based your on-line marketing strategy is outdated.

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Budgeting Website Bucks — February 15th, 2006
94% of all e-commerce ventures crash and burn within 12 months. That means only a 6% success rate. Into which group will your e-biz fall?

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The Neutral Net — February 15th, 2006
Webmaster, site designer, hosting service or e-biz owner, legislation in committee in D.C. may change the way we all use the Net. And not for the better.

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Flash & Search Engine Marketing — January 15th, 2006
If your site is search engine optimized to the max, it's not optimized for human eyeballs. Is it worth the expense to add some Flash? Only if you want to save some money and be here tomorrow.

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Hosting Web 2.0 — January 15th, 2006
Does your web host offer the latest in technology and features? Here's one way to find out.

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Web 2.0 — January 15th, 2006
Is it a movement? A revolution? Perhaps a new paradigm? Or, is it a bunch of hype designed to sell a bunch of new software? Just what is Web 2.0?

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Clean out Your Mailing List — December 15th, 2005
Your database of customers and clients is gold – or at least it should be. Take the time to clean things up and put a new shine on this invaluable resource.

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e-Ethics in e-Commerce — December 15th, 2005
On-line crime and suspect tactics hurt all of us, and since there are no rules, maybe you should create your own list of ethical business practices. Here's a good starting point.

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What Content Providers Need to Know — December 15th, 2005
You only have a few seconds to entice a first-time visitor to stick around and buy. Your home page text better be targeted with laser-precision, or you're just a click away from the 'History' file.

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Why RSS Feeds Now — November 15th, 2005
RSS has already changed the way web designers are constructing new sites. Is this state-of-the-art feature a part of your cyber-turf? If it isn't, it should be.

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Find and Broadcast RSS Feeds — November 15th, 2005
You've decided to add RSS feeds to your site. Excellent choice. Now all you have to do is find the right feeds for your customized reader, hook them up and broadcast them. No problem, right? Well, not exactly.

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Site Design Aesthetics — November 15th, 2005
If you don't think first impressions matter, consider that the average visitor to your site spends less than five seconds deciding whether to move on or not. Your look had better be right or they're not coming back.

Categories: User Interface / Experience, Conversion Rate Optimization, Articles | Comments Off

Hackers & Script-Kiddies — October 15th, 2005
Is your site secure for visitors? How about for you? Will you be the next victim of a 15-year-old script-kiddie? Not if you're prepared.

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Google Adwords — October 15th, 2005
The Google Adwords program enables site owners to fix a budget and generate site traffic using sponsored links on Google's SERPs. It's fast, flexible and effective.

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Maximize Your Site’s Revenues — October 15th, 2005
Does all of your site's revenue come from sales? Well, you can turn a revenue stream into a revenue tsunami, and help visitors at the same time. Check it out.

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Submitting Your Site to Google — September 15th, 2005
Only one-third of all web sites are picked up by submissions to Google. The other two-thirds are found by Googlebots. Seems a shame - a waste of time and the risk of being inaccurately categorized by a crawler. Solve the problem by submitting your URL and getting it right the first time.

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Search Engine Directories — September 15th, 2005
Search engine directories are great, if you can get listed. The Google Directory contains categories into which different sites are entered, so if you want you skateboard site to move up in PR, get listed under 'Kids and Teens' on Google.

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Underground Accessibility Tips — September 15th, 2005
Getting visitors to your site, and improving your traffic rate, is tough. So why do some site designers make it even harder for users to easily view your offerings? What you don't know about accessibility can hurt you - a lot!

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Optimizing Your HTML Tags — August 15th, 2005
Optimizing your site's HTML Title and Meta Description Tags can have a significant impact on your PR. Check out how a little tweaking can make a big difference.

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No More Link Begging — August 15th, 2005
In the past, small site owners had trouble linking up with similar sites because they didn't have much to offer in return. Well, that's changed and here's how.

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Writing Your Web Site Copy — August 15th, 2005
Getting your web site text to sound natural and still highlight your carefully chosen key words isn't easy, but here's some help to get you started.

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Converting Visitors to Buyers — July 15th, 2005
The science of marketing in brick-and-mortar retail stores has been developed for decades. Many of the same principles that tempt you to buy paper towel A over paper towel B can be applied to the design of your site, converting more visitors to buyers. Here's how.

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Are You Search Engine Spider Friendly? — July 15th, 2005
Great looking site, followed the directions in the manual, site functions fine, only problem is - sales. There are none. You can barely cover your server charges. Okay, here are some key tips to making your site spider-friendly and moving up in PR.

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Site Access — July 15th, 2005
Site accessibility is an issue of ethics, marketing and sales, and even a legal issue, The more accessible your site is, the more visitors you'll have each day. So, check out the accessibility of your site. It's good for business and it's a plain good thing to do, as well.

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Site Usability Testing — June 15th, 2005
Many site designers are faced with clients who don't recognize the importance of usability testing during the development process. In fact, some clients may even view this important step as 'padding the bill'. Here's how to answer the question, "Why should I pay extra for something I'm already paying you for?"

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Page Rank for Beginners — May 15th, 2005
If you've just launched your site and you're looking to learn more about the importance of Page Rank (PR), here are some helpful, low and no-cost tips to get your page rank up while keeping SEO costs down.

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Finding the Right Site Developer — May 15th, 2005
Before meeting with the head of the local web site design agency, prepare yourself with some important questions you want answered during your initial meeting - questions that will save you time, heartache, aggravation and, yes, money.

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W3C Open Standards — May 15th, 2005
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has developed a set of open standards to increase the stability and durability of the Web and your site. Is your site open standards compliant? Here's your chance to find out with our look at the latest from W3C.

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Making the Most of Google’s Search Engine — May 15th, 2005
Using the advanced search options offered by Google, and available to any site owner, you can conduct your own market research, discover how your site looks to Google's spiders, see what your competition is up to and optimize your site on a shoestring. Let us show you how.

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A Look at Google’s Patent Application for a New Search Engine — May 15th, 2005
In March of '05, Google applied for a patent on its new SE 125, the little search engine that could. The patent application describes how this new SE will use historical data from your site to determine its PR. See how this newest SE from the Google guys will impact your site's PR.

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Spiders, Crawlers, SEM, SERP, SEO and YOU — April 15th, 2005
You've got a great looking site and a terrific product so why aren't you making any money with your e-biz? Simple. Just as you have to market a new store or product here in the real world, you have to do the same with your virtual storefront on the I-net. Here are some tips that'll help your enterprise get the notice you were expecting.

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Why Open Standards Are Good for Your E-business — April 15th, 2005
Using open standards in the design of your site will deliver a bunch of benefits to your visitors and to you, today and tomorrow. Read why standard-compliant sites can save you money, pump up the bottom line and make your life a whole lot simpler.

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Page Weight, Download Times and Your Conversion Rate — March 15th, 2005
In many ways, cyberspace is as wild and untamed as the Old West with snake oil salesmen, gunslingers and assorted desperados aiming to part you from your money. That's why some organizations are trying to bring law and order in the form of open standards for everything from site design to SE algorithms. Check out how using open standards in the design and development of your site can save time, money and hassles today and down the road.

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XHTML, XML, W3C and the Importance of Open Standards — March 15th, 2005
We live in an impatient society where even a few seconds matter - a lot. For example, 84% of visitors to your site will sit through a 10-second download. That number drops to 5% with a 30-second download. The key to converting visitors to paying customers is to help them get through the front door. Here's how to do just that.

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Search Engine Optimization, PageRank and Your Bottom Line — February 15th, 2005
You've got a great looking site and a terrific product so why aren't you making any money with your e-biz? Simple. Just as you have to market a new store or product here in the real world, you have to do the same with your virtual storefront on the I-net. Here are some tips that'll help your enterprise get the notice you were expecting.

Categories: Search Marketing, Articles | Comments Off