Category: Grow a Home Business

    Two Keys to Happy Website Visitors

    As a website owner you want to make sure your visitors are happy. Happy visitors stay on your website longer. They come back for repeat visits. And of course they buy from your website. When it comes to a website’s structure, there are two elements that can make or break your user experience.
    #1 Quick load times

    There’s nothing that squashes a visitor’s happiness faster than not being able to load a website page. If the page doesn’t come up quickly, your visitor is gone. We’ve grown accustomed to instant gratification online. If your web page takes longer than a few seconds to load, you may miss out on valuable prospects and visitors. They won’t be happy while they’re waiting for your pages to load.

    So what can you do to ensure quick load times?

    * Reduce and minimize your graphics. Make sure a graphic takes up no more than 10k on any given page.

    * Don’t use flash. Many website designers still turn to flash to add interest. Don’t do it. It takes too long to load. If you do use it, make sure you give your visitors the opportunity to click through and skip the show.

    * Use plug-ins sparingly. There are a number of really useful plug-ins. However, they’re bulky and can slow down your load time. They can also distract from your web page’s purpose and make it look cluttered. If you’re going to use a plug-in, make sure it supports your goals for that page. And make sure it enhances the visitor experience.
    #2 Easy navigation

    The other thing that makes visitors happy is a website that’s easy to navigate. Straightforward and intuitive website navigation can be difficult to accomplish. The following tips can help you get the job done.

    * Eliminate clutter – Many times a web page has so much going on that the visitor isn’t sure what the page’s purpose is. Are they supposed to look at ads? Fill out a form? Read an article? Make sure your web pages have a purpose. Then make sure that page is designed to support that purpose. Everything from the formatting to the add-ons can add or detract from your page’s purpose.

    * Intuitive buttons – The buttons on your page are there to guide your reader deeper into your website. Therefore they must make sense to the visitor. One of the best ways to ensure your buttons are easy to understand is to make them keywords. Keywords are likely what drew your visitor to your website. They’re what the person is using to search for and find information. Create categories and subcategories with your keywords. That way your user is able to easily find the information they’re looking for.

    When your visitors are able to navigate your website with ease, they’ll stay longer. If they’re able to find the information they’re looking for without struggle and frustration, they’ll return again and again.

    When you combine a straightforward layout with quick loading times, you’re well on your way to giving visitors a very pleasant experience. Happy visitors turn into happy customers. Take a look at your website today. Does it make visitors happy?

    Categories: website Tags: Tags: ,

    Three Ideas and Strategies to Give Your Visitors a Reason to Return

     

    A website generates two main types of visitors. There are the visitors that stop by and leave. They never return again. Then there are the visitors that stop by. They bookmark your site. They sign up for your opt-in list. They subscribe to your blog. These are the visitors you want. When you can motivate more new visitors to come back, you’re on your way to converting them to customers.

    The majority of people do not make a purchase the first time they visit a website. A website has to earn their trust. It has to establish credibility, liking and authority. These are all buying triggers, and for most websites they’re earned over time. They key is to give them a reason to come back. Here are three ideas and strategies to give your visitors a reason to return.

    #1 Valuable content is definitely required. If you provide a consistent flow of great content, visitors will come back for more. However, there’s more you can do to ensure their loyalty.

    #2 Provide a free membership. Take a look at your website. Why do people visit your site? What benefit can you offer on a regular basis? Now instead of offering that information to random visitors, consider creating a membership site. Membership implies exclusivity. It also implies extra value.

    When people sign up for your membership program they will receive “extra” content, products or services. For example, you might create a “Report of the Month” club. The information is free for members who have signed up. Each month you deliver a quality report. You can use the report to promote affiliate products and/or your own products/services too.

    #3 Include user generated content. Enable visitors to provide their own content for your website. Blogging is one way to accomplish this. You can include a “blog for us” form on your site. You can also turn the “Commenting” feature on and allow visitors to respond to your content. However, if you don’t have a blog site, then consider adding a plug-in or feature that enables them to add content.

    For example, you might include a “Best Tips” category. You can then enable visitors to post or submit their best tips. You publish their information and you now have an interactive audience.

    Finally, take a look at your usability features. What can you add to your site or blog to make it friendlier? For example, are other commenters notified when a comment is published to a post they also commented on? Can they forward your content to a friend? Can they print it?

    The easier you make it to interact on your site, the better. Provide great content. Enable visitors to receive more via memberships and let them share information. The more repeat traffic you have, the faster you’ll build a loyal customer base.

    Categories: website Tags: Tags: ,

    Seven Keyword Development Questions to Ask and Answer

     
    Keywords are an important aspect of website success. Choose them wisely. Research them carefully. Position them strategically. When you’ve taken the steps to plan and implement a keyword development strategy, you’re on your way to a website that sells. Here are seven questions to ask yourself as you’re creating and implementing your plan.

    Question #1 What keywords and keyword phrases does your target audience use to find information?

    Your audience and prospects are looking for your information. Your job is to determine what keywords they’re using to look for you. Once you’ve uncovered the low supply high demand keywords, you can position them strategically in your content and on your website.

    Question #2 What keywords and keyword phrases does your competition target?

    Finding low supply, high demand keywords is just the beginning. You also want to know what keywords your competition is using to target prospects. You can then use this information to further develop your keyword strategy.

    Question #3 What strategies will you use to research keywords and keyword phrases?

    Here are just a few options to consider:

    * Test and track activity on your website
    * Use keyword research tools
    * Research what your competition is using
    * Ask your audience, customers and/or website visitors
    * Follow your intuition
    * Look at trends
    * Pay attention to popular terms on social networking sites

    Question #4 What keyword research tools will you use to research and develop your keywords and keyword phrases?

    Here are a few to consider:

    * Wordtracker
    * Google AdWords
    * Google Suggest
    * Yahoo/Overture
    * Keyword Discovery

    Question #5 What keyword tools will you use to analyze and research your competitors’ keywords?

    Here are a few tools to consider:

    * Adgooroo
    * Keywordspy
    * Spyfu
    * Wordtracker
    * Google Alerts

    Question #6 How will you track keyword trends and popular search terms?

    Here are some useful trend research tools to consider:

    * Google Trends
    * Google Alerts
    * Twitter popular topics

    Question #7 Where do you/will you use your keywords?

    Here are some places to consider positioning your keywords on each web page:

    * Above your logo
    * In your URL
    * In your subheadings
    * In your headlines
    * Within your content
    * In anchor text
    * In your image/alt tags

    Once you have your keyword research completed, it’s important to create a plan and a system to keep it organized. It’s also important to review your plan on a regular basis and update it. Keywords change and customers evolve. Keyword development isn’t a “set it and forget it” tactic. You’ll want to continue researching and planning on a regular basis.

    Make sure your keyword research and development system is well organized and easy to plan from. Make it an important part of your traffic generation strategy. And create a plan to research and develop on a consistent basis. For example, on a quarterly basis, review your existing keywords. Research your analytics. Look for new and trending keywords. Create a plan to take advantage of that audience.

    Keywords and keyword phrases are part of website success. They boost search engines, enhance navigation, attract eyeballs and motivate conversions. Keyword research and development is important to your success. Make sure to take every advantage.

    Categories: website Tags: Tags: ,

    Seven Key Elements for a Successful Landing Page

     
    Your landing page is important. Quite often it’s the page that most visitors come to first. It’s the page you may generate links to. It may also be the page that the search engines pay the most attention to. Therefore, it makes sense to make sure your landing page is as well designed as it can be.

    There are seven key elements for a successful landing page. They each are important independently, but they work together to provide a unique and effective experience. Before you take a look at these key elements, however, it’s important to answer a question first.

    What is the goal of your landing page?

    Your landing page needs to have a goal – an objective. What do you want visitors to do? What action do you want them to take? There are many possibilities. You may want them to:

    * Dig deeper and explore your website
    * Click through to a sales page
    * Opt-in

    Once you know what you want visitors to do, then you can make sure your landing page supports that goal. Now you’ll use the seven key elements. They include:

    #1 Images – The images you choose on your landing page are important. You want them to support the overall goal. Images, in the form of graphics and photos, can quickly overwhelm a landing page and become a distraction. If you choose to use images, and they really can enhance a landing page, make sure they support your goal. Make sure they adequately represent your brand, too. A common image to use might be your photo. This helps connect the reader to you. It helps brand your business and build a relationship.

    #2 Headline – Your headline is often the very first thing a visitor will see. If it doesn’t grab their attention, then it’s not doing its job. However, in addition to grabbing their attention, it also must support your page’s purpose. Take time to craft a headline. This is also an important element to test and track. Create two landing pages with two different headlines. Determine which headline is better at helping you accomplish your goal for the page.

    #3 Emotions – Emotions are what people use to make buying decisions. They’re incredibly important if you’re trying to motivate any action. You can tap into your visitors’ emotions with images and words.

    #4 Navigation – Make sure that your visitor not only knows what they’re supposed to do on your landing page, but also that they can quickly figure out how to do it. If you want people to dig deeper into your website, then make sure your buttons and call to action support that. If they cannot figure out how to get to a page that interests them, they’re going to leave.

    #5 Proof – You might notice that many of the elements of a successful landing page are also sales copy elements. This is because you are trying to motivate an action. Your landing page has a purpose. Proof can be demonstrated by:

    * Awards
    * Testimonials
    * Endorsements
    * Organization membership
    * Facts and statistics

    The proof you use depends on your goal. For example, if you want to motivate an opt-in, then you might use facts and statistics along with a banner ad highlighting an award your site has won. This gives you credibility.

    #6 Call to action – A call to action is required for every successful landing page. It’s the only way your readers know what they’re supposed to do next. Test it and track it for success.

    #7 Opt-in form – Finally, if your goal is to motivate an opt-in, then you must have an opt-in form on your landing page. In fact, everything on that page needs to support that goal.

    Your landing page is perhaps the most important page on your website. Make sure the elements on your page support your goals and your success. Test and track various elements until you get the best results.

    Categories: website Tags: Tags: ,

    Optimize Your Website – Test Early, Test Often, Test Variety

     
    Testing is one of the most overlooked business tasks. Without testing, you cannot know what tactics and actions are most profitable. Testing tells you which headline works best. It tells you which ad delivers targeted traffic. Testing tells you what your prospect’s priorities are. It tells you where to place you most important information on your website. In fact, testing can tell you just about anything you want to know.

    The great news is that there are some truly amazing tools and services. They enable you to test many things before you implement them. You can also test your competitors’ sites using these same tools. This means you can learn what they do well and where you can improve.

    What to Test

    There are more things to test than you have time for. However, when you create a system to test and track any new feature or idea you can be sure you’re making the most of your efforts. Make sure to:

    * Test your headline
    * Test your call to action
    * Test your opt-in form copy
    * Test your opt-in form location
    * Test your anchor text
    * Test your ad placement
    * Test your ad copy
    * Test your benefits, promise and proof
    * Test your opt-in offer
    * Test your bonus products
    * Test your pricing
    * Test button elements like shape, font, and formatting
    * Test how people use your site (and why)
    * Test new designs

    How to Test

    Once you’ve made the commitment to test, the simplest way to test is called a split test. This can be used for many of the elements of a sales page, opt-in offer or advertisement. The strategy simply requires you to create two versions of the page. Only the element you’re testing will be different. For example, if you’re testing a headline then you’ll create two identical pages. Each page will have a different headline. The headline with the most conversions or actions, wins.

    If you’re testing for design elements or visitor use, then you can use more advanced technology to help. For example, 4Q by iPerception can help you figure out why people are using your site.

    A new design can be tested with a service like Feedback Army or FiveSecondTest. You can also test your competitor’s sites with these tools. And you can test load times with a program like Keynote.com.

    For real insight into your visitor behavior, consider a tool like UserTesting.com. You’re provided with a recording of people visiting your site.

    When it comes to testing, you cannot test too much. Of course, don’t break the bank testing. However, do keep testing in mind whenever you implement a new feature or design element. Split testing is cost effective. Many times it’s completely free. Other testing can cost you money in the beginning. It can also save you money in the long run. Before you take any major action with your business website, consider what and how you can test it for success.

    Categories: website Tags: Tags: ,

    Twitter Engagement

    Twitter – who wants to bother? who has the time?

    The Twitter may scroll quickly through your life but it is worth participating in Twitter to get engagement and potential awareness for your brand.  Also, you can connect with others who you might want to partner with when you converse on Twitter.

    According to this Twitter study in 2014 by Stone Temple Consulting, you can get engagement!

    If you are a well-known authority in your field, it will be easier for you to get followers.

    It is true that image attached to a tweet will increase re-tweets and “favorited.”

    Increasing hashtags in a tweet doesn’t make a significant difference.

    Most interesting is that the time of day didn’t affect how much engagement was given.

    As you can see, Twitter is worth sending out your messages in and there is training in The Business of At Home Business membership. 

     

     

    Please include attribution to www.stonetemple.com with this graphic.

     

    Study

     

     

    Categories: Twitter Tags: Tags: , ,

    Facebook Marketing

    Tips On Using Facebook For Marketing

    Facebook’s popularity with Internet users has run into the millions since its acceptance of anyone with a valid email address in 2006. Most members play games, update their profiles and upload photos or videos for their friends to view. While planting crops on Farmville, drinking virtual coffee in the cafe or beating off snakes in FrontierVille is addicting, Facebook can also be a powerful marketing tool for Internet marketers.

    Marketers, including those using the Internet to market their products, know that in order to attract potential customers, they need to announce the benefits of their products to a large audience and give their readers a reason to visit their site. Simply put, no Visitors = No Sales.

    Facebook members make connections with each other, called Friends, and you are only allowed to contact or message those friends. Member profiles are only available to other Facebook members, which creates a loose pool to specifically market to. Some of Facebook’s most popular applications, those you probably use every day are specifically for Internet marketers.

    In fact, marketers who know how to market on Facebook start that huge marketing process with their Profile, adding games, puzzles or videos that are interesting to other users. Facebook’s underlying purpose is to make the site a fun place to be. An RSS feature allows users to syndicate their blogs, increasing their exposure dramatically.

    Users can use Facebook to promote products from Clickbank and Amazon as an affiliate, whether they have their own website or not.

    Here are some tips to get you started and to keep you out of trouble with this very powerful social networking site.

    Each user has a profile page and part of that page is used for The Wall;effectively a place to post messages for each user to see. If your “friends” have access to your full profile, friend marketers can post messages on your Wall. Perhaps a more effective application might be posting attachments to your Wall promoting products.

    Application developers have found a home with Facebook and are happy to design applications that rapidly become standard Facebook apps, taking advantage of the Web 2.0 graphic and audio options available to users.

    One feature that’s used by those who scan posts instead of reading them is the Status feature. This feature is a quick update on what you are doing and, used carefully, can be a powerful marketing tool. For instance, using Facebook’s format, “John Thomas just finished his new software.” A convenient link to that sales page for that software would get a lot of traffic just from curious members.

    A Facebook Event is used for keeping friends aware of upcoming events. Here is where a marketer can advertise seminars, podcasts and ecourses, to name a few. Facebook’s rules about announcing an event should be carefully read in order to avoid being branded a spammer.

    Videos are everywhere and have rapidly become the most popular method to use to market many Internet products. Videos can be added to Facebook with a Facebook Mobile application, which has a webcam feature. The videos cannot be shared outside of Facebook, but with the huge membership ranging in the 60 to 70 million users and growing daily, that shouldn’t be too much of a setback to a smart marketer.

    Facebook is the perfect versatile application for creative marketers to increase their traffic and, therefore, their customer base. Simple processes can be powerful marketing tools and Facebook is no exception.

    Categories: Facebook

    Article Engagement

    Key Tips For Getting Lots of Article Click Thrus

    It’s a no-brainer that in order to get people to your site, they need to click on your link at the bottom of your article first.

    But before that, they need to read your article.

    So let’s back up here and look at the 3 most important things your article needs to have in order to get lots of click thrus.

    • A great headline.
    • An interesting opening paragraph.
    • A compelling call to action.

    To put it another way, you want a great headline that will interest a person enough to want to read your article. Then you need a good first paragraph that entices the reader to really read the article. Lastly, you need to flow into a compelling bio call to action that makes the reader want to click your link.

    A great headline

    Certainly you should include your keywords in the title to help search engine traffic find your article, but your headline, or your title, should be more than that. The title’s other important job is to get people interested in reading the article.

    Think about making the title eye-catching, humorous, emotionally appealing, curiosity-arousing, attention-getting, a bit outrageous, and certainly NOT boring. And use trigger words in your headline: how to, question, tips, numbers, story, the benefit, secret, the truth, the cure for, or mistakes.

    An interesting opening paragraph

    You’ve only got a couple sentences, at most, to really get the reader’s attention before he’s lost interest and has moved on. So when writing the article you’ll probably want to spend most of your time on this.

    If you want good examples of opening paragraphs, just read the newspaper. You’ll notice each newspaper story uses a technique to entice the reader. They might make an outrageous claim, stir up some controversy, hit our hot buttons, use a scare tactic, predict the future, or use some similar technique that draws us in. That’s what you want to do with your article.

    A compelling call to action

    When you write your bio, you should always include a call to action. Don’t give them details about you and include your website. Ask them to come to your site by offering something they value for free. What do they value? What would motivate them to click thru to your site? Perhaps you can give information away for free that other marketers are selling. Make it clear, easy, and irresistible.

    Take a look at other successful article marketers’ bios to get some examples of what works. If you visit EzineArticles, check out some of the articles that interest you and examine which bios make you want to click thru.

    Last but not least, test your bio. Sometimes you need more creative wording, or sometimes a better offer, but you won’t know until you test.

    The more articles you write with purpose, the better you’ll get at it. Concentrating on these three areas; the title, opening paragraph and bio, whenever you write an article should help your article click thru rates increase.

    Categories: blogging

    Communication by Text

    Why Get It Transcribed?

    Audio interviews and webinars, video PowerPoints, and how-to screencast demonstrations are no longer considered “new” in Internet marketing, but they’re communication mediums that are certainly here to stay.

    Although audio and video work great for imparting information, the need for the written word is still there, especially to accompany the audios and videos. I’m talking about transcriptions; written documentation of what you’ve recorded verbally and/or visually. Why should you go the extra mile and the extra expense to have your webinar transcribed?

    Here are a few reasons:

    1. When you have your audio or video transcribed, you’ve just increased the value of your product. Perhaps your audio interview is free to your listeners, but if they want the transcribed version, they’ll have to pay for it. Or you could offer your product with the audio and transcription for one fee, and without the transcription for a “lite” fee. Another idea is to add the written document as a bonus to your product, or offer it in an upsell.

    2. Even though audio and video are popular, not everyone likes this medium. Many people prefer reading over listening. It could be they’re fast readers and like to go at their own pace rather than be at the mercy of an audio that seems to be going too slow. Or maybe they are short on time and prefer to skip to the parts that are of particular interest to them. Some find themselves daydreaming or becoming distracted and can’t follow along very well.

    3. There are times when people can’t listen, no matter how informative your webinar is. The timing may not work into their schedule – people are so busy with work, kids, chores, civic duties, etc. and if you lose them, you lose your chance to impart your wisdom, take your brand up a notch, make a sale, or whatever your reason for doing the webinar. Similarly, the person might not be in a location where they can turn the volume up (like at work, in a waiting room, while on the bus) and they don’t have earphones. After all your hard work of putting on the webinar, you don’t want to lose any potential customers. Offering a transcription of your webinar will make these people happy. It shows goodwill on your part.

    Doing webinars, audio interviews, podcasts, and videos is great for business. It adds dimension to your brand, gives your sales page or website some punch and makes lots of people happy who like to listen. But take it a step further and make everyone satisfied by having your audios transcribed. It’s a good business practice that can affect your bottom line.

    Categories: Text

    Youtube

    Driving Traffic To Your Site With YouTube

    YouTube has had a dramatic effect on the Internet marketing landscape, making huge changes in how marketers promote their products and services. For years, Internet marketing was confined to text-based websites with a photo or graphic and beautiful headers.

    The new software that makes creating videos easy has generated millions of video sales pages and other graphic presentations that can go viral quickly. It seems like the browsing public, regardless of their choice of subjects cannot get enough of videos.

    Successful marketers always know they have to stay current with the latest and greatest marketing processes if they want to continue to attract buyers. The hottest marketing tool right now is YouTube.

    To take advantage of marketing with YouTube, you first need to register for a YouTube account. If your video grabs attention and is well-done, it has a chance of going viral, which means that it will move around the Internet as people upload it and send it to their lists or it gets mentioned in forums, membership sites, newsletters and blogs.

    When posting your videos on YouTube, do not upload long videos. Three to four minutes is a good length for marketing videos. Your intention is to create enough curiosity to make your viewers click on your site link at the bottom of your video. Traffic generated from your link can mean steady income for you.

    Keywords are still valuable and should be included in your video title. Do not forget the basic marketing practice of using your keywords in your first paragraph and intermittently in the rest of your presentation. What you want to do is make your videos interesting enough to have others send an email or the link to their friends and subscribers, which makes your video a viral marketing tool. The more people who click the link to your video, the better your ranking, the more Google will love you, and the more chance you have to make sales.

    What should you do videos about? Remember you’re a marketer – the only difference is the delivery media, in this case, YouTube videos. Instructional videos, PowerPoint presentations, your personal story about finding the solution to a problem, or your sales copy for your product are good examples.

    Check out your YouTube competitors to not only see what they are doing, but to find possible opportunities to add your video as a response to what they are posting. People will find your video and follow your links if they are interested in what you are saying or offering. Targeted traffic is pure gold.

    YouTube has a couple of interesting and useful tools for you to use. One is the “Statistics and Data” section, which lists the numbers of visitors sent by other websites. You are free to copy the tags popular sites use to keep their videos and websites popular. Use them in your videos to improve your listings.

    Keep in mind these facts about YouTube’s popularity and don’t dismiss the site’s power as a marketing tool without giving it a try yourself. YouTube has monthly visitors that number way over several million each month. Almost 100,000 new videos are uploaded each day and your possible customers generate hundreds of million clicks on a daily basis. Those numbers alone should get you to start your video marketing immediately.

    Categories: video