Web & Marketing Info Galore

Tuesday, May 30  

How To Increase Your Web Site Sales By 73%

How To Increase Your Web Sales By 73%

Now, I don't want to give away the farm here but, if you want to know, stop reading this blog post and click here.

Cheers

Brendon

Why I Use Google Analytics

Why I Use Google Analytics

I use a lot of Google services and am aware that I don't want them to have too much data on me and/or our sites.

But I use Google Analytics for some simple reasons:

• It's very, very good
• It's very, very simple to use

My business is about information. About figuring out the good information from the bad. The amount of information we review can be overwhelming - so we need it simplified enough to be able to come to clear decisions.

If you're looking for information presented in an easy to see and understand way then Google Analytics could be for you (there is a bit of a delay after you request an invitation - about 8 weeks. Billy Kirkley mentioned on this blog a few days back that if you find a web host with Urchin statistics installed you get the same data - click here for some hosts with Urchin).

Brendon

Monday, May 29  

Why You Musn't Give Too Many Choices

Why You Musn't Give Too Many Choices

It is important from a marketing point of view not to give your potential customer too many choices. The reason for this is simple - it's not that you want to limit their choices, it's that you want them to make a decision and act.

Tons of research backs up the thinking that, faced with lots of choices, the customer does nothing.

The customer needs it as simple as possible - "Do you want A or B?"

Not "Do you want A or B, and have you considered C, or even D. And E has its advantages over the others. Which one would you like?"


Using Skype Effectively

We have an account with Skype, (as you can see by the graphic to the right, Skype is so simple even an Octopus can use it!) the Internet telephone service.

We've paid a little extra and gotten ourselves a US number. And here's how we use Skype.

• On some web sites we don't ever mention it.
• On other web sites we'll say "Skype us on our Skype account of "tailored"."
• And on others still, we won't mention Skype but we will say you can call us on our US number (That rings the phone on the computer here in the office).

Anthony and I were discussing the use of Skype today and how we don't want to confuse potential customers.

If you have a.com business with web savvy customers, like us, then it can make sense to say "Skype me."

If you are a small business with a not-so-web-savvy customer base saying "Skype me" would only confuse your customer.

And you don't want to confuse your customer.

Cheers

Brendon

Friday, May 26  

Complaints, Complaints, Complaints!

Complaints, Complaints, Complaints!

I've just had one of our clients ring up and complain (but in the nicest possible way).

We added a simple enquiry form to his web site a couple of days ago (rather than an use an email link) and notified visitors on the Home Page that it was there.

He's since been run off his feet with people asking for quotes (he manages a top quality resort with an average sale of about $1,000).

He rang to jokingly complain that they're too busy to even have lunch!

A Simple Change Might Be All That It Needs

A simple change might be all that your web site needs.

Here's a tip: if you visitor has to login or register to buy your sales will be up to 50% less than if they didn't have to!

Make no mistake about it - if your visitor has to register or login to buy (quite a few of the cheaper or free shopping carts ask for registration) from your site you are insane.

Is That It Then?

Nope, of course not.

Now we check the stats on the form page to see how many people who visit that page use that form.

And I'll bet that we can increase that % by 20% at least.

"How, Brendon you big gorgeous hunk of a man? "

Good question (and I like the way you asked it).

• We don't need the address or phone number as required fields (they are presently).
• And arrival and departure dates also don't need to be compulsory (they are at the moment).
• Same with guests and bedrooms
  

Because what we're doing with those fields being required, is we're limiting who can use the fields.

For example, what if someone is enquiring about whether the resort has beach access. They don't want to fill in all the other stuff.

So that potential guest wouldn't enquire and the resort wouldn't have the opportunity to establish a dialogue and then make an offer to the potential guest.

Which could mean the loss of a $1,000 sale, repeat business and referred business.

The less required fields you have on a form the more often people will use it. And that's what you want.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Brendon

How To Use Public Speaking To Get More Clients

Being seen as an expert is one of the best and surest ways to find new clients.

The biggest barrier to purchasing any product or service is the perceived risk. There's less perceived risk when buying from an industry acknowledged expert - and the best way to make yourself that expert is through public speaking.

"How To Use Public Speaking To Get More Clients" is a PDF e-book full of public speaking tips I wrote that takes you step by step through the process of using speeches to promote your business, and yourself. I wrote it just on a year ago.

The E-Book Includes

• Why Speak?
• How To Find Speeches
• How To Approach Target Organisations
• What To Do When Someone Says Yes
• Speech Preparation
• Structure The Speech - With Speech Example
• Adding Value
• Follow Up
• Getting Started

The Appendix includes 18 pages of documents you can use immediately to be an effective public speaking. The documents include:

• Example Pitch Letter
• Booking Form
• Pre-Speech Questionnaire
• Event Progress Sheet
• Speech Introduction
• Speech Example
• Hard Copy Survey With More Info Request Facility
• Post Event Survey

2 Ways To Get It (One by paying, one for free)

There are 2 ways to get it:

• Buy it here for $24.95 US (it's a PDF e-book) - Bill Gates, this is the way YOU get it!
  
  
• Download it for FREE from this link on SitePoint (you'll see the link to the ebook about 3/4 down the 1st page) - I included it in an article I wrote for them a while back.

For full information about this e-book visit this page, but then zip over here to get it free.

(SitePoint are the guys who published my big book - The Web Design Business Kit.)

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Brendon

Thursday, May 25  

How To Redevelop Your Web Site

How To Redevelop Your Web Site

Tina (left) has just uploaded our latest podcast (audio) at Tailored Podcast.

It's a 11 min 55 sec show on how we've gone about redeveloping a client's web site. Tina's written a nice concise post to go with it that contains some useful tips.

It's show # 36 titled "Increasing Sales By 400%?"

Hope you enjoy it.

Brendon

Excellent Free Search Engine And Pay Per Click Info Site

Excellent Free Search Engine And Pay Per Click Info Site

Anthony here in the office shot me through a link to Shimon Sandler's blog where Shimon talks about specific pay per click strategies and some search engine optimisation stuff.

It's one of those sites that is so simple, useful and just plain excellent that I'd feel guilty if I didn't let you know about it!

So check it out if you want some quality (and free) internet marketing strategies. Shimon seems to update the site very regularly so it would be worth subscribing to via a reader like Bloglines.

I've already used some of Shimon's advice to do some more testing on our Gold Coast accommodation page we're using to check a few things.

Cheers

Brendon

Labels: search engine promotion

Wednesday, May 24  

Oh My God..........I Could Be Gay!

Oh My God..........I Could Be Gay!

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But I never even knew. But the facts kind of speak for themselves, so perhaps I should have.......

Fact # 1: My first job: Trainee Male Nurse.

Finished my 3 years hospital training and became a ......Nursing Sister (yep, that was my official title, even though I didn't look like anyone's "Sister").

Fact # 2: My best friend, a guy, was..... a hairdresser.

When I was working as a nurse/sister I was asked often (4-5 times a week) by patients if I was gay.

Not in a roundabout way, but like this: "So Brendon, tell me. Are you gay?"

And just yesterday, when someone I know found out I was a Nursing Sister and my best mate was a hairdresser he put 2 + 2 together and made the big (and wrong) assumption.


Assumptions, Stereotypes & Prejudices

All of us have preconceived notions. We jump to instant assessments. There are millions of stereotypes attached to all sort of actions, behaviours, jobs, accents, etc......even speech impediments.

C'mon, which of those amongst you reading this, when you hear a guy lisp think "Gay."

It's a speech impediment and for some weird reason a lot of people assume "gay" as soon as they hear it.


What This Means When You're Marketing Your Business

What this means for businesspeople marketing there business is this: people make assumptions, people have crazy and illogical stereotypes.

Everything matters because everything says something to your customer.

• People will assume the quality of your service is poor if you dress really badly.
• People will think you're meaner if you have long hair, no teeth and tattoos.
• Others might assume that a woman is more caring than a guy (I was a very caring nurse I'll have you know!).

So What To Do To Get Your Message/The Truth Known

It's all about consistency.

First impressions are critical, but they can be overcome. By education, by communication and by the consistent application of behaviour that reinforces your key message.

Reinforce, reinforce and reinforce. And the message gets through. That's marketing.

You don't need to change, or be untrue. You have to take these into consideration. But mostly, just consistent to get your message across.

And sure, like the 'Steps' blog example below, it's a pity people jump to these assumptions but they do.

But all you can do is present the behaviour to get your message across (or in my case when patients asked me if I was gay, by me saying "Well, let me go out with you daughter and we'll get her to tell you!").

Cheers

Sister Sinclair,
State Registered Nurse,
Training Hospital: St Johns Hospital
Hobart, Tasmania

I've Just Had The Whisper - Google Video Ads Are Here

I've Just Had The Whisper - Google Video Ads Are Here

Google Video is a service from Google where you can upload your video to their server for playing. You can even set it up so you can charge people to view your video (Google takes a %).

Google are just about to announce that they've now incorporate ads into Google Video - it's apparently going to be the same pay per click model they use for Google AdWords.

Online video is just about to get bigger.

Here's a taste of our online video.

Brendon

Tuesday, May 23  

The Usual Dilemma For A Marketer

The Usual Dilemma For A Marketer

Mmmm. See that picture underneath this post. Not the one of the nice legs, but the one under this post of the baby girl taking a step or 2 with her dad holding on, a picture of concentration.

I put that image there because in the blog post I was talking about "The First Steps To A Better Web Site".

Made sense at the time.

Anyway, as a marketer, it was the wrong photo to use. Completely wrong.


Here's The Photo I Should Have Used

Here's the photo I should have used.

And the reason I should have used this photo is simple.

More people read this post because their attention is increased by the photo of the nice legs.

As wrong as you might think that is, it's true.

You see, nice legs creates interest. Interest creates awareness. Awareness creates consideration.

And I guess you can try and do what you think is the right thing - like use the little girl as the photo - but as a writer trying to get you to read my stuff, that's not the right thing.

As wrong as you or I think it is, it's the wrong thing if the motivation is to get people to read this stuff.


The Same Goes For Your Marketing

The exact same thing holds true for your marketing.

You have to catch your audience's interest. And in a very cluttered marketplace that can be hard to do.


Sex Sells

I was watching television on Sunday night with my daughter when she flicked across Eurovision. The international song competition had, from memory, 26 singers/bands competing.

It was a pretty common thing for the female singers to strip down to barely anything as they sang. One singer even got down to a skimpy bra and almost-not-there knickers.

It wasn't about the song. Well, maybe just a little.


The reason the female singers do it?

Because sex sells. A gorgeous woman barely dressed gets attention. She catches interest. The act is designed to get as many votes as possible. So they do what works.

Of course we'd all like our products or services or writing or singing to be judged on its merits. But it usually doesn't work like that. That's not great, but that's how it is.

Keep that in mind for your next marketing campaign.

Regards

Brendon

Monday, May 22  

The First Steps To A Better Web Site

The First Steps To A Better Web Site

Much of our web development work is redeveloping web sites that don't work so well.

I've just finished off a proposal for a client and it's a process that we know pretty well. Here are the first steps to take in developing a better performing web site (and who says I'm not creative with the photos I use on this site!):

• Place a quality web analytics program onto the web site – Google Analytics is an excellent program we recommend.

The next steps are undertaken to ensure current customers feel part of the redevelopment process.

• Undertake a survey to identify what your market wants and needs the site to have
  
  
• Commence an e-newsletter to fully inform previous customers and site visitors of a) survey, b) survey results and c) changes to be undertaken.
  
  

Start Personalising The Site

From there we recommend you start the ‘personalisation’ of the site – commence a Home Page blog (like this site!) where you introduce the person managing the site and start to educate your visitors re what it is you are doing.


We recommend that only then do you commence the web site redevelopment with these major steps:

1. Identify the most effective way to move customers through the buying process
2. Commence redesign and restructuring of pages
3. Develop quality content
4. Improve the shopping process – install a user-friendly shopping cart system

Then commence the ongoing marketing of the site:

• Search engine optimisation
• Pay Per Click advertising
• Viral marketing campaigns
• Great site content

Sure, there are other and more urgent steps, sometimes you should start marketing from day one, other times you should add the quality content immediately, other times a search engine marketing strategy might not be approprioate, etc.

But the above is a good and general start. Hope that helps.

Cheers

Brendon

The Test So Far

The Test So Far

We've been testing some search engine optimisation strategies on a single web page on a site over the past 14 days.

• The page is on a site that has no relevance to what the page is about
• We're targeting an pretty competitive keyword

The results so far have been interesting. Using some pretty basic strategies (that took about 2 hours to implement) we have achieved decent rankings in MSN (Top 20) and Google (Top 40).

The strategies employed:

1. Links from relevant sites to the page
2. Links using the words we're targeting
3. Page is updated with a new paragraph each day
4. Site has basic on page factors (title, heading, sub headings, content, etc all carrying the targeted phrase)

What Next?

What next? Well, I'll continue with the linking campaign and we should see the site in the top 30 in Google in a couple for weeks and top 10 in MSN in the same time.

I'll keep you updated.

Cheers

Brendon

Sunday, May 21  

Is This Blog The 8th Most Popular Marketing Blog In The World?

Is This Blog The 8th Most Popular Marketing Blog In The World?

I've just been looking at stats on Tailored.com.au and thinking how useful quality statistics are. By the way, I've started using Google Analytics on this site and the information and reports I receive are fabulous. Really fabulous.

Check them out if you haven't already (it's free).

Anywho, I've also been reading the Diva Marketing blog. In a recent blog she talks about how her blog is, according to data extracted from the Alexa toolbar, in the top 25 marketing blogs in the world.

Good for her - it's a terrific blog.

We Weren't Included

I had a look at the list and saw that we weren't included :o(

But if this blog was considered by the judge to "either focus(es) mainly on marketing, or marketing is at least half the content" then we would be - with our Alexa rating of being the 61,190th most popular web site in the world - rank as the 8th most popular marketing blog.

And I'm pretty proud of that. I work hard to develop quality content for this site and am thrilled the site has such a strong supporter base.

The Takeaways

"Okay, that's all very interesting," I hear you say.

"But what's in it for me?"

Fair enough!

# 1: This list of marketing blogs might be of interest to you (If you read this blog regularly you might find the others useful). Sure, I might lose readers by sending you off to other blogs, but I figure if it's better content then you should be reading it!

Plus, it keeps me on my toes and delivering good content because of great opposition.

# 2: Google Analytics - you might not have heard about it before and you might well (I'm sure you will) find it useful for your web site.

# 3: This bit of commentary - as good as statistics and Top 25 lists are, don't get distracted from providing your customers with exactly what they want. Because that's what you in business for.

Statistics don't always tell the full story. For example, Alexa rankings can be skewed because lots of web master types have the software installed, but not so many non-webbie types.

Which means that you might get a higher ranking than you should because only those with the software installed are counted.

Generally things would even out, but with web master types having the program installed a lot more than less enthusiastic Internet users, I'd suggested there would be a bit of a biases there.

Cheers

Brendon

Saturday, May 20  

A Better Missing Page

A Better Missing Page

A lot of people find missing pages on web sites.

What they find when they get there varies from site to site.

Many times the person sees an 'error' page (below).


Sometimes the person will see a customised missing page - click here for ours.


The Worst That Can Happen

The worst that can happen when someone finds an error page is that they immediately leave the site never to return.

The best thing that can happen is that the person figures out how to find the page they're really looking for and stays on your site.


Here's How To Increase The Chances Of Successfully Keeping Your Visitor Who Finds A 'Missing' Page

• Customise your 'error' page so that it informs your visitor of what has just happened
• Customise your error page so that it holds your visitors interest and encourages them to take positive action (that you direct them to) - our error page is meant to be funny
  
• List easy ways for the visitor to find what they're looking for
• Say sorry and take the blame
• Pop a small script on error pages alerting you to any error pages and telling you where they originated from (so that if it's a bad/old link for example, you can fix it quickly and easily)

Some quick and easy ways to make it a better visitor experience on your web site. Hope they help.

Cheers

Brendon

Friday, May 19  

Making Money With Google AdSense

Making Money With Google AdSense

We make a few dollars by having what's called Google AdSense on some sites. What that means is that on pages - such as this one - an ad from Google AdWords appears that is relevant to whatever the page is about.

I'd get paid each month via cheque from Google - I'd then have to pay a $10 processing fee at the bank and then wait for about 3 weeks for the US cheque to clear. Bit of a pain.

But now things are easy.
Google Announce EFT Payments For AdSense Publishers

".....we've introduced EFT in several new countries. Publishers located in New Zealand, Australia, Norway, and Poland can now have AdSense payments sent directly to their bank accounts while avoiding postal delays and check processing fees."

Check out the Inside AdSense blog for more information.

Cheers

Brendon

Thursday, May 18  

Why Having Someone Hate Your Product Sometimes Makes It Easier to Market

Why Having Someone Hate Your Product Sometimes Makes It Easier to Market

Here in Australia we've just had probably the most eagerly anticipated boxing match in Australian history.

2 locals fighters, Danny Green and Anthony Mundine, fought in Sydney last night for the chance at a World Title Fight.

Huge live crowd in excess of 30,000. Massive interest in pubs and clubs screening the fight. And Pay To Watch subscriptions (at $50 a time) through the roof.

Why The Big Interest

The interest was so big because of one simple fact - the vast, vast majority of Australian's can't stand Mundine and wanted to see him beaten to a pulp.


You see, Anthony Mundine is....how would you describe him....ummm, errrrr.....well, he's a complete tosser/idiot/obnoxious/arrogant/loud mouth. (Sure, that could be describing me, but we're talking about Mundine here!)

Australian sports fans, almost as one, despise him.

And that's why they watched.

It Doesn't Matter Whether They Love You Or Hate You - As Long As They're Watching You

• It doesn't matter whether they love you or hate you, as long as they're watching you.
• Controversy works at attracting attention.
• Generate a strong emotional reaction and you have people's attention.

Now, in most cases it's important that the strong emotional connection with your product, business or brand is a positive one. But, as Mundine shows, that's not always the case.

He was paid $3 million for the fight.

And he won, by the way.

Cheers

Brendon

How To Do A Case Study

How To Do A Case Study

Case studies are great for lots of businesses. With our business we can do a "Before" and "After" case study of a site to show what improvements we've made to a business.

It's very rewarding when things work how they're meant to!

But a case study is a lot of work to complete. Here are my Top 5 Tips For Doing A Successful Case Study.

• Get the permission of the business owner you'd like to do the study on
• Get lots of baseline statistics and data (including photos and quotes from interested parties)
• Document each major strategy you employ
• Measure, measure and measure
  

Case Studies Are Hugely Credible

Case studies are hugely credible - after all, there is nothing as good as a successful before and after story.

Can you use a case study to tell the story of how your business does business? Of how you do things. Of how you can help others?

There is nothing as powerful as cold, hard facts.

Cheers

Brendon

Tuesday, May 16  

Our Next Site Is Our Best Ever

Our Next Site Is Our Best Ever

I've pretty sure I've written this before a few years back, but I need to say it again.

You see, in this post I talked about the difficulty we had with a client who, at the absolute end of her web site's development, told me she didn't like the site and wanted us to start again from scratch.

After an hour or two meeting she finally agreed to launch her new web site basically because I said "Your last web site didn't make a sale in 1 year. This web site will work well. If we do what you want the new site will fail."

I very passionately believed that the site we developed for the client was the absolute best for her business....otherwise we wouldn't have developed it the way we did. Happily, the client agreed to test out my site for 3 months.

I told her if the site didn't perform in that time I'd either give her her money back or redo the site how she wanted.

In the first 29 days the site made 54 direct sales. In the last 3 days the sales have been:

14 May: 5 sales
15th May: 3 sales
16th May: 3 sales

Sales from offline sources (such as the telephone) have also increased very significantly.

We Know What We Are Doing

The reason that client's web site is perfoming so well is that we know what we're doing. We really know.

We know about usability of web sites, we know why people click certain words, we know why the load time of a site has to be quick, we know how to increase visitors clicking the site from search engines, we know how to get higher rankings, we know how to convert visitors to customers better than most....and on it goes.


We produce lots of data on each site we manage and base our strategy on cold, hard facts sprinkled with a decent dose of our expertise and experience.

Click here (or the image to the left) for a FREE example of a simple report we generate for some clients so they can see the basic statistics of their web site performance. Note: It's a pdf file.




Huge Research

We do a huge amount of research.

• We test and measure and test again.
  
• We read and read.
• We have researchers (the best in the business) providing us the latest and greatest information as soon as it becomes available.
• We immerse ourselves in the industry and know what's going on.

And we do that for a reason - to develop better and more effective web sites.


And the information we gather is gold.

Just yesterday I played golf with one of my clients. He told me how a simple strategy we've employed for his site has increased his conversion rate by a huge 30%.

Another client told me something else that's increased their conversion rate by 40%!


Notice in the graphic above how Google referrals make some big gains - couple of reasons for that: 1) They generate the majority of web searches so have most potential for explosive growth and 2) We generally target Google for that reason.

You might also notice that the big gains with Google haven't been accompanied by big gains in either of the 2 other search engines - that's because when you market a site for Google rankings, the MSN and Yahoo! rankings are generally not improved (because of the different way each search engine assesses pages).


The Last Site We Developed Was Our Best Ever....And The Next One Will Be Even Better

It's true. Our next web site will be our best ever. Because it's based on the most information we've ever had. More data than we've ever had. More experience than we've ever had.

The post below is probably a good example. Not only do we know where to find data, but we know what data to look for and we know the relevance of the data.

And that only comes with hard experience.

With your web site or business, keep learning, keep working hard and keep trying new things on your road to improvement.

Cheers

Brendon

P.S: I've just re-read the above and I sound like a bit of (or a lot of) a "I'm so smart" kind of guy. I don't mean to sound like such a jerk (guess it comes naturally!) - just want to give a real life example of what a difference a quality site can make.

P.P.S: Click here for the free example report we generate for some clients (it's a pdf file).

Monday, May 15  

Experience Counts - Gold Coast Accommodation....or Accomodation

Experience Counts - Gold Coast Accommodation....or Accomodation

As regular readers might know, we develop web sites for quite a few Gold Coast resorts here in Queensland. One of the things we do for the sites is get high rankings in search engines.

When we do that we do a lot of what's called 'keyword research' - basically we try and find out what phrase people will search for most when searching for an place to stay for their Gold Coast holiday.

Not surprisingly, Gold Coast accommodation is the most popular term.

But is it??!

Well, Yes....But I wanted To Mention Something Else

Yes, Gold Coast accommodation is the most searched for phrase.....but only just.

You see, based on our experience we know that not everyone can spell. And "accommodation" is a hard word to spell.

So using Google Trends (click here for Thursday May 11's post about it) I can see how many people search for "Gold Coast accommodation" in comparison to "Gold Coast accomodation".

Trend Lines From Google Searches - Gold Coast Accommodation/Accomodation


Wow! As you can see, if I develop a page like this for Gold Coast accommodation only I'll miss out on nearly as many searches for the term "Gold Coast accomodation".

In our experience about 40% of people spell it "accomodation".

So potentially, that could be a simple way to increase your visitor numbers from Google by a huge 40%!

Cheers

Brendon

How To Build A Business From 0 To 9 Employees In Just 11 Months

How To Build A Business From 0 To 9 Employees In Just 11 Months

We've just uploaded a great interview with Billy Kirkley, founder and CEO of Brisbane web design firm In House Business Solutions over on our Internet Radio Show at Tailored Podcast.

Billy first contacted me after buying my kit a year ago and has since built his business from himself to 9 employees in just 11 months. Check out Tailored Podcast show number 35 for some superb real-life information from a guy building a successful business.

Cheers

Brendon

Friday, May 12  

4 Chapters of My Kit Free

Free Chapters Of My Best-Selling Kit

Look, I don't mean to brag :o) but I interviewed a guy called Billy Kirkley on Wednesday for our online radio show and I have to tell you Billy's story.

Billy contacted me after he purchased the Web Design Business Kit. Turns out Billy was looking for a proposal template to use when giving web development proposals for his own new business.

Billy downloaded the four free chapters of my Kit, loved what he saw and bought the Kit. His business has boomed as, so he graciously says, a direct result of reading and implementing the things I say in the Kit.

His business has grown from just him to him and 9 employees in just 11 months!

Not Just For Web Developers

I've always said that the Kit isn't just for web developers (even though it's called The Web Design Business Kit) - the information is useful for any business and many readers have emailed me that the kit has helped their non-web business tremendously.

So if you're looking for a Kit to help you build you business I'm very confident in saying my Kit will definitely help.

Sales Going Strong

One of the most pleasing things for me has been that even 2 years after its launch, the Kit sells better now than ever.

With a Kit like this, word of mouth is very strong (and being mostly web-savvy people who buy it word of mouth can spread very quickly via emails and discussion forums) and it's been very positive.

And winning my category in the Web Design Library's Award in 2004 didn't hurt either!

Free Chapters Here

If you'd like to check out the Kit, click here for your free sample chapters of The Web Design Business Kit. (Note: The publisher asks for your email and sends you a link to the pdf file to instantly download).

Have a good weekend.

Brendon

P.S: Tina is editing Billy's interview now and will post it at Tailored Podcast as soon as possible. Have a listen if you can because Billy has some tremendous ideas to share.

How To Increase Your Search Engine Rankings Next Month

If I had a web site, and I have plenty (!), this is what I would do if I was trying to improve its search engine rankings over the next month or so.

1. Submit the web site to one web directory per day (Cost: approximately $50)
2. Get one link per day to your web site from another web site (Cost: $0)
3. Write one article (a "How to....) and submit it to 5 article distribution sites (Cost: $0)
4. Place a blog onto your web site and add one post per day (Cost: $0)
5. Submit the blog address to one blog directory per week day (Cost: $0)
6. Write a media release focused on the term you want to be found for and send it out via PR Web (Cost: approximately $40)

$90 And 5 Hours Work

For $90 and 5 hours work you'll see a nice little rise in your rankings.

For more information and details check out this article regarding web site marketing.

Regards

Brendon

Labels: search engine promotion

Thursday, May 11  

Great New Google Tool

Great New Google Tool

Google has done it again - they're just released Google Trends.

It compares search volumes for different terms and tells you where the searches are coming from.

A great tool for those making a buck or 2 from web sites.

And if you haven't already, check out Google Earth. But be prepared to waste a few hours as you wander the world. Incredible tool.

Cheers

Brendon

Great PR Tips From Chelsea McLean

Great PR Tips From Chelsea McLean

Chelsea McLean is a Publicist/Writer here in Queensland and I've just interviewed her for our online radio show over at Tailored Podcast.

Chelsea is a brilliant publicist (she has generated huge media coverage for us) and has some terrific tips for getting media coverage for your business.

Click here to listen to Chelsea's interview now.

Regards

Brendon

Wednesday, May 10  

Brilliant Thinking - One Of Those "D'oh, Why Didn't I Think Of That!" Moments

Brilliant Thinking - One Of Those "D'oh, Why Didn't I Think Of That!" Moments

We've just interviewed a businessperson who, when we were talking about using clients for testimonials, came out with what he does.

"Sure, I give prospective clients the names and phone numbers of a few happy clients. But I also give prospects the number of an unhappy client.

Because what happens is this................ the prospect rings the client with whom we stuffed something up with and that person says "Yep, they did something wrong/made a mistake/whatever.....but then they fixed it and we're happy. If there is a problem they won't let you down."

Makes Perfect Sense

Show your prospects that you deal with problems. That unhappy client end up a happy client.

I've often cited research that shows that clients for whom you fix problems for are more loyal, more profitable and refer more people.

It makes great business sense to keep your clients happy. Are you doing enough.

Check out Tailored Podcast on Friday to hear this very interesting interview.

Cheers

Brendon

The best photo I could come up with was onions - get it? Onions, crying, sad clients. C'mon.....It's a stretch doing the association but bear with me!

"If Someone Can't Spell You Can't Trust Them."

"If Someone Can't Spell You Can't Trust Them."

You probably think that I make this stuff up. I swear I don't.

I had a meeting with a client today. She's a client who was very unhappy with our work a few weeks back.

She wanted us to start again on her web site and do it her way - that was despite seeming happy with our work as we progressed through the site development.

I finally convinced the client that the site we developed to replace her previous site - 0 sales in 1 year - would work. She reluctantly agreed to try.

54 Sales In 29 Days

It's been 29 days since we launched. In that 29 days the client has made 54 sales. 1 sale was enough to pay for the entire web site redevelopment (and we ain't cheap!).

Because of this the client was in a much more chatty mood at an update meeting today. And I got to the root of what was the real problem when she expressed her desire to start again with her web site.

"If Someone Can't Spell You Can't Trust Them."

You see, when we redid the design we popped into the site some content so the pages appeared full - only the client could see these pages. The client read the content and hated it because it had a couple of typos.

We apologised and fixed the typos.

The client said today that it was that content that got her upset. She said she didn't trust us anymore because ""If someone can't spell you can't trust them."

Details Matter

Details matter. It might just be a typo to you, but to someone else it might be a sign that you're sloppy, lack attention to detail and don't care.

It's important to get it right.

And sure, I think "If someone can't spell you can't trust them" is a bit too much. But that's how my client feels and that's a legitimate feeling.

Brendon

Don't Make Your Google Adsense Ads Stick Out

Don't Make Your Google Adsense Ads Stick Out

Google Adsense ads are ads from google that show up on your web site. I have some Google Adsense ads on this site on some articles pages.



One of the big tricks of Adsense publishing is, surprisingly, making your ads as unobtrusive as possible.

This From The Google Adsense Blog

Sharon Maguire expected that matching her Google ads to her site, dogbreedinfo.com, would give it a cleaner look and feel that her visitors would appreciate. What she didn't expect was the large revenue increase spurred by her changes -- AdSense revenue nearly doubled, to $650 per day.

When generating her ad code, Maguire chose a white background and white borders to blend her ads more effectively into her site's overall color scheme. "Originally I'd chosen the standard 'Mother Earth' palette with the thin outline of a border," Maguire said.

"I was happy with performance, but could see the revenue potential of the ad units. I discovered by simply removing the border around the ad units the AdSense revenue doubled."

$650 Per Day From A Dog Of A Site

Get it??!! Geeeeeez I'm funny!

The lesson: make those ads blend in as much as possible. And make more money.

Brendon

Tuesday, May 9  

Microsoft adCenter Looks Interesting For Online Advertisers

Microsoft adCenter Looks Interesting For Online Advertisers

Microsoft has just launch its adCenter. The Microsoft adCenter looks to provide some very interesting data:

• "Did you know that 84% of the queries for [Viking home appliances] come from men?
• Or that [hotel] skews mostly female but [hotel reservations] is mostly young men?
• [Wine tours] is typed in by 80% women?" Source: adCenter Blog
  

Aaron Wall of SEO Book fame, also mentions their discount functionality. Impressive.

Using these sort of resources makes pay per click advertising just that much easier and, hopefully, more effective.

Check out their adCenter blog for more.

Brendon

Mine Rescue Lessons

Mine Rescue Lessons

Here in Australia the nation has held its collective breath as two- (2) miners (Todd Russell and Brant Webb) have been rescued from 1 kilometre underground after a rock fall. The rock fall killed their colleague Larry Knight.

The rescue has taken 2 weeks to complete.

Today at 5.58 am the two- (2) miners walked unaided from the mine. Great news.


Public Relations Perspective

I've looked on with interest from Day 1 at the PR efforts of those concerned as they've tried to position their various angles for the media. And it has been a very interesting exercise.

The first place I looked was the Beaconsfield Gold web site - minimal information there.

The mine manager, Matthew Gill, gave regular updates. The real star of the show was a guy called Bill Shorten. Bill is the National Secretary of The Australian Workers' Union.

Bill was authorative, polished and believable. Bill was looked upon by the majority of people as the main spokesperson.

Which means the mine probably hasn't done a great job of the media management. After all, the Australian Workers' Union is usually in conflict with the mine and their main guy has just presented himself to the media as a very credible spokesperson for the mine.

When in fact he's not from the mine (I asked here in the office and everyone thought Bill was the Mine Manager.)

4 Ways Beaconsfield Gold Could Have Provided A Stronger PR Experience Using Their Web Site

• Started a blog on their home page to provide constant (and by that I mean every 2-3 hours) updates of the mine rescue
• Profiled the various personnel and experts that were being used in the mine rescue
• Set up a podcast - visitors could listen to all of the press conferences and interviews at any time online
• Uploaded photos to their web site showing the rescue operation in progress

Why Focus On That - Surely The Focus Should Be On The Rescue

Of course the focus should be on the rescue. But any disaster like this needs a managed response to ensure the least amount of damage in the public eye. Because that will impact on public perception. And that'll hurt the share price.

And not only that, but the above would assist in keeping interested people fully informed from the mine - the most credible source of all.

Cheers

Brendon

We All Like Positive Feedback

We All Like Positive Feedback

This blog - Lesson 1 - Positive Feedback - has been one of my most popular ever blogs.

It's a story about positive feedback and what a difference it made to a work colleague of mine a few years ago.

We all crave attention, even if we're loathe to admit it. It's part of being human. When you show someone you appreciate and value them, they'll keep coming back so you can keep reinforcing the feeling.

And if I remember my High School psychology, I think it was Maslow's hierachy of needs that mentioned acceptance and group membership as hugely important to humans.

What That Means In Business

Send thank you notes. Let client's know you appreciate them. Say "Thanks."

After all, your client is the one feeding you and keeping a roof over your head.

Regards

Brendon

Monday, May 8  

Everything Matters

Everything Matters

I took a late lunch today and wandered on down to a local cafe. It was 2 pm, a little late for most people's lunch, and I was the only person in the place.

Jason, the cafe owner who I know, came on over for a chat as I ate lunch He had a bunch of resumes in his hand. Resumes from people applying for a vacant waiting staff job.

"Tell me," he said looking at the first resume.

"Would you employ someone with the email address hotstudupforit@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxcom?"

That resume was tossed in the bin.

In life, everything about you says something about you. It's the same online. It's the same offline.

Sometimes we all do things that aren't too smart, but stay aware.

Remember that decisions that might seem funny to your friends may not be that amusing for a potential employer!

Be seen the way you want to be seen always.

Regards

Brendon

An Easy Way To Make $1,000

An Easy Way To Make $1,000

I've been checking the statistics on one of my web sites and noticed 1 page on a1 particular site generates a lot of visitors. The page in question has never had any advertising on it, but about 2 minutes after I noticed the pages views it did!

That web page makes me $3 per day now using pay per click ad publishing. That's $1,000 per year.

It's Easy - Just Give It A Try

The point is, it was incredibly easy. And $1,000 is a lot of money.

If you've been thinking of running Google Adsense on your site now might be the time to give them a try.

Just go here to get started: www.google.com/adsense.

We all get busy in our lives and don't always have the time to make the most of opportunities.
But now is the time to do something different - because if nothing changes, nothing changes.

Brendon

Friday, May 5  

3 New Articles Added

3 New Articles Added

We've just added 3 new articles to the Articles page - hope they are of some interest.

• Why Pay Per Click Advertising Is Better Than Print Or Radio
  

According to data released by the UK Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), total online advertising expenditure in the UK totaled 1.4 billion pounds ($3.4 billion AUD) in 2005 - a huge 65.6% increase on 2004.............click here for Why Pay Per Click Advertising Is Better Than Print Or Radio

• The Secrets To Top Search Engine Rankings
  

Achieving top search engine rankings for competitive terms - that is terms that are searched for a lot - is extremely difficult............click here for The Secrets To Top Search Engine Rankings

• Why High Search Engine Rankings Are Even Better Than Pay Per Click Ads
  

As good as Pay Per Click advertising is (and it's fantastic), getting high search engine rankings for the terms people search for in relation to.............click here for Why High Search Engine Rankings Are Even Better Than Pay Per Click Ads

Regards

Brendon