Click here – Don’t tell me what to do!
February 9th, 2010 // 5:07 pm @ Fox
My pet hate is the Click here link that you see plastered all over websites around the world.
I know I have written a post on this topic before – The annoying click here habit, but as I mentioned, it is my pet hate. It drives me crazy and I have to keep griping about it.
Whenever I see a Click here link these days I feel like e-mailing the company and saying ‘NO, I don’t want to Click here’. Don’t tell me what to do, or treat me like an idiot. You didn’t even say ‘Please’.
When you walk into a restaurant, each chair does not have a sign on it that says Sit here. Newspapers do not have a headline on each column that says Read here.
Why?
Because we know what a chair is and what it is for. Likewise we know what a newspaper is and where to read.
WE ALSO KNOW WHAT A LINK IS AND WHAT TO DO WITH IT!
Let’s look back to the origins of the infamous ‘Click here’ link. When the Internet was very new to the world, websites were not a common channel as they are today, Google was yet to be born, and there was no such thing as Web standards, websites were built in any old colour and layout. Usability, accessibility, information architecture and an aesthetic user interface had never seen the light of day. Back then it was not always clear what a link was or what it looked like. It could look the same as the rest of the copy on a page or it may have blinked, animated, almost chased you across a page, or been in 36 point font and red. It was easier for the developer/designer to say Click here so there was no doubt as to which were the links.
Those days are over.
We now have Web standards, best practice, usability, accessibility, information architecture and a knowledge that did not exist then. We KNOW what a link looks like as it is usually a different colour to the rest of the text or it has an underline. We know that when we hold the mouse over it, the pointer turns into a hand and often the link will change colour or underline. We also know that a well designed site is uniform and that links on all pages will have the same attributes and behave in the same manner. This gives us a feeling of confidence and familiarity when navigating around a site.
We also know that if the site is designed and written correctly, that the copy has made it clear where the link is going to take us to, and can see the destination page URL in the status bar. (I did say on a correctly designed site)
If the site is well built, then the navigation is very clear, and the information architecture has left scope for an evolving and growing website within its framework instead of having to pop in Click here everywhere when something doesn’t quite fit.
The link text should be contextual and mean something. Instead of Click here, we can have Read the annual report. Now, doesn’t that read better? A blind person using a reader to read the website out to them will know exactly what that link is about instead of having a leap of faith in where we are trying to take them with a Click here link.
It is amazing how many business websites and even corporate sites have Click here for many of their links. Look for it when you are surfing around the Internet and you will be surprised.
My other pet hate is finger prints on the fridge, but that is another story …
Five Stars Domestic & Commercial Cleaning Services
January 1st, 2010 // 10:09 pm @ Fox
Five Stars took advantage of the Small Business Internet Package with a new website, domain name, hosting, business listings, monthly traffic reports and content updates for the next 12 months. We also assisted Five Stars with copywriting, logo design and sourcing images.
Although Five Stars Cleaning has been in business since 2002, this is their first website and Internet presence.
View the Five Stars Cleaning website at www.fivestarscleaning.com.au.
Category : Portfolio
Cottages at Monreale – Dandenong Ranges Luxury Bed & Breakfast
December 8th, 2009 // 10:41 pm @ Fox
Monreale recently had a new ‘facelift’ in keeping with the new branding and colour scheme, and also to keep the site fresh and up-to-date. Blax Online performs a number of services for Monreale including web enhancements, SEO, e-mail campaigns and Internet marketing.
Cottages at Monreale is a luxury bed and breakfast venue in the Dandenong Ranges. Winner of numerous State and National Tourism awards, Karl also has an online art gallery of beautiful country scenes.
View the Cottages at Monreale website for more information – www.monreale-estate.com.au.
Category : Portfolio
Peter Frederick – Published Book Author
December 8th, 2009 // 10:40 pm @ Fox
Today, I will tell you about the most important person for an author, an artist and other creators of beautiful things. It is the expert who helps to let the world know about it. In the digital world, it is the promoter of the internet website, a search engine optimiser, an internet website designer!
There seems to be a glut of them on the net, with their enticing websites that contain powerful words and phrases. However, in the past, I have found them all wanting – until I came across my current website designer and SEO expert, who made my author’s dream come true! Therefore I would like to mention it here in gratitude, unashamedly recommending and promoting their business activities, their talent and creativity.
Whilst I am not sure that I am helping this excellent company with my little outpourings of praise, I am totally satisfied with their expert assistance and am therefore sure of showing my gratitude the correct way!
PETER FREDERICK
View Peter’s websites – www.peterfrederick.org, www.life-on-the-road.com, peterfrederick.blogspot.com.
Category : Portfolio
EditsMadeEasy – Editing, Proofreading, Coaching, Writing & Classes
December 8th, 2009 // 10:39 pm @ Fox
I am nothing short of overwhelmed by the phenomenal service I have received from blax. Lisa and Matt have teamed up to help me build a Web site that is tailored precisely to the needs of my company, and Lisa has gone on to offer expert SEO advice as well. When my company was just starting out, Lisa worked to keep our costs low, always ensuring that we got the most benefit out of every Web development dollar. She also pointed out elements of the Web development process that I would certainly have overlooked, and helped me to prioritize the components of our long-range development plan. It is wonderful to be able to work with a team that finds its success in my success. I know that I can trust them to recommend what is truly best for my business at every step of the way. – Albert, President & CEO, EditsMadeEasy
View the Edits Made Easy site – www.editsmadeeasy.com.
Category : Portfolio
WordsRU – Editing and Proofreading Service
December 8th, 2009 // 10:38 pm @ Fox
I have no hesitation in recommending Lisa for any Internet marketing tasks. She continues to assist our company with SEO and PPC campaigns. In addition, Lisa is experienced and very thorough in briefing designers and programmers with new developments. She played a major role in securing new corporate clients for our company including Sony Europe, Allstate Insurance (USA) and Toyota Australia. – Stephen Plowright, Director WordsRU
Category : Portfolio
PR Disaster: United Breaks Guitars
July 17th, 2009 // 3:02 pm @ Fox
A classic case of why ‘online reputation management’ is so important is the recent YouTube success of Dave Carroll’s song, United Breaks Guitars.
Band members watched in horror from a United plane as baggage handlers played catch with their guitars. From this rough handling, a Taylor guitar was broken. After 12 months of frustration in trying to get United to reimburse them for the guitar, the band got together and wrote a ‘catchy’ tune (pun intended) called United Breaks Guitars.
This video clip has now been viewed millions of times and the tale has been retold in newspapers all over the world.
According to Social media lessons: United Airlines breaks guitars, John Dodge reports that United have since offered compensation for the guitar. It is a case of too little, too late, or closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
This PR disaster for United could have been avoided had they offered better customer service in the 12 months prior to the song being released.
I love the homepage of Taylor Guitars at the moment. Quick to jump on the PR bandwagon, the main image is a guitar with a Fragile sticker and an airline claim ticket, and the heading ‘Bumpy flight?’ Brilliant!
Category : Reputation & blog
Ten Tips To Writing Web Copy
June 30th, 2009 // 4:07 pm @ Fox
- Web copy should be left-aligned. Indenting the first word of a paragraph is often used in print material but is not correct for Web copy. This has become a standard with Web writing and also with modern business letters.
- Do not use underlines. On a Web page, underlined words often represent links. It confuses a reader if a word has an underline but is not a link.
- Do not colour-code words to highlight them. Many websites use a colour theme for links so a coloured word may lead the reader to think it is a link. Headings can have a colour theme.
- Use bolded words or italics where appropriate. Highlight a word or sentence with bolded or italic font. Don’t overdo it.
- Use semantic headings. Depending on how your page is set up, use H1, H2 or H3 headings where appropriate. The use of semantic headings is like letting search engines know the importance of a heading and is better house-keeping from a styling perspective.
- Do not use long sentences. Long sentences are for print material. Online copy should use short sentences which are to the point. Break up your long sentences into two sentences.
- Break up large blocks of text. It is difficult for the reader to absorb large blocks of text when reading online. Try to keep blocks of text to a minimum and break the page up with images, headings, bullet lists, words in bold or white space.
- Reference material used from elsewhere. If you are quoting someone else, using their information or thoughts, always cite the reference whether it is a link to their site, or a mention in the copy, or in references at the end of the copy. Plagiarism and copyright infringement are serious issues.
- Have a clear call-to-action. If the purpose of your page is to encourage a sale, or provide information on a product or a service, always make it clear to the reader what the next step is. A simple call-to-action such as ‘Order U-Beaut Now!’ or ‘Contact us today for a quote!’ with a link to the relevant page would suffice.
- Have interesting content. If your site is a business site, write in a general, neutral and professional tone, but don’t get too bogged down in trivial detail. Keep the content fresh and appealing. More intricate detail can be offered in a PDF or over several pages, giving the reader the choice of reading more.
Email Communications – Gaining a Subscriber List
May 29th, 2009 // 11:27 am @ Fox
A few weeks ago I posted a blog titled SPAM – Australian business and the law. I have had phone calls since then asking questions on how to obtain a mailing list.
If you wish to email a newsletter, specials and promotions, or other marketing material to a list then the best list to have is your own customers. Start collecting subscribers as soon as possible even if you are not ready to start emailing until some time in the future. By the time you are ready to send, you should have a list where the subscribers have consented to receiving your email.
For online subscriptions you will need to add an area to your website where the user can sign up:
- A text box where the subscriber enters their email address
- A checkbox with some wording such as ‘Please send me newsletters and special offers’. The checkbox must not be pre-ticked. The action of the ticking of a checkbox must be a manual process that the subscriber performs.
- A Submit button which saves the subscriber to a database maintained either by you or a third party.
Best practice dictates that an automated email is sent to the subscriber asking them to click on a link to confirm that they wish to receive the communications. There are times when a person signs up a friend so the request to confirm is a safeguard to ensure that the recipient does wish to receive the communication. It is also recommended to offer a link to your Privacy Policy so the subscriber can read your process and practices regarding protecting their private information. Of course you must let the subscriber know how they can unsubscribe from the mailing list at any time.
It is a good idea to place this subscription area on your website where it is easily seen such as the homepage, or a side column common to each page. Also add the subscribe option to any membership forms on your website. This is a good opportunity to gain a subscriber as they are already filling out a form and interested in your product or service.
You can gain subscribers offline as well. If you have a printed membership form or an offline newsletter, you can add the subscription complete with un-ticked checkbox to the form. There are a number of ways you can gain subscribers, but just be careful that you are clear about what they are subscribing to.
What if you are a new business, without a mailing list and want to email a target audience to let them know about your product or service?
You can buy a legitimate mailing list from a broker using a Pay Per Lead model. These companies will gain consent from a targeted consumer segment for your specific website to send information to them. Often the subscription is on a survey site.
There is no need to preach that you should never buy a mailing list from any other source.
Category : Email Communication & blog
Guaranteeing Search Engine Rankings
May 7th, 2009 // 6:15 pm @ Fox
I have been asked a few times lately if I guarantee first page ranking in search engines as a few competitors do.
The answer is ‘No’ and allow me to explain why this is so.
In a perfect world if a client implements every single idea I have and gives me an unlimited budget to spend, and Google never change their ranking algorithm, and if the client’s competitors do not spend much on SEO, then the chances are good that they will rank highly on the first page, maybe even #1. However, this is not a perfect world. There are always compromises with SEO, there is always a limited budget, Google continually enhance and tweak the ranking algorithm, and your competitors may be spending more than you.
Compromises with SEO include:
- A content management system that may not allow unique meta descriptions or page titles, or renaming images, or have friendly URL structures
- The client may not be comfortable using some of the suggestions for the strategy such as the use of social media, blogs or articles etc.
- Some marketing departments are very pedantic about content and will not change copy to include keywords
- I have experienced a few clients that are protective and argumentative about any shortcomings their site may have, and do not wish to make changes
Each Google update re-jigs the rankings and often includes an algorithm tweaking that shuffles competitors around including your site.
No one has control over Google or can influence the algorithm.
In this ever-changing landscape, how can anyone guarantee a particular ranking position?
Another important thing to keep in mind is that being on the first page of a search engine results page is only part of the race. Actually achieving a click-through and a subsequent conversion is another matter and a higher priority.
It would be a good idea to read the fine print on the contract regarding a guarantee. Is it within a particular time-frame? Is it subject to any conditions? Is it for one keyword only or all keywords? Who gets to choose the keywords for the guarantee, you or the provider? It is easy to rank on the first page or even for the #1 position for an obscure term such as ‘purple striped socks with braces’.
Let’s see what the experts think about guaranteeing search engine rankings.
Rand from SEOmoz is a guru in the industry. View his blog- ‘Why Reputable SEO Firms Don’t Promise Guaranteed Search Engine Rankings’ to get an idea of his views.
What do Google think of SEO providers guaranteeing search engine rankings. You can read their view here: ‘Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings …’
I will finish this post with a quote from Rand from SEOmoz that I strongly agree with:
What search engine optimization companies can & should guarantee is that they’ll provide the best advice possible to help your site earn more traffic.