WEB MEDIA SCHOOL session - 98
Welcome to BizLand University - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
steveborkowski says: I'd like to introduce this afternoon's instructor - Lisa Lopuck
Lisa Lopuck says: Thank you Steve, we'll discuss today how to find, retain, and motivate users at your web site. Most people find web sites through search engines by entering key words and phrases. These search engines index web sites look at your image "alt" tags and the titles of your pages primarily, but they also look at your meta tags. Every page of your web site should be descriptively titled. You should also include description meta tags that contains a few sentences describing your site and keyword meta tags that anticipate what users may enter into search engines. Also, if your web site contains a lot of graphics, there is less stuff for the search engines to search on &endash; making you lower in the rankings. If you simply include alt tags for each of your graphics, you increase the number of keywords associated wi
linda asks: what does "alt" stand for?
Lisa Lopuck says: Great question! ALT tag stands for "alternate text" This text displays before your graphic loads in Search engines can search on these ALT tags If you want your site to come up higher in the rankings &endash; or even first &endash; you can pay to "sponsor" certain keywords. A free alternative is to simply submit your site to the search engine.
Mrseagull asks: Are their also search engines that look into the text content of a site?
Lisa Lopuck says: Yes, search engines like google.com will find actual text on your web pages. That's why most search results end up taking you to pages deep within your site and not necessarily the home page.: Let's talk about submitting to search engines Here's google.com. From the home page of google.com, you simply click on the "Advertise with Us" link at the bottom.
firehouserose asks: how do you submit a site to a search engine?
Lisa Lopuck says: Good question. If you scroll down on this Google.com page, you'll see on the left "Submit your URL." Simply follow the instructions they have.
Susan asks: What do you mean by sponsor key words?
Lisa Lopuck says: Google.com has "Premium Sponsorships" that allow you to purchase certain keywords. So for instance, if you own a wine and cheese shop, you'd want to pay to sponsor the words "wine" and "cheese." There are a number of sponsorship "packages" that Google and others offer. This page I'm showing here is where you'd start to look.
August asks: Does the number of other sites linked to your site contribute to your score on search engines?
Lisa Lopuck says: I've heard that this is true, however, I'm not sure what algorithms Google uses. OK, on to marketing! To help people better find your site, you should employ BOTH an online and an offline marketing campaign. Banners have limited effectiveness, so I don't recommend buying them. You can, however, arrange a co-marketing agreement with a synergistic company and swap banner ads. Many times larger companies with a lot of traffic are looking for ways to add value to their customers by partnering with companies like yours to provide goods and services. These companies can help you market by placing banners on their site, or offering feature stories, or arrange an email blast to their customers.
linda asks: synergistic?...what's that?
Lisa Lopuck says: It means "you scratch my back, I'll scratch your back"
Evergreen18 asks: Mags Would you advise paying for a banner on a membership site which relates to the product you want to sell?
Lisa Lopuck says: Good question. Such a site offers a much more targeted group of users for your product/service, so it may be worth while to purchase a banner. In my experience, though, banners get a less than 1% click through rate Another way to market your site is to join a web ring for your industry. You can do that through any number of places online &endash; here's Yahoo's web ring address. Here you can search for and join a web ring for your particular industry. When a user visits a site that is part of a web ring, there is an icon and a link at the bottom of the page that takes the user to the next site in the ring.
retirenfour asks: How do you find the company's back to scratch? I'm assuming web ring would one way?
Lisa Lopuck says: Yes, a web ring will certainly show a list of like-minded companies, but they are probably competitors You should think of companies that are related to your business. For instance, I advertise my training materials through Macromedia.com. Finally, make sure that every thing that you physically produce &endash; customer receipts, store bags, ads in newspapers, etc. includes the URL for your site.
Mrseagull asks: Do you feel a ".com" adress is the best way to get visitors? Compared to a long URL?
Lisa Lopuck says: There's nothing wrong with a long URL since most people find your site through links and search engines. Long URLs do, however, pose a problem when it's printed and people must type it to go there. The easiest way to retain users once they come to your site is to make the experience an enjoyable one. The first rule is to include your logo and tag line on EVERY page.: When you use a search engine to find a page, how often to you end up on the home page?? If someone links to your site and ends up in the middle somewhere, they must know what company they are visiting! A good tag line is key. When you come to a home page, you must be able to answer these three questions: Who is this company? (logo) What do they do? (tag line) How many sections are there to this site and where am I now? To demonstrate the "where am I now" as it translates to visual design, let's look a the following example... In the diagram, you see there are three main sections and that you are in the middle section. You also see that there are three subsections and that you are in the middle sub section. See how this type of navigation translates to a visual design Now let's take a look at a "breadcrumb trail" : A breadcrumb trail records your steps as you move through a web site. They also provide you a way to step back. Think of it as the "Back" button on steroids! The way I like to represent these are: link, link, bolded unlinked text, where the last entry is not clickable and simply reflects where you are.
claudew asks: Can breadcrumbs be automated with Javascript or some other language, or do you have to do them manually?
Lisa Lopuck says: There are programs that you can download that will create these. They are definately not something you want to code by hand Try going to www.webmonkey.com and looking through their libraries of scripts. : The easiest method of providing a "sense of place" is design a "cross navigation" system. : Most often, you see these as tabs, but look at eBay. In this case, the cross-nav is accomplished with a row of boxes. Finally, the other way to enhance the usability of your site is to be consistent. : For example, take a look at this sqawvalley.com site. When I click on "activities" the page I get says "activities and events." Also, the "activities" button does not remained highlighted, so I don't know where I am. The title of your page should ALWAYS match the title of the button. Also, your buttons should always be located in the same place and have the same visual treatment THROUGHOUT your site. Lastly, a good way to retain your users is to not violate their trust. If you have forms on your site, only collect the data you actually need.. You should also have a link to a "privacy policy" at the bottom of your pages that tells people what exactly you will and will not do with their information. Also, a good way to keep your clients thinking about you and coming back is to send out monthly email newsletters. : eBay sends me monthly HTML emails so they show up very colorful in my inbox. If you're going to do this, however, be sure that the newsletter contains actual offers or editorial content that is useful Once you get users in the door, you next want to motivate them to act. : It's your job to direct them to action by providing links to the "good stuff" right on the home page. The "good stuff" may be redundant links. People could get to these same places through the navigation, but you call them out on the home page.
The other thing to keep in mind is that people don't read your web site! : keep all text elements brief - like a few sentences. Compare these home pages for the banking industry... The Wells Fargo home page has so many text elements, that you don't know where to start.: Beyond that, the page does not show any "visual priority." No one thing looks more important than the other. To help the important stuff stand out, make it physically bigger and set off from the rest of the page. Now let's look at Bank of America's home page. This simplified design cuts down on the overall amount of text, reserving it only for the two areas at the bottom. Another way to motivate your customers is to make sure that your site seems "fresh." Rotate the content on the home page. Along with rotating the home page content so that people see new things each time they visit, make sure you have a CLEAR call to action. Offer deadlines - like order now and save 20%. Or Spring specials. : the illuminations.com web site has a new image on the home page almost everyday and it is usually a promotion.
FreezingPoint asks: Is it a good or bad idea to change the layout often?
Lisa Lopuck says: You don't have to change the physical design and structure of your home page to keep it fresh. Simply changing a key graphic is enough. Try opening a new browser window and going to www.illuminations.com and see the new graphic. Let's see if we can bring up the site...Also, there's one key thing in web design to remember. You only have to design two pages: the Home page and the Sub page. The home page can be slightly different than all other pages in your site. For one, the main navigation can have a different treatment. Notice the home page navigation on the left in the illuminations.com example The logo and tag line on the home page can also be larger and more prominent. : Once you get past the home page, the basic structure of the sub page should remain constant for the REST of the site.
firehouserose asks: do you have any advice for how to decide what goes on the primary navigation and what is secondary?
When you are planning your site, make a "wish list" of all the thing you want to include. Then, break the list into logical groups/categories. These will become your navigation sections. Then, determine which 5-7 groups are most important. Make these your primary navigation set. : Group the next 5-7 most important things and make these your secondary navigation set. In this example, the row at the bottom of the page is the secondary set of naviagation.
Scott Goold asks: Illuminations navigation violates your rules. It's hard to know wher e one is at...
Lisa Lopuck says: Not so - From this example, you can see there are 5 main sections: candles, gifts, holders, home decor, and seasonal If you poke around the site, these 5 main sections remain constant. You know there are five main sections, and the one you are in is highlighted. The list of links below "CANDLES" is called "section navigation" - these are the different areas within the candles section. also notice the breadcrumb trail in the upper right corner
Mrseagull asks: How would one avoid making newsletters seem less Spam-ish, or like junk mail?
Lisa Lopuck says: Great question. The way to avoid this is to provide real value in the newsletter like a special offer, or hot tip or information. Also, make sure you only send it when you say you will. For example, if it's monthly, say so in the newsletter, .... Thank you everybody for coming! If you are interested in any of my training CDs, please see www.lopuck.com/ETS.
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