CoreIP Solutions, Inc. came to us in urgent need of a website. Their new company had taken off and they had a big PR push they couldn’t launch without a web presence. They had an idea of what they wanted their new website to include, some suggestions for design, and they needed it done quickly. In web design, a smattering of ideas and a rushed timeline is usually a formula for disaster.
» Read more: Putting Together the Pieces: Quickly and Efficiently
EarthTechling, a green technology blog, seeks to inform it’s readers about “eco-tech gadgets, electronics, automobiles and in-home technologies, which, in some proven manner, help a person live a more green lifestyle.” They came to Synotac looking for help creating an online presence that would give off the “green vibe”, not look like every other blog, and function exactly how they imagined. We were really excited to accept the challenge.
» Read more: EarthTechling: Harmony Between The Earth & Technology
We have been experimenting more and more with ways to work videos into our designs. Several studies have shown that video can greatly increase the conversion rate for visitors to your websites. It helps to engage your visitors who are more visually oriented and do not process information as easily from large chunks of text, and it also lets you engage your audience with two of my favorite topics: right brain thinking and visual learning.
Below is our first attempt, inspired by the excellent book “The Back of a Napkin,” by Dan Roam. In this short video we tackle the topic of coming up with a solid internet marketing strategy, which is often made far too complex and obscure for a normal person to grasp. While the details may be complex, you only need to master the basics and hold your web design and internet marketing vendors accountable to achieve success. The web design industry has a (deservedly) terrible reputation for trying to obfuscate basic business objectives with a bunch of jargon and tech-speak. Basically, it all comes down to a good slice of pie…
Making Money on your Website – Easy as Pie from Cameron Madill on Vimeo.
We have been getting a lot of questions about website usability testing recently from our clients, so I thought it would be good to explain how we use it and why it is so useful. In a nutshell, what usability testing refers to is sitting a user down in front of a computer and asking them to think outloud as they try to complete tasks on that website. Web design is no different than any other industry in one very basic respect: we fail to pay enough attention to how real human beings use our products. It is a lot more fun to sit around and come up with fun ideas that you or your client love than to deal with actual user feedback on how well your product works.
» Read more: Usability Testing – Getting to Know Your Website's Visitors
Why does your website exist? Think about it for a moment, and you’ll realize that it’s not an easy question to answer. If you can’t give a concise, fifteen-word answer to this question, you know you have a problem. Once you know why your website exists, you can start to figure out what actions you want your website visitors to take. After all, if your site exists to generate leads for your service company, and none of your thousands of monthly visitors ever pick up the phone or send you an email, is the website a good investment of your time and money?
There are two big problems with conversion rates, however.
» Read more: Conversion Rates: An Unhealthy Obsession Worth Having
 Do you have a page like this? |
A while back we wrote an email newsletter that talked about bounce rates. Due to the clamoring for more information, I have decided to expand this into a post.
First, what is a bounce rate? Depending on your analytics tool, bounce rates are defined slightly differently:
While the definitions are slightly different, the end meaning is exactly the same: you got absolutely nothing out of those visitors. Zilch. They don’t even remember your company name or what your logo looked like.
This session provides very clear basics for all of us doing email marketing.
1. Segment, segment, segment.
Divide your lists and speak to them. It’s smart. Sure, it takes more time than sending the same message to everyone, but it’s an intelligent way to tighten the message you give the people on your lists.
2. Clean the lists.
If you get bounces, or have addresses that never become conversions, never “click through,” legacy addresses, etc., they need to be purged. It is so much better to have a clean, smaller list than a dirty, big list.
3. Test different approaches.
Wonder what people like, what works? Test it? Send two different emails to portions of your list and see what is read more, what people click through, etc.
4. Be creative and hook people.
Avoid dull, standard language. Hook people with the subject line so they are curious and want to read the content.
5. Only use opt in lists. Don’t buy and spam.
Don’t be spammerific. It’s just not okay. Encourage people to opt in to your list, set expectations for how often they’ll get these emails, provide value to them. Don’t spam people.
I will get over the fact that Alex said “I hate math, I hate reading” and tried to attribute it to being 30. For the record, the 20-30somethings at Synotac dig both reading and math and are very active online. All at the same time. His point was that people are busy and don’t want to stop and read novels and need to be hooked. You can’t count on even your biggest fan to read something they think is routine or dull. You must engage them and brevity is always appreciated.