Tech-bite

Last week, like every other week, I wrote an article. This time I decided to syndicate it, something I should be doing twice a week, but only get to about 4 times a month, and that's if I'm feeling up to it.

This was one of the biggest traffic draws from a single article that I have had in years. It is still producing a steady stream of traffic, sales and subscribers as I'm writing this.

It's been 2 years since I've gotten that much of an appreciative response, or that amount of attention, period, for an article I wrote that wasn't widely syndicated. In fact, it only appeared in one major publication.

So what's all the hub-bub, bub?

As you may have guessed, there was a controversy surrounding the article. First, there were several typos. Normally I'd edit the article so relentlessly that by the time the article was perfect, it would be a month since I wrote it and it wouldn't fit into my article marketing campaign for that week.

Since I'd been kicking my own butt to get content out on schedule, even when it isn't perfect, I took my own medicine and just sent it out the way it was. And boy were the grammar, typing and spelling police mad!

Two people wrote me that they passed my article around at their meetings as an example of what not to do. Does it count as a backfire when one of the people who sees it Googles you and becomes a client?

(Just had to get in that little dig. Forgive me.)

What else was so bad about the article?

I called my readers "punks" - in the title.

This was a calculated risk - I'd run another version of the article, a blog post, and from sharing on StumbleUpon alone it got over 3000 visitors. In this new version, the article then went on to tell my readers to basically get off their over-thinking butts and do something, then gave them two examples of things to do.

There was, of course, a vocal minority of outraged responses about this too. But, curiously, other, louder, people who read the article - people I haven't ever met or spoken to - came along and defended it.

In the end, my slang-ridden, typo-laden, in-your-face article brought me more profitable traffic and attention than any other article I've written this year. It was written in a moment of passion I had at seeing a friend almost lose her house, and a peer almost lose his business, mostly as a result of inaction.

And seeing this reaction led me to go back and look at my other articles. I write all my own stuff - it's far more profitable for those of us who are at least halfway decent at writing to write an okay article injected with personality than it is to pay someone else to write generic content.

(I still hire writers for certain things though. But I concentrate on the ones with voice and depth, and pay them more for unique, engaging writing - I don't simply outsource to the lowest bidder. I say if you're going to hire a writer, get someone better than you.)

If you have the ability to generate controversy with your content, do it. Not convinced? Here are seven reasons why you should consider it.

1- It's Effectíve

Nothing gets more attention than controversy. That's why reality shows are popular. It's why we read the journalist who we think is making an absolutely backwards prediction about something we care about. That's why people gossip and debate.

Why merely participate when you can be the topic of discussion?

2- Negative Attention is Sometimes even Better than Positive Attention

Nothing spreads faster than outrage. Wide exposure for a controversial view is much better than no exposure for towing the conventional wisdom line.
3- Display Your Skill at Dealing with Diverging Viewpoints

Let people see the smooth way you react to the rude comments from people who take your words personally that WILL follow. I've gained lifelong friends, fans and customers from them witnessing what they call poise under pressure - and I call common courtesy.

You don't have to respond from the same type of energy that's being directed at you. Why let someone else having a bad day ruin your day?

4- It Vets Your Buyers

For example, if you want more clients that will take your advice to heart, get off their butts, and stop making excuses, try making a video that takes a hard line and tells people to get off their butts and stop making excuses!

Yeah, you'll get reamed for it - by people who make excuses. They will be offended and won't ever sign up to your newsletter.

Awesome. Because the people who needed a coach who believes in swift kicks in the butt will take your advice and hungrily seek more of it.

5- It's Fun to Do

What's more fun than seeing something controversial? Being controversial or doing something controversial. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you can take it, boy is that a fun ride!

6- It's Entertaining To Experience

When people are entertained, they buy more. You probably haven't ever noticed the music playing in the background at the grocery store. It's there because studies show that people browse longer and thus, buy more, when they're being entertained.

Now you see more TVs at gas stations and in convenience stores. When I used to live in Vegas many of the Strip cabs had TVs on the backs of seats before I ever saw them in regular cars.

Then there's the classic example of commercials during our favorite TV shows.

7- It Sets You Apart

You know why bigger companies are afraid of controversy?

Me either. If you find out, come tell me. All I know is, I'm not afraid of controversy because I see it as an opportunity. It's another way to connect, to have something to discuss, and in the case of my last controversial article, to help people.

Even if you aren't going to make a controversial audio, video, blog post or article, for goodness sakes, do something different.

No one watches boring shows on TV, invites boring people to parties, reads boring books or listens to boring music unless they have to, for study or evaluation.

Try a little controversy and see where it takes you. If that's too scary, at least risk being extraordinarily passionate. The spotlight can be fun.

Professional website developers know the importance of web design and the role it plays in making a website successful.

Designing a successful website is no easy task, especially for someone who is new to the world of web development. With the help of web development applications many people can and do create decent websites. But decent in most cases is not good enough to make a site successful from a traffic or financial standpoint.

There are five crucial components of web design that you must focus on in order to make a site valuable to its visitors and successful for you.

• SEO -
Getting free traffic to your site.

• Usability -
Ease of navigating around the site and finding desired information quickly.
• Aesthetics -
Visual appeal.

• Content -
Valid, up-to-date, relevant information.

• Graphics -
Eye candy that relays relevant visual information to the visitor.

SEO

Before you ever lay down a byte of HTML code for a site, you have to know and understand at least the basics of SEO and how it fits into the design. SEO is the art of designing a site in a fashion that gives the site an advantage for obtaining free and abundant traffic.

The number one aspect of SEO is selecting keywords relevant to your site. The keywords you select should be based on high usage, low competition and relevancy to your topic. Once you select keywords you can then begin the development of your site. Keep in mind keywords are a critical aspect of the design. The keywords you choose will be applied within the design in strategic fashion to benefit the flow of traffic to your site. To understand more on how to implement SEO you should read and learn more about this important subject. If you don't, your website success will be difficult to achieve.

Usability

Your website must be easy to navigate and designed in a way that makes it easy to find information. Visitors will not stay long if it takes more than one or two clicks to get the information they want or if it takes brain power to figure out how to get the information they want. One of the goals of your site design is to keep usability easy, and simple. To do this, apply the following three fundamentals of usability.

• Provide a site search tool.

A visitor in a hurry can quickly find the info they desire then move on to the action they desire.

• Provide simple, intuitive and consistent site navigation.

This provides visitors the tool they need to leisurely explore their way through your site.

• Provide logical and simple to follow content.

The message of a site should start off in a simple and basic fashion with well defined links pointing the way to more detailed information or explanation as needed.

In the cases above, the goal is to make it easy for your visitor to find the information they want without frustration or difficulty. Doing this well will have a positive effect on increasing the return of your visitors.

Aesthetics

A website has to look clean, uncomplicated and strike a balance in layout that is pleasant to the visitor. Pleasing aesthetics come about when the colors of a site complement each other, the graphics blend and lend continuation of the theme and the layout brings unity and openness to the page.

Often overlooked by novice designers is the color palette of the site. While you can select color in a willy-nilly fashion and still provide a visually appealing site, a better idea for color selection should be based on an understanding of the color wheel and proven color strategies.

Many web designers often view a web page as an opportunity to blast a visitor with lots of information in hopes this will convince the visitor to take action. Usually this results in a quick exit due to the overwhelming visual effect and complicated look. A better approach is to provide less content and open space (referred to as white space) to allow visitors eyes to scan and explore with ease.

Content

An important feature of any website is the quality of the text content. Visitors come to a site expecting to find answers to their questions, solutions to their problems or for entertainment value. The content offered at your site must be well-written and without grammatical or spelling errors. It also has to be relevant to the theme of your site, with valid, up-to- date information for your visitors. Content is King!

Graphics

You can have a functional and usable website without graphic elements. However, if there are similar sites to yours that employ graphics, guess which site will get the most traffic. The necessary companions to any well-designed site are the images and illustrations that grace its pages. The images can't be any willy-nilly graphic that you might think is cool. Graphic imagery has to support your branding, and communicate the message you are trying to convey. Before you incorporate graphic elements into your site, take some time to look around the web. Notice what looks good and how elements are laid out. These same layouts techniques can be used as models for your site.

The Internet is a highly competitive business arena. To be successful with a commercial website, you have to keep these five crucial web design elements in mind. Contrary to what many will tell you, it is rarely possible to have commercial success without the benefit of a professional website. This is not to say that you must hire a professional, however you must implement professional design elements to improve your chances for success.

Building a great landing page should be on top of your priority list if you want your website visitors transformed into customers.

While a great looking website can grab the attention of your visitors, a strong landing page will keep them involved and get them to buy your products/services.

Wikipedia defines a landing page as:

The page that appears when a potential customer clicks on an advertisement or a search-engine result link. The page will usually display content that is a logical extension of the advertisement or link, and that is optimized to feature specific keywords or phrases for indexing by search engines.
Wikipedia's definition sums it up nicely but there is certainly more to a great landing page then relevant and keyword rich content. Here are 10 things that you should be looking at when optimizing a landing page:

- Relevant Content

A landing page's content should be directly related to organic search results, PPC campaign, anchor text in inbound links and any other targeted inbound advertising, online and offline. If people don't get what they expect, they will be more likely to leave.

- Multiple Landing Pages

A landing page shouldn't necessarily be your homepage. In many instances a homepage is a good landing page. However, for more targeted traffíc and better results, you want a landing page to be focused on a specific offering and specific call for action. To accomplish this, a given website should have multiple landing pages. Create some deep link landing pages that will focus on a specific proposition and your conversion rate will be higher.

- Focus on Functionality

More and more visitors seem to judge the professionalism and credibility of a site by its design. To satisfy this, many website owners concentrate on the design aspect instead of focusing on its functionality. A well-designed landing page is essentially worthless if the prospect can't accomplish anything. While I wouldn't suggest skimping on the design, it shouldn't be your priority. Focus on the exact steps you want your visitor to take and design a page with that in mind.

- Call To Action

You got visitors to your landing page, now direct them to take action. Make it clear and highly noticeable without overwhelming your audience. Whether it's a sign-up form or a "buy now" button, make it the focus of your page.
Send a Clear Message

Keep your landing page clean and clutter free so your visitors stay focused on your message. Emphasize the biggest reasons that they should carry out the applicable call to action with larger text, contrasting colors, images. Make it easier for them to scan the content by using lists and getting right to the point.

- Provide Incentive

Bribing your visitors with freebies and samples is a proven method of enticing them to sign up. Provide more than your competition but don't sell yourself short either. Provide a list of reasons why your offering is better and what exactly the visitor can expect. Provide references and testimonials.

- Make Visitors Stay

Avoid sending your visitors to another page unless it is absolutely necessary. That includes any internal navigation as well as external banners. If you eliminate all distractions and limit navigation options, you stand a better chance of keeping your visitors around.

- Simple is Better

Make it easy for your visitors to complete the action you want them to. Less confusion and decision making for your visitor means better conversions rate for your landing page. Don't provide multiple choices and throw in optional extras. Focus on the pitch the page was created for.

- Power of Freebies

Everyone likes free offers. They are hard to resist and can be a powerful conversion tool. Whether a call to action is free or something free is receíved as a result of carrying out a call to action, it certainly doesn't hurt. If your competition charges for something and you provide it for free, you'll win the customer. Remember, just because you make a free offer doesn't mean that it shouldn't be quality.

- Testing
Testing various text, call to action forms, layouts will give you a true idea what produces the best results as far as conversion.
Using a tool like Google's Website Optimizer you can easily monitor the conversion rate, bounce rate, and tons of other useful metrics found in most modern day web analytics apps. Using these metrics you can easily figure out which version will be your optimal page, one that maximizes the results.

Creating a successful and effective landing page takes a lot of work but should be the focus for anyone involved with a website. Whether you are a website owner, web designer, web developer or a web marketing specialist you must be aware of the components that comprise a solid landing page. After all this can mean a website's success or failure.