Friday, June 20, 2008
What Google Thinks Of Your Site
How Google views your site does matter if you want to succeed online because Google has become the dominant search engine on the web. It now has over 60% of the U.S. search engine market. In other countries around the world that percentage rises to 80% or more. In addition, the Google Brand Name has solidly permeated the popular psyche and any top rankings within Google will bring much weight and prestige along with all that traffic.
If you're a webmaster, you will already know how vital Google is to the success of your site, especially if you rely upon organic keyword rankings for your traffic. This free organic traffic from Google is highly desired by webmasters because it is extremely targeted and delivers high conversion rates.
In trying to reach the highest rankings possible, I (like most webmasters) have to be constantly aware of what Google thinks of my site and content. As a webmaster and marketer I have always geared my onlíne marketing towards Google. I have spent years building my keyword rankings within Google; if you take out the fact that it has nearly driven me insane, it has mostly been a positive experience.
This experience has also shown me it is indeed important for anyone to know how Google views and rates your site or content. The more knowledge you have, the better able you will be to tackle any obstacles and challenges that will come your way.
And like most webmasters, I try to find out as much about Google as is humanly possible, but Google doesn't give up its secrets easily. In fact, many webmasters would argue the only true opinion Google has of your site is shown in their SERPs - if your keywords/pages are ranked in the number one spots in Google's "Search Engine Results Pages" then Google must think your site or content deserves to be there.
However, there are other ways of finding out how Google is viewing your content. Below are several Google webmaster tools and things you can do to discover just how Google views your site or pages. They will give you a better picture of what Google thinks about your site.
One handy tool that will show you what Google thinks your pages consist of is located here: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Just type in your URL and tick off website content and you will get a listing of the major keywords Google has for your content. If your targeted keyword or keywords are not listed, then you have to do some re-writing.
If you want to find out how many backlinks your site has in Google, just open up Google Search and type in:
link:yourURL
and it will show you the number of backlinks you have.
Since Google doesn't give you all your existing backlinks, many webmasters also use Yahoo! to find a more exact number of links your site has on the web.
Just open Yahoo! and type in: linkdomain:yourURL
Now whether Google is using or considering all these backlinks is the big question? Finding the exact number of backlinks you have in Google has always been a problem because Google is not giving you the exact number or at least this is the general opinion of most SEO experts.
Another way I monitor my links in Google is to place quotation marks around my site name or my name "bizwaremagic" or "titus hoskins" and do a search in Google. This gives me the pages containing references to me or my site. This is usually 50,000 to 100,000 pages, I have also noticed my online income usually correlates as this number goes up or down.
Obviously, it is very important for you to know what content the search engines have indexed from your site. You can also check to see how your links are displayed and to see if any titles or descriptions are missing from your pages. You can see how many of your pages are indexed in Google by using the site command.
Just type into Google Search:
site:yourURL
A little while back, having your pages indexed in Google's Supplemental Index caused webmasters much stress as it seemed Google was judging these pages as "second class" pages. Since then, Google no longer uses the Supplementary Label in grading pages but that doesn't mean a supplementary index doesn't exist; just that Google has promised to crawl and consider these pages as well in any search query.
From my own experiences, I have receíved more traffic when my site was at PR4 than I receíved when it was at PR6. What's important is getting high rankings for your targeted keywords... if you get top spots, it doesn't matter if your main index page (site) is PR4 or PR6, you'll still get the same amount of traffic. In other words, don't become too fixated on PageRank because Google in many cases is not letting you see the true PR of a webpage.
I would like to add one point to the whole PageRank issue and that has to do with perception. If you're running an online business, then having a PR8 site does matter for it will bring in more business and customers (especially if you're in the SEO industry) mainly because of the "perceived value" of your site or business.
What Google thinks does matter! In other words, what Google thinks of your site can play a major role in your success. Mainly because, like it or hate it, Google has become the supreme authority on the web and what they say, counts. Therefore, you should always be paying special attention to just what Google is saying about your site and acting upon that knowledge accordingly.
Site Credibility Pays! Get Site Certified Today!
If you're a webmaster, you will already know how vital Google is to the success of your site, especially if you rely upon organic keyword rankings for your traffic. This free organic traffic from Google is highly desired by webmasters because it is extremely targeted and delivers high conversion rates.
In trying to reach the highest rankings possible, I (like most webmasters) have to be constantly aware of what Google thinks of my site and content. As a webmaster and marketer I have always geared my onlíne marketing towards Google. I have spent years building my keyword rankings within Google; if you take out the fact that it has nearly driven me insane, it has mostly been a positive experience.
This experience has also shown me it is indeed important for anyone to know how Google views and rates your site or content. The more knowledge you have, the better able you will be to tackle any obstacles and challenges that will come your way.
And like most webmasters, I try to find out as much about Google as is humanly possible, but Google doesn't give up its secrets easily. In fact, many webmasters would argue the only true opinion Google has of your site is shown in their SERPs - if your keywords/pages are ranked in the number one spots in Google's "Search Engine Results Pages" then Google must think your site or content deserves to be there.
However, there are other ways of finding out how Google is viewing your content. Below are several Google webmaster tools and things you can do to discover just how Google views your site or pages. They will give you a better picture of what Google thinks about your site.
One handy tool that will show you what Google thinks your pages consist of is located here: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Just type in your URL and tick off website content and you will get a listing of the major keywords Google has for your content. If your targeted keyword or keywords are not listed, then you have to do some re-writing.
If you want to find out how many backlinks your site has in Google, just open up Google Search and type in:
link:yourURL
and it will show you the number of backlinks you have.
Since Google doesn't give you all your existing backlinks, many webmasters also use Yahoo! to find a more exact number of links your site has on the web.
Just open Yahoo! and type in: linkdomain:yourURL
Now whether Google is using or considering all these backlinks is the big question? Finding the exact number of backlinks you have in Google has always been a problem because Google is not giving you the exact number or at least this is the general opinion of most SEO experts.
Another way I monitor my links in Google is to place quotation marks around my site name or my name "bizwaremagic" or "titus hoskins" and do a search in Google. This gives me the pages containing references to me or my site. This is usually 50,000 to 100,000 pages, I have also noticed my online income usually correlates as this number goes up or down.
Obviously, it is very important for you to know what content the search engines have indexed from your site. You can also check to see how your links are displayed and to see if any titles or descriptions are missing from your pages. You can see how many of your pages are indexed in Google by using the site command.
Just type into Google Search:
site:yourURL
A little while back, having your pages indexed in Google's Supplemental Index caused webmasters much stress as it seemed Google was judging these pages as "second class" pages. Since then, Google no longer uses the Supplementary Label in grading pages but that doesn't mean a supplementary index doesn't exist; just that Google has promised to crawl and consider these pages as well in any search query.
From my own experiences, I have receíved more traffic when my site was at PR4 than I receíved when it was at PR6. What's important is getting high rankings for your targeted keywords... if you get top spots, it doesn't matter if your main index page (site) is PR4 or PR6, you'll still get the same amount of traffic. In other words, don't become too fixated on PageRank because Google in many cases is not letting you see the true PR of a webpage.
I would like to add one point to the whole PageRank issue and that has to do with perception. If you're running an online business, then having a PR8 site does matter for it will bring in more business and customers (especially if you're in the SEO industry) mainly because of the "perceived value" of your site or business.
What Google thinks does matter! In other words, what Google thinks of your site can play a major role in your success. Mainly because, like it or hate it, Google has become the supreme authority on the web and what they say, counts. Therefore, you should always be paying special attention to just what Google is saying about your site and acting upon that knowledge accordingly.
Site Credibility Pays! Get Site Certified Today!
eBay To Boost PayPal Protection
In its latest effort to increase user confidence in its e-commerce platform -- and to boost use of its PayPal payment service -- eBay will offer full protection against fraud to purchases made with PayPal. eBay buyers who complete eligible transactions with PayPal will be able to get 100 percent of their purchase price back, with no price cap, the company said. Sellers who are paid via the service will also gain enhanced protections.
The auction giant made the announcements during its annual eBay Live trade show, held this year in Chicago. The moves represent an extension of efforts put in place earlier this year by relatively new CEO John Donahoe, who has pledged to revive growth in eBay's core auction platform by boosting user confidence that transactions will be completed. The new protections will "give all buyers and sellers more confidence and trust," said Lorrie Norrington, eBay's president of marketplace operations. "Buyers who pay with PayPal on eBay will be covered, with no limits, on most transactions."
In addition to the PayPal protections, eBay announced it will offer its highest-rated Power Sellers discounts of 20 percent on final value fees -- a perk meant to get them to list more items for sale -- and additional discounts on UPS shipping services.
PayPal is already used on the vast majority of eBay auctions, but the company is eager to see its use expanded even further both on its own platform and elsewhere on the Web. Currently, 97 percent of eBay.com listings offer PayPal as a payment option, eBay said, and more than 90 percent of active eBay users in the United States have PayPal accounts.
The buyer protection plan will cover eligible transactions on eBay in cases where the item is paid for but not received or received but not the item the buyer thought he was getting. Later this year -- in time for the holiday shopping season -- PayPal will remove coverage limits on the buyer protection, allowing items of any size to be fully refundable.
Sellers will also gain more PayPal protection, gaining a buffer against claims, charge-backs and reversals in instances where a payment was made without authorization by the account holder or when an item never reached its destination. The protection will extend to shipments made to 190 markets where PayPal is now accepted.
The enhanced benefits for PayPal underscore both eBay's desire to boost its payment subsidiary and its understanding that increasing consumer confidence in its platform is essential for additional growth, Forrester Research Principal Analyst Sucharita Mulpuru said. "Buyers need to trust eBay sellers will deliver what they say they will when they say they will," she said. "Especially at the holidays, users will go to someone they trust to get their purchases to them on time and accurately."
eBay has said it believes it is well-positioned to thrive in a tougher economy or even a recession, as consumers seeking bargains will turn to the site. Still, even bargain-hunters want to be confident they'll get what they pay for, Mulpuru added. "The bigger picture for eBay itself is to get more buyers to show up, which will convince sellers to list more and help build out the platform."
eBay stirred up significant dissatisfaction among its users in Australia when it announced a plan to require that all transactions on its marketplace in that country be paid for with PayPal. The outcry was loud enough for eBay to say it will not move to implement the change immediately.
Still, that is clearly the direction eBay wants to move, since it essentially gets paid twice on every transaction paid for with PayPal -- once when it receives a cut of the auction proceeds and again when it takes a fee for processing the PayPal payment.
Perhaps just as important to eBay is growing PayPal use overall, something that would logically follow if more users get into the habit of paying with the service on eBay. The market for alternatives such as PayPal that don't require a credit card number to be entered for each transaction is growing due to worries about identify theft and privacy, distinguished analyst Avivah Litan said. "Consumers are interested in alternative payment methods right now," she said. "This is an important window of opportunity for the PayPals and BillMeLaters to get shoppers comfortable with their services."
Merchants are beginning to recognize that consumers want more choices and are rapidly adding alternatives alongside traditional choices such as credit card payments, with the trend likely to be even more noticeable during the coming holiday shopping season, Litan added.
The recent initiatives were not enough to help eBay avoid being caught up in a Wall Street downdraft, with the stock losing more than 2.7 percent in afternoon action to US$28.40.
Guardian eCommerce Exposes Trustworthy Web Sites!
The auction giant made the announcements during its annual eBay Live trade show, held this year in Chicago. The moves represent an extension of efforts put in place earlier this year by relatively new CEO John Donahoe, who has pledged to revive growth in eBay's core auction platform by boosting user confidence that transactions will be completed. The new protections will "give all buyers and sellers more confidence and trust," said Lorrie Norrington, eBay's president of marketplace operations. "Buyers who pay with PayPal on eBay will be covered, with no limits, on most transactions."
In addition to the PayPal protections, eBay announced it will offer its highest-rated Power Sellers discounts of 20 percent on final value fees -- a perk meant to get them to list more items for sale -- and additional discounts on UPS shipping services.
PayPal is already used on the vast majority of eBay auctions, but the company is eager to see its use expanded even further both on its own platform and elsewhere on the Web. Currently, 97 percent of eBay.com listings offer PayPal as a payment option, eBay said, and more than 90 percent of active eBay users in the United States have PayPal accounts.
The buyer protection plan will cover eligible transactions on eBay in cases where the item is paid for but not received or received but not the item the buyer thought he was getting. Later this year -- in time for the holiday shopping season -- PayPal will remove coverage limits on the buyer protection, allowing items of any size to be fully refundable.
Sellers will also gain more PayPal protection, gaining a buffer against claims, charge-backs and reversals in instances where a payment was made without authorization by the account holder or when an item never reached its destination. The protection will extend to shipments made to 190 markets where PayPal is now accepted.
The enhanced benefits for PayPal underscore both eBay's desire to boost its payment subsidiary and its understanding that increasing consumer confidence in its platform is essential for additional growth, Forrester Research Principal Analyst Sucharita Mulpuru said. "Buyers need to trust eBay sellers will deliver what they say they will when they say they will," she said. "Especially at the holidays, users will go to someone they trust to get their purchases to them on time and accurately."
eBay has said it believes it is well-positioned to thrive in a tougher economy or even a recession, as consumers seeking bargains will turn to the site. Still, even bargain-hunters want to be confident they'll get what they pay for, Mulpuru added. "The bigger picture for eBay itself is to get more buyers to show up, which will convince sellers to list more and help build out the platform."
eBay stirred up significant dissatisfaction among its users in Australia when it announced a plan to require that all transactions on its marketplace in that country be paid for with PayPal. The outcry was loud enough for eBay to say it will not move to implement the change immediately.
Still, that is clearly the direction eBay wants to move, since it essentially gets paid twice on every transaction paid for with PayPal -- once when it receives a cut of the auction proceeds and again when it takes a fee for processing the PayPal payment.
Perhaps just as important to eBay is growing PayPal use overall, something that would logically follow if more users get into the habit of paying with the service on eBay. The market for alternatives such as PayPal that don't require a credit card number to be entered for each transaction is growing due to worries about identify theft and privacy, distinguished analyst Avivah Litan said. "Consumers are interested in alternative payment methods right now," she said. "This is an important window of opportunity for the PayPals and BillMeLaters to get shoppers comfortable with their services."
Merchants are beginning to recognize that consumers want more choices and are rapidly adding alternatives alongside traditional choices such as credit card payments, with the trend likely to be even more noticeable during the coming holiday shopping season, Litan added.
The recent initiatives were not enough to help eBay avoid being caught up in a Wall Street downdraft, with the stock losing more than 2.7 percent in afternoon action to US$28.40.
Guardian eCommerce Exposes Trustworthy Web Sites!
Is Social Marketing Your Online Store's Top Friend?
Today's savvy consumers want products from a business they can trust, learn from, relate to and "be friends" with. The two most popular social networking sites on the Internet -- MySpace and Facebook -- are potential springboards for friendly lead generation. These sites give online business owners the ability to place their products and services in front of thousands of potential customers in a more personal, and easily accessible environment. With the ability to reach large and targeted audiences, the customizable, interactive and user-friendly interface of sites like MySpace and Facebook introduce social networks as an ideal platform to expand online businesses.
The rapid growth online shopping had in the past years has drawn many new small businesses to the online arena. As online stores grow and the amount of revenue these stores acquire continues to tick higher, the amount of revenue potential that social networking sites provide continues to increase as well. Think back to about five years ago, when half of the brick-and-mortar businesses in the market didn't have a Web site. Now it's unlikely to see a television commercial without also seeing a Web site address or online special attached to it.
This applies to all products in today's market. No longer are cereal boxes and bottle caps offering immediate savings and benefits; instead they are used as tools to drive consumers to their Web sites. For online businesses, the opportunity to gain additional exposure online is especially important, and it's beneficial to utilize all tools available to increase brand awareness.
Signing up for a profile with MySpace or Facebook is relatively easy -- and it's free. There are several resources available to utilize when creating and designing a page for your business. Remember to keep your page current and informative, with a personality that matches your online store. Give a concise overview of your company and how it may benefit your target audience. Use common sense and creativity to spark your visitor's interest. Not only can these profiles compliment your online site, but they can also be used to find targeted consumers.
An ultimate social networking profile would be one in which you were sought out to become a friend. If you're a small business with limited exposure, however, a more realistic approach would be to seek out others instead. Once these friends are found, posting MySpace bulletins and Facebook notes are great tools to use when spreading the message about new products and special deals.
Several niche markets have been able to expand the visibility of their product line due to social networking sites. Music bands offer up an interesting case study for the opportunities within this new channel. It is estimated that more than 5 million bands are now using MySpace.
If these bands decide to take the next step and start selling their music and merchandise to their online fan base, they can realize significant gains. Another example can be found with fashion designers such as Ed Hardy. With more than 35,000 MySpace friends, all it takes is a simple bulletin post to inform each of these thousands of customers of a new product line or monthly special.
A successful e-commerce solution company should help consumers to further promote their online store by allowing merchants to easily add products from that store directly into their social profiles. Then customers would have the ability to check out securely from that merchant's online storefront. This type of integration allows businesses to take full advantage of the potential that social networking sites have to offer.
Once these savvy businesses drive traffic from MySpace and Facebook to their online stores, it's important that they take advantage of the other aspects involved in social selling to close the deal. Web site design, site usability and quality of the site user's overall experience are key factors in gaining customer loyalty when online shopping.
Other features such as e-mail a friend, wish list, customer reviews and affiliate marketing tools can also help to socially spread the word about a store's products and services. Again, it's important for online store owners to take advantage of all of the tools available to market their items via the World Wide Web.
We've found that there isn't a single magic bullet for being successful online, and it's important for merchants to be creative and open to new opportunities when introducing their products to customers.
When entering the social networking world, a business is among thousands of potential leads all with the same vehicle for giving and acquiring information. Be honest, be personal, be a friend and in return, your new friends may become your lifelong customers.
Guardian eCommerce Helps Increase Online Sales!
The rapid growth online shopping had in the past years has drawn many new small businesses to the online arena. As online stores grow and the amount of revenue these stores acquire continues to tick higher, the amount of revenue potential that social networking sites provide continues to increase as well. Think back to about five years ago, when half of the brick-and-mortar businesses in the market didn't have a Web site. Now it's unlikely to see a television commercial without also seeing a Web site address or online special attached to it.
This applies to all products in today's market. No longer are cereal boxes and bottle caps offering immediate savings and benefits; instead they are used as tools to drive consumers to their Web sites. For online businesses, the opportunity to gain additional exposure online is especially important, and it's beneficial to utilize all tools available to increase brand awareness.
Signing up for a profile with MySpace or Facebook is relatively easy -- and it's free. There are several resources available to utilize when creating and designing a page for your business. Remember to keep your page current and informative, with a personality that matches your online store. Give a concise overview of your company and how it may benefit your target audience. Use common sense and creativity to spark your visitor's interest. Not only can these profiles compliment your online site, but they can also be used to find targeted consumers.
An ultimate social networking profile would be one in which you were sought out to become a friend. If you're a small business with limited exposure, however, a more realistic approach would be to seek out others instead. Once these friends are found, posting MySpace bulletins and Facebook notes are great tools to use when spreading the message about new products and special deals.
Several niche markets have been able to expand the visibility of their product line due to social networking sites. Music bands offer up an interesting case study for the opportunities within this new channel. It is estimated that more than 5 million bands are now using MySpace.
If these bands decide to take the next step and start selling their music and merchandise to their online fan base, they can realize significant gains. Another example can be found with fashion designers such as Ed Hardy. With more than 35,000 MySpace friends, all it takes is a simple bulletin post to inform each of these thousands of customers of a new product line or monthly special.
A successful e-commerce solution company should help consumers to further promote their online store by allowing merchants to easily add products from that store directly into their social profiles. Then customers would have the ability to check out securely from that merchant's online storefront. This type of integration allows businesses to take full advantage of the potential that social networking sites have to offer.
Once these savvy businesses drive traffic from MySpace and Facebook to their online stores, it's important that they take advantage of the other aspects involved in social selling to close the deal. Web site design, site usability and quality of the site user's overall experience are key factors in gaining customer loyalty when online shopping.
Other features such as e-mail a friend, wish list, customer reviews and affiliate marketing tools can also help to socially spread the word about a store's products and services. Again, it's important for online store owners to take advantage of all of the tools available to market their items via the World Wide Web.
We've found that there isn't a single magic bullet for being successful online, and it's important for merchants to be creative and open to new opportunities when introducing their products to customers.
When entering the social networking world, a business is among thousands of potential leads all with the same vehicle for giving and acquiring information. Be honest, be personal, be a friend and in return, your new friends may become your lifelong customers.
Guardian eCommerce Helps Increase Online Sales!
Make Your Web Site Work for You
Wherever your Web site ranks on your list of things to work on, move it up to the top. It's that critical.
Your Web site isn't "about" your company, it's an extension of your company. If it's unprofessional, you're unprofessional. If it's cluttered, you're cluttered. If it's hard to work with, you're hard to work with. By contrast, if it's well put together, smart and easy to use, so is your company. At least that's what people will perceive. Most small business Web sites don't do their companies justice.
When you invite prospects to your site, it's no different from offering them a free sample, a trial period or a formal introduction to your business. Even in the age of technology, there's nothing more powerful than a first impression, and your Web site increasingly is your introduction. I used to counsel startup companies not to underestimate the need for a professionally designed logo. I stand by that advice, but now I extend it to their Web presence as well. You simply can't afford to look anything less than first-rate online.
With this in mind, and with their permission, I recently evaluated a few small consumer companies' Web sites and offered suggestions. I analyzed their online branding strategy based on my experience clicking around on their sites the way a prospective customer might.
Stacey Antine has a great idea in Health Barn -- an idea that I could see taking off across the nation as she rides the dual trends of "green" living and nutrition. She's clearly no slouch when it comes to generating public relations for her fledgling operation. However, the Barn's online garden could use some tending.
The Flash introduction is a little cheesy, but it does seem to capture the personality of the company. What it doesn't do is communicate anything about what Health Barn is or does. That's a big missed opportunity, especially given the short amount of time parents can spare. The first thing you are led to click on is "press room," which I'm not sure was intended. Throughout the site, the press coverage is a little overemphasized for my taste. While it does provide credibility, it should be a spice, not the main dish.
I read the entire welcome page and still wasn't clear on what Health Barn did. Is it a curriculum for kids? An online seminar? It took me several minutes before I understood Health Barn is a children's educational program. I was bothered by the way the font size grew smaller and larger as I scrolled down each page -- it just seemed careless. Health Barn may be losing prospects by taking people off the site when they click on the links to media coverage or registration forms, instead of opening them in a separate window.
The "barn store" (a shop within the site) is not only charming but also well organized, with simple signage, attractive displays and products easily accessible to its four-foot customers. Health Barn should apply the same principles to its Web design -- displaying information in a more organized and appetizing manner.
Revat, which describes itself on its site as "the leading self-defense program for adults living in an urban environment," appears to be off to a good start, but it's missing the drama. The fear of being accosted is powerful, yet the Web site doesn't capitalize on that. Imagine how compelling a mini-movie dramatizing Revat training would be to its prospective customers.
However, first, the company needs to decide who exactly those prospects are. My first impression was Revat was created to serve all city dwellers, offering them an innovative approach to self-defense without having to go through years of martial arts training. Yet the company also seems to pride itself on being a finishing school of sorts for elite-level martial arts professionals. Trying to appeal to both scares off a big market of individuals in need of self-defense training, and at the same time turns off martial arts experts. By targeting both, Revat might not reach either.
The company is definitely in need of a step up in how it presents itself. It's difficult for small operations to look professional right out of the gate, and it's apparent Revat is a boutique operation, which could be a bonus to those in its target market of Chicago. However, the company could look more put together. For example, the home page of the Web site, while simple (a good thing), is unimpressive.
The Revat logo appears bitmapped, and little thought was given to layout and design. The photos used on the site look somewhat intimidating -- which may appeal to martial arts pros looking for the next step, but probably not to novices. In addition, there's no clear path through the Web site. The testimonials are difficult to find -- and their diversity reinforces the confusion about who the company is trying to serve. The blog is a complete departure, design-wise, and features a cliched stock photo.
The longer I spent on the site -- and I would fall into the "novice" category -- the less I felt that Revat was for me. If Revat can decide who it's really trying to serve, and invest in a professional Web design company, it could fill an interesting niche.
What on earth is Walker and PingPing? That was my first question when I visited this Web site. I had no idea what this site was about, as it seemed to presume some sort of advance knowledge. Is it a series from Nickelodeon? A new educational program? A Disney Channel initiative? Who's behind it? Filling a first-time visitor's mind with questions isn't a great way to start.
Who is the Web site for? Kids, it appears, yet the most prominent space is given to a sales message: "Buy the DVD!" As a parent, I'm not crazy about that. The links the site provides at the bottom, to an About.com review and "About Little Emperor, LLC" were helpful, but not easy to spot. They didn't give me enough information to know whether or not this was something I wanted for my kids.
I was intrigued once I learned about the company's goal of using animated series to help kids "explore the world." However, I still wanted to know more about who was behind it -- when you're selling to kids, you're selling to their parents as well, and you must offer them plenty of information.
The company may want to consider having an easy-to-find "for parents" section with company background, customer testimonials, independent ratings and more, and also keep the sales message on that side of the site. Then they could feel free to make the main site all that it should be for kids. Instead of simply pushing trailers of the first two episodes, the Web site itself could be an episode of sorts, entertaining the kids and impressing their parents.
The animation isn't up to Disney standards, but it's probably fine for kids. As a father, I would definitely want to know more before I made the buy. There are simply too many other well-crafted, trustworthy educational materials out there.
Site Credibility Pays, Get Your Web Site Certified!
Your Web site isn't "about" your company, it's an extension of your company. If it's unprofessional, you're unprofessional. If it's cluttered, you're cluttered. If it's hard to work with, you're hard to work with. By contrast, if it's well put together, smart and easy to use, so is your company. At least that's what people will perceive. Most small business Web sites don't do their companies justice.
When you invite prospects to your site, it's no different from offering them a free sample, a trial period or a formal introduction to your business. Even in the age of technology, there's nothing more powerful than a first impression, and your Web site increasingly is your introduction. I used to counsel startup companies not to underestimate the need for a professionally designed logo. I stand by that advice, but now I extend it to their Web presence as well. You simply can't afford to look anything less than first-rate online.
With this in mind, and with their permission, I recently evaluated a few small consumer companies' Web sites and offered suggestions. I analyzed their online branding strategy based on my experience clicking around on their sites the way a prospective customer might.
Stacey Antine has a great idea in Health Barn -- an idea that I could see taking off across the nation as she rides the dual trends of "green" living and nutrition. She's clearly no slouch when it comes to generating public relations for her fledgling operation. However, the Barn's online garden could use some tending.
The Flash introduction is a little cheesy, but it does seem to capture the personality of the company. What it doesn't do is communicate anything about what Health Barn is or does. That's a big missed opportunity, especially given the short amount of time parents can spare. The first thing you are led to click on is "press room," which I'm not sure was intended. Throughout the site, the press coverage is a little overemphasized for my taste. While it does provide credibility, it should be a spice, not the main dish.
I read the entire welcome page and still wasn't clear on what Health Barn did. Is it a curriculum for kids? An online seminar? It took me several minutes before I understood Health Barn is a children's educational program. I was bothered by the way the font size grew smaller and larger as I scrolled down each page -- it just seemed careless. Health Barn may be losing prospects by taking people off the site when they click on the links to media coverage or registration forms, instead of opening them in a separate window.
The "barn store" (a shop within the site) is not only charming but also well organized, with simple signage, attractive displays and products easily accessible to its four-foot customers. Health Barn should apply the same principles to its Web design -- displaying information in a more organized and appetizing manner.
Revat, which describes itself on its site as "the leading self-defense program for adults living in an urban environment," appears to be off to a good start, but it's missing the drama. The fear of being accosted is powerful, yet the Web site doesn't capitalize on that. Imagine how compelling a mini-movie dramatizing Revat training would be to its prospective customers.
However, first, the company needs to decide who exactly those prospects are. My first impression was Revat was created to serve all city dwellers, offering them an innovative approach to self-defense without having to go through years of martial arts training. Yet the company also seems to pride itself on being a finishing school of sorts for elite-level martial arts professionals. Trying to appeal to both scares off a big market of individuals in need of self-defense training, and at the same time turns off martial arts experts. By targeting both, Revat might not reach either.
The company is definitely in need of a step up in how it presents itself. It's difficult for small operations to look professional right out of the gate, and it's apparent Revat is a boutique operation, which could be a bonus to those in its target market of Chicago. However, the company could look more put together. For example, the home page of the Web site, while simple (a good thing), is unimpressive.
The Revat logo appears bitmapped, and little thought was given to layout and design. The photos used on the site look somewhat intimidating -- which may appeal to martial arts pros looking for the next step, but probably not to novices. In addition, there's no clear path through the Web site. The testimonials are difficult to find -- and their diversity reinforces the confusion about who the company is trying to serve. The blog is a complete departure, design-wise, and features a cliched stock photo.
The longer I spent on the site -- and I would fall into the "novice" category -- the less I felt that Revat was for me. If Revat can decide who it's really trying to serve, and invest in a professional Web design company, it could fill an interesting niche.
What on earth is Walker and PingPing? That was my first question when I visited this Web site. I had no idea what this site was about, as it seemed to presume some sort of advance knowledge. Is it a series from Nickelodeon? A new educational program? A Disney Channel initiative? Who's behind it? Filling a first-time visitor's mind with questions isn't a great way to start.
Who is the Web site for? Kids, it appears, yet the most prominent space is given to a sales message: "Buy the DVD!" As a parent, I'm not crazy about that. The links the site provides at the bottom, to an About.com review and "About Little Emperor, LLC" were helpful, but not easy to spot. They didn't give me enough information to know whether or not this was something I wanted for my kids.
I was intrigued once I learned about the company's goal of using animated series to help kids "explore the world." However, I still wanted to know more about who was behind it -- when you're selling to kids, you're selling to their parents as well, and you must offer them plenty of information.
The company may want to consider having an easy-to-find "for parents" section with company background, customer testimonials, independent ratings and more, and also keep the sales message on that side of the site. Then they could feel free to make the main site all that it should be for kids. Instead of simply pushing trailers of the first two episodes, the Web site itself could be an episode of sorts, entertaining the kids and impressing their parents.
The animation isn't up to Disney standards, but it's probably fine for kids. As a father, I would definitely want to know more before I made the buy. There are simply too many other well-crafted, trustworthy educational materials out there.
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