What Your Landing Page and a First Date Have In Common
First dates and landing pages have nothing in common, right? Wrong! In fact, the two have a surprising number of similarities. Both can be awkward if done wrong, and great if done correctly. A good landing page, like a good first date, can lead to amazing things. A bad date, like a bad landing page, can lead to a nasty reputation.
First Impressions are Everything
Image via Flickr by wetwebwork
Have you ever been set up on a blind date? You open the door and take a look at the other person for the first time. What do you see? Unfortunately what you see first is what is going to stick in your mind for the rest of the date, and probably for a long time afterward. First impressions are crucial. You don’t want to assault the visitors to your site with painfully bright color schemes and outdated gifs. Don’t be the guy that shows up with overly greased hair and a Hawaiian shirt to go to a fancy restaurant. Read the rest of this entry »
What Do Your Color Choices Say To Your Visitors?
Colors – they say a lot about a website. As a society, we’ve been studying colors and the associations behind them for a long time. There have been sociological and psychological studies performed, history studied, and more. No matter what is behind how we perceive colors, there is no denying certain colors evoke certain emotions. What are the colors of your website saying to your customers?
Stay Calm with Blue
Image via Flickr by stevendepolo
Blue has long been seen as a calm, cool color. In web design it also shows that you are trustworthy. There are a variety of major companies that use cool shades of blue to help portray this in their branding. Take Microsoft for example. Blue works great with any number of products and industries.
Read the rest of this entry »
How Does Responsive Web Design Affect SEO?
The hottest new phrase in both web design and SEO is responsive design. Responsive design, in simple terms, is a way to ensure that your website is easily viewable on a variety of devices of different sizes. This is achieved through stacking of elements. When you are considering the SEO of your website, there are some important reasons to consider responsive design.
Google Considers Responsive Web Design Best Industry Practice
Image via Flickr by Robert Scoble
When talking about Search Engine Optimization, it’s important to know and follow what Google says is in. It has the largest market share of the search engines, so basically, what it says goes. Recently, Google has stated that responsive web design is the industry best practice. This means that if you have both a regular website and a mobile version, you may end up being ranked lower than someone who has a responsive design. Read the rest of this entry »
Unclutter: The Importance of White Space
If you don’t have enough white space on your website, you are wasting your design. There are significant reasons for ensuring that you have white space. From leading the visitor’s eye to what you want them to see to helping the overall design look good, consider the following reasons you need to unclutter your site.
Emphasize Important Elements
Image via Flickr by Johnny does
What is the most important thing on your landing page? Is it the text, the images, or something a little more specific? No matter what is most important, make sure that it is surrounded by white space. This will help emphasize that this is an important element. If you have an image that is extremely important, don’t make the image larger; instead, increase the white space around it to emphasize the importance. Read the rest of this entry »
Social Integration: The Necessity of Social Media in Your Site
If you don’t have a social media presence for your website, you almost might as well not have a website at all. Ok, so it’s not quite that bad, but you really do need to have a good integration of social media. There are a lot of ways to do this, but today we are talking about why. What is the importance of using social media, and what are the consequences if you don’t?
Social Media Bumps up Your SEO
Image via Flickr by Jason A. Howie
Riddle me this – What do social media and search engines have in common? Answer – They both love fresh, new, relevant content. Because of this, they are working hand-in-hand today. Realistically, if you have a crappy social media presence, or none at all, you are likely to rank lower in the search engines. Maybe it sucks (depends on your opinion of social media), but that’s the way the world, and SEO, is going. The more social, the better. Read the rest of this entry »
Do I Really Need Separate Landing Pages For Mobiles?
Did you know that cell phones are used more for data now than they are to actually make phone calls? Well over half of all cell phone users in the United States use their cell phones regularly to surf the Internet. Because of this, you need to make sure that your landing page can handle the smaller size of a cell phone screen. The best way to do this? Have a separate landing page.
Text Needs to be Readable
Image via Flickr by scriptingnews
Have you ever visited a website on your phone, only to realize that you can’t actually read what’s there? It’s irritating. Not only do you have to zoom into what you are trying to read, you then need to move the page all over the place, back and forth, to continue reading the page. It’s almost not worth the effort. As a website owner, you need to make sure that your landing page for mobile devices is easily readable on the smaller screens. Read the rest of this entry »
How Does Your Bounce Rate Match Up to Others in Your Industry?
Bounce rates are inevitable. Every website has people who come, look around for a second or less (literally), and leave. However, some industries have better bounce rates than others. And not all websites within each industry fare as well as the best, or even average.
Product Information Pages
Image via Flickr by Gustavo da Cunha Pimenta
This includes comparison sites, tech information, and more.
- Minimum Bounce Rate – 3.24%
- Maximum Bounce Rate – 50%
- Average Bounce Rate – 33.03%
Have you ever looked for information on a product? There is a lot of information on these sites, and because of that the bounce rate tends to be significantly lower than other types of websites. Comparison charts and interesting information, as well as tips and tricks, will keep people interested and your bounce rate down. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Your PPC Campaign is Bleeding Money
When you have the perfect business, you need to make sure everyone else gets a chance to see it. With effective marketing, you get traffic to your website and you show off your products or services to the world. It’s a win-win situation. However, if you are focusing your marketing on pay-per-click (PPC), you could be hemorrhaging money. There are a variety of reasons that PPC marketing is not effective.
You Probably Aren’t Marketing in the Correct Markets
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What Typography Tells People About Your Landing Page
You want your website to say something to the customer as soon as the page loads. There are many ways to do this – with color, composition, and images. However, one thing that many website owners forget is typography. When you really want your website to evoke a feeling, make sure you are using the correct typography.
Fun and Laid Back Fonts for Casual Sites
Image via Flickr by tarrytown
Are you building a website where you are trying to show a fun, casual, laid back face? If so, it is important to show this with the typography. Make sure you use font faces that are considered less formal. When trying to show off a fun website, consider the following fonts:
Keep in mind that many ‘fun’ fonts are also considered cheesy. Additionally, they may be difficult to read if used in a large amount of text. It is a good idea to use them in moderation. Read the rest of this entry »
A/B Testing vs. Multivariate Testing: Which is Best For You?
If you have a website, you need to make sure that you market it well. However, to do that, you need to know exactly what your customers are looking for. There are a variety of ways to do this, but the two most debated options are A/B testing and multivariate testing. What are the differences? Which is better for your site?
Learning the Basics of the Two
First, you need to understand the differences between A/B testing and multivariate testing. There are several key differences, so establishing those is the first move creating the most effective landing page.
- A/B testing – After creating two versions of a website, you split the traffic coming to your site evenly between the two.
- Multivariate testing – You only have one version of the website. You are testing a variety of elements inside the page, to see what is most popular.