Throughout the past two articles, Linda has explained Google Analytics and showed you the stats to measure before you even begin an ad campaign. In this article, Linda discusses how you can promote your Website and measure the results of your ad campaign with Google Analytics. Whether you focus on print, television, or online advertising, Google can help you analyse which ads work to bring traffic to your site.
Read MoreIn the previous article Linda introduced you to Google Analytics. If you opened an account, then you know by now how deeply the analytics dissect your traffic. But, where do you go from here? In this article, Linda shows you how to analyse your traffic and visitors so you can begin to create an ad campaign, one that will bring more traffic to your site and – better yet – one that will help to retain that traffic as loyal customers.
Read MoreLinda will walk you through the new Google Analytics (GA) interface over the next few weeks to show you how to utilize all the nooks and crannies within this site. If you’re a GA devotee or an SEO expert, you might find this information a bit below your needs. But, if analytics is new to you, or if you’d prefer to learn how to decipher these detailed stats rather than pay someone to do it for you, then you might be interested in what these articles will offer.
Read MoreIn the previous article, I reported that U.S. citizens spent $1.8 billion for online content in 2004. and that an average of only 31.4% of Internet users surf the computer on a daily basis. If the two statistics are combined, it appears that only a few folks in America hold the cash and that a Web site owner only has a few minutes each day to capture their attention and/or money. This week I’ll compare these statistics to illustrate how a company can use bias to make claims that alter marketing strategies. In addition, I’ll continue with an examination of Paul Stamet’s Web site to determine how a small company can use this material to absorb a niche market.
Read MoreIn the previous article, I explained how the Online Publisher’s Association (OPA) segmented the Internet into four categories – content, communication, commerce, and search. They then broke the content category down into eleven divisions where an Internet site could pull in revenue. In this article, I’ll dissect Paul Stamet’s Fungi Perfecti site to compare against the content list that OPA developed. Additionally, I’ll lead you to some further statistics that might help you gain a leg up on your own marketing ladder.
Read MoreU.S. citizens spent $1.8 billion for online content in 2004, mainly in the entertainment/leisure category. This figure is up 13.7% compared to 2003. In this, I’ll define four market categories that may help you to bring in the dough and I’ll expand on one category – content – to show how commerce, communications, and search mechanisms can be added to build online revenue. Additionally, I’ll begin to examine how one man’s unusual Web site compares to these models.
When people encounter sites that carry information, services, or products for a price, they usually have one of two reactions – they either move on or they pay. You probably experienced the same feelings yourself, especially since you pay to read the articles and books that DMX and its affiliates offer online. Sometimes you pass on articles because you may feel that they won’t hold your interest. Other times you may feel that you didn’t receive what you paid for, and at still other times you might feel that you received more than your money’s worth.
Did you ever ask yourself why you pay for knowledge, services, or products online? Are you a self-help type of person who enjoys solitary learning? Are you after a singular goal like learning how to “play” the stock market? Would you rather pay shipping charges than pay for gas when you venture out to purchase products? When you investigate your motives about why you pay for information, products, or services online, you begin to understand why others might pay as well. If you understand your market through this process, you have a leg up on your competition. However, it also helps to know how the Internet is seen by specialists, because this information may help you to streamline your offerings.
Read MoreIn the last article I gave you some ideas for a basic business foundation that includes community, including a link to information about how to develop a business plan. As you create your business plan, you might decide whether you want to become an affiliate salesperson for a product or service, or whether you might decide to sell your own merchandise or skills. How can you incorporate sales and still maintain some integrity with your site? In this article, I’ll demonstrate how you can become a small business “expert” in sales without appearing overt or downright scary to viewers.
Some of the examples I used for the last article were rather large sites, like C|Net, EBay, and Suite 101. These sites employ many people just to maintain and build a site, let alone to run business operations. What if you are a one-person operation? Do you have a chance to make money, or are you doomed to draining your bank account with your Web site? If you build and maintain sites just for the heck of it, then more power to you. Many of us, however, need to make enough money to pay for the server, bandwidth, and any other small (or large) expenses that come across our paths.
You can either sell your own merchandise or services, or you can become a sales associate or affiliate for another business. Even if you carry your own products, you might incorporate another business’s products or services to enhance your sales. Below, I’ll talk about some advantages and disadvantages between selling your own products/services and then how you might incorporate third-party sales.
Read MoreHow many of us use a background on our desktops? I think if I were to post a poll about it, I would get at least 95% of people saying ‘yes’. But what is it most of us see when you look at the same familiar screen 2 thousand times a day? A good looking woman, a sports car, or a tranquil scene of some fish floating around on a reef somewhere exotic is a good place to start when you try to envision other people’s monitors because the majority of people never stray further past the default wallpapers Microsoft ships with windows.
A few create their own wallpapers or use programs such as Microsoft PLUS to extend their desktop capabilities, when in fact there is a really cool way of using the desktop which was introduced back in Windows 98 which not a lot of people know about or care to use if they do.
That forgotten feature is the ability to use web documents on the desktop. And the fun doesn’t stop there. Not only does it support HTML, but if you use a page from the web then the options are quite open for what you can view.
Locally (using files off your own machine) you can use HTML, CSS & Flash documents.
Remotely, I haven’t tested it with all file types but I have ASP & PHP pages displayed with ease, so I’m assuming CFM pages etc. should run ok. If not you always have your trusty browser to rely on ;)
Note: I have not tried to view dynamic pages locally as I see no need to view my own pages in that way, so it may be entirely possible to view asp, php pages etc.. locally. I just haven’t tested that possibility.
Last week I reviewed Amy Kim’s strategies about how to build and maintain online communities. Her outlook on community carried an “organic” or growth-oriented perspective. However, Amy’s strategies concerned a human aspect rather than a profit motive. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands or an inheritance, you might wonder how to pay for this community. This week, I’ll offer a few examples to explain how to grow profit along with your online followers.
While some Web developers are happy with the commissions that they make from associate programs, other folks might dream about a Web site that makes enough money so that they can quit their regular jobs. As avid Web users, you might have noticed that many seemingly profitable businesses utilize online community to help build customer loyalty. How do they do it?
Read MoreHow do you build and maintain an online community for your site? How can you instruct your clients on how to build online loyalty for their sites? Further, how can anyone handle the angst that seems built into interactivity with unknown and sometimes hostile viewers? When Amy Jo Kim wrote her book, “Community Building on the Web” in 2000, she outlined some of the first guidelines for building online interactive loyalty with an emphasis on “organic” growth. In this article, I’ll review Amy’s strategies and compare them to a current venue to consider whether her strategies still stand true.
Read MoreThanks to the widespread popularity of search engines like Google, most computer users know that the answer to nearly any question can be found on the internet. The problem is that finding the specific bit of information they seek may be harder than they expected. If you can help your site's visitors find the information they need with a minimum number of clicks, you can make them very happy. You’re on your own to create compelling content, but this article can help you create a search feature your visitors will love.
FreeFind offers hosted search technology, so there's nothing to download or install.
Read MoreLast week I promised the coding wizards out there that you could shake your collective heads at my efforts with PHP and MySQL this week. However, despite my lack of skills and with a little help from my server manager, I managed to upload WordPress 1.5. From that point, with very little further help, I added a three-column template and modified it to suit my needs. Therefore, I wrote this piece for any designer (or beginning coder) who longs for a three-column personal blog, but who freaks out when she views a string of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks that look like an alien language. A warning, however: You must at least have access to an FTP program and you must know how to use it.
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