50 Milliseconds to Disaster

According to a 3-year-old study that I just saw, the average length of time it takes someone to decide a web page sucks is about 50 milliseconds.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4616700.stm

To put this amount of time in perspective, this is 3-4 times faster than your fastest muscle reflex.

The most important elements of a landing page, to avoid the 50 millisecond puke, are header and page design.

The implications go far beyond the first 50 milliseconds. From the article:

If people believe a website looks good, then this positive quality will spread to other areas, such as the website's content.

Since people like to be right, they will continue to use the website that made a good first impression, as this will further confirm that their initial decision was a good one.

Is your website making a good first impression?

Check Landing Page Performance by Browser

Every browser is different.* Ask any web designer about their craft and you'll eventually get them talking passionately about these differences. How Internet Explorer 6 renders CSS pseudo-elements (badly) and handles padding and spaces (randomly). How IE7 ignores CSS drop shadows. How floating divs never seem to work the same way in any of the browsers. These peculiarities have driven many a developer to strong drink.

When it comes to testing new webpage designs in Google Website Optimizer, speed can be essential. You want to get the experiment out the door as soon as possible so you can get preliminary data. Sometimes this means that things slip through QA. Browser testing is exceptionally finicky and time consuming. Not every office has a spare Mac sitting around, and with three different versions of Internet Explorer still in wide use-and no easy way to install all three versions on a single PC-it's no small feat to make your page variations all work perfectly in every popular browser.

With just a few Google Analytics Advanced Segments in your arsenal, however, you'll be able to see whether or not your new pages are functioning fine in all the right browsers. Hit the jump for details.

First, you'll need to create a new Advanced Segment for each landing page in your experiment. Check out Segment 1 and Segment 2 for more detail.

Next, apply both segments to your reports and head to the Browsers reports. This report defaults to the pie chart, but I like to switch back to the data table:

Now check out each browser and pay attention to the Bounce Rate column for each Landing Page segment. If one particular browser has a Bounce Rate that seems particularly out of whack, drill down and check out the versions. Then, using your findings, test the page live (if you can) or use a site like Browsershots.

Keyword domains to enhance rankings

In competitive industries, gaining every possible advantage over your competition is important. One key resource you can utilize in order to begin raking for high value terms (especially on the local level), is to invest in domain names based upon your keywords.

For example, if you're a dentist in Austin, Texas, then you may want to buy the domain name AustinDentist.com - in many cases, you'll have to purchase the domain from the existing owner (since most high quality local keywords are registered), but proper implementation on a keyword-rich domain name can pay great dividends over time relative to traditional traffic sources such as pay per click.

To begin your domain search, identify the terms that customers use to connect to your service. Using the example above, the domains AustinWhitening.com, AustinToothRepair.com, etc. can be high value opportunities. In many cases, you can also look at the .net and .org extension alternatives, which may be available at a much lower cost (especially if they are not yet registered.)

In general, you'll want to stick with com, net or org extensions for your keyword domains. Once you come up with a list of possible domains, check if they're open for registration from a leading domain company such as GoDaddy and register the available domains as soon as possible.

Once you've secured keyword-rich domains, you'll want to begin developing them with high quality, original content related to the keyword. Use the domains to generate traffic, leads as well as links to your main business site. A properly structured network of domains can result in great returns over time.

Naming and Alt-Tag Conventions

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a properly optimized image is probably worth at least two thousand. In search marketing, images provide an important source of clarifying messages to consumers, as well as helping your site to rank for targeted terms.

By creating effective, keyword rich names and alt-tags for your images, you'll help search engines to understand the nature of your site better - when two sites are competing for a search ranking, images can make the difference in terms of prioritized ranking.

From a technical standpoint, the image name is just the file name: a file named Business-Strategy.jpg will help you target those keywords within both image and general search. Importantly, when users roll their mouse over the image (or when they have images disabled, such as on certain mobile browsers), they'll see the alt-text displayed.

So, if the file is embedded with the HTML code then the text "Business Strategy" will be displayed. This can be an important source of keyword targeting, and can help you structure your site properly. Further, as a growing number of browsers rely upon mobile techniques these alt-tags are particularly important sources of naming conventions.

Always select appealing, unique images for your site layout that match the overall messaging of your site. Take time to properly name and tag the images for search, as well as users, so that you can effectively optimize the media sources on your site.

The Power of Email Drip Marketing

Generating targeted online leads is an effective way to build up a list of prospective customers, and integrating an auto-responder can provide a virtual sales agent that sends automatic e-mail follow ups based upon opt-ins to your mailing list. Consumers today spend a lot of time searching for high quality vendors, and immediately reaching out with an effective email response 24/7 begins to establish trust with your potential customers to improve conversion rates.

Automating Your Sales Force 24/7

Imagine that a customer comes to your site and learns about your company for the first time. With a web presence, you're able to connect with a wide variety of potential clients looking for products and services in your market.  When consumers are faced with a choice between multiple vendors, studies have shown they are most likely to work with companies that provide follow-up after the initial inquiry. By sending out a clean, professional automatic e-mail to prospective customers, you'll be able to begin cultivating relationships that turn into loyal, profitable client relationships.

When crafting an auto response message, keep in mind that you'll want to reinforce the positive aspects of your brand while allowing the consumer to make an informed decision. You can personalize the e-mail by addressing the message to the name provided in the lead form, as well as customizing the message based upon the information provided on the lead form. Auto-responders are an effective way to begin establishing a positive image for your company in the eyes of the prospective customers, and can help shifts your website from a lead generation engine into a fully-powered revenue growth generator.