audience « Christopher Ross

Posts Tagged ‘audience’

13
Oct
2009

Montreal WordPress Designer, Chris Bavota

Welcome to my blog, please feel free to subscribe to my RSS feed, join me on Twitter or leave a comment.

As I often do, I was looking at my friend Chris Bavota’s website this morning for inspiration to write a post about WordPress and it occured to me, why not share with all of you some of the things that I love about Chris’s WordPress website and do a little “review” of it so that others who might wish to create a blog can see some of the great things Chris has done with BavotaSan.

First off, Chris is an independent website developer and creative type in Montreal Canada, his website is all about how to build and design WordPress websites for small business owners and online marketing types, basically the same audience as mine but with a much more technical and WordPress focus.

His website, BavotaSan.com is packed full of amazing goodies such as his free themes for WordPress and a series of premium themes such as the Stationery Premium WordPress Theme , Illustrious Premium WordPress Theme and a great paid WordPress plugin called Delete Duplicate Posts Pro which surprisingly … does just that. It’s great for auto blogging website in that it scans for duplicate posts and ensures you’re not falling victim to Google’s duplicate post penalties but Chris’s website isn’t just a great resource, it’s a work of interface art. Let’s take a look at some of the features of this great website.

The Footer

I always start with the footer when I review a website, it’s often the last place a design thinks to look but the first place somebody looks when they’re lost … so it’s important. Actually, it’s a little like Walmart I think in that most people never think about customer service until they’re standing in line and really upset. Walmart is one of the few national chains that I can think of who put great thought into this fact, when a customer is trying to return or complain about something … make it easy for them, make it pleasant.

The footer on Chris’ website does just that. Finding things easily is a pleasant experience.

You can easily see the links he wants to promote in his footer, as well as a clearly defined link for Twitter. His downloads and tutorials are organized to be effective and you’ll see this subtle use of a “Back to Top” option with an icon, a small detail often over looked by web designers in a rush. Ironically, Chris isn’t a web designer, he’s a web developer so his attention to detail is refreshing.

The Header

At the top of Chris’ website he promotes his internal links very well using a process we call deep linking but it’s done subtly and doesn’t interfere with users ability to navigate his website. In fact his menu is designed to accomplish two functions. First, he accommodates the users need to quickly reach content and two gives search engines the ability to easily feature content from his site.

Two things that I absolutely love about Chris’ website? First, his use of the Get image from post code (he uses the code as a part of his theme rather than as a plugin, which is very effective) and the great link to his RSS feed on the right.

Everybody should take a few minutes to visit Montreal Web Designer, Chris Bavota .

Tags: audience, Creative Type, Customer Service, Falling Victim, footer, free themes, friend chris, goodies, google, Independent Website, inspiration, Interface Art, love, Montreal Canada, National Chains, small business owners, Stationery, Walmart, Website Developer, WordPress
Posted in What I'm Reading

29
Sep
2009

Buying Domain Names for your Audience

3 Comments

For those of you who are in the United States, the .com, .net and .org domain are pretty well standard but of course there’s also .us and a whole host of other domains extensions on the market these days but have you ever wondered about using a domain name for your specific market?

Take me for example, while I work throughout the US on websites I actually live in Canada so a lot of companies who market specifically to Canadians use the .ca extension instead. In German, the .de and in the UK it’s a .co.uk.

This is a powerful yet often overlooked marketing tool for companies who sell product or services into a variety of markets, by using a domain name specific to the county, you’re not only pre-qualifying leads to that web property but you’re also customizing content for the specific customer.

Take for example a website which sells cooking DVD’s which wants to sell into multiple markets. Yes, it’s possible to sell into multiple markets based on a single domain name but why not also run the .ca version and adjust pricing throughout the website to reflect the shipping costs in local currency? This allows you to make special offers to each market as well as test new products you’d previously not considered.

Tags: audience, canada, canadians, Currency, domain name, domain names, Marketing Companies, marketing tool, Net Domain, Org Domain, Shipping Costs, Special Offers, Tool Companies, United States, Web Property
Posted in Marketing Advice

22
Apr
2009

How to write a post to only appear in RSS feeds

2 Comments

On many of my websites (which I almost always power with WordPress) I like to give people incentives to signup for my RSS feeds. This let’s me keep in touch with them and helps keep people connected to my website but it also offers me a great advantage in that I know that my audience is building.

One of the things that I do is offer content for those users in the form of a contest or promotion which only appears in my RSS feeds or often appears in my RSS feed days (or weeks) before it appears on the main site. This allow allows me to test content, get feedback from regulars etc. before it’s live.

Now there are a few plugins and tutorials on how to do this (Creating Posts That Appear Only In RSS) but I prefer to do it in a much easier way.

I create a category in WordPress where I’ll post items for the RSS feed.
I’ll exclude that category from results pages

That’s it .. very simple really.

For example, on my archives.php page I simply add the code ‘exclude=X’ (where X is my category ID) from the results, which ensures that any article found exclusively in my RSS feed is not published anywhere else.

The only problem is … this method forces me to add and remove items from the list in a method similar to how we used to have to place sticky posts in WordPress.

What do you guys think? Is there an easier way for me to do it?

Tags: Add And Remove, Add Remove, Advantage, audience, Category Id, Feedback, Incentives, People, Plugins, regulars, WordPress
Posted in Make Money Online, Marketing Advice, WordPress Help

26
Jan
2009

What Makes a Successful Web Site?

5 Comments

It Should Be Fast Loading

The biggest single reason visitors do not stay at a Web site is because it takes too long to load; that is, the time it takes for a page to appear on the user’s computer. The site needs to be designed around the premise of “loading” as quickly as possible. To achieve this, I suggest a strong text base for pages where appropriate. Text loads very quickly, which is particularly important, as one of the characteristics of the primary audience is that it is “time-poor”. Although high-speed broadband Internet access is on the increase, a significant number of people still use slower dial-up connections.

Rich Photography

The inclusion of visual images is one of the most overlooked aspects of the web but without the cost of traditional media printing, the Internet is the perfect place for business owners to feature rich, colorful images capable of effectively communicating the businesses’ key benefits.

Look and Feel

A Web site today represents the first contact point for many prospective clients. It shows how professional a company is and what kind of attitude they have in selling themselves. I will discuss the interface and layout of the site with you, to ensure that it is attractive, appealing and reflects the appropriate image. The site will be simple to navigate, thereby encouraging users to explore it.

Information Structure

A clear, crisp view of the information on the site is paramount in relation to finding specific information. To provide major benefit to the client, the site should have significant amounts of information available to the user. This information must be easily found and presented in such a way as to encourage use. Information on the site must be able to be quickly and easily updated by the client.

Optimized Content

How you organize your website and the order you present content to the public has a significant impact not only on how users navigate your website but also how other websites interact with your business. It’s important that your website meet international coding standards, be well organized and built to be read properly by companies such as Google and Yahoo.

Fresh Content

Content updates are one of the most frequently ignored aspects of a great website but just like a restaurant, keeping the content fresh and updated will help to increase traffic to an average website but up to 300% instantly.

Interact with Users

Web site owners often treat a website as a unidirectional marketing channel, static and forgettable but today a website is a portal to your customers and one of the easiest ways for you to reach them. Successful websites have forums, blogs, contests and free gifts for users to take advantage of.

Download

Tags: attitude, audience, benefit, business owners, colorful images, contact point, dial up connections, first contact, high speed broadband internet access, inclusion, information structure, interface, premise, prospective clients, rich photography, significant impact, single reason, speed broadband, text loads, visual images
Posted in Web Site Advice

25
Jan
2009

How to Create a Successful Web Site

7 Comments

Ever wonder how come some people’s websites get thousands of visitors a day and other languish in obscurity? I did, and that’s I started reading every article and eBook I could on the subject until I considered myself the closest thing to an expert I could imagine becoming. My little website here is far from a successful site, it’s what’s known as a niche website and it’s only really designed to attract a very small portion of the population but even then, I can easily have 70,000 people a month come to my site.

So, how did I do it? The first thing I did was followed four fairly simple steps:

Step One: I knew where I wanted to go

So many people make the mistake of assuming their blog or website will be successful without really understanding what success would be. Before you launch your website, determine what type of website you want to run and know what it would take for you to consider that website a success.

Step Two: I found the tools to help me get there

I’ve written a lot on my website about WordPress, it’s a great free tool and it’s one of the reasons that I can consider myself successful. I owe a lot to the tool because it’s helped me build my traffic base and increase my own understanding of the market. The web has billions of pages, make sure whichever tool you choose it’s right for you and that it helps cut through the background noise to help your page get noticed.

Step Three: I paid attention to the details

I tinkered a lot with my website, tried different configurations and setups until I found the design you see today. It was on purpose but I didn’t just guess, as my former boss Michael used to always tell me … without statistics, you’re only guessing. That’s why I used great tools like Google Analytics to track every mouse click, page load and ad sale on the site to ensure I wasn’t alienating my audience.

Step Four: I listened.

I can’t tell you how often I got a comment from a use but I can tell you that I have thousands of comments on hundreds of pages here on my website and that I read every single one of them. I may not have agreed with some of them and some I pouted about for days or even weeks. A couple almost made me quit blogging altogether and yet most pushed me to do better.

Is my website finished? No. It’s an evolution and as such I’ll continue to move menus and tweak code until I’m happy with it. I’ll also continue to listen to the most important people on my website, you guys and constantly work to improve the site. I want to hear back from all my readers far more often, and I know the best way to increase my readership is to produce better content so don’t be shy to correct me if I’m wrong or point me to an awesome article if you happen to find one.

Tags: analytics, audience, background noise, billions, blog, boss, closest thing, free tool, google, great tools, mistake, mouse click, niche web, obscurity, population, simple steps, small portion, statistics, traffic base, WordPress
Posted in Web Site Advice

22
Jan
2009

Five Things You Can Write on Your Blog to Increase Traffic

6 Comments

Write something useful

If you’re familiar with my website, then you know that I’m a big believer in writing quality content. The best way to increase traffic to your website? Write something worth reading. Tips, tricks or advice to help your audience.

Write something original

You don’t have to be the best writer out there but it helps to be original. Stop trying to compete for high end key phrases or recycling the same old content. Write something fresh that people would care to read about.

Write something timely

During the Democratic competition I wrote an article about Obama’s use of technology, that piece brought in more traffic to my website for a week then any other piece. The second most common piece during that time? Rednecks for Obama.

Write it first

Be the first to come up with an idea and write about it.

Write something with value

If nothing else, your article should give your reader knowledge. Improve their world, cut down on their costs, increase their profits or help them understand the simplicity of technology. Just make sure when they’re done reading … they know more then when they started.

Tags: audience, believer, blog, phrases, profits, quality content, reading tips, simplicity, traffic, worth reading
Posted in Web Site Advice

07
Oct
2008

Do web graphics increase sales?

No Comments

How important are graphics to the success of a website? There are a couple of schools of thought on this subject, the first is that content is what matters on a website. After all, Google (and other search engines) can’t see what’s in a graphic so it mustn’t matter. Second, there’s the thought that graphics make the difference between successful sales or a reluctant visitor. Most of the evidence is anecdotal at best but it’s a very big question facing web designers these days.

There’s no real way to answer this for certain without conducting extensive marketing research based on the pluses and minuses of a sales cycle but with enough experience, I think there’s a fine line between the two arguments.

Frankly, Google can not see graphics therefore it can not index what’s on them. This is true, so if you’re going to build an entire website as a graphic file (JPG for example) or even use heavy Flash throughout it, there is no way for Google to understand what you’re site is about. Without knowing what content is there, it can’t index you properly and therefore can’t send traffic to you.

Does it matter that Google can’t read your site? Not really, Google is only one of a million ways people find your website and if you have a proper budget for a website, you can overcome this through clever marketing and links with other websites.

On the other hand, quality graphics do impact the interest level of the consumer or site visitor so it’s important to really stop and think about exactly what your website is saying both in words and in the images you’ve selected to present to your audience. I like to ask my clients a fairly simple question, would they be willing to print the website and hand it out (on paper) at a trade show or conference? If so, then the site’s graphics are doing what they’re meant to do which is to reinforce the branding and build an online extension of the business. If on the other hand, the website isn’t worth wasting paper on, it’s time to do something else.

The problem of course is that most people think of websites as an after thought and trust the IT department to come up with the artwork and implement a solution. Frankly I’m always disturbed when I learn the same person who changes printer toner is in charge of building a part of the company which will be viewed by millions.

So, back to the original question. Do web graphics increase sales? The answer simply put is yes, but only if those graphics are designed to improve the usability of the website, shape the activities of your users and improve the general functionality of the site.

Tags: audience, budget, File Jpg, google, google search, Hand Graphics, images, Interest Level, Marketing Advice, Marketing Links, Marketing Research, Million Ways, other search engines, People Find, Pluses, Quality Graphics, S Graphics, Schools Of Thought, Successful Sales, Trade Show, traffic, web designers, Web Graphics
Posted in Web Site Advice

23
Oct
2006

Top Ten Features of a Good Web Site

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I’ve been building websites for over 10 years and have created many sites. Great websites have always had a few key things in common.

1) Great Navigation – What use is a website without great navigation? A visitor should be able to quickly find the page(s) they’re looking for as such, navigation elements should be grouped and logical.

2) Great Content – Make your content king, in truth nothing else matters.

3) Presented Well – A great website does not need to be flashy, but the content must be readable. Keep busy patterns and background images off your site, simple white is always your best bet.

4) Include a Contact Link – Let people easily know how to get in touch with you, believe it or not there are a ton of websites out there with no contact details!

5) Fresh Content – People will visit your site more often if you have new items to view.

6) Search Friendly – Include a sitemap or search feature on your site if it’s more than a couple of pages.

7) Remember Your Audience – Focus your website on people who might come to visit, place articles or information that they will care about in easy to find locations.

8) Fast Loading – If you site doesn’t load quickly, people will find the information somewhere else so keep it simple and if you have to have large images, link to them from smaller icons to help people with slower connections.

9) Well Maintained – Nothing annoys your visitors faster than broken links or missing photographs. When you build a site, test it all and when you’re sure it works, make a note on your calendar to recheck the website every few weeks.

10) Avoid Audio – Unless your business is selling audio related services, it’s best to avoid putting audio on your website.

This post came from an archive of my older website, since then I’ve posted a lot more, so please take the time to read some of my other recent work.

Tags: 10 Years, advice, audience, Background Images, best bet, Contact Details, Content King, Navigation Elements, People, photographs, Place Articles, Related Services, Search Feature, Truth, Website Navigation
Posted in Web Site Advice

22
Oct
2004

Newsletters are great for business

1 Comment

Publishing a newsletter for your business is one of the best ways to increase both customer loyalty and sales since it’s a direct line from you to your customers and keeps your business fresh in their minds.

Newsletters provide you with the ability to show your clients that you are an expert in your field, as well as providing them with well-written and useful news which is sure to improve their understanding of your industry.

A great newsletter is one that gets forwarded to friends, business partners and associations so makings sure your readers feel comfortable forwarding it onto their contacts is important. To do this, make sure the information is accurate and timely and that you include the tools required to print, email and forward the newsletter easily.

Here are five great tips to help you publish an effective newsletter:

Stick to what you know
Sounds silly right? Well you’d be surprised. So make sure your newsletter is accurate and the information in it is the best information you can provide.

Mail it out
Send your newsletter to your existing mailing list as well as community groups or associations you feel may benefit from your expertise. Remember, you should be proud of your newsletter, if it will help area businesses then send it to them.

Focus on subjects of interest
If you’re an accountant and tax season is coming up, talk about subjects to help your readers or if you’re a retailer heading into Christmas, why not provide facts or services to entice your audience?

Make the most of your text
Write well rounded, clean articles and check for spelling or grammatical errors. If you’re not a strong speller, use a spell check program but don’t depend on it. Print out your newsletter and have a friend read it. If you still need more help, hire a writer and have them write the articles.

Put it online
Once your done with your newsletter, archive it to the Internet and link to it online. Remember that when you send it out in print, include a link to your website so that people can find it easily.

This article first appeared on my old website in 2006 but was recently recovered from my old archives.

Tags: accountant, advice, audience, Business Partners, christmas, community groups, Customer Loyalty, Grammatical Errors, Heading, Marketing Advice, Newsletter Archive, newsletters, Spell Check, Spelling, Useful News
Posted in Web Site Advice