So apparently Danny Devito was up all night partying with George Clooney and showed up the next day to tape the view. He hadn’t slept all night and his drunkenness was obvious. Way to go Danny! You finally made The View worth watching.
I’d have to be wasted to deal with this obnoxious group of Yentas. Cheers Danny.
Once again, I was going to link to this article, but got a 404 error when I tried to.
The debate about whether or not tables should be used in site design has been going on for years and there’s no end in site. I fall somewhere in the middle � there are certain circumstances (like organizing tabular data) where I think tables still make the most sense, but I also appreciate the SEO benefits of using CSS layouts. CSS layouts drastically reduce the amount of code in your site that isn’t content that the user sees. Just like moving CSS and JavaScript to an external file, the less on-page code that isn’t content, the better. Check out search engine friendly layouts for some free example layouts.
I was going to link to this article, but got a 404 error when I tried to. Once again a lot of good tips here, but this is an interesting one that stood out.
Believe it or not, search engines can see http://yoursite.com, http://www.yoursite.com, and http://www.yoursite.com/index.html as three different pages. A simple solution is to use a 301 redirect to point all of your pages to their “www” counterpart. You can also select the preferred domain that Google shows in the new Google Webmaster Tools console.
So oddly enough this is how I first heard My Diet Pill, a fantastic band from Nice, France. I haven’t seen this video in a long time. I forgot how hot and curvy this chick was. She only has one move..ha check it out.
Once again Site Pro News comes through with some great input. This is a good refresher if you are getting ready to create some new landing pages for your site. SOme of them are no brainers, but there is a lot of good info here. If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter yet get on it.
A landing page is a website page that is created for one purpose - to persuade the site visitor to convert into a customer by making a sale, completing a form (thereby becoming a qualified lead), signing up for a newsletter, etc.
We provide this landing page quick reference so you can pull it out every time you are creating a persuasive landing page. It is
divided into 4 sections and is intended to be an all-inclusive tip sheet.
Most importantly, consider that you have 8 seconds or less to convince your visitor to act. If you haven’t convincingly made
your case in this time then your visitor will move on and willbe lost, as the Internet has created the most fickle customer
in sales history.
Page Layout
Place your logo at the top left. Visitors expect it there so display your branding where it counts.
If the visitor came from a search engine keyword search or a PPC ad, then place the keyword terms in bold at the top of the
page. This reinforces to the visitor that they came to the right place.
Always keep the Golden Triangle in mind. It is the most important and scanned part of the page. It is the area of the
page that starts at the top left of the page moves to the top right side of the page then down diagonally to the bottom left
of the page just above the fold. The fold is the area of a web page that the visitor sees without scrolling vertically. You
should never force a visitor to scroll horizontally. This means that your landing pages should be able to be seen completely on
an 800 x 600 screen resolution. Place your UVP (Unique Value Proposition) in the middle of the Golden Triangle.
Contrast your Calls to Action with respect to the rest of the page - use contrasting colors, round vs. rectangular, straight
vs. slanted, warm color vs. cold color, big vs. little. Make sure you can spot the Call to Action from 6 feet away.
Place assurances, testimonials and guarantees in the far-right column
Place logos to appropriate associations or online companies at the bottom of the page to show credibility - Verisign, BBB
Online Reliability, certified by…, Alexa rank (if good), powerseller, live support, credit cards supported, open 24
hours a day, Hacker Safe, as seen in Entrepreneur Magazine, Chamber of Commerce, etc.
Don’t place external links on a landing page. Just allow them the option to proceed into completing the form and converting
into a customer.
Place privacy policies on the landing page. This instills confidence.
Think of the Amazon.com website. Note their Call to Action is the hotspot at the top-right of all pages - add to cart, one
click ordering, etc. This may also apply to you.
Writing Style and Content
Spend time on your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) and place it into the center of the Golden Triangle. A UVP is the core
differentiation of a company’s product or service from those of competitors. A complete UVP will describe the market and a
company’s competitors and the key difference between competitors and your own company.
Ensure that you don’t have big paragraphs. Visitors tend to scan pages instead of reading all of the text on them.
Write using headers above paragraphs that summarize the following text.
Use bullets where possible as visitors can quickly scan them. Search engines also prioritize bullets instead of long paragraph
text.
If you want to add a picture ensure that it is going to reinforce your message. You can easily lose significant sales
by having the wrong picture on the landing page.
If the purpose of the landing page is to provide a white paper or article then create an image for the paper with
enlarged text like the one below and place it on the page:
The Form
Keep the number of fields on the form as small as possible. This is critical in getting them to complete the form.
Add a Comments textbox asking for the visitor’s input. It can be key to qualifying leads. Those that complete this form with
the services they are looking for should be contacted immediately. Here are some requests you can use for this
Comments box:
What is biggest problem that you need to solve now?
What is the purpose of your project?
Please list your goals for this project.
How can we help you?
In case the visitor doesn’t complete the Comments textbox on the first page, add a 2nd page with only a Comments textbox on it requesting the visitors comments again. Tell them that if they complete the Comments box now then they will receive an
extra free white paper that is relevant to the same visitor. These visitor comments are important.
Have the visitor check a box that says something like “YES! Send me the free white paper that will change my life.” It is
the psychological method of coercing them into completing the rest of the form.
Prominently list the benefits of completing the form. It is a major validation. Make sure to write the benefits in terms of
the user’s benefits instead of the features of your product or service.
Ensure you save the form information into a database and send emails out as soon as the form is completed so you can
immediately contact the visitor. The lead’s effectiveness drops dramatically as time goes by. Contacting a lead within minutes
is ideal.
Landing Page Mistakes to Avoid
Graphics or text unrelated to the offer - limit copy to only the point of the landing page
Long forms with unneeded fields - limit your form to what is absolutely essential
He was the cranky uncle at Christmas dinner, daring to utter indiscretions about the family members who were trying to talk over his bad manners. He was the eternal renegade, refusing to make feel-good movies or boys’-life adventures or simple melodramas — simple anything. For more than 35 years, Robert Altman, who died Monday night in Los Angeles at 81, was the truth-telling leper outside the film-industry cathedral, and the most cunning chiseler at the staid monument Hollywood has made of movie art.
Former University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler died today, according to his doctors at Providence Hospital in Southfield. He was 77.
Minutes before he was to tape a show on the eve of The Game, legendary University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler collapsed in a bathroom of a Southfield television station.
“He was in the powder room when he collapsed and was found face down and unresponsive,†Dr. Shukri David, chief of cardiology at Providence said during a press conference Friday.
