Tips for designing for smart phones
Mobile phones are here to stay whether website
owners are ready for them or not and given their popularity, it would be a
colossal mistake to continue with a mobile incompatible site. Most marketers
fail to realize at unlike desktops and laptops which are only switched on when
need be, a mobile phone is constantly on the user’s person.
This close
and perpetual proximity gives these devices stupendous marketing value. So, if you are not yet ready for the mobile
revolution, here are some tips that will help you to redesign your site for the
smart phone generation.
Watch out for those smaller screens:
One of the primary design challenges faced when creating a mobile compatible
webpage is the striking difference in the screen and pixel sizes of cellular
device and a regular monitor. The ‘one size fits all’ approach will not get you
anywhere when designing for cell phones.
Instead,
take the time out and find out the specific device that your users are partial
to; this will help you to choose the right pixel range for your site. For instance, depending on the specific Nokia
device used, your pixel range can start from 240 X320 pixels and go right up to
640X 360 pixels while 320X480 pixels will be better suited for the iPhone4.
Limit you content: Paragraph after
paragraph of the written word may have worked for online sites but the strategy
will backfire when used in mobile designing. It is imperative to understand how
mobile users think when designing for a cellular device. The attention span of
a user on a mobile device is extremely limited; he/she is looking for concise
and pertinent information.
So, spare him the word bath and go for the
minimum amount of information that can create the maximum impact. You are
working with limited real estate here, so use headlines because they work as
important landmarks when skimming through the information.
Limit the graphics:
Mobile devices offer fractional speed when compared with landline broadband
networks. So, overt use of graphics can increase the loading time of the
webpage which will not bode well for the site.
Minimum use of proprietary technology:
The feud between Apple and Adobe over Flash support is enough to make most web
designers shy away from proprietary technology and software given the lack of
standardized support for these. If you must use such a technology, make sure
that you always provide an alternative, so your clients don’t turn away
disappointed with the performance of your site.
Action
button size and single columnar design: Like every other element of your
webpage, the action button will also have to be cut down to the right size. As
a thumb rule, remember that the button should be easily clickable without the
use of a stylus. Also, single columnar designs with fluid width that expand and
contract of their own accord based on the size of the screen are the best for
mobile devices.
Finally,
when designing for the cellular platform, ensure that you try out your site on
as many mobile devices as possible or at least on the most popular products in
the smart phone category like Android, Blackberry and iPhone.
Designing for your target market
What is a
website if not another medium for client communication? So, like all other form
of interaction, you will need to ensure that your website suits your target
audience. Careful consideration of what your targeted market segment, expects,
needs, likes and dislikes should form the foundation of your web designing
efforts. So, if you are on the verge of launching a new site or are in the
process of tweaking an existing website, here are some tips that will help you
to impress your audience.
Understand the market strata you are catering to!
Demographics:
Start with a demographic profile of your target segment; this should help you
to choose various designing elements like the colors, navigation system,
images, graphics and more. For instance, if you are catering to children in the
age group of 5 to 15, a riot of vibrant colors in the background will without a
doubt appeal to their senses.
On the
other hand, sober hues will be more appropriate for older visitors. Similarly,
if your site is meant for sports fanatics, images that bring to life the
excitement of indulging in a specific sporting pursuit will definitely yield
positive results.
Beliefs and view:
Also try and understand the behavior, likes, dislikes and beliefs of you
clients along with their opinion about your products and niche. For example, if
you are developing a site for gym goers, you might want to include tools and
information that will help them to make and stick to their fitness goals.
Existing
information:
When working on site content, consider what your clients already know; if they
are experts in your niche, they will be slighted by your attempts to teach them
the basics. On the contrary, if you are catering to novices, using overtly
technical lingo will lower the attention span f your readers.
Understand your requirements
Once you
have your finger on the pulse of your target market, it is time to consider
what you are trying to accomplish with your website.
·
Is your website meant for selling
goods/services?
·
Are you merely offering information
through your site?
·
What kind of information would you
like to offer?
·
What action will you like your
visitors to perform
·
How are you trying to influence your
audience, through text or images?
Answering
these questions will help you to understand the fundamental purpose of your
site and the way in which information has to be offered to meet the goal. For
instance, if you are selling a product or even if your site is a mouth piece
for your company, it is imperative to highlight the benefits that the user can
derive from the product/service or information.
So, if you
are selling cameras, don’t just talk about the product features; instead tell
your audience, how they will be able to capture memorable moments with the
gadget. Similarly, if your site is meant to offer information about your company,
you need to mention how your venture will help your clients.
Analyzing
the requirement of your client and your business will help you to design a site
with a clear and specific focus. Such a site is more likely to meet the
expectations of your visitors and fulfill its commercial purpose.
Google Penguin Update - Changes to Google
Algorithm
Google’s Panda
and its successor Penguin have both left a lot of web masters and self
professed SEO gurus seething in their wake. Website rankings have plummeted as
Google tries to weed out those who have been trying to dominate its organic
search through the use of over-optimization.
Did Panda and Penguin cause your web rank to
tumble?
Although Panda
and Penguin have only impacted about 3.1% of the websites in Google’s search
results, what has made most site owners sit up and take notice is that fact that
of the hundred of updates from the search engine giant only these two have
managed to transform the way in which spiders react to links, keywords and
content.
A quick glance at
your Google Analytics account should reveal if Panda and Penguin have had a
bearing on your site. Scrutinize Google organic reports between April 1st
and May 15th since Panda was rolled out on 19/4, followed by Penguin
on 24/4 and the Panda refresh on 27/4. Any drop in traffic on or around those
dates can be attributed to the updates.
So, why has Google been playing with your
livelihood?
Really, Google
has better things to do than try to get you! In fact, any such attempts will be
counterproductive. After all, the millions of websites are all part of the
company’s money making equation. However, they would like to offer quality
search results to the billions of users who use their search engine every day.
Panda and Penguin prove that there is such a
thing as too much SEO!
While the folks
at Google must’ve long since stopped to differentiate between what constitutes
strictly black hat and white hat techniques, they do frown on any attempts to
cheat their system. The company has made their stance clear by heavily
penalizing sites that were caught in the Panda Penguin update sandwich with a
drop in search engine and page ranking and in some cases a total removal from
the search results.
There is a myth
doing the rounds of the internet that Google is punishing SEO efforts; however,
the search engine giant is merely trying to reign in the influence of
over-optimization on their search results. In keeping with this core principal,
Panda was designed to target sites with duplicate and low quality content while
Penguin was made to deal with web spam and it’s currently doing a grand job of
tackling unnatural inbound linking.
Why has your site suffered?
If your website
has suffered from the impact of Panda and penguin updates, here is a look at
the specific areas that may have led to the trouble:
·
Low
content quality and over optimization for targeted keywords: You really don’t have to optimize
every inch of your website for all the keywords that you are targeting, instead
invest your efforts in offering content that will be appreciated by your
visitors.
·
Link
manipulation and spamming: Using paid links, link farms, shady links,
excessive and unnatural reciprocals, link stuffing through the creation of
several low quality pages that all point to the target page and traded links
can all lead to issues with Penguin.
Other factors that will cause your site to
fail the Panda and Penguin test include:
·
Cloaking:
Using different content for your visitors and Google spiders
·
Sneaky
redirect of Javascript
·
Doorway
pages that lead to sites that Google cannot read
·
Malware:
This one is self explanatory
‘Less is more’ is the new mantra in the post Penguin Panda world.
So, if you have been obsessing over matching anchors and on page ratios and the
number of back links, it’s time to stop. Instead, create a site that will truly
be appreciated by your users and the spiders will follow their lead.
10 Common SEO Mistakes
Search
engine optimization is a dynamic science; it is no wonder than that there is a
lot of ambiguity on factors that can help a website to scale the heights of
ranking and aspects that can actually hurt the standing of a site.
Unfortunately, faux pas in the name of SEO are common and they often end up
dragging the site down. So, before forming a search engine optimization
strategy, take a look at the top 10 SEO mistakes that can seriously harm your
site.
Duplicate and poor content: Whoever told you
that a site can get away by lifting content from other online ventures and a
few badly written snippets, does not know the first thing about SEO. Content was and still is the king, after all,
majority of the net goers go online looking for information. So, not meeting
their requirements on this front can be a huge mistake.
The wrong keywords: People find your
site through the keywords that you use. A lot of people tend to use keywords
that either sound good to them or get a certain number of hits per month.
However, your prime consideration when choosing keywords should be their
relevance to the content on your web page.
With
Google’s Panda out and about optimizing for the wrong keywords can get your
site pushed down or even removed from the SERPs altogether. Another issue with
keywords is that of over optimization. A thumb rule is to create content that
is fit for human consumption. Keyword stuffing will get you nowhere; in fact,
you could be penalized for over optimization.
No cross linking: Linking relevant
pages on your site with each other can not only simplify navigation but also it
will reduce bounce rate, a factor that now makes a difference to site
rankings. Cross linking also helps to
spread the link juice around your site.
Keyword stuffing in meta
tags: It’s been nine years since Google toned down
the importance of meta tags and this was solely done to deal with web masters
who were needlessly stuffing keywords into these short descriptions. However,
some people still continue to use the strategy. While this may not get you
penalized, the effort will simply be wasted as it’s certainly not going to help
you to improve your site rank.
Not using Keywords in permalink and titles:
Your title and your url link (permalink) are what tell the search engine
spiders about the content on your page. In fact, most SEO experts worth their
salt will tell you that these are the two most important factors when
optimizing your web pages.
Designing your site in Flash: Without
a doubt Flash looks flashy but it isn’t going to help your search engine
positioning because search engine spiders simply cannot crawl graphics. So, the
best approach is to go with minimum graphics.
Back linking to the gutter: Yes, your link
portfolio should have a healthy mix of PR1 to PR3 and even PR5 link sources.
However, it is imperative to understand that links that comes from a site which
is not in your niche or from sources lower down the link chain will not help
half as much as much as one link from a high ranking and relevant authority
site. Link farms and low quality site links can do your site more harm than
good.
Same title on multiple pages: Your
title tag is truly a crucial SEO aspect that can make or break your chances of
clinching the top rank on SERPs. So, going with the same title for multiple
pages will hurt your site. The title tag is not the headline of the article;
however, when working without a plugin that allows for the insertion of a
unique title, a WordPress site will automatically pick the headline as the
title tag.
Irrelevant URL structure: Search engine crawlers as well as visitors
associate the URL structure with the content on a page. So, just as you need to
use the correct keyword phrases in the content, make sure that your URL
structure is also names after the main keyword.
Not using Alt Tag: Like
graphics, images also remain un-crawled, so not using Alt tags and leaving
pictures unnamed are bad SEO practices.
Tips To Improve Your Social Media Presence!
Social
media can offer unlimited opportunity for marketing; there are a plethora of
ways in which you can use your presence in the world of social networking to
engage existing clients and get new customers. However, often the sheer number
of opportunities that the platform offers can overwhelm you. So, if you find
yourself stuck in analysis mode or shying away from the attention, here are a
few tips that will help you to improve your social media presence.
The simple
Be consistent: In your efforts to engage your customers, be
consistent. It would not make sense to get your readers involved in what you
have to say, only to disappear on them for a few days, so it is imperative to
maintain a posting frequency.
Have a business
page on all major social networking sites:
People have their own favorites when it comes to social media; while some
prefer Facebook others are still loyal to MySpace and many are partial to the
micro blogging phenomenon, Twitter. So, there is no way of telling on which
site you may find the most potential users. Play it safe and create a page for
your business on all major social media sites and ensure that you take the time
out to check all these pages.
Be yourself: While social networking helps you to let your
clients know about your company’s personality, there is certainly no need to
make inflated claims. In fact, the keeping the whole experience genuine is a
surefire way to better connect with your consumers and build trust.
Interaction is
the name of this game: People are on social networking sites
to hear and be heard. So, your interaction should not involve just positing
content but also asking questions, responding to the queries from your readers
and direct messages from your followers.
Think about
aesthetics and first impressions: If it’s a
business page, it ought to look professional.
A picture of you with your dog or frolicking on the beach in your swim
wear will just not be good enough. Remember that you social media pages help
people to create a first impression about your business and you want your
followers to know that you mean business.
The advanced
Do more than just marketing: Few people would be keen on being
bombarded with marketing messages. So, if advertising is all you have been
doing on Facebook or Twitter, you are missing the point.
Don’t just stick to promotions, go out there
and strike a conversation as this is the fastest way to network and get
noticed. Your content should not only talk about your products and services but
also you should offer solutions to client pain points and give your followers
something worthwhile to read.
Use all
the tools offered:
Your messages can include pictures, announcements, advice, contests, videos,
infographics and more. In fact, the best way to hold the attention of your
readers is to constantly surprise them with what you have to offer.
Use analytics: Facebook insights and other similar
features on social networking sights offer simple analytics for your messages
which includes the number of people who have viewed the post and the
interaction it generated. Monitor these figures to understand the type of post
that work the best.
If you find it overwhelming to maintain more
than one social media page, fret not. There are several social networking
management apps that can make your life simpler. Posting and HootSuite are just
two of the apps that allow you to manage all your social media pages from a
single dashboard, making it simpler to log in to several networks, communicate
with all your followers and keep the content on every site updated.
17. A breakdown of Google Pages
There has
been much hoopla about Google + brand pages with the service being touted as
better and bigger than the Facebook experience.
Brand pages are strikingly similar to pages on any other social media
site; however, many users claim that businesses can make closer connections
with their clients and supporters through the service. So, here is separating
the fact from fiction about the newest offering from the big G and whether you
should create your own brand pages.
The deal with
Google +
A fledgling
social networking initiative from Google, Plus garnered unprecedented fan
following within a week of its introduction with a whopping 20 million users
and this number has doubled since then. While Plus is not match to Facebook in
terms of its member base, it is considered to be the fastest growing social
networking site and has attracted the attention of everybody from conglomerates
like Pepsi to the regular Joe.
Because Google+ is still a new service, the
best time to make your presence felt on the site is NOW. After all, Facebook
may be the current social networking favorite but Google has ruled the business
turf for a very long time. So, if your business does not have its very own
brand page on Google + as yet, here are some of the unique features and
benefits of the service that will motivate you to create one.
Direct contact: Google has
synergized Plus with its mighty search engine; people can simply add a ‘+’ sign
in front of their query to be diverted to the Google Plus page of a business.
So, direct connect without a doubt beats the nightmare that is Facebook’s
channel search feature.
Local Pages: This category helps users to connect with the physical location of a business. Unlike the other pages in the Google Plus lineup, local pages include a map for the location of the business along with the provision for adding extra information like the hours of operation, contact details etc. This makes it simpler for users to find the business on Google Maps.
SEO advantage: Google intends to include +1 button clicks in
its algorithm for relevancy of search results. So, the popularity of a brand
page on Plus can actually help a business to rank better on the Google SERPS.
Unlike Facebook pages that do not allow for inbound linking, with Google Pages,
inserting inbound links in the ‘About Us’ page can get it extra attention and
more clickthroughs.
The benefits of going with Google Plus pages
Because the fan following of Google Plus is still modest at 40 million users, there is little risk of a message getting lost in the content clutter at this point. Also, the sparse audience means that the Google Plus stream does not contain the frivolous trash seen on most other social networking sites.
Google offers a broad array of services like Gmail, Chrome, Android and more; these will eventually be tied in with Plus Pages. Now, this can be huge advantage since many of these services are integral to the online experience of a user.
However, the biggest benefit of investing your time and energy in creating a Google Plus page is the impact it can have on your search engine rankings and how your users find you through Google.
While the advantages of a brand page on Google Plus are undeniable, this is not to say that the platform is devoid of setbacks. Two major complaints from users are that brand pages can only be linked to one personal account and that the verification process for creating a brand page is limited, which means that any number of users can create a page under a single brand name.
Why Not Use Flash on your Website?
There was a time when including flash
animation on a site was considered cool but the last 5 years have been less
than kind to Adobe Flash with website goers and search engines showing their
disapproval for Flash sites. However, if that has not deterred you from using
Flash, here are the top 7 SEO and usability reasons why you should ditch this
technology.
Search engine indexing problem: Because search engine spiders cannot read
Flash pages properly, they are not indexed appropriately. As far as the bots
are concerned a Flash page is a little more than a title and some meta tags. It
does not matter how impressive your graphics are, few people are likely to see
your site if it does not rank well on the SERPSs and Flash can wreak havoc on
your sites’ ranking..
Mobile viewing issues: With
more than 25% of the netizens using mobile devices to rummage through the World
Wide Web, not having a site that is compatible with mobile browsers can without
a doubt hurt your business. Flash is not supported by most mobile browsers and
some that do in theory choke when displaying flash based sites given the
increased CPU and bandwidth requirement.
No scope for link building: A
website designed in Flash has one URL regardless of the number of pages, so
there is little scope for bookmarking and linking unlike with regular websites
Usability concerns: Not only are Flash sites notorious for their
slow loading speed but also they do not have a “back” button. This means that
if the visitor happens to venture on a page accidentally and wants to retrace
his steps, he/she cannot do so. In Flash based sites, the back button is either
disabled or will take them to the previous website they were viewing. Now, most
people will give up at this point and move to the next site instead of waiting
for your website to load all over again.
Non standard design elements: The internet is based on specific standards
and most users are happy using standard sites that they can navigate easily.
However, with Flash sites most designers take gratuitous liberties in an
attempt to be different. Unfortunately, instead of pulling the crowds, this can
turn them away as most visitors are annoyed by broken usability features.
While there are many aspects of Flash
that don’t sit well with site users, splash pages are possibly the single most
irritating feature of a Flash site. In fact, most users simply skip the intro to
access the real website, so can you imagine their disappointment if the second
page is also Flash based?
Bandwidth and CPU requirements: Using
Flash is a surefire way to alienate the users of old computers which generally
cannot accommodate the CPU requirements of loading a Flash site. Also, most
dial up connection users will face a similar problem.
Broken Text Functions: If Flash is included in a site design, it is
nearly impossible to use basic text functions like copy & paste or even
changing the font color and size to enhance readability. Also, Flash based websites
do not cater to visually impaired users as they don’t work with screen readers.
Without a doubt, Flash does accentuate
the aesthetic appeal of a website; however, any benefits derived from this are
easily overshadowed by the numerous drawbacks of using the technology. The fact
that even the makers of Flash, Adobe gave been weary of using Flash on their
site ought to tell you something about the viability of Flash based sites.
The importance of
good web design
There is a lot of noise about the importance
of website design and its impact on conversion rates. While the proponents of
the lean web designing approach claim that the design of a site is crucial to
its success, content mavericks believe that few things can beat the importance
of the written word. The argument makes most website owners ponder about just
how important web designing is the bearing it can have on their business.
Is content important or the design of a site?
The fact of the matter is that both
are very important. However, the impact of the design on client perception is
almost immediate as the visual appeal of your site helps to build the
quintessential first impression.
Canadian researchers from the Carleton
University found that visitor just need 1/20th of second to form a
judgment about your website and the perception on which this judgment is based
can entirely be attributed to the various design elements and the overall look
of your site.
Web design more important than SEO
Still not sure about the importance of
website design? Consider an old adage from the world of marketing, “nothing
kills a bad product faster than great advertising”. When applied to the world
of online marketing this simply means that driving traffic to a lousy website
would be the fastest way to turn clients off.
This means that your SEO efforts will only yield results if your website
design is noteworthy.
Content is king but web design is the emperor
Even if your content is truly well
researched and written, few visitors will stop to glance at it if they don’t
like the look of your website. As a matter of fact, the credibility of your
business is at stake when it comes to web designing. Clients perceive your business based on the
design of your site. After all, would you expect professionalism and a sense of
responsibility from an unkempt and shabbily dressed executive? The same
principle also holds true here.
The study that made website owners the world
over sit up and take notice
Stanford University was involved in research
project to gauge how visitors asses the credibility of a website, more than
2500 participants were part of the project . The study revealed that more than
half the participants based their decision about a site solely on how the
website looked. The overall visual
appeal including the color schemes, layout, font type and size and typography
all played a role in how clients perceived a site.
A similar study was conducted on a
smaller scale by Derek Halpern of Social Triggers strictly for health
information related sites and here a whopping 94% stated that they rejected or
mistrusted A WEBSITE exclusively based on its appearance. Specific problems
that annoyed visitors in the two studies included:
·
Poor site
navigation
·
Busy layout
·
Text stuffing
·
Use of boring
colors
·
Too many pop up ads
·
Slow introduction
to the business thro0ugh flash presentations or splash pages
·
Inappropriate
indexing
It is imperative to understand that
web designing works for an online brand in the same way packaging does for an
offline product. Even if you have a fabulous and unrivaled product on your
hands, your consumers will never know about it unless you entice them to buy
with the right packaging.
Did you know that most clients said
that they found the taste of 7Up to be more lemony and refreshing when a bit of
yellow was added to the green packaging? And, this without any changes made to
the drink itself. The example just goes to show how powerful visual perception
is and it’s astonishing impact on each one the human senses.
So, the next time you are ready to dismiss
the importance of web designing, think again. The design elements of your site
can make or break your user’s experience. No, your site does not have to be the
prettiest online but it does need to look good if you want to attract visitors
time and again and make them stay on your website for longer.
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