Top 7 Strategies To Improve Your Website Usability

Web usability is perhaps the most important factor in any web design. This is the driving factor that keeps your visitors coming back to your website. Given below are a few points that you need to consider to increase your website’s usability.

1. Give your visitor what he is looking for
   
   A visitor means business; he is looking for information and will stay in your site only as long as he gets what he wants. So provide only relevant information on your homepage that is specific to your end users. Web logs are the best means of finding out which keyword your visitor used and for what purpose he could have visited your website.
   
   
2. Tell your visitor what your site is all about
   
   Often websites are crammed with information in no specific order making it hard to figure out what the site is all about! Your site should give information about what it can offer a visitor on an instant basis. You can do this by providing relevant information on the homepage. You can also provide links like ‘about us’ or ‘about this website’ for further clarification.
   
   
3. Provide site wide links and a site map
   
   Site wide links are very important in any website. They allow easy navigation to all pages and reduce time consumed on browsing the pages. Your user can have instant access to what he is looking for from any webpage using the site wide links. They also allow the search engine robots to cache your pages efficiently. Site wide links can be provided at the bottom of all web-pages.
   
   A sitemap is the mark of a good website. Sitemaps give the skeleton of an entire site on a single webpage with all links. As site maps are specifically meant to provide site information they can lead to efficient browsing.
   
   
4. Ensure that your website loads fast
   
   No one likes pages that take long time to load. Your website visitor takes decisions in seconds and it won’t take him long to press the back button or type another address to access other related websites. So make sure that your site loads fast.
   
   The possible reasons for long loading times are
   
   a.) Use of large graphics, java applets, flash programs or ad banners
   b.) Inappropriate use of tables, like placing the entire page under a table
   c.) Placing too much information (more than 50K) on one page
   d.) Use of free or inferior hosting services resulting in slow data transfer
   e.) Use of bad or junk html codes
   
   
5. Improve site’s navigation using icons
   
   Site navigation is an important aspect of web usability. Making use of unique XP style icons can really make your site appealing at the same time adding to easy navigation. Some businesses that offer XP style icons are http://www.icongalore.com , iconpharm.com etc. Icongalore.com offers the best XP style icons at costs as low as $3/icon.
   
   
6. If your site has too much content ensure readability
   
   Poor readability can cause your users to leave. Poor readability occurs due to use of small fonts, poor color combinations, long sentences, repeating background images and improper headings.
   
   Tips to improve readability
   
   a.) Make use proper font size. Generally a font size of 10 to 12 would ensure fast reading
   b.) Make use of proper font types and make sure to use only one font type through- out the page. Verdana or Arial fonts are best for online reading
   c.) Avoid using long sentences. Break your long sentences into shorter and interesting ones
   d.) Avoid making use of static and repeating background images
   e.) Give proper headings and provide strategic links
   f.) Keep your content free flowing and explain you point by providing proper bullets. Shorten your paragraphs in two or three
   g.) Avoid justifying your content
   
   
7. Test your site before launching
   
   Testing your site before loading is very important. You should pick up information like site load times, navigation, information availability, content, browser compatibility etc while testing.
   
   a.) Test to see if your site loads in all browsers
   b.) Test all links and see if they are working
   c.) Test for site errors if any
   d.) Test for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors
   e.) Test the site load times

Top 7 Blogging Tips - Developing a Readership

You've finally created a blog and you've made your first post. Now how do you get people to actually read what you're blogging about?

Here are some tips on promoting your blog.

1. Quality Content - Interesting content will keep your readership returning. Update your blog regularly.
   
   Googlebot, which is Google's web-crawling robot loves content. The more you update your blog, the more frequent the search engine spiders will return to it.
   
   
2. Publish an RSS/Atom/XML feed. If you're using Blogger, you can turn on RSS feed by clicking on settings in your dashboard and then clicking on site feed and make sure that your settings are set to yes.
   
   
3. Involve yourself in commenting on other blogs. You can gain a loyal readership just by offering feedback to your fellow bloggers. The comment feature allows you to add a link back to your blog as well.
   
   
4. Submit your blog to directories.
   
   Submit your blog's url to Technorati, Daypop, Blogdex and Popdex.
   
   
5. If you're using blogging software such as Blogger, there is an option to notify the central blog update services (such as weblogs.com) whenever you've made a new entry to your blog. Make sure that this option is turned on! In blogger, click on publish in your dashboard and make sure that your settings are set to yes under notify weblogs. Alternatively, you can go to ping-o-matic.com and send out a ping each time you update your blog. This lets everyone know that you've just updated your blog.
   
   
6. Carefully choose your subject titles, taking into consideration what other internet users may be searching for.
   
   Use keywords in your title. I suggest subscribing to Word Tracker. Their report of the most popular searches is published each Tuesday and distributed to over 30,000 subscribers.
   
   Technorati.com , is a blog search engine that also lists the top search words. The more targeted your keywords are, the greater your return in search engines will be.
   
   
7. Link to other blogs. Use services like blogrolling, which is similar to linking. Blogrolling allows you to maintain an updated list of your favorite blogs. But, don't build a long blog roll of sites that you have no intention of returning to. There is nothing more annoying then visiting a blog that has a humongous blogroll.

Top 7 Tools for Bloggers

Although blogging and RSS seems to be a hot topic these days, only about five percent of American internet users actually use it.

From both a business and personal perspective though, blogs and RSS have a lot to offer for the average internet user.

The main reason is that by using RSS, you can cut down on the amount of email that you receive. You can receive a lot of your news in the form of headlines.

Blogs can tell you what people are thinking about, and what they're really interested in. This is an effective tool for marketers. If you're looking to meet new people, this can also be an excellent way to meet others who share common interests.

It's not really necessary to understand what blogging and RSS are.

Blogs are nothing more than online diaries. They can be used to talk about business trends or any other topic.

RSS is a form of website code that is search engine friendly and can be read in a special type of browser called an RSS reader. As I said before, this is a great way to receive news on just about anything you're interested in.

If the thought of keeping an online journal or using blogs to discuss your business interest you, then I have some great tools that will make your blogging experience a lot easier.

1. Blog building
   
   Before you build a blog, you need to decide how you want to host it.
   
   If you're not interested in the technical aspects involved, you can always sign up for a free account on a blogging site.
   
   The most popular is Blogger - http://www.blogger.com
   
   If you'd like to build your own, there are several different ones you can try including Word Press ande Nucleus.
   
   Before you choose a blogging script, I recommend you try different ones to see which one you like best.
   
   Open Source CMS - http://www.opensourcecms.com - offers several different types of scripts you can try to find the blog script that's the right fit for you.
   
   The most important feature in a blog script is that it's search engine friendly.
   
   
2. Blog editing
   
   This may not seem that important. After all, you can just go right to your site and post.
   
   Sounds easy right? Maybe not if editing HTML is as alien to you as the notion of learning to build a blog in the first place.
   
   Try this tool to help you post to your blog. It offers you a WYSIWYG editor, which means that you can write and edit at the same time, and it you'll see exactly how your blog post looks as you are writing.
   
   Blog Editing Toolbar - http://www.aspmodules.com/at/bloginfo.asp - This tool will help you easily edit your blog without knowing HTML. All you need is IE 6, and the install is quick and easy.
   
   
3. Blog Posting
   
   Maybe you don't find the idea of posting online very appealing. As a writer I can't imagine being without my word processor.
   
   If you'd rather have a desktop tool, instead of writing your blog from the control panel, this tool is for you.
   
   wBlogger - http://www.wblogger.com - is an excellent application for helping you create blog posts, and you don't have to be online to write posts for your blog.
   
   You create your post and save it for when you are ready to post. This is especially convenient if you don't have time to write everyday.
   
   
4. Blog Subscriptions
   
   Although RSS is slowly becoming popular, many still like to receive an email. The problem is that many of the autoresponder systems you can use either don't include RSS, or RSS autoresponders can be expensive.
   
   Below are two tools where you can copy and paste a subscription box onto your site and visitors can subscribe for updates.
   
   http://www.feedblitz.com/
   
   http://www.bloglet.com
   
   
5. RSS Generators
   
   If your blog application doesn't create a feed automatically, you may have to make one. It's really much easiser than it sounds.
   
   With this application, you just enter your information and click submit. This is especially useful if you want to create a feed for your website.
   
   RSS Feed Generator - http://www.rsstoolchest.com/rss-feed-generator/
   
   
6. Blog and Ping Applications
   
   You use these applications to let the blog and RSS directories know that you've updated your blog. This is especially important if you own a business blog because it allows you to quickly and easily notify several sites at once.
   
   One caveat though: you should only use these applications to update the directories of new posts to your blog. Don't use them to notify the directories that you have an RSS feed for your site. You'll get banned.
   
   Pingomatic - http://www.pingomatic.com
   
   Pingoat - http://www.pingoat.com
   
   
7. RSS Promotion
   
   Although blog and ping is great for notifying the directories that you've updated your blog, you usually need to submit your RSS feed to the directories first before using the update tools.
   
   Feedsubmitter - http://www.feedsubmitter.com - is a free tool you can use to help you get your feed indexed quickly. This will save you some time because you don't have to visit each site to get your site indexed.
   
   Although I can't give you any ideas to write about (although I will if you want to pay my consulting fee :) blogs are a great way to meet new people and expand your business.

Top 7 Ways To Optimize Adsense Legally

Thanks to adsense, blogs, rss feeds and their listings -- not to mention an arsenal of free types of advertising -- it's possible to make a very good income without spending a penny and with minimal effort. The trick is to optimize for it.

PLEASE NOTE: Though adsense may have originated with Google's system, there are many other adsense-type programs available, all of which are as viable -- some even more so -- as theirs. The information included here applies to most of them.

While everyone else is busy optimizing for search engines, by optimizing for adsense, a site can feasibly pull enough traffic that simply clicks on the ads to forget about other forms of sales.

However, bear in mind that most adsense TOS agreements prevent any unfair or "fraudulent" clicking, even so much as a note saying, "click here to support this site," which risks banishment by most adsense companies. This, of course, is to protect those adwords customers who pay to have their ads displayed. It is they who are robbed (not the companies) when an ad is clicked irresponsibly. Furthermore Google, for one, can track clicks effectively enough to detect any artificial or irresponsible clicking will garner any income received this way.

With that in mind, by understanding how adsense-type programs work, one can optimize a page, legally, to create a substantial income. And while guidelines are designed primarily focused on adsense, many of these strategies will increase a sites' general revenue as well.

1. TOP SEARCHES
   
   The first step is to design a site around the top searches. There are various tools (keyword selectors and zeitgeist, for example) that help gather this information. Of course, there is also the "niche marketing" school of thought, i.e., to find a smaller group that has less page-per-click competition. In this case, the ideal is to find a large audience-small page ratio. But after more than a year of marketers scouring the web for them, finding one is rare and searching for one can take a LOT of time. Not hours or days, but weeks or months.
   
   
2. HIGHEST PAYING KEYWORDS
   
   Lists of these can be found simply by searching the internet. Of course combining the highest paying adsense keywords with Top Searches may make a very strange mix. Afterall, the top search (at the time of this writing) is Britney Spears while the top-paying words relate to mesothelioma and asbestos cancer. So, unless Britney Spears speaks out on mesothelioma, there's little chance these could be combined legally*. But, by looking down the lists there are more feasible combinations. The main thing to understand is it's only a combination of the two (high-paying keywords & top searches) that will bring enough traffic to garner any measurable LEGAL income from adsense.
   
   
3. PLACES, PLEASE
   
   Placing the ads prominently on the site is a no-brainer, though some marketers still tend to hide them toward the bottom of the site. Another TOS factor, too, is a content-to-ad ratio that adsense programs used to insist on, but seem to be slipping. Generally the policy was no more than two banner ads per page though many sites that end up at the top of searches seem to flaunt this rule. But who knows how long they last, too. Traditionally, putting one banner across the top, just below the title, and one "skyscraper" down one side, with content in the middle is the best.
   
   
4. MULTI-PAGE IT
   
   One pase allows for 2 ads, but more ads can be placed on each additional page on the site. For those lacking ideas for additional pages, the simplest page would be a separate contact page, as well as an "about us" or testimonial page, all of which are viable additions.
   
   Incidently, it's ironic that so many marketers create mile-long splash pages rather than a group of pages and never add one adsense ad to them. As if, by doing this, it will garner more sales, when the truth is, they sacrifice as much as gain because these pages are rarely indexed and annoy visitors as many as they attract, simply because of their set up. Understand this: adsense is a way to profit from EXIT traffic, something that WILL occur at one point or another, no matter how wonderful the page.
   
   
5. HIGHLIGHT OR BLEND
   
   Some prefer the adsense to blend into their site, almost hiding it from visitors. But this diminishes its effectiveness. Rather, by highlighting it, visitors will be more aware of it, allowing it to stand out. Of course, we'd all prefer our visitors to stay at OUR site, buy OUR product, etc. But the fact is, many won't. Isn't it better to gain something from their departure?
   
   
6. ADSEARCH
   
   This feature is only available from some of the larger adsense programs. If it is available, placing it at the bottom of a page offers the visitor the convenience of doing a search without having to first go to the SE. Of course, many SEs and browsers offer toolbars that diminish the effectiveness of this. But adding it will create another exit point that is to your advantage-- and seems like a service, too.
   
   
7. AFRAID OF COMPETITION?
   
   Some adsense programs offer a "block competition" option, one in which specific sites may be barred. However, to believe it's possible to effectively block ALL your competition is naive. Though it may at first seem outrageious to help advertise for the competition, again, at least one will gain from their advertisement (and, for those who need payback remember: the competition is paying you).

Top 7 Things You Need to Know About Choosing A Domain Name

Aside from the nuts and bolts of where to register your domain name and purchasing a good economical hosting service, there are a few things to know about buying a good domain name, that only experience can teach.

Here are a few tips to get you started on the right foot:

1. Buy only ".com" and don't trouble yourself with the others.
   
   Although the domain name players have gone to some trouble to publicize and market to us about the availability of other extensions such as .org, .net, .us and others...there is still no real reason to buy anything but ".com."
   
   If you currently have a domain name that is not a ".com," I strongly suggest you obtain it. Or, if that's not possible, consider finding a new domain name.
   
   The rationale is simple: if the point of having a website is to get people to visit it, the best rule of thumb is to make it easy to remember. If your customers have to think in order to get to your website, and maybe even have to type in a wrong domain first before they finally reach you...you want to change that so they don't.
   
   
2. Buy your own personal name.
   
   What better way to make it easy for your customers to find you? As you become better known online, and as you build your customer database, it will become increasingly important for your customers to be able to find you based on your personal name.
   
   Buying your personal name allows you to build credibility for your brand identity and makes it easy to "Google" you. Ever tried typing in just your first and last names at Google? Try it and see what happens.
   
   If you aren't showing up in the results, you will want to work on this. And buying your own personal name as a domain name is a simple and very effective way to get going.
   
   
3. Buy the most common spelling mistakes for your domain.
   
   Even if you follow the advice in (2) above, it may be inevitable that some of your visitors will misspell your domain. It's human error.
   
   So although these may not be obvious to you at first, it's worthwhile putting your antennae up in order to figure it out. The first hint? If you misspell your own domain name, chances are others will. Be sure to grab the most common ones.
   
   Example: www.Google.com, www.Gogle.com and www.Gooogle.com all go to the same page. Why? Google "gets" that lots of people type in too few or too many "Os" and has set it up so everyone gets to the right place.
   
   
4. Double check your domain names for odd or unintentional meanings.
   
   Double check to see if your domain says something you didn't expect.
   What do I mean?
   
   www.newsextracts.com is actually a clipping service, but could be interpreted to be something rather more racy.
   
   www.whorepresents.com is actually a site where you can find a given actor's agent or manager, but can be interpreted to be something else.
   
   
5. Consult DeletedDomains.com.
   
   DeletedDomains.com is a terrific resource of domains previously owned by others, but newly available for purchase. Go to DeletedDomains.com with a clear product or project and search for a few keywords in the search feature.
   
   Following the other rules in this list, see whether you can pick up a great domain here. Two things: (1) If the site has had a following built up by the previous owner, you may be the beneficiary of some great established traffic. And (2) Sometimes dynamite domain names get dropped by accident by their owners and this means you get a domain that would be very hard to secure otherwise.
   
   
6. Watch your "perspective."
   
   By perspective, I mean watch the words "my" and "your." For example, "MyHousekeeper.com" is infinitely better than "YourHousekeeper.com" because the perspective is right. As your customer, when I type "MyHousekeeper.com" I feel more connected with you. "YourHousekeeper.com" does the opposite.
   
   Remember you are choosing a domain for your customers, not for you.
   
   
7. When in doubt, ask.
   
   Last but not least, as with everything online, we as ebusiness owners have the luxury of easily and quickly asking our customers most anything, including "What do you think is the best domain name for this project?"
   
   So when in doubt, ask your customers what they think. Give them a choice of a few domains you've narrowed it down to, and offer a prize of some sort to encourage participation. It works, and you'll end up avoiding potholes along the way.

Top 7 Tips for Getting Those First 100 Daily Visitors

The first 100 visitors are an important and challenging milestone for any web site. Here are some tips for getting there.

1. Make sure your pages or posts are optimized with popular keywords. I would be careful with this one because you don’t want to lose your blogging voice or make your pages read awkwardly by jamming in as many keywords as you can. Do check for the most popular keywords in your universe, though, using a tool like WordTracker. As a poster on SitePoint said, using the competition values in WordTracker allows you to pick keywords that haven’t soaked the web yet.
   
   
2. Update your Google Sitemap every few pages or posts and resubmit it. A Google Sitemap is an interesting and amazing phenomenon. Here is how Google explains it:
   
   The Google Sitemaps program is two-way communication between webmasters and Google. You can give us information about your site so we can index it more effectively, and we can show you how we see your site and tell you about any trouble we’ve had crawling it.
   
   Basically you create a special xml file and tell Google to go look at it. It uses the file to better index the site. And it definitely works. There’s even a Plugin for WordPress that will build the perfect sitemap for Google. You can read more about sitemaps by visiting the Google Sitemaps page.
   
   
3. Post relevant comments on blogs related to your content area. Look around, find people blogging about the same stuff as you. Monitor their blog sites and participate in the discussion. Be sure to include a link to your site in all of your comments. It’s a great way to correspond with like-minded people and get your name and site name out there.
   
   
4. Search for link partners and link exchanges at least once a week. If you find a site you like, include it on your link page and drop the site owner an email. He or she will most likely list your site as well. Join a couple of free or cheap link exchange sites and stick to your subject area when exchanging links. Always visit the prospective link exchange site and ask yourself if you would be doing your readers a service by sending them to that site. If not, don’t link to the site.
   
   
5. Write great content, and don’t plug stuff unless you are familiar with it and approve of it. If you write interesting content about subjects that interest people they will always find you. Don’t hustle your readers — if you are going to plug something for money, make sure the product or service is something you would use and recommend. If people sense a hustle they will not convert and they will not come back.
   
   
6. Shake loose a couple of bucks and buy some ad space. Once you’re certain your blog looks and operates perfectly, spend $100 on Adsense ads and see how that helps.
   
   
7. Be patient. It isn’t going to happen overnight. It will take weeks or months to get things rolling.

Matt DeAngelis runs Affiliate Blog - Insights into Affiliate Marketing and Internet Marketing. Matt is the former CTO of Modem Media, a pioneer in the Internet ad space. As a foot soldier in the Internet revolution, Matt devised the technology behind many of the most successful ad campaigns of the time.

Top 7 Free Advertising Techniques For Your Internet Home Business

When you have a business, you know very well that your advertising is something you have to focus on to make sure that you are getting as much business as possible. This article shares 5 free ways to advertise your internet home business on a daily basis in order to increase traffic and sales.

1. Give Testimonials
   When you purchase a product or service and it exceeds your expectations e-mail the business a testimonial. Tell them in the testimonial the benefits you got from the product or service. Give them permission to publish the testimonial on the web site if they include your sig file at the end.
   
   
2. Leave A Message
   When you visit a web site with a discussion board leave a message. You could post a question, interesting content or a compliment about their web site. Include your signature file at the end of the message. Some discussion boards let you post your banner ad or text link.
   
   
3. Sign Guest Books
   When you visit a well designed web site leave a compliment on their guest book. You could give them a compliment on their content, ease of navigation, graphics etc. When you post your compliment include your sig file so other people will see it when they sign the guest book.
   
   
4. Write A Review
   When you visit a web site you enjoyed a lot write a review for the web site Write about the benefits you gain from the site, the web site design, interesting online services it offers etc. E-mail the review to the web site. Tell them they can publish it on their web site if they include your resource box at the end.
   
   
5. Send An E-mail To The Editor
   When you read a good article or enjoy a certain e-zine, e-mail a compliment to the editor. Give the editor permission to publish the compliment in their e-zine if they include your signature file at the end. The editor may post it on his or her
   web site.
   
   
6. Submit Your eBook
   Get free advertising by submitting your eBook
   to freebie and freeware/shareware web sites. This
   will increase the number of people that will down-
   load your eBook and see your ad.
   
   
7. Use Traffic Generators
   You can easily promote your web site by using traffic
   generators. It could be a free e-zine, service, e-book,
   contest etc. Giving away traffic generators gives you the
   opportunity to get free advertising by including your ad
   on them. There are online directories that will also let
   you submit your freebie information. You can even let
   other people give away your traffic generators.