Here’s part of a help desk conversation I read recently:

Customer: ‘Uhh…I need help unpacking my new PC.’

Tech Support: ‘What exactly is the problem?’

Customer: ‘I can’t open the box.’

Tech Support: ‘Well, I’d remove the tape holding the box closed
and go from there.’

Customer: ‘Uhhhh…ok, thanks….’

Ever had one of those days??? Yes, so have I!

D.

We’ll be investing more time into making our email marketing system (the Maxweb Marketing By Email System) even better.

We need a tool that our clients can use on a regular basis to keep in touch with their prospects and clients.

We’ve already brainstormed some key enhancements and will be adding these over the next few days. More will come after that.

I’ve wanted to bring this system in house for some time now so it’s great to be moving this project forward.

I look forward to announcing the enhancements as they are implemented.

If you’ve got any burning features you’d like to suggest, call us on freephone 0800 311 2135 or email support@maximumwebprofits.co.uk.

D.

Our email marketing system is developing nicely and being used regularly by our clients.

Being able to send an email to your email list - whenever you want - is a great way to keep in touch.

Our system uses a ‘double opt in’ process so that each email address added to your list is verified before being finally authenticated. This means that only valid email addresses are kept on the list and you meet the ’spam’ laws.

We’ve integrated the ‘Email All Subscribers’ into our Web Update 365 system which means it’s really easy to send out an email. Each email sent is fully tracked so we have an audit trail.

Each email has an ‘unsubscribe’ link - which is mandatory in today’s spam aware society. The removal is instant so you won’t be accused of sending spam.

You should be emailing your list every three weeks to get the best benefit from your marketing.

Talk to us (freephone 0800 311 2135) and we’ll show you the way…

D.

How to write a keyword sensitive page that get’s listed by Google

Search engines like Google are interested in relevant content. They have sophisticated techniques to vet each page to determine what the page is about and how relevant it is to the major keywords on the page.

It’s logical to think that a page with a wide range of keywords on is not going to work as well as a page with a narrow range of keywords on. Here’s why.

Let’s say you have a page about bird watching. You might use the keywords bird watching, twitching, birds, bill oddie, rspb and binoculars. This is ok, but what is the search engine going to list the page against?

It is much better to narrow down the keywords perhaps to bird watching, birds and twitching. This page would be much easier to write and the search engine is more likely to list it against the correct keywords.

Once you have a narrow keyword list, you can write the page.

Your keyword phrases need to be used carefully on the page. It is not acceptable just to list the words repeatedly down the page.

You have to provide content that is liked by the search engines and your visitors. It has to make sense and be motivating to the visitor.

The meta tags need to be used to direct the search engines to the relevant content on the page. It’s paramount that this process is done consistently across the pages so that it provides maximum benefit.

D.

We take our job very seriously when it comes to web design and programming.

There is massive potential for error. One of the biggest areas for error is overwriting a file and losing the original copy.

This is so easy to do - you just hit Ctrl+S and bingo, the old file is gone forever.

Before we used the Maxweb Version Control System, we had many occasions when we would make some modifications to a page and then save it over the top of the old page. Then later, the client would want the old page back. In this situation, we would have to undo the modifications bit by bit and re-create the old page. A waste of time all round.

Now the Maxweb Version Control System manages all copies of every page we work on. This means that every change made to the page is tracked and stored in a database system so that the page can be ‘rolled back’ to any previous state in seconds.

Every web page is loaded in to the system and regular updates are done to ensure that the system has the very latest page in it. It’s a great back up and has saved us hours of work and our clients hundreds of pounds in cost.

D.

The importance of understanding your web site conversion rate

There are many web sites out there that don’t accurately track visitors.

I think there is an apathy about tracking visitors - perhaps it appears harder than it actually is.

The reality is simple. If you are not tracking the visitors to your web site you have no way of determining how successful your web site is.

This means that you could be spending money on web site enhancements without the justification of knowing you will get a return on the investment.

I liken it to a Yellow Pages advert. Alot of companies have adverts and virtually no one measures the success of the advert.

There is a perception that it works and this gives a false justification to continue spending year after year. If these companies actually measured the success, they may be in for a shock.

And that’s the other reason visitor tracking is pushed way down the list.

By tracking visitors, it will show you the success - or failure - of your web site. Sometimes this is a hard pill to swallow so companies avoid it.

Here’s the minimum you should be doing to track visitors:

1) Install a decent web statistics system. This MUST track unique/distinct visitors.

2) Use a ’sales trail’ to determine the expected response you require from your visitor.

3) Track the success of the ’sales trail’ and use this to calculate the conversion rate to expected response.

This conversion rate is the percentage of visitors that perform your expected response (eg. fill out an enquiry form, download a free report etc).

4) Calculate the conversion rate to sale.

This conversion rate is the percentage of visitors that go on to make a purchase from you.

The best way of tracking these numbers is to use a spreadsheet. Fill it in every day and make it part of your working day. That way, you’ll have all the information you need to justify future enhancements to your web site.

D.