The Softnik Blog

Some Simple Tweaks Using Web Page Explorer

Are there moments when you just want to take a break from whatever you have been doing?

Here is a simple web page tweaking exercise you should try when you want to take a break but still want to use the time productively!

Start Web Page Explorer (part of IM Toolpad). Run any of your web sites through it to analyze the pages.

Do you find multiple but identical anchor texts? Replace these with more relevant keyword rich text (but not spammy looking)

Here is a sample screen shot that shows multiple anchor texts that simply say "download now!" In some cases this may be relevant (for example, as a call to action). But you may want to find such identical texts and replace them with good keywords.

You can find identical texts by sorting the anchor text column (click on the header).

You can also use the software to check the heading structure of your web pages.  Always make sure that you have a good h1, h2, h3.. structure and that your headings are meaningful. The software can also help with your web page titles and decsriptions.

Do You have A Strategy For Safeguarding Your "Invisible" Business Assets?

One of the most important part of your Internet business strategy is safeguarding your business assets and resources. Unlike a regular brick-and-mortar business, an on-line venture involves a number of invisible assets that are difficult to quantify.

Here are some...

• Your domain names
• Your Websites
• Your search engine rankings
• Incoming links from other websites
• Your mailing lists
• Your products and services
• Your email communication archives
• Sales and customer records
• Your on-line accounts at your web-hosting provider, email provider, etc.
• Your reputation at forums and other community sites
• You on-line account passwords and access data.
• and so on...

One important fact about an on-line business is that it is very easy to lose everything in the blink of an eye. A computer crash can instantly kill your business or set you back by months or years. Some thing as silly as not paying a $10 domain renewal fee can make your profit making website disappear!

So, if you haven't done so already, sit down and plan your business restoration strategy in case of an emergency.

Consider creating a document containing important information on your business assets. Leave detailed instructions about how to manage your websites even when you are not around. Keep it in a safe location so that your successor can find it. Include important passwords and other login data.

Make a list of all essential monthly and yearly payments. Make sure that these are paid even if you have an emergency.

Use a remote backup service like Mozy (or any other service) to do daily backups of all your important work. It is important to backup to a remote location so that the data is safe even if there is a natural disaster in your area.

Create Monthly Snapshot Views Of All Your Websites

A previous post, from a month ago, discussed creating a target market snapshot view and how having it in front of you while doing strategic keyword research or creating the sales copy is extremely important.

In addition to keeping the target market snapshot, you should also have quick access to how your sites are doing. This will help you quickly identify problems with your sites and take actions to improve the performance.

So go ahead and create a website snapshot view of all your important websites!

You need to be using a good web analytics service or software for this. Make sure that you collect new data every month.

Here are some suggestions about what your website snapshot might contain...

1. The list of top 10 entry pages as reported by your website analytics.
2. The list of your top 10 exit pages as reported by your website analytics.
3. The top 10 performing web pages on your site (web pages that get real results). We will call this the star pages.
4. The overall bounce rate for your site.
5. The individual bounce rates for each of your star pages.
6. Visitors per day and per month to the website.
7. The top keywords that brought traffic to your site and the top landing pages for those keywords.
8. The list of long-tail keywords that brought traffic to star pages or that got you good results.
9. Your sales / expenses / income / profit data.
10. Any other parameter you think is relevant.

Open a folder and start filing this information every month. If possible, take hard-copy prints and file it physically. Use it to analyze how your sites are growing and to fix any negative trends.

There will be More on this in upcoming posts... and the upcoming Internet Strategy Studio Software.

"Why Should I Get a Dedicated Server Instead of a Shared Server?"

Recently we got a question from a customer asking our opinion about getting a dedicated server. Here is a part of his email...

Why should I get a dedicated server when...

1. I have to monitor the server myself
2. I have to fix any problems with the dedicated server
3. I have to make sure that the server has the latest security patches

I can get a fully monitored, always patched, good web hosting account for $10-$20. So why?

His web host was constantly shutting down his scripts and he asked us for a solution. I recommended he get a dedicated server or a VPS instead of a shared server. Hence the above question.

At first glance getting a dedicated server is a bad idea. It costs more and requires a lot more attention. But a dedicated server also gives you complete freedom to run the scripts you need and offer the solutions you want without worrying about using up the shared resources.

Another advantage of a dedicated server is that others don't have access to the server. On a shared server the probability of your account being compromised is high if some one else has a bad script. Yes, you do have to make sure that the dedicated server is fully secured. But there will be only a few people with access to your server and you can keep things in control.

Also, on dedicated servers you can install only the stuff you want and nothing else. For example, our main server doesn't run DNS, mail server and a lot of other things that are found on normal shared servers. This makes things simpler.

You do need to monitor your server and apply the latest patches. There are companies that offer this service at competitive rates. Many hosting companies also offer fully managed dedicated servers. So it is possible to get a decent dedicated server setup for under $150 a month. If you don't have that budget you could also consider the cheaper Virtual Private Servers (VPS).

If your website is made of mostly static files, a shared server is all you need. However, if you wish to install complicated scripts and do more with your server, a dedicated server is a much better choice.

What Internet Archive (Way Back Machine) Can Teach You About Success!

Peter contacted me three years ago for creating a custom software or as he called it, a bespoke software. He said he had a fantastic idea with a very high probability of success and very little competition. He didn't tell me what it was about because he wanted us to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) first. We normally don't do custom software if it is not related to our existing products, so I turned down the work.

He did keep in touch and over the years even bought some of our regular products.

A few days back Peter emailed again asking a question about his site and how he can do better than a competitor of his. This time he included his and his competitor's site URLs. He also told me how he was late to market his idea because he couldn't get the software developed fast enough.

Before offering him any suggestions, I decided to do a simple historical research.

The Internet Archive spiders and archives the websites on the Internet. This is the best place to see how various websites evolved over the years. We checked Peter's site as well his main competitor's site.

Here is what I saw...

2005, January

Peter comes up with the idea and contacts me. He is looking for some one to convert his idea into a software. He registered the domain name a month before, but no website yet!

2005, June

A competitor launches a site. The site has a single page with 4 short paragraphs on the subject. There is an email link to contact him for more information.

Peter's domain is parked at the registrar.

2005, August

The competitor's site has now grown to 4 pages. There is a newsletter sign-up form. A couple of articles and a free PDF report. The report is is given as a bonus when some one signs up for the newsletter.

Peter's domain is still parked.

2005, November

The competitor's site has now grown to about 15 pages. He is now offering more free reports and also selling a package on a CD. The CD appears to be a collection of reports and some tools compiled after obtaining permission from various shareware and freeware sites.

Peter's domain is still parked.

2006, December

Peter launches his site. He is now selling the software for about $50. The site looks professional and well created. There is a user guide and more details about how to use the software with all the features well explained.

2007, February

The competitor's site has grown. It now has a large number of articles, free and paid reports, multiple newsletters and yes, he is now selling a software similar to that offered by Peter but at double the price! There is also an announcement that more advanced versions will be released soon!

2008, April

Peter's site is not doing that well, while his competitor is huge. They have a very popular forum and blog that attracts a lot of comments. They are selling multiple versions of the software in different price ranges.

So, What happened here?

Peter  had almost 5 months head-start but didn't do anything because he thought he should have everything perfect before the launch. He could have launched his site even after the competitor created the one page site. He didn't!

He waited almost an year to get started! Meanwhile, his competitor who had no software and very little content got started and then slowly entrenched himself. By the time Peter was ready with the software, the competitor had a commanding position in the search engines, had a mailing list and even had paying customers!

Even after Peter launched his software, it took his competitor just a couple of months to create a competing product!

One of the best advantages of having a website is that at least some visitors will interact with you and tell you what they are looking for. Our own products have improved over the years because of customer feedback. When Peter's competitor saw the new software, he could create a better one in no time because he had the experience and the expertise he had acquired during the time.

Get Started Today!

If you have an idea, start working on it. The best thing about the Internet is that you can add and modify things almost on a daily basis and you can interact with your target market. Your end user simply wants to solve his problem now! So all you have to do is give him an opportunity to tell you the problem. If you have a solution give it to him immediately!

Many people are worried about some one else stealing their idea if they discuss the product. If you are worried about this you should talk to an IP lawyer and start the patenting  process.  Then launch your product as early as possible! Even If you don't get a patent you will still have the product!

The real truth is that ideas are dime a dozen! In 99% of the cases, the ideas are never really unique and there will be so many others toying with the same idea. The winner is the one who takes action!

It doesn't matter if your final product is not ready! You should still be out there with a website. Get enough people interested so that there will be an eager group of people waiting to buy your product the moment it is ready! Otherwise some one else will walk away with the trophy!

Are You Driving Away Your Website Traffic By Giving Too Many Choices?

An earlier blog post discussed how you can improve the web page bounce rates. One of the methods suggested in that post was to give the visitor a few more choices. It also warned about too many choices being bad.

The problem of too many choices is discussed very well in a video presentation by psychologist Barry Schwartz. He calls it the paradox of choice and it has some valuable lessons for marketers.

Does your website feature similarly priced products with overlapping features? The customer now has to make a choice. And the most probable choice she or he will make is to look elsewhere or to postpone the decision making! Either way you just lost a potential customer.

An important difference between offline purchases and online purchases is that an online visitor can and will click away in an instant! For an offline purchase the customer has already invested some time and effort to walk into a shop. So, she is not likely to just walk away without making some effort to complete the purchase.

On your website, always clearly define the product variations and explain the differences. Avoid unnecessarily overlapping product features. Make sure that the customer has enough information to make an informed choice without getting confused.

If you have to have different products with overlapping features make them in different price ranges so that the the costlier products have more features. That way the customer will have at least one fixed reference point (the price) from which to make a choice.

Another solution is to ask some questions to your website visitor and then offer the ideal choice based on the answers. If you already have a good reputation your customer will consider you to be an authority on the subject and will gladly accept the recommendation.

So what kind of choices are the bad ones?

• The bad choices confuse the visitor.
• The bad choices force the visitor to postpone the decision.
• The bad choices make the visitor think that you are trying to make him or her buy everything!
• The bad choices make the visitor feel bad about himself and his level of knowledge.

Avoid these and you will have a lot less problems with your websites.

Competition Research Using Keyword Strategy Studio

There are a number of reasons why you would want to study your competition.

• To improve your products and services and make them better than that of your competition
• To find your competition's weak points and and exploit them
• To learn the way your competition operates so that you can always stay ahead of them.
• To generate your own ideas that are better.

Using Keyword Strategy Studio For Competition Research

When you do any keyword lookup using Keyword Strategy Studio, a list of top competing sites and top competing URLs are automatically generated. You can access these using the Competition and Top URLs tabs.

Right click on any of the URLs and select Open in Browser to view site in your default web browser.

Once you have your competition's site open, first check if it really is a competing site. Many top ranking web pages will be Made For Adsense (MFA) sites created using automated software.

If you think you have a found a competing site, it is time to dig a little more... Here are some of the things you can do...

• Use the web archive to learn more about the history of the site. When did they get started? How did the website look when they started?
• Use the Site Link Pop Meter or other on-line sites like Compete or Alexa to study their on line visibility
• Check their web pages. Do they make it easy for their customers? Is your website better? If not how can you improve?
• Do they have third party advertisements on their sites? What do that tell you?
• Do they have a blog? If yes, subscribe to their blog feeds. What do their blogs discuss? Do they allow blog comments? What do people comment on their blogs?  Do you have a business blog?
• Subscribe to their newsletters.
• Buy their products and study the way they handle the purchase process, post purchase handling, back end products, etc. How do you compare with them?
• Go to Google News and search for the competitors. Are they in the news?
• Do they have any recent press releases? Do you do PR?
• Are they hiring? What kind of Jobs are on offer? Job openings often reveal their future plans and directions.

Use any information you learn to make your own plans and improve your products.

Our upcoming Internet Strategy Studio software suite will help you organize and tabulate information such as the above.

A simple method to find the Internet keywords you want to optimize for!

Here is a simple but very effective method to know the keywords your prospective customers will use to search...

Ask them!

Yes, not very original and certainly not innovative... But still a very powerful idea!

If you have any kind of offline dealing with your customers, simply add a new question into any form they might fill in. You can also make a simple on-line or printed  survey form for this.

If you are in the travel business, you can probably ask the following question...

If you are looking to travel to [name the city or country here] what would you type in to search on-line for finding hotels there?

Make sure that you ask only the one question above. Most people will gladly answer a simple, precise question like that without any objection.

Here is what you should do...

For each of your product or service create a question similar to the above. Spend some time polishing the way the question is framed.

Add this question to your offline and on-line forms. If you already do surveys, add this question to your survey. Ask the question to friends and existing customers,  preferably after purchase, or send them to the survey form in your "thank you" email.

Collect as many answers as you can...  Then combine the data from your survey with the data from your own log files.

Within a few weeks or months you will be sitting on a keyword gold mine!

Collect the keyword phrases and use Keyword Strategy Studio to find the top sites ranked for those keyword phrases. Are you listed? Study the competitors who are listed. Are those websites offering what the customers are really looking for? Can you improve your sites so that your solution is superior?

Eight Ways To Reduce Your Web Page Bounce Rates

Are too many of your website visitors bouncing away after they see just one page on your website?

If your bounce rate is below 20 or 30% you probably have a very good entry page.

In some cases you may want only a precisely targeted visitor group to proceed beyond the entry page. If not, a bounce rate of over 50 or 60% requires immediate attention. 

Here are eight practical methods to reduce the bounce rates...

1. Improve your web page heading

Most times a wrong web page headline can make the visitor quickly click the back button. Your headline should make the visitor want to continue reading. See the earlier post about creating good headlines.

2. Add Videos, pictures or screen shots that will catch attention

Adding a nice screen shot of your product or a photo will cause visitors to give a second look. Use a good caption below the picture to grab their attention and make them interested.

3. Change your website design

If your bounce rates are way too high, a new web site design may help. Go for a simple, practical but decent looking design.

4. Improve the web page load time

Is your web page loading too slow? Remove unwanted images or optimize the images. Get rid of all unused style elements.

5. Target the right visitors

Are your site visitors coming to your site with the wrong expectation? You may have optimized your web page for the wrong keywords or others may be linking to your site with an incorrect anchor text. Use a software like Keyword Strategy Studio to find better keywords.

If you are using Pay Per Click, make sure that your advertisement text is precisely targeted. Try different ad combinations till your bounce rate improves.

6. Remove Annoyances

Does your web page have anything that annoys your visitors?

What is annoying is highly subjective. So you should have a good understanding of your target customer. A simple rule is to always make everything very easy for your visitors.

7. Change from hard-sell to soft-sell

Are you trying to hard-sell your product when a soft sell is more ideal? This is a very common reason for customers to leave immediately. 

Your product pricing is also an important factor that contributes to a high bounce rate. The way you present your product is very important if it is an expensive product.

8. Provide more choices

If you have other products or services provide links to those. Add a prominent button, make a nice looking graphical banner or stamp that will catch their attention and so on. Be careful with this though. Too many choices can cause visitor confusion and make genuine prospects click away to a different but wrong product.

Study Real-Time Visitor Click Patterns (Clickstream) To Improve Your Website Performance

Do you study the real-time visitor clicking patterns on your website?

Observing the visitor browsing patterns is one of the best ways to improve the overall performance of your web pages.  Real time click-stream (or live visitor view) allows you to observe what a visitor does on your website. You can watch as he or she moves around your website clicking on various links. Observe enough and you will start noticing things you can easily fix.

There are a number of third-party services that support click stream analysis. We started testing Clicky Web Analytics recently and have found it to be very good.

Clicky with real-time visitor view is not free. The prices are affordable and allows you monitor up to 10 sites for an annual payment of $60. There is a limit on maximum page views (30,000 per day). If you have smaller requirements they do have a cheaper $24 option.

Cick here to check it out. There is a 21 day free trial!