The Toll Men

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In the whole of the Compare Broadband UK site you yourself have the chance to take a Broadband speed test. The entire speed check create reports on the actual web rate for uploads and downloads attainable through your broad band. From this customers will be able to determine the rate of a broadband connection & from there you will then notice if you yourself really need to switch your current internet account.

The speed test will quickly find out your current download pace, this is the speed your web connection can download info from the entirety of the web, it is useful to have a respectable connection speed for all this as it is what you yourself will then use when you import pictures, midi files and e-mails in addition to sizeable attachments. Users will then have the broadband upload connection rate this is the rate that one’s current connection transfer files back to the web, this service is crucial for every online games and internet telephone calls. This service is where Compare Broadband UK comes in very helpful. The only thing required is to simply and easily just nip your information onto the system & clarify what you are looking for and it can easily prop up a selection of the cheapest & quickest broadband options appropriate to you. The prices can frequently range from 4 pounds per month to 50 pounds depending on exactly what it is customers are trying to look for. Compare Broadband UK uses your post code to find out what is the quickest rate targeted at your specific area.

What are your strengths? What are your weakenesses? Each of us
has talents and also areas where we are not as strong.

The first thing you need to do is decide what your strengths
are. For example, if you are good at writing, you can write
articles, ads, website copy, ebooks, etc. If you are good at
programming, you can develop good programs. If you are good at
html and java and cgi scripts, you can do websites or develop
scripts for sale.

It’s very seldom that one person has all the talents necessary
to set up a business, whether it be an Internet business or a
business on Main Street. When you set up a business on Main
Street, many times you go out and find a CPA to handle your
business taxes, etc. You find a contractor to build your
building or repair or upgrade your building. You find a
secretary to handle billing and filing and answering the phones.
There are many people who come together to help you make your
business a success.

When you build a business on the Internet, you don’t have to
worry about the contractor - or do you? Do you know how to
really build a website? After all, when a potential customer
comes to your site, no one will physically be there to greet
him/her. Your website will be the reflection of your business.
If you don’t know how to set it up, you need a “contractor”. In
other words, you need a webmaster’s help.

When I first started on the Internet, I had a free website. It
was colorful!! I used one of their templates and thought it was
really pretty! But pretty is not what business is all about. You
want your website to be functional, fast loading, easy to
navigate and informative.

Then, I got an email from a person who had visited my “pretty”
website. He commented I obviously had been busy. He very kindly
did not mention how “unbusiness-like” my site was. He very
graciously offered to help me set up my site in a more
professional way. He also advised me to get a “non-free” website
where I would not be limited to what I could do. And he said it
all without hurting my feelings!

Of course I accepted his offer. He set up a template for me,
worked on teaching me html, answered questions, and fixed my
mess-ups while I was learning. And he STILL helps me out of
jams! Who is he? His name is James Pendleton. His website is
http://www.jgptophost.com . He has been an invaluble friend to
me. If you are looking for a good webmaster, you won’t find a
better one.

This article sounds like an ad, but it really isn’t. My point is
that we all need each other. Great businesses can be built when
we finally realize that we can do more when we help each other.
When we learn to trust each other, great things happen. Pool
your resources - offer your strengths to someone who can use
them, and often you will find the other person will offer you
something in return. Then you BOTH will be better for it!

Why do you want to start a website? Are you in it for the
money? Are you in it for the chicks (yea right)? Maybe you are
in it, just to share your knowledge or talent for the greater
good of mankind?

I’m in it for the title- “webmaster”. It makes me feel like a
big man. Anyway, those are all very legit reason for starting a
website, and they all share some common ground.

The first thing you’ll need for your website to work is content.
Now I know it can be a scary word, but if your website is about
your profession, hobby are just a subject you really know about,
it won’t be very hard (just mildly hard…). The only way you’ll
get really rewarded by the search engine, get supported by other
websites and gain valuable trust from your visitors (maybe
customers), is by supplying unique helpful content. If the
search engines won’t reward you, then you won’t score high on
the search results (basically, you won’t exist). You have to get
support by other website (through links), because search engine
check your link popularity as one factor for deciding how well
you score. If you won’t gain your visitors trust, well I don’t
have to tell you, how hard it is to give your credit number on
the web.

Now, content is nice and all, but another thing you really want
to find out (especially if you in it for the money) is there a
demand for the subject of your website? You’ll be surprised how
many people aren’t really interested about things that really
excite you {probably because there is something really wrong
with you [kidding (maybe)]}. A good way to check the demand is
to use the web ceo freeware (look it up). Use the research
keywords option of the software. Type the most basic keywords of
your website theme. For example if your planing your website
about eggplant juice (mmm…yummy), you will get less then 10
visitors a day (and this is very optimistic estimation), on the
other hand, if you pick orange juice as your website theme…You
won’t be better off. There are between 63 to 107 daily searches,
and between 9,370,000 to 11,620,000 competition. It will have to
be some really amazing orange juice website to get noticed.

So, there are three lesson to be learned form all this:

1. Choose your website theme about a subject you know about, so
you can supllay unique content.

2. Before you start your website, research the demand and
competion of the subject.

3. Don’t start a website about eggplanet juice, don’t even try
making it, and by all means don’t try drinking it. I won’t be a
account responsible!

Whether you intend to create a new web initiative, or you’re trying to better your existing web presence, a web design company offers you a complete range of web development services for your webdesign needs.

If you’re looking for simple website development, or if you want to build an entire online e-commerce, a web design company has all of the services and tools that you need to start from scratch, or to integrate new elements into your organization’s existing architecture.

The services offered by a quality web design company will be diverse, yet still specialized. Professional website design should be flexible enough to meet your unique needs, but have enough experience to do the job correctly, and make suggestions to properly tailor your webdesign to your desired outcome.

Examples of services that you should look for in a superior web design company should include:

• Website development - not only a full webdesign, but fully integrated online applications should also be available. From the most basic informational sites to the most complicated flow-based applications, a good web design company should provide the proper scalability required for adjusting your website development with today’s unpredictable marketplace.

• Database development and integration - website development isn’t just a matter of posting individual pages. A scalable, structured database needs to be worked into the webdesign for rich backend engines.

• E-business and shopping cart applications - if your website is selling anything, then you’ll need a professional web site design that includes what you need among B2B, B2C, and procurement applications.

• Branding and Advertising - any quality web design company knows that website development involves more than just stating the obvious. The website is vital for making the desired impression among visitors so that they will be encouraged to act on your message, and to return whenever they need your products and/or services.

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - any professional web site design should include a strategy that has been proven to achieve high ranking among the top search engines. SEO is vital to attaining the highest number of visitors.

• Site statistics - you can’t just assume that your site or any of your advertising efforts are doing well. You need to be able to monitor and measure them. Therefore, a good web design company will also offer you the tools you need to receive critical statistics about your site overall, its tracked pages, the total visitors per page, the top refer URLs, as well as the total visitors per day, time of day, and the keywords that were used in search engines to find your site.

• System Management Services - web development should offer a full range of system support services that include support for applications, servers, and networks, and should allow for fine-tuning of performance configurations.

A web design company understands that the internet is currently among the most effective marketing tools available. If you don’t have an online presence, you aren’t reaching your full potential or connecting with a large percentage of your prospective client base. Instead of having the attitude of building a web site, a good webdesign business should know how to effectively work your vision into a virtual representation of your organization. As though simply by viewing your website, a visitor should feel as though they’ve had a good discussion with one of your trained representatives.

Most importantly, a truly great web design company will listen to exactly what you want, will ask good questions, and will deliver a solid professional web site design in precisely the way that you want it done. You need to know that they care about what you want to say and about what your clients need.

Mark Nenadic

Mark is the director and face behind FifteenDegrees-North, where you will find articles and resources to help with SEO, marketing and Web design. Read Marks Blog Here:

A while ago one of my clients approached me and mentioned that
they were experiencing a serious problem with customer
registrations (obtaining customer names and e-mail addresses),
on their web site. They still had a lot of traffic, but were
finding that the ratio between traffic and registrations had
been dropping steadily.

H’mm, click-thru conversion rate I immediately thought, being
the clever fellow I am. Or…, maybe product description?
Or…, benefits?

Now a little step back: The product this company sells is
very popular, especially within the higher middle income
bracket and above, in this country. The company decided to
also start selling this product on-line a year ago and the web
site immediately attracted considerable traffic from inception.
The subscription rate was never really a problem as everyone
wanted to know when new product ranges were to be released.
The Marketing Director was also always very careful to follow
the basic rules of internet marketing.

So what had gone wrong ?

Back to the present: I decided to have a quick look at the web
site before meeting with the Marketing Director. O, dear:
Horror upon horror. The company had gone and changed the copy
on the site.

I must say that I was very impressed with the great graphics
and graphic functionality on the web site. One could do
incredible displays with the product. And the technical
descriptions of the product - something to die for! For the
first time I now knew precisely what materials were used in
the manufacturing process, how long items spent in various
stages and that some material originated from space research.
Wow, to die for!!!

So what?

Where were the benefits?
What was in it for me as a customer?

Worse was still to come:

This web site was boring the heck out of me as a customer!

This web site was talking down to me!

Woe is me!
I felt terrible - like an idiot, after working my way through
the site (this talking down business really made me feel
stupid), but manfully prepared for my meeting with the
Marketing Director and sallied forth with my trusted colleagues
called What, Who When, Where, How and my trusted right hand Why.

During the meeting it transpired that due to a number of
technical queries the company received via the web site,
they decided to revamp the site. The new site was to be more
technically orientated to cater for the technical customers.

Aha, my trusted colleagues said. And what percentage of your
internet customer base is technically orientated. And what are
you actually wanting to sell - and to whom - and what do they
want. Turned out that the company did not actually know what
percentage of their customers wanted technical information.
It was not a huge amount of people though. Turned out the
company had not done any market research to determine this
change. Turned out that someone had had a bright idea and changes were made without any research. Turned out the company tried to tell customers what the customers should want and need. Turned out the company ignored their customer.

H’mm - what did the company and I learn from this… again.

Sell the benefits of the product to the customer. A customer lands on a site - the customer has certain needs, be it hidden or overt. You need to satisfy those needs. This first question a customer asks is: What is in it for me ! Does this satisfy my need(s). What benefits are there for me ?

What my client did was to show the customers how clever the persons in the company is. It is the worst one can do. It talks down to the customer - look how clever I am !!! Let’s talk about me, me, me and when you get tired of me, we’ll talk about myself and I. What about the customer ? Rather talk about the customer - how this would meet his or her needs. How this product would reward all the hard work, be a status symbol to show off, how this product would save time.

Something else: This web site was downright boring. It did not
talk to a person - in fact it was dead. It did not draw attention. Oh, attention - let me go down that track for a second. You want attention - you want a web site that talks to the customer. Ha - that means one has to constantly update content(copy) on a site. That is work that costs money.

Well, well, well, my colleagues say. Are you aware that the
typical web customer reads/surfs about 20 to 30 sites per day.
Are you aware that when a person is looking for something, they
scan through a site. Are you aware that if you do not catch
their attention with an attention grabbing headline you are going to lose them. Are you aware that you have between 10 and 20 seconds to grab their attention.

Your site must talk to your customer. Your site must grab the
attention of the customer and you have between 10 and 20 seconds to do that. And what about keeping the customer coming back. That is a topic for another time, I think.

Back to my client: We compromised on a site that follows the
principals I stated above, but also have a Technical area for
those that wanted it. We built the site again with new copy.

Copy that addressed the needs and wants of customers.

Copy that was written from a customer’s perspective.

Copy that sold benefits.

Copy that connected to customers as friends.

Copy that emphasized the “you” word and minimised the I/me words.

Copy that talked, connected and made the site talk.

And my client:

They are happy - their web site talks to their customers.

And the conversion rate:

Not going to tell you what it is, but it is high again and
higher than before - for the moment, my client loves me.

And what is in this for you, dear reader:

Just one thing: “Make your web site talk to your customer”

Leon Williams runs eBusWiz and is “Actively living his dream”. More articles can be found at: http://www.ebuswiz/blog

More information at: http://www.ebuswiz.com

and articles at: http://www.ebuswiz.com/articles

Web site design plays a crucial role in converting visitors to customers. Your web site is the first impression people have of you. It is often your first and only contact with your prospective customers. A professional-looking, easy-to-read-and-navigate web site is essential to building trust and making sales. Follow these tips to create a powerful online image.

• Simplicity is the key to powerful design. A web site must be pleasing to the eye, but not too flashy. Limit colors to two or three colors. Limit fonts to two or three fonts.

• Be unique. Design original graphics and layouts to attain a unique look. Stand out from the crowd.

• Target your market. Use images, colors, text, fonts and themes that are appropriate for your market. For example, you will use completely different images and colors for kids, professionals, men, and women.

• Use quality images. Just as quality images will boost credibility, bad images will hurt you.

• Use images that support your sales message. Don’t clutter the page with graphics that have nothing to do with the content. Your product image is important. For example, if you’re selling an ebook, make your book look real with a targeted ebook cover. If you’re selling a CD, show a CD image.

• Design a quality header. You can instantly change the look of your web site by changing the header graphic. The header is the very first thing a visitor will see when they arrive at your site, so it is your first chance to make a good impression.

• Use logical, consistent navigation. Viewers want to find what they’re looking for without having to go through numerous pages or clicking on numerous links. Use terms for your navigation buttons and links they will recognize such as Home, Order, and Contact. Provide plenty of links on your home page, giving an overview of your web site’s content and choices.

• Design a catchy order button to attract attention and motivate people to order.

• Don’t overuse the latest web techniques. Avoid entry pages with animation that don’t tell anything about the content and take a long time to load. Your visitors will appreciate a site that opens fast and search engines will be able to index your pages.

• Write compelling copy. A clear, well-written message is essential to converting prospects into sales. Avoid spelling and grammar errors.
Combining layout, graphics, typefaces, and color into a unique design requires graphic design skills. If you don’t feel you are quite up to the task, or are just too busy putting the content together, then it would certainly be beneficial to get help from a professional designer who specializes in creating web images.

If your web site looks professional, visitors will conclude that you are professional. If your web site looks amateurish, they will assume that the quality of your services and products is unprofessional too.

Boost and sales with quality web headers!

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