About a week ago, we had construction work done in our offices. Once the guys left, we thought maybe we should have the carpeting professionally cleaned.

Since we practice what we preach, we went online and Googled “professional carpet cleaning,” and some other similiar terms. That’s how we found the Stanley Steemer website, and clicked on commercial services.

Here’s a link to the page we were looking at: http://www.stanleysteemer.com/Home/CommercialServicesLanding/CleaningServices.aspx

The image they chose is a stock photo that has nothing to do with … anything. It’s a guy, pumping his fist because he’s so excited. Why? Because his carpets are super clean?

This led to a long conversation about just how many sites we come across that have totally irrelevant images, that do nothing to help inform, educate or otherwise add anything to a user’s experience.

Images aren’t window dressing on a website. They are as important as the words you choose. Pictures help users understand the content they’re about to read. In some cases, users can simply scan the image and not have to read the content to understand what the page is about.

Remember, there’s no such thing as “wasted” space on a website. And so often, these meangingless images take up some of the most important real estate on the site.

Website Design Content, Website Design, Website Usability

A friend of mine who works from home called me the other day. She said she had noticed prices at offices supply stores seemed to be going up, which struck her as odd considering the state of the economy.

I thought she had to be mistaken. As a small business owner, I get at least one coupon a week from different office supply stores (along with special offers from just about every other retailer you can imagine). They’re all pretty much the same, “Get $25 off your next purchase of $75 or more” or some variation on that general theme.

It got me to thinking. When I was a kid, I worked in a small corner drugstore after-school and on weekends. The day before a seasonal sale, the owner of the store would hand me a pricing gun and have me go around and change the price of the items that were going to be on sale. Actually, to be clear, he’d have me raise the price on the items that we were going to put on sale. That way, when the customer got their discount, they’d feel great because they thought they got a bargain, and the owner felt great because he was selling lots of merchandise without really discounting anything. It seemed wrong to me, but I was 15 and in no position to ask questions. That was a tiny local drug store in a small town, in anywhere USA, and it was decades ago. Could the mass retailers be employing that same strategy on a national scale?

Are they upping their prices and then sending us discount offers?

After my friend and I spoke, I did some spot-checking on my own. We moved offices recently, so we had purchased more supplies than usual in January. What we bought was basic for any expanding office. Things like large white boards, another laser printer, shredders, etc… In checking back on what we paid, I realized that prices at Office Depot had in fact gone up since January. I checked by SKU # and not by product name to be sure I was comparing apples to apples.

So, in essence, the special offers they send simply negate the increase in prices. I don’t mean to pick on Office Depot. I just happen to have receipts from them so I can be sure of the price changes. Has anyone else noticed this and if so, why haven’t we banded together and called them out on it?

Marketing Marketing, Recession Marketing

I recently tweeted about an article in Search Engine Land, written by veteran SEO Jill Whalen, titled “85 Reasons Why Website Designers/Developers Keep SEOs in Business.” I think Jill nailed the problem some web designers have with SEO, but it actually brings up a bigger issue that we talk with our clients about almost every day.

Simply put, web designers and developers are not marketing people. So, Jill is absolutely correct in her list of reasons why they keep SEOs in business. But there can be an addendum to that title, and it can include reasons why they keep SEOs, Usability and Marketing experts in business.

Web designers and programmers keep up with web design trends, the latest programming and available technology. That’s enough to keep most of them busy. And some are really very good at what they do.

But it’s unrealistic to think that they can also keep up with the latest usability standards, SEO (which is a constantly moving and changing field), and user behavior trends, all of which should be incorporated into the layout, architecture and wireframe of a website. And of course, the website content needs to incorporate messaging based on consumer insight, and that generally should not fall to the web designers either.

So the next time you’re looking to design or re-design your company’s site, keep in mind that there are different areas of expertise that all need to come together to create a successful website. It should incorporate the right technology for your needs and a design that accurately represents your business, and a marketing edge that will convert users into buyers.

I understand why, especially in this economy, designers and programmers want to market themselves as broadly as possible. But once you break it down, it’s easy to see why it would be so difficult to have true expertise spanning so many areas.

Website Design Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Website Design, Website Usability

Your website is out there representing your business 24/7 and can be a great resource in generating leads for your sales team. Below are a few simple things you can do to increase the quality and quantity of leads your site generates:

1) Write it so they can read it. Write your content for users who are scanning, not reading. Making it easy for them to find the information they need on your site makes it more likely they’ll contact you and not your competition.

2) If you have a “contact us” form, remove the phone number as a required field. Users fill out forms rather than calling so as not to have to speak with sales people. Removing the phone number as a requirement lets them know you understand this.

3) Add your physical address to your site. It gives users a sense of comfort that they are going to be dealing with a real company.

4) Provide valuable information users researching your products or services may need. The more you become a resource, the more they feel they can trust doing business with you.

5) Make it as easy as possible for them to experience your product or service on a temporary basis. If you sell a product, can they try it free for 30 days, or see a demo on your site?

And remember, the point of your website isn’t to tell them every minute detail of your business. The site content needs to move a potential customer or client to put your business on their “short list” of companies they need to consider prior to signing with anyone.

Your website should get you on that list. Your sales people should close the deal.

Digital Marketing, Search Engine Marketing Content, Lead Generation, Leads, Online Content, Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Small Business, Website Usability

We so often hear the term “interactive media,” when referring to websites. I understand the underlying sentiment that users can come in and navigate through to where they want to go, they can spend time with the pages they like the best, and leave if they aren’t happy. And on sites that allow for UGC, they can even “talk” to you or others about your services or product.

The problem I have with labeling this activity as “interactive” is that clients often confuse it with “conversation.” This so often means that clients create their sites as if they are actually having a dialogue with their customers. When in fact, the user is there to “pull” information from their site. If they don’t find the information they are looking for, quickly and easily, they leave.

There is no chance for a company representative to say “no wait, we actually do have exactly what you’re looking for,” or “in fact, we do provide that service, maybe I just wasn’t explaining it right.”

Think about the conversations your sales people have at trade shows. Potential clients/customers come to your booth and you explain what you sell, the service you provide, your point of difference, etc… Then they have a chance to ask questions, and if it seems like they aren’t quite getting the benefits of doing business with you, the sales person can try a different tack. That is “interacting.” Online, if your website isn’t providing information in a succinct manner that lines up with the user’s query, you don’t have the luxury of changing your tack and trying again.

That’s why your content needs to be written from the users’ point of view, not yours. It has to be written to make it easy for them to find what they’re looking to “pull” and not what you’re looking to “push.”

Website Content Content, Lead Generation, Leads, Online Content, Website Usability