January 18, 2010
What do people really think of your web site ? Do they find easily what they are looking for ? What do they want you to add to the site ? Is the web site easy to use ?
Feedback form and guestbook do not give enough qualitative information to these questions.
Statistics give us information on the quantity of visits more than on the quality. Although we can estimate the average length of visit, the number of page views or the most popular paths, we still don’t know for sure what the people think of the site.
The best way to get an answer is to ask the site’s users in a direct, simple and convivial way. The online survey give us a precise estimation of the site users opinion that no other tools can match.
However a few requirements must be met in order to get valid information:
The choice of the questions is essential. List your priorities first. What do you want to get from the survey ? Focus on your priorities. Do not ask questions that won’t help to fulfill the goals set.
The questions must relate to a significant part of the audience. If the site is about cars do not ask question about trucks unless you want to create a new “truck” section.
The questions need to be as precise as possible in order to get relevant answers and useful information.
Too many open questions will not allow to see the significant trends of the audience because the answers will be too diverse. An open question is where users are free to give the answer they want.
Too many closed questions will not allow you to know very precisely what the people think of your site. A close question is where you give a choice of answers to.
A good qualitative survey is a balance between open and closed questions to meet your goals.
It is necessary to limit the survey to one response per IP address. This way the survey is clean and is not perverted by many answers from a same unique user. A good online survey software should have the functionality to identify an IP address and to block it after a survey is filled.
Online software help you to build, manage and analyze a web survey.
Some run on the same server as the analyzed site’s. Others work on a third party’s server.
Some are free, some are limited by a number of surveys or questions, or answers.
In order to get the best information as possible in the most tailored way, the best option is to install a software on your server and to customize the survey to your own need.
I recommend CsPoller, a cgi-script, cheap, customizable, easy to use.
Other choices are SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang as third-party online survey software.
A good qualitative survey should have:
Less than 10 questions: people do not have the time. They only have a few minutes spare to spend on the survey.
An estimatation of the time needed: give the people an idea of how much time the survey will take to complete.
A mix of open and closed questions: A closed question gives quantitative information. Example: Please rate the usability of the web site ? Very good - Good - Average - Bad - Very bad An open question gives qualitative information. Example: What subject would like to see on the site ? Users are free to answer as they want to.
Closed questions are much easier to analyze. With an open questions you may get as many different answers as respondents. It is sometimes useful to mix open and closed in the same question. Example: What subject would like to see on the site ? Answer: News - Interviews - Pictures - Games - Other, please specify. Therefore a good ratio is one open question for five closed questions.
No personal information that are not necessary: do you need the snailmail address or the phone number ? The more personal information you ask, the fewer the responses you will get as people will give up along the way.
Ask respondents to leave a comment at the end of the survey. Inform them that you can use a comment as a testimonial.
Let users enter a sweepstake, offer exclusive content, give them a giveaway, anything to motivate people to take the survey.
When you write the questions and answers, always have in mind what it will take to analyze them. Do not offer too many answers. Do not ask too many open questions. More answers mean multiple different results and a risk that the trend that should be there is diluted and cannot be seen.
The best tool to analyze the answers is a spreadsheet such as Excel. Although some online survey tools are able to analyze the answers.
It is not recommended to give the results online to the users as it can influence people who have not taken the survey yet and inform the competition.
Some suggested questions to ask in a survey are:
What do you think of the web site content ? Very good - Good - Average - Bad - Very bad
Rate the usability of the site ? Very good - Good - Average - Bad - Very bad
Is it easy to find relevant content on the site ? Yes - No
Do you like the design of the site ? Yes - No
What content would like to see on the site ? Open question, users are free to answer what they want to
After 100 or 1,000 surveys filled and analyzed, you already have a good snapshot of the users’ opinion. The next step is to adapt the web site based on the survey’s results and satisfy the users.
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September 8, 2009
So you got your website up and running. You hired an excellent web designer to craft a perfect home page and satellite pages that will really draw in the visitors and inspire them to buy. You have a beautiful catalog of products with detailed descriptions. You have a section dedicated to the services you provide with praises from past customers. And you have the best online shopping cart service out there so that you customers can buy from you with no hassles and next day shipping. That’s great! Now where are your customers?
Driving traffic to your website is a much discussed and much misunderstood venture. There are a million theories out there that claim to drive tons of new visitors to your site daily. There are services that say they will increase your traffic by an enormous percentage if you will only pay them their small fee over a period of fifty years. There are so-called experts who will place your pages on all the best search engines on the net. They claim that with this kind of blanket exposure, your traffic numbers will explode within days.
But the only sure-fire way to draw productive traffic to your website is through targeted marketing. The important word to notice here is “productive.” You can draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to your site every year by hosting a giveaway of some kind. Services that search the internet for freebies will have people clicking a link to your site like crazy. But these people are not there to buy anything from you … quite the opposite. They are empty clicks. There is nothing productive about this kind of traffic. People looking for free stuff will rarely make you any kind of money. And that’s what you’re after, right?
So target your marketing to the people who really want to buy what you have to offer. How? Start by trying these basic steps…
* Hire an experienced copywriter. The copy that is on your site makes a world of difference in the sales you garner from the internet. Most important to targeted marketing are the keywords found in your title and the metatags in the website’s code. An experienced copywriter will know how to determine the most effective keywords and place them strategically in your site’s copy. If you cannot afford a copywriter, do some research and talk to your web designer about inserting metatags.
* You can enroll in pay per click search engines. Obviously, google.com is one of these, but most of the most popular keywords are already taken. If you can think of some original phrases that people use to search for your products or services, you can post your ad next to the text that comes up when people search for that phrase. Every time someone clicks on your ad to go to your site, you pay google.com a nominal fee.
* Submit articles to free ezine sites. This is especially helpful if you are a service provider. You can write, or hire someone to write, an article for you about your area of expertise. Give some free tips, offer your experience, and be accessible in the text. Then at the bottom of the article, you get a link to your website advertising your services. Every time someone publishes your article in their ezine, newsletter or article directory they must use your web address at the bottom.
These are just a few of the many ways to ensure you get “productive” traffic. Empty clicks are just that … empty… and your wallet will stay that way, too!
About the Author:
Hans Hasselfors is the founder of SubmitYourNewArticle.com. Find varied articles about website traffic in our article directory. Please visit at: www.SubmitYourNewArticle.com
Article Submission done by: www.articles-submit.com
Courtesy of:SubmitYourNewArticle.com
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July 28, 2009
If you want to build traffic on your web site perhaps you should write articles and have content that has to do with hurricanes. During the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season we noticed that the word hurricane along with other hurricane related words were among the top searched words on the Internet.
Google showed them to be number one in fact; words and phases such as; Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, Hurricane Wilma, Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, Gulf Coast and Hurricane, NOAA and Hurricane, Hurricane weather satellite. It therefore makes sense that if you wish to build traffic on your web site that you need to have hurricane articles which are apropos to the 2006 Atlantic tropical hurricane season.
If you study the keywords and most relevant searches you will find all kinds of data on this subject and this can help you build the proper content to attract the most amount of people to your web site. It makes sense to help inform the public about hurricanes and generate more traffic for your web site.
It should not be too tough to do this and there is a whole lot of material as well as Real Simple Syndication or RSS feeds, which contain hurricane articles and content that might be just perfect and just what you are looking for to increase your traffic. Please consider this and 2006.
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The Internet is a new marketing medium playing field for any
business wishing to get acquainted with its potential. Understanding the power of the web and its mechanisms is important to the growth of your business.
If you think that traffic is the only thing you should focus on to make more profits, then you’re wrong. Of course traffic is important as it means visitors for your website, but there is one more important thing you need to focus on: converting that traffic into buying customers.
To succeed in this operation you need to attract the attention of your visitors, and you can do that if your web content is used correctly.
- Speak to your visitors about their needs and wants.
Your prospects’ primary concern isn’t that you’ve been in business for 25 years. They search internet because they need something and you must use the content to identify at least one common problem of your prospects and the benefit of using your product or service.
- Use strong keywords.
Think and make a list with words that define better the needs of your customers. Use them to make a strong message so people who read your content to know how you can help them.
- Move prospects to action.
If you want to prompt prospects to visit your web site to buy or to contact you, include an offer that motivates them to do so.
- Ask prospects to contact you for more info.
That way your prospects will provide you with their contact information and the problem they want solved. Use the web, email, and the phone to follow up and close the sale.
- Ask for testimonials.
Ask your customers to give you testimonials and put them on the website. Do not post only positive comments, offer a real, but positive image of your business.
Valerian Dinca is a freelance writer specialized in internet marketing items like making money with home business
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June 5, 2009
Some of the best advertising available online would be getting listed in directories. This doesn’t mean submitting to search engines. If you write quality ad copies and build a quality site; the important search engines will find you.
What I am talking about is directories that you pay to be listed in. With these types of directories you pay to be listed in for a certain about of time. Some are weekly, monthly, yearly and even lifetime listings. This is also an excellent way to get those ‘back links’ to help you rank better in search engines.
It is a proven fact that ‘back links’ help increase online traffic. But, the back links that are most effective are links to your website without a return link. Take Link Exchanges for example. With Link Exchanges you request one website owner to place a link to your website on their site with a link on your website to their in return. These are effective however, most directory listings that you pay for do not require a link in return and these are a more effective form of backlinks.
Search for directories that best fit the target of your marketing program. Take a look at this list http://www.mommyshelperonline.com/why-purchase-directory-listings.html for example. If your target is for small business owners, home business owners and work at home moms then some of those directories may be of interest to you. The key is to find your market and advertise there.
Still looking for more traffic secrets? Aren’t we all?!? For even more secrets to Non-Stop, FREE Targeted Traffic, I highly recommend taking a look at author Jim Edwards’s book Turn Words Into Traffic. The targeted traffic it brings you is as good or better than anything you could pay for … except you don’t have to pay for it! Check it out; you’ll be glad you did ;-).
Don’t be too quick to jump at every program available that might help increase your online traffic. Stop by and find out what NOT TO DO too http://www.mommyshelperonline.com/increase-online-traffic-donts.html
About the Author
Anita DeFrank a WAHM of two and co-owner of DirectSalesHelpers.com which was created specifically for those in Direct Sales. Do you find yourself asking how to make more sales? The above is only a small taste of the wealth of information available at http://www.directsaleshelpers.com. Stop on in if you’re serious about your direct sales company and want to know how you can make more sales.
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If you are low on fund and time, you don’t want to waste your time advertising in areas that will not bear results. How will you prejudge and later analysis your approach to web traffic? Is there a way to make trial run to find if you will be successful or not? This brief summary should present ideas that will be helpful, and save both money and time.
The first approach is to ask as many people as possible that you can as to where to advertise and promote your site. However, there is a drawback. Only about 10% of those who give advice really can help. Be open enough to question any guidance that you get.
Another approach is called the copycat technique. Take 10 person who advertises in ezines for example. Make a list of 10 persons that always advertise. If ezine (newsletter) #1 has 7 ads that are on your list it is better than one with 3. This is a place to start. You can also take a firm that is successful and copy where they promote.
You might want to use web tools to make analysis after you start to promote and advertise. Here are three ways that you can get help.
1) Does your web provider have logs of the origin of hits on your site? They will tell you if you got hits from a certain search engine, a bookmark or from Denmark at 2 in the morning. Unfortunately, many providers don’t have this service, and perhaps, you should change to one that does. Call your provider now.
2) Use third party traffic services. Search engine lists Internet audits and some are found under web counter. I had one service that gave me 50 search engines. I found that I was getting a lot of hits at 3-4 am from England. It is useful to take your time in find a service because some are better than other by a big margin. Here are some addresses http://www.internet-audit.com / and http://www.digits.com and http://www.wishing.com /. Some are free, but some charge a small fee.
3) How about my web pages? I would like to find out if I have a site that people like and maybe I can advertise these pages. You might want to get a second traffic analysis or a web counter. Here is an idea. Get an account at Commission Junction, a company that has paying banner for over 500 merchants. Sign up for a banner and then place the banner at the bottom of the page. You will be able to gain a commission and then you can look weekly to find how many people visited your site. Check at http://www.cj.com/Affiliate/ourmerchants.asp?AID=14738&PID=93098 This is not the most perfect method and you can only have the banner on just one page at the one you are using for analysis. But it is better than paying for a second service.
Whatever, you do. You need traffic analysis and need to examine the sites in this article.
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May 26, 2009
If you want to become a truck driver and enter the transportation industry, there are several requirements that you must fulfill. A lot of companies will pay for your training but you need to know what may be expected of you. Most Trucking Companies will ask that you are at least 21 years of age for interstate driving or 18 years old for intrastate driving. They also require you to pass the DOT physical exam, a drug test screen exam and ask that you posses a valid driver license issued in the state in which you live. But the most universal requirement of them all is the Commercial Driver License (CDL). If you do not have this permit you can not drive trucks of more than 26,000 lbs hauling capacity. Even if you have experience on the transportation business you must have this permit.
The CDL test is divided in two sections: the General Knowledge Test and the Road Driving Test. The first part is a written test which includes subjects like endorsements, air brakes, cargo vehicles, combination vehicles, hazardous materials, passenger vehicles, tank vehicles, school bus endorsement and doubles and triples.
The second part is the driving test which includes: pre-trip inspection and on the road driving skills. There are some practical techniques that you can practice that will help you to prepare to pass the CDL test. First, establish a study schedule. This allows you to maximize your studying time. A good technique for this is to study one hour before work and then one hour after work but if you do not work yet the best moment to study is in the morning when your mind is fresh. Later, do a review in the afternoon and quiz yourself. It is best that you not study very late at night as you will not retain the information as well. Just do not wait to study until the last moment! You can not rush memory skills. It takes time and dedication.
After you get your CDL and are ready to work, there are other requirements/endorsements that you may be required to pass. This depends on the kind of truck that you are going to drive, or the kind of job you are going to do.
One common requirement is the airbrakes endorsement which is required for people who are going to operate a vehicle with airbrakes, which may include buses and/or trailers. Hazardous material endorsements (required to operate trucks that transport hazmat) are also very common. For this endorsement you must know all the rules and regulations about the transportation of this freight. Passenger endorsement is necessary to drive vehicles designed to move 16 or more people including the driver but most truck drivers will probably not be required to pass this. Another is cargo endorsement for people interested in hauling cargo. This mainly covers various safety rules. There is also a combination vehicle endorsement which is required for people who are going to drive vehicles such like tractors and trailers. Truck drivers may also be required to pass doubles and triple endorsements (to pull two or three trailer combinations, it also requires special skills) and tank vehicle endorsement (required for hauling liquids, this requires special training because the center of gravity and the movement of the liquid may cause a roll over more easy than other vehicles).
Visit http://www.us-truck-driving-schools.com and submit your contact information to Trucking Schools all over the US. We offer CDL Trainingand Information.
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