And I do it because these user submissions generate new content for me on a regular (daily) basis… which means Google visits often… and I end up with literally thousands of pages driving search engine traffic for all sorts of keywords.

But… the two main problems I have (apart from spammy and inappropriate “adult” listings) with these user submissions to my directories are:

Keeping It Too Simple Stupid

Sometimes people just do NOT use enough words to describe their business and “entice” viewers to click through to their website.

For example, a recent submission by a graphic design simply had “Website and Graphic Designs” as their site description.

Now while some might argue that this follows the K.I.S.S. rule… and could stand out because of it’s “simplicity”… I would have to say that it is lazy and shows no creativity on the part of the design firm to attract new business - and that’s perhaps something I personally do NOT want from a graphic designer

Another “big name” Aussie mortgage company just listed their website, and just used the solitary word “Finance” in the listing description for their website. Now while they might be chasing some SEO benefit from that singular keyword… it does little to encourage the average person/consumer to do anything!

Your lesson here Grasshopper is…

Where you have the opportunity to “describe” your business in a directory listing, please do so!

Blowing Your Own Trumpet

But when you craft your descriptions, be very aware of the second major problem you can easily succumb to…

And that’s making “we” errors in your business description.

In other words, where the emphasis is all about YOU, and how good YOUR company is, and what YOU can do for people…

Instead of what you can do for ME to address MY problems! i.e.

“We develop quality, easy to navigate, visitor friendly websites at an extremely competitive price.”
could easily be re-written as
“Do you want a quality, easy to navigate, visitor friendly website for an extremely competitive price?”

Almost the same words, except the emphasis has shifted back to the reader.

Remember - the person reading your info wants to easily work out how it will benefit THEM… so make it easy for them to see that, or they will simply look at the next listing.

And finally… a “bonus” problem for you to avoid…

Please try to make sure you pick the most approriate category for your website when submitting them to directories.

If you pick an inappropriate category, then the chances are your listing will be deleted without any notification

Good luck with your directory submissions! They may be a pain to do, but are worthwhile in the long run!

Stephen Spry runs several well established directories for Australian websites, Small Business, Employment websites, and Latest Sites where you can submit your (site-appropriate) website listings for free. You can also easily EDIT your listings at any of these sites.

The main problem I have to cope with there are new article submissions where far too many people over optimise their articles for specific products, brands or locations (or all three) which, in my opinion, effectively wastes their article marketing efforts!

Now while the bulk of the new content for that site is coming in automatically from the Unique Article Wizard service, a large proportion of the manual submissions made have also exhibited this particular problem.

So here’s an article I have just written addressing this article marketing issue…

SEO Can Kill Your Article Marketing

Savvy marketers use article marketing to build multiple, long-term backlinks to their websites. But too much emphasis on integrating “clever” SEO tactics into your article marketing will negate the many positive benefits.

How it is “supposed” to work is simple…

1. You write an informative article about something.
2. Your article contains an “Author’s Resource Box” which includes links back to your site.
3. You submit the article to major article banks for publication.
4. IF it gets published, other interested webmasters can then choose to reprint your article on their site.

The principle is solid… they get good free content to publish, and you get links back to your site.

However the current practice of over optimising for SEO (search engine optimisation) purposes is not so good.

Consider an excellent article on “Lower Back Pain Relief” written by a Chiropractor…

It’s packed full of really useful information on what can cause lower back pain and some simple methods on how to relieve it.

Normally, it would be a great article for many webmasters to syndicate on related sites, except for the trend to over “optimise” the article for SEO purposes.

In other words, the title of the article has now become:
“Lower Back Pain Relief in New York”

And the actual content of the article includes the words “New York” and the initials “NY” scattered throughout.

And because webmasters are not permitted to change the content of any articles they reprint, the article is practically useless to those who may have wanted to syndicate your otherwise useful content!

Why is it useless?

Well most webmasters want “generic” content about their niche… they almost certainly do NOT want it optimised for a specific location like “New York” or anywhere else!

Another one just across my desk… a useful article on “Athletic Injury Safety Tips” which has been ruined for syndication by including multiple references to the city of Pittsburgh and “Pittsburgh Chiropractor” in the title and body of the article.

So BEFORE you go putting any specific location, product or brand in the title of the article you are submitting for publication on the major article distribution networks, ask yourself if it is likely:
1. to be accepted for publication on the article network site, and
2. that others will be less interested in reprinting your article on their site.

In other words…

Keep the SEO to the Author’s Resource Box - that’s where it belongs! Your link in the resource box with the correct anchor text will have much more useful SEO benefit than stuffing the keywords into the body or title of the article.

It will also mean more people are likely to actually reprint your useful information.

Stephen Spry runs an article marketing service called Latest Articles where you can submit your original articles for publication, and find free articles for syndication on your website.

WP Remix is a premium WordPress theme with an inbuilt page template editor.

Eh? An inbuilt page template editor? Wassat???

That means that, as a WordPress Theme, it’s pretty damn clever… because it allows you to “play” with over 50 different page layouts to create your websites without actually touching any of the template files to do it!

You see, without WP Remix, if I wanted to create a different layout (magazine style perhaps) for a page in WordPress, I would have to get my hands dirty and play around in the page.php code to (hopefully) get what I want - but that is something that a LOT of people really should NOT be attempting (and often that includes me)!

But with the WP Remix WordPress theme… it’s supposed to be simply a matter of

1. while creating your new page
2. simply insert the page layout of your choice in the WordPress visual editor
3. and edit it!

Just select the layout theme you want from any one of the more than 50 “strategically designed & coded custom static page templates” which include:

A Blog + 10 Homepage options + 20 Single page with different layout + 10 product/gallery page + 5 Miscellaneous page, Plugins compatibility, Ajax slider, Smart Drop menu, Tabs, Tables… and more including a bonus magazine module!

WP Remix allows pretty much anyone to publish snazzy looking sites literally in minutes (once you understand what you’re doing) and that saves weeks of time while maintaining top notch standards-compliant quality… that is also SEO ready!!!

I’m about to use this this theme for a new client website, and when I get up to speed on it, I’ll let you know what happened and review it in more detail (see my comments below for updates on that)

But in the meantime, if you use WordPress, you should check WP Remix out! Sure it’s a premium theme that does cost some money - a single site license is $75 and a multiple site license is $275 - but when you can get ONE theme that you can use to create a swag of totally different looking sites in a range of colour schemes…

Well… I’d say that’s worth having a look at!

So go check out the demo of WP Remix and get prepared to be amazed!

And yes… that is an affiliate link from which I will earn something if you buy it:)

Look… just because you CAN do video easily these days, does not mean that you SHOULD do it… at least not exclusively!

I mean, really… do you HAVE to try to pre-sell me with multiple 90MB+ videos about your new wizz-bang, can’t-do-without product?

And just because your video might be set in some “exotic” location or feature you in a Ferrari, when it is really no more than poorly lit head-shots often with a totally crappy, and often almost inaudible commentary, is certainly NOT a good reason to use it!

And then have a plethora of JV partners send out multiple messages trying to get me to view all the different videos in the sequence…

Seriously… try this as a consumer at dialup speed!

You’ll quickly realise you are wasting some serious time just trying to sort through all the “noise”!

PLEASE… PLEASE… PLEASE… put some TEXT on these pages!

At the VERY least put a “synopsis” or list of bullet points UNDER the video so those of us who do NOT want to waste time, or bandwidth, can make a quicker decision about whether we really want to go any further.

This will ALSO help your “customers” recognise that they have already been referred to that page (probably by a different JV partner), and perhaps they may even be “reminded” that they wanted to take action… but just didn’t want to sit through another 30 minute E-grade production to “find” the elusive order link…

Oh… and here’s a video production tip or two for you A DECENT video camera with good lighting, AND a professional microphone will help - a lot!

And then try to optimize the video so the overall file size is smaller so it loads faster… even your broadband visitors will notice the difference!

FYI : Why was I back on dialup speed? For the second half of each of the previous two months my ADSL speed has been shaped back from 1500k to 64k because I exceeded my 15GB download allowance… Blame it on my downloading a big product or two… or (preferably) blame my 17yo son for spending too much time at WOW!!! Either way, it’s a pain in the RSS trying to run an internet business at a snail’s pace!

I’m looking at the range of content I have scattered across the ‘net, and am about do to a lot of amalgamation and transferring of articles from my smaller, less visited sites, to the “busier” ones.

This will make life a lot easier once done, as all these multiple tiny sites are very hard to keep updated with relevant information… and unless I “do” something with them, they are not likely to grow as they should. And the information on them will go to waste…

So if these new posts seem to be coming in as a “flood” and overloading you… please understand that it’s only temporary as I do these updates.

I’m also looking at doing a re-design here too as part of that process. It’s a new “minimalization” phase I’m going through… but more on why you should care about that, later!

Regards
Stephen

Here are my thoughts on that… based on my “expertise” as a web designer since 1995… and presented here so you might have a better idea of what that person looking after your web site should perhaps be doing for you!

1. First Impressions Are Important

While this is a probably more a “marketing” issue than a “design” issue, web designers should probably consider this one before anything else!

Can your visitors work out the primary purpose of your site in a few seconds? Seriously, that IS all the time you get… only while the page is loading… for a new visitor to decide whether they will explore further, or leave!

And this does NOT just apply to only your home page. Look closely at ALL your internal pages too, because that’s where around 80% of your traffic will arrive at your site!

If your message is NOT clear, your visitors will leave… fast! And there’s absolutely NO chance of fixing a poor first impression on the net!

2. Offering Far Too Many Choices

Offering too many choices/options/links on a web page will result in visitor confusion.

Avoid offering too many options which DISTRACT visitors away from whatever your PRIMARY page objective is.

If a visitor cannot work out what they are supposed to do next, they will do the only thing they can - leave!

Don’t make it too hard for them.

3. Terrible Site Navigation

Good web site navigation is essential for people to

• initially understand what your site is about, and then
• locate and use the information provided.

A good framework also helps with later planning on how to easily “extend” your web property without making too many major alterations!

So make your navigation simple, and consistent, on every page!

4. Failing To Put Your Visitor Into The Picture

If your web site is all about “we”… i.e. “We do this, we also do that!” Of it only raves about how good “we” are, then it will just not work!

OK - this is a marketing/copywriting issue more so than design, but it is something a GOOD web designer should address!

Concentrate your web site copy on addressing your visitor!

Explain the BENEFITS (to your visitor) of using your product/service, rather than dealing with the “features” (which are more a “we” strategy).

Put THEM the picture by using “You” as much as you can.

5. “Over-Designing” Your Site

While a site loaded with pictures may look really good, the conversions could be terrible (for all sorts of reasons).

A lot of “ugly” web sites have great conversion rates, which shows it is the MESSAGE that counts.

But whatever you do, a business site should still look as “professional” as possible, so don’t “ugly it up” deliberately!

6. Slow Loading Pages

Not everyone has fast broadband! There are STILL many users who have no option but to use dialup and/or slow ADSL with limited download allowances.

Put a limit on the total number of pictures/page, and optimize the file size of any graphics you use.

A fast loading page is better for all visitors. It helps form a good first impression because there is little waiting around for something to happen!

7. Poor Use Of “White Space”

Remember the good old days of print? Here’s a tip from then…

Make good use of WHITE SPACE!

Use white space to improve readability.

Use it to attract the eyes to elements you want people to click on.

Stop thinking you are paying per column centimeter with the web! It’s

The web is DIGITAL, so There’s no need to cram everything too close together - you are NOT paying per column centimeter anymore!

But remember… the space “above the fold”…

This is what a user first sees on a page without scrolling. That space should contain the main action/s you want your visitors to take!

So think long and hard about what you put there!

8. Colour/Font Choices Make Content Hard To Read

Unless you have a VERY good reason for it, PLEASE avoid DARK backgrounds & light text - it’s far too hard to read! Go for dark text (that’s black or dark gray) on a light background.

Black & white for content blocks usually works best!

And make sure that your font size is not too small either, especially if you have “terms of service” type pages which you want clients to read…

9. Using Non-Standard Link Colours and Styles

And speaking of colours… Changing away from the default link colors and NOT leaving them underlined, can reduce their effectiveness.

Unless there is a specific design need for it, stick closely to the DEFAULT link colors (blue and purple) and keep your links underlined.

It’s what people expect and are used to looking for. Change these at your peril!

10. Dead/Outdated Links

Make sure ALL your links - to your OWN pages, and to other sites - are working!

Nothing is more frustrating (and unprofessional) than referring your visitors to a link which is dead!

Remember to check your off-site links regularly. If visitors end up at a dubious link, it reflects on your credibility. Watch out for linked domains that have changed hands, or expired, and no longer contain content relevant to your audience.

11. Flash

Home pages which feature only a flash animation/intro not only annoy visitors, they are very poor for search engine optimisation (SEO) purposes.

While you can use small elements of flash in pages to make them snazzier (see caveats above), don’t have pages which are ONLY made up of flash elements.

12. Audio/Video Which Auto-Starts

Is any audio/video “in their face” as soon as visitors arrive at your page?

Think about letting your users START it themselves when they are prepared to listen/watch. Provide OBVIOUS volume controls so those using the net at work don’t get sprung!

Obviously, if your site focuses on music and/or video (eg fan pages, sites for musicians etc) then you can autostart because that’s what people are expecting to happen at such sites!

But all other sites… if it is not the norm for that audience… auto-start may not be good.

13. Cross Browser In-Compatibility

After all of that…

Check your web pages in different browser software, and on different computer operating systems.

See if there are any glaring problems that may need correction, otherwise some of your audience could be missing out, or get the wrong idea!

14. Forced Horizontal Scrolling

Not everyone has 18″ to 20″ monitors with super high resolution. So don’t set your web page up to work only with that type of monitor!

Aim for a web page display width around 800 pixels wide. Some people even suggest 1024, but because the eye is NOT good at reading WIDE paragraphs, it’s best to stay narrower than that.

Also check your site on different sized monitors for readability.

What’s Missing?

Probably a fair bit… I’ve endeavoured to stay with the common web “design” problems rather than including too many copywriting (use of bullet points etc), or even SEO (meta tags, anchor text etc) issues.

But if you have got something to add to this list - whether it be design, SEO or other “problems”, then go for it and comment on this post!

And yes… I KNOW this very site breaks several of these “rules”! I really MUST work on fixing them!

So please… add your suggestions, comments etc., to this post below…

It’s totally free (not even an opt-in needed) and covers:

• The Shocking Power of Authority
  
• Cashing in with Authority
  
• Google Loves Authority Too
  
• Content and Citation: How to Build Online Authority
  
• The 10 Rules for Building Authority Websites
  
• Rule One: The Winning Difference
  
• Rule Two: Don’t Sell… Teach
  
• Rule Three: Cornerstone Content
  
• Rule Four: Headlines and Hooks
  
• Rule Five: Win Friends to Influence People
  
• Rule Six: The Money’s in The List
  
• Rule Seven: SEO Matters
  
• Rule Eight: Code Google Loves
  
• Rule Nine: Design Makes the Site
  
• Rule Ten: Tend Your Tribe

If you aren’t working on developing your sites into authority sites, or haven’t got a clue about what they even are, then you better make sure you grab the Authority Rules report!

You can read it online, or just download as a PDF for your immediate consumption!

So go get Authority Rules now!

P.S. This report has been out for a few weeks, so if you haven’t got it yet - go get it now! If you have it already, then make sure you re-read it again!

Looking at the comments for new blog post at ClickBank aimed at providing advice for beginner affiliates, and you will be “reminded” of the skill set most beginning marketers have - practically ZERO!

If this is a market that is of interest to you, then make sure what you are promoting is going to be at their level so it is of use to them, and that you can offer support, or you may end up with lots of mud on your face

I also wasn’t impressed that so many of these beginners have a Google Adwords account and were about to pump money into that as a source of traffic… seems like a monetary “black hole” there for the inexperienced! Who gave them THAT idea???

Oh right… all those “experts” who say you can do this without having a web site!

Anyways…

Here are some very useful links I discovered at the ClickBank site on affiliate marketing…

Affiliate Dos and Don’ts
17 things you should think about a little bit more with your ClickBank promotions.

Get Started as an Affiliate
Three simple steps to “become a successful affiliate in no time”! Yeah… right.

Common Ways to Promote Products
Outlines the pros and cons with four common ways to promote ClickBank products (includes Article Marketing, Niche Sites, Social Media, and PPC)

Tracking Your Promotional Efforts
How to use ClickBank’s transactions reporting, Tracking ID’s and Google analytics to track your promotional efforts so you know what’s working and what’s not.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention…

Check out the ClickBank blog category “Strategies for Success” there are some very useful articles in there which you should have a look at!

So there you have it!

Some essential basic reading on ClickBank and their affiliate program.

Got any tips you want to share? Then please add your comments on this post…

Jakob’s latest Alertbox on Twitter Postings: Iterative Design is a good read for those who want to use Twitter (or any other stream-based communication tool) more effectively.

Watch closely as he transforms and massages a text message, through 5 rounds of redesign, to make it much more punchy, credible and viral.

I particularly liked:

* Five rounds of redesign? How many tweets do people just type in and hit enter for? Maybe a little more work, on a lot less tweets, could be far more effective!

* The best time to plug your message into the timeline.

* Using a keyword in the bit.ly URL

* The big downside of stream-based communication

* The importance of designing text for usability

There’s a lot here for you to consider

This is a direct link to this 100% free tutorial & no opt-in needed. And no… I’m not going to the conference he uses as the example. I am also not plugging an affiliate link for it either.

• html site templates, WordPress, Joomla and CMS themes
  
• music loops and sound effects
  
• Photoshop, vector graphics, icons
  
• royalty free motion graphics, footage and video project files
  
• and even elements for Flash…

then I encourage you to check out the Envato Marketplace, (another) Aussie business, who are now celebrating their third year online!

So… start by checking out the templates and themes available at Theme Forest, and once there, check out their blog for lots of useful advice.

Then go visit the other Envato sites and see what they offer - you will be pleasantly surprised at what they do and how they go about doing it!

Note - these are NOT free files… but they all come at a relatively small, very reasonable cost. So don’t be afraid of spending some actual money on some carefully selected resources every now and then, because you’re actually investing in your business