| LED Digest 2500: Great Internet Marketing Books |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom www.GetWebContent.com/LED : the LED's Key Sponsor The Web's Most Experienced SEO Content Providers. www.SEOToolSet.com/training/ : the LED's Premier Sponsor Bruce Clay's Search Engine Optimization Training & Certification ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. September 26 2007 Issue no. 2500 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ====== NEW ====================== <Moderator Comment> ~ Site Usability Mistakes ~ Great Internet Marketing Books ==== CONTINUING ================= --== Real Time Web Stats ==-- ~ John Smart "You could try 'WebTrends' - they are excellent, but not cheap." ~ Bill Seaton "Have used this program for years; very powerful, totally free." --== Customer Responsibility ==-- ~ Al Toman "...'customers who are never wrong' are dingbats..." ~ Dirk Johnson "There are a small percentage of business owners who are looking for Ferraris at Ford prices." ~ Tom Aman "...ultimately your only choice is to say 'no'..." --== Password Logistics ==-- ~ John Brumage "Asking for a UPC or other info that only exists on the packaging..." =========== NEW ================================== <Moderator Comment> Since we've been on the customer-centric kick for the last few issues (read: weeks), I thought this post from Lisa on site usability was timely: "8 Site Usability Mistakes That Bug Me" http://www.bruceclay.com/blog/archives/2007/09/8_site_usabilit.html All of her 8 points are good ones, but this jumped out at me: -------------------- "7. Not Changing the Color of Visited Links "You'd think that in 2007 this would be pretty obvious, but surprise, it's not. Good, user-friendly, accessible Web sites tell their users where they are, where they've been and where's left to go. They don't keep them in an endless cycle of "did I click on this yet?"" -------------------- This is a great point -- yet many sites don't follow the rule. That may be partly because it gets in the way of design goals. Your thoughts on this issue, and other usability stuff, are appreciated. ================ Long-time LEDer Shari Thurow just released a new version of her book on SEO/M, "Search Engine Visibility (Voices that Matter)": http://www.searchenginesbook.com/book.html There are many SEO books on the market now, but this is one of the originals (now updated). Sure, the field is rapidly changing, but Shari's approach to search marketing retains a strong usability angle that keeps her strategies and recommendations fairly timeless. Much of what she writes about will continue to work for many years. What are some of the other books on SEO I recommend? Well here you go: 1) www.SEOBook.com - the high-water mark (in my opinion) of books on search, this is actually about a whole lot MORE than just search. Aaron Wall gives some very useful information on Internet marketing and strategy, along with current SEO tips. Pretty much an essential resource in the field. 2) www.SEOmoz.org - the Premium Content here is very high quality. They have a Beginning Guide to SEO that's very useful for those new to the field, and a bunch of other tools and resources you should check out. I'd link directly to the Premium page, but the sales page currently occupying that spot is likely to turn you off. Just explore the site instead. 3) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0470130652/ - Web Analytics: An Hour A Day is a classic in the field. It's title is a bit misleading; this book is about much more than just analytics. It's about web strategy and tactics and offers a really high-level perspective on marketing online. The foundation of the book is Avinash Kaushik's "Trinity" approach to strategic thinking: - Customer Centricity: surveying, usability studies, etc, to gain insight into what your customers need; - Clickstream Data: typical web analytics number crunching and segmenting to find out what your customers are doing on the site, and where they're coming from / going to; - Outcomes and Goals: applying the previous two approaches to a strategic outline that defines goals and outcomes for the website, and is measurable; Avinash is a very sharp guy. Get this book if you get any of the ones I list here. Anybody else have a good book to recommend? -Adam ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: John Smart Subject: Stats > We use the expensive version of a subscription based > web analytic called "Freestats." Their code appears on > every page of our web site... but recently has had lots of > outages that reduce our web site to a crawl. - Sandy Galvin, LED Digest 2499 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1911/190/ How do you include the JS for the stats? If it is in the head tags, then you need to kick your provider. If it is in the body, can you move it to the very last line - so any delays will prevent you getting your stats data, but will allow you to keep your site working. You could also ask your host - it is possible that they are treating the volume of data as a DOS attack, as it is always between the same IP's. You may want to make sure they are not running interference. (They may not even be aware of it - a firewall might be trying to help you) You could try 'WebTrends' - they are excellent, but not cheap. I hope that helps, John Smart InternetDesign.com A Human Touch in a Digital world. -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Bill Seaton Subject: Real Time Web Stats Hi, In response to Sandy Galvin's request for real time web stats. Try this: http://www.xav.com/scripts/axs/ Have used this program for years; very powerful, totally free. thanks, Bill Seaton -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Al Toman Subject: Customers > While we are on the topic of customer service.... at > what point does the customer take responsibility for > a positive transaction? ... How do you get customers > to read a short paragraph to inform them of their options? - Liz Ross, LED Digest 2498 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1910/190/ Liz, Your instructions are clear to you and me, however, "customers who are never wrong" are dingbats. At least, the online retailer has to assess that all customers are dingbats, therefore, your web site has to spoon feed or spell out "the obvious". Your "bold text clear instructions" are buried within text instructions. They need to be pulled out and emphasized, possibly, by using some graphics. Amazon.com uses this concept for Free Shipping. Then an image with the words, "what's this?" or something to that effect. That should help resolve your issue. Except for those customers who are just gonna be bat dings no matter what you do. Al Toman studio9 web design -------- new post - same topic --------- From: Dirk Johnson Subject: Customer service I think that "the customer is always right" is a corny, worn out cliche that really fogs the air for a business owner. Subscribing to it can lead to a lot of really poor business decisions that affect your own income as well as your relationship other clients. We've learned to keep our antennae up for any deliverable specifications that may affect our own productivity or the client's expected result. They need to be discussed with the client graciously. If not, we've found that we are simply creating problems down the road, when they may not be so easy to fix. When possible, we get to the bottom of it, provide options, and price accordingly. We decline tasks that don't fit with our strategy, process, or expertise. There are a small percentage of business owners who are looking for Ferraris at Ford prices. It's a game to them. They want more, for less. Maybe they've read some business negotiating book and they think that everyone else wants to play "satisfy me", at a cut rate. Invariably, these people are hard-headed talkers, and they don't want to listen to feedback. Having dealt with a few of them first-hand, we've learned to identify them. For the worst offenders, they'll do you more good if your competitors have to deal with them, and not you. :) Fortunately, most business owners are not like that. They just want to know the parameters and pay a fair price for it. So sorting it out in advance, openly, is always best. We strive to be on the same page, before we start any work. Of course, there are exceptions, and all of this is subject to the need for income. For a business running at full capacity, these kinds of decisions are a lot easier to make. At that point, it becomes more about what the business owner needs for their own purposes, and not about satisfying the customer with unusual demands. That's not improper. It's just the way it is. Best regards, Dirk Johnson Partner - Operations DomainDrivers LLC www.domaindrivers.com www.linkstrategy.com -------- new post - same topic --------- From: Tom Aman Subject: Customer service > ... on occasions one has to just tell the > customer they are wrong, even if you risk > losing them. Businesses that cannot say > "no" will rarely be successful. - Martyn Gay, LED Digest 2498 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1910/190/ The big trick is to find a way to say "no" while still leaving the customer with the *feeling* that your business operates with the view that "the customer is always right". This can be very difficult to do. It is the sales people (and many of us, who wear various hats, have to act as sales people sometimes) who do it well that are worth the *big bucks*. They do a great job of saying "no" without actually saying it and, at the same time, leave the customer with the good feeling of having been well treated. And yes, Martyn, I would agree that sometimes you will hit a customer where, after trying every approach that you can think of, ultimately your only choice is to say "no" but, in doing that, you have to weigh the cost of giving in with the potential cost of having an unhappy customer bad-mouthing your operation as being unreasonable / unfair (even though you have already gone the extra mile). Tom Aman Aman Software http://www.cyberspyder.com ========= Begin Sponsor Message ========= Autumn Leaves Must Fall, But Not Your PR Seasons change. How about your site's copy? When was the last time you added or updated your content to make it more end-user useful and search-engine succulent? Customers and search bots want fresh meat. www.GetWebContent.com/LED, we deliver the beef. ========== End Sponsor Message ========== -------- new post - new topic -------- From: John Brumage Subject: Member areas > Have a "Product Users Area" on my website. > Only people who have bought the product can use it. - Richard Graham, LED Digest 2498 If the product is a book, you could ask people to enter "the third word of chapter 3" or some similar information only available to a person with the book in their hands. Asking for a UPC or other info that only exists on the packaging (dust jacket in the case of a book) would lock out some customers. John Brumage Disco Legend Zeke ------------------------------------------------------- The LED Digest is sponsored by: GetWebContent.com The Web's Most Experienced SEO Content Providers. 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