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Thursday, May 15, 2008

4Q is a Free Survey Tool Not to be Missed

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 10:57 AM

Last night I uploaded a new article to Search Engine Guide on 4Q which is an excellent free survey tool you can easily add to your website in order to improve the website and your marketing intelligence.

The scivy on 4Q can be found in my exclusive Search Engine Guide article: Free Survey Tool Fuels Marketing Insight.

by Ross Dunn, StepForth Web Marketing Inc.

Labels: Analytics, Free Tools, Ross Dunn, Usability

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 10:57 AM.

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Open Pricing Can Improve Sales on Your Website

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 12:25 PM

Marketing Sherpa is my favorite site for catching up on the latest case studies on user behavior online; followed by another excellent publication called Alertbox. Marketing Sherpa's latest article does us all a service by illustrating how important it can be to have more transparent pricing for prospects visiting your website.

First ask yourself the question that Marketing Sherpa asked its respondents:

"Can you recall a technology/business purchase where a vendor got the sale (or the inside track) because they were more open than other vendors?"

The response (see the larger image):

A chart showing results from a Marketing Sherpa case study on open pricing models

From personal experience I can say that I am most certainly a part of the demographic negatively affected by sites that give no indication of pricing. Of course, as is carefully noted in the Marketing Sherpa article there are cases where accurate pricing is impossible or unlikely; where accurate service/product pricing requires customization based on interviews with the buyers. StepForth's SEO services are a good example of an exception since our services are heavily customized; however, even we decided to give some indication of the starting costs for any service we offer. I expect that is the least any business should do online. I know that seeing a starting cost ("Starting at $xxx") appeases my curiosity in most cases when I am shopping; at least I know if I should even look into the service further.

In the Marketing Sherpa article they provide a real life anecdote of a company shopping for print quotations. As it turned out the buyer ran into way too many inadequate sites but what won them over was a site that had a JavaScript service calculator that allowed them to estimate the cost which turned out to be only 5% different than the final 'real' quote provided by the business. Nice work, in fact I was curious enough to look into JavaScript and DHTML calculators myself to see how StepForth might incorporate one in the future.

What do you think? How do you feel about websites that require you contact them any indication of pricing?

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Web Marketing Inc.

Labels: E-Commerce, Online Statistics, Ross Dunn, Usability

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 12:25 PM.

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Thursday, August 09, 2007

Web Designers: Ignore Firefox at Your Peril!

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 2:49 PM

I was browsing through StepForth's Google Analytics statistics for The StepForth SEO Blog when I came across the browser share report and discovered something wonderful... Internet Explorer has lost lots of market share!

There was a time where I can fairly say Internet Explorer enjoyed a 60-75% majority of the web browsing marketplace. This made many a web designer rather flippant towards other less popular browsers when ensuring browser compatibility of their websites. I even remember, not long ago, a supposed 'expert' designer condescendingly telling me that Firefox did not have enough saturation to warrant much concern. I argued the point but it was like talking to a brick wall.

The fact is, though, that at least in the visiting realm of the more tech savvy (which our SEO blog caters to) designers had better test their new sites (and existing ones) in Firefox or else they may alienate 42% of the marketplace!

So, if there is one thing you should take away from this posting it is:
Make Sure Your Website Works Perfectly in Firefox!

If your website is having compatibility issues with Firefox then contact your web designer and have your site updated to the latest standards because you are, or you will, lose potential customers. After all, few things are surer to drive away visitors than a broken website.

Oh and if your designer poo-poo's the benefits of Firefox compatibility... fire them because they just don't have a clue.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Web Marketing Inc.
Celebrating 10 Years of Web Marketing Excellence

Labels: Ross Dunn, Usability

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 2:49 PM.

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Monday, March 12, 2007

Jakob Nielsen's 10 High-Profit Redesign Priorities :: Recommended Reading

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 11:57 AM

Jakob Nielsen is an authority on usability; "the elegance and clarity with which the interaction with a computer program or a web site is designed" (Wikipedia). His tips are always worth reading and often worth implementing into your own website(s) whenever applicable.

In his most recent newsletter, Jakob Nielsen released a list of 10 redesign recommendations that are the most likely to increase return on investment. The subjects discussed are:

1) Email Newsletters, 2) Informative Product Pages, 3) High-Quality Photography, 4) Product Differentiation and Comparisons, 5) Support for Reordering, 6) Simplified Text, 7) Catering to Seniors, 8) Gift-Giving Support, 9) Search, 10) User Testing, and a bonus tip on implementing a loyalty program.

Be sure to read Jakob's excellent article on design priorities for increasing website profits.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
Celebrating 10 Years of SEO Excellence

Labels: Ross Dunn, Usability

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 11:57 AM.