Pony Of Prey Blog

I am sure that most people who have a website are looking for an
increase in traffic and a higher page rank. This article will
give you free tips on how to do both.

Pay per click

Pay per click is a form of paid advertising. Programs such as
adwords from the search engine Google allow you to place an
advert on the right hand side of their search results. If you
are willing to pay a large amount of money per click you may
even be placed above the normal search results. It is important
to remember not to spend more on the adverts than you are likely
to recive in income.

Paid text adverts

Paid text adverts is another of way of gaining visitors to your
website and it also could increase your page rank. If the advert
is on a high ranking page, this may well on its own lead you to
moving up a level in your page rank. If the page has a large
number of traffic, this could also be traffic directed to your
website.

Writing articles

Writing articles like the one you are reading is another way of
gaining traffic and a higher page rank. People reading the
articles are potential visitors to your website. Other
webmasters are able to use the articles on their websites which
creates you a one way backward link. Google are more likely to
increase your page rank if you have a large number of backward
links, especially one way links.

Link exchange program

As I have just mentioned it is important to build up the number
of backward links your website has. Joining a link exchange
program such as linkmetro helps you to do this.

I’ve been asked, “How do I design a successful Web site?”

I often respond, “Do you know the fastest way to ruin a new Web site design?” As you might suspect, the answer is, “Lack of proper planning beforehand.”

Let’s put it another way. In programming, there’s an old axiom, which states: “The sooner you start your coding the longer it takes to finish.”

Planning out your Web site before you build it is essential. To borrow a technique from the film industry, I recommend that you create a storyboard, which is a type of a flow chart of your new Web site design. You don’t have to be an accomplished artist to draw out your idea, but it’s essential to create it on paper first.

On each piece of paper, the goal is to have room for an image at the top, plus space underneath for writing down information. As you might suspect, the first page to start with is your home (or welcome) page, which will typically have the most information as it will contain the page the people visit before they enter your site and as people go through your site, the will encounter more information (in tiers) as they go down.

Typically, the home page links to 5-15 pages below that, which we could refer to as Tier 2. Each of those pages links to another 5-15 pages, which you could call Tier 3.

If you use all of these pages, you’ll wind up with an extensive Web site design, of at least 226 pages (including the home page).

It’s during this process that all sorts of problems will crop up. But it’s much easier to solve them on paper than in the middle of coding rather than when you are finished.. If you don’t, you might run into a major problem along the way that would require a “back to the drawing board” complete site re-design.

Working things out on paper will give you a much better idea of how things will work and how to fix problems. And, if you have knowledgeable friends, get a second opinion.

Once you’ve completed the on-paper process, and you or your web designer is satisfied with the results, you’re ready to translate it into code. Unless you or your programmer is a pro, I would recommend using a “template”. These are ready-made Web site design formats. You can choose from several templates by typing “template source” in most search engines. Many of them are free.

Commonly Asked Questions

Q: For a Web site, do I have to employ a pro, or can I call the guidance counselor at my local high school and ask for the names of some computer whiz kids that I could call to help me out (for a fee)?

A: It really depends on what you want to do. If all you want is 1-2 pages , you can learn how to build the Web site yourself. If it’s an intensive site with many pages, I’d recommend student or a pro (if you have the budget).

Q: I see a lot of photo-oriented web sites that have a black background. Is this the best color to use?

A: Not necessarily. It’s a matter of opinion and personal taste. White can work just as well. I don’t recommend the use of other colors as they can compete with your images.

Q: Is “Flash” or audio acceptable?

A: If you absolutely need Flash to demonstrate an animation, then by all means use it. If it’s for a fancy trick, I recommend leaving it out. It’s similar with sound. Unless it adds to your site, don’t use it. And if you do use sound, give users an option to turn it off. If you don’t, you’re likely to lose visitors.

Nathan Segal boosts your Photoshop productivity with proven tips, tools and techniques to create better scans, images and prints in his book, “The Photoshop Companion.” Visit http://www.photo-shop-tutorials.com for free weekly Photoshop tips.

Color is often the last thing on the minds of website designers. We’ve all been subjected to websites with horrid color combinations. Yes, there are websites with purple text on a black background, and so on. You want people to view your website with ease. Hurting their eyes is bad for business.

What do you think when you visit a website with terrible color combinations? Your reaction is probably negative. Don’t make this mistake with your website. Take time to carefully plan which colors you’ll use for text, backgrounds, and links. You can increase your site’s efficiency by paying attention to your color scheme.

The goal of any website is to attract and retain visitors. If your site’s colors are headache inducing, visitors will run away screaming. Black text on a white background may not be exciting, but it’s easy to read. That’s why it’s the best choice for reading text online. Visit any of the large, professionally designed sites and you’ll see black text on a white or light background.

If unsure which colors fit together, look at a color wheel. You can get a list of RGB color values (or HEX values), and see which colors are appealing when grouped together. A color wheel will help you balance your color palette so all of the colors are complementary. Another thing to consider is the color of emotions.

Colors evoke emotions using what is called “color psychology”. For example, white is often used to symbolize good. Purple is often used to symbolize royalty. And the most universal of them all is green, which often symbolizes money. Take this into account when choosing colors for your website. Also remember that different colors mean different things in certain parts of the world.

Here’s a list of some colors and their positive and negative connotations:

Red
Positive: passion, strength, love
Negative: danger, blood, anger

Blue
Positive: stability, peace, confidence
Negative: coldness, obscenity, depression

Green
Positive: nature, wealth, fertility
Negative: inexperience, jealousy, greed

Yellow
Positive: sunlight, joy, idealism
Negative: hazards, cowardice, dishonesty

Purple
Positive: elegance, creativity, nobility
Negative: arrogance, profanity, confusion

Orange
Positive: energy, enthusiasm, playfulness
Negative: danger, warning, fire

White
Positive: purity, peace, security
Negative: sterility, defeat, cowardice

Black
Positive: power, sophistication, elegance
Negative: evil, death, mourning

The goal of marketing is to connect with the public. What better way to connect than emotionally? Color can help accomplish that goal. Color psychology may sound like a joke to some people, but it’s been proven to work. By choosing the colors of your website based on color psychology, you can increase your sales.

The bottom line is you should pick your colors carefully. Don’t pick a color just because you like it. Red may be your favorite color, but if your business is monetary issues, red may not be the best color for your site. You’re free to try various color combinations, but remember the colors you choose may carry a set of preconceived notions.

Andy Eaton is by far the best graphic designer I have ever come across! Not only does he create quality graphics, which actually do increase your website sales he actually goes one step further and teaches you his exact methods to crank out profit pulling graphics. Check out his work at http://quickpaypro.com/x.php?5086_u6

There are some easily overlooked facts about websites that sometimes doesn’t get all that much attention, but could be the difference between your website being “okay” or “fantastic!”. They can make all the difference to your user who is visiting your website. We certainly don’t want to hinder their experience nor confuse them, so how can we make sure their experience will be a memorable one for all the right reasons?

Easy Navigation is the primary concern of many websites right now. If it takes more than 2-3 clicks to get to somewhere, then it’s not going to be seen. Navigation needs to be easy, self-explanatory, without need of a manual. If someone needs a manual to learn how to use your website, it’s time to re-think your navigation. A main central menu is common, with or without sub-menus. The basic “Home”, “About Us”, “Products”, “Services”, “Contact” is your basic 5 page linked menu. Just build upon that. It’ll make maintenance easier and is faster for your customer to get where they really want to be, instead of treating your website like a Rubik’s cube!

You need to have consistent design. Without consistent design, your website could look like a child designed it. Can you imagine visiting a website, where it has a beautifully laid out design on the front page, then you click on a link to delve further, and the colour scheme has completely reversed, the menu has changed it’s position and instead of everything flowing say, vertically, it’s now all flowing horizontally? You would be confused to say the least and think that whoever put it together must be nuts. Don’t give your audience an opportunity to think that way about you. Your online reputation depends on it.

Last, but certainly not least, you WILL need up to date content. I don’t think I need to explain how your website visitor would feel if they found an article on your money saving website that mentioned “Money Saving Tips for 1995″ which is not only very out of date, but also mentioned items that are no longer for sale, or lists common things you can do which actually make you spend more money in the long term. Your visitor would feel that you don’t have enough confidence in your website to keep it fresh and up to date, so why should they have the time to make a repeat visit? If your website is about online business, remember that certain search engine optimisation tweaks only apply for a certain period of time, and many need re-doing as other new future search engines become more popular. Now it doesn’t matter how you get the content i.e.: hire a writer or join an articles directory, you need that fresh content and update your main content page at least every week. If necessary and if you have the skills, re-write your exiting content to include the latest relevant ideas.

Remember to keep these ideas in mind as you next plan to perform some maintenance on your online estate. Keep your navigation simple and flowing, consistent look and feel on every page (create and use your own template if need be, it’ll help!) and regularly updated content. Implement these and your website visitor will have a much, much more enjoyable experience and will return the favour by making repeat visits! Which is, after all, what you want.

Martin Coleman is a freelance writer and computer programmer. More information about his services and other articles can be found at http://www.martincoleman.com

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Why Should You Create a website?

——————————–

A. What do you want when you create a website?

B. What to do to get what you want.

——————–

A. What do you want?

——————–

1. You may be in a non-profit organisation and want to post
forthcoming events on the web. You don’t want to have thousands
of visitors to the site. But wait - do you want to create a
website for new members from the web? I found a new barbershop
singer through my website.

2. You may have a small business selling locally. You’re happy
with yellow pages. But wait - how many thousand words can you
put in your yellow page advert?

There is no limit if you create a website.

Have you ever had someone keep you on the phone for half an hour
of your valuable time with their questions? Wouldn’t it be nice
to direct them to your website for answers and sales messages?
Create a website!

Once you’ve written all those answers, wouldn’t it be profitable
to have potential customers reading your answers? Create a
website. A dentist has clients from a hundred miles away, from
his website.

3. Perhaps you sell items weighing a hundred tons costing a
million dollars. When you create a website you can still write
as much information about your product as you like - not like
the yellow pages. Then you can direct prospects to phone to make
an appointment with your best sales staff.

4. You want to sell a product on the web. First create a website
then get lots of traffic.

5. You want to make money on the web?!! without a product?!!
No…I’m not laughing. Create a website. If you have lots of
traffic you don’t even have to be good at selling to make some
money with Google Adsense.

If you’re good at pre-selling then you can try affiliate
marketing, or selling advertising on your site, or several other
channels of income. Just create a website and get the traffic
first.

B. What to do about it To get high traffic you must give
visitors what they want. Tricking Google will only get your
domain banned from their listing.

Here are some things not to do when you create a website. If
your visitors hit the back button their numbers don’t count.

a) Don’t use frames when you create a website - the search
engines can’t find you, and the inventors of frames don’t use
them on their own website.

b) It may be artistic to disguise your links, but you will lose
customers. I visited a site that displayed just one big picture.
I happened to pass my mouse over the picture on the way to the
back button, and discovered links flashing on the screen.
Apparently I had to click on bits of the picture to see any more!

c) Don’t use Flash when you create a website. If people are
using ADSL they are unlikely to wait longer than three seconds
before hitting the back button. If they’re on a 56K modem they
might be prepared to wait ten seconds. You’ve just lost another
client.

d) Don’t use big pictures when you create a website. If you have
a photography site, use postage stamp sized pictures with the
size stated in your coding, and ask the visitor to click for a
larger picture. Telling the browser how high and wide your
picture is will allow it to load after the text, so your visitor
has something to look at meantime.

e) Don’t use irrelevant pictures when you create a website. One
picture is worth a thousand words, but only if the picture is
saying what you want it to say. Why do people visit websites? It
is NOT for entertainment. Their TV gives them all the moving
pictures that they need. Even if it is an adult site, the
visitor is really wanting to download digital information for
later entertainment.

Information is what your visitor wants - When you create a
website don’t waste your time and money on anything else.

A paid designer will use all sorts of clever artistic tricks -
you now know that you will lose clients that way. More than 99%
of new websites soon have to close because they have no traffic,
which means no profit.

That is your biggest mistake. Instead, find what people want to
know first, then give it to them.

So why create a website? Simple, you know more about your own
subject than any show-off website designer. You don’t even need
to understand HTML coding if you use SBI. You still should learn
a little about HTML coding, but there are free lessons on my
website.

OUTSOURCING FX is No New Trend for Bank:

While today’s competitive financial market demand that banks
respond to market needs quickly and efficiently, there was a
time when only the largest money centers could afford to offer
foreign exchange (FX) service. Technological advancement has
made a foreign exchange product line accessible to bank of all
sizes. However, in today’s economy, bank has to consider the
feasibility of offering foreign exchange product and services.
As a fee-based product offering, foreign exchanges
service can enhance a bank’s revenue stream while meeting a
market need. Yet, the cost for creating a FX processing
environment can be enormous. It is for this reason that foreign
exchange is an area that numerous bank outsource to
correspondent bank or non-bank providers in order to compete in
today’s financial market. Outsourcing FX product and services
allows bank to offer an advanced technology solution, industry
expertise and superior customer service without the costs of
back office investments. Art Gillis, principal of
Computer Based Solutions, Inc. in Dallas, Texas, reported
that “About 43 percent of America’s 9,355 banks and thrifts
currently outsourcers some of their operation.”

Ten questions to be asked before evaluating the Foreign
Exchange Online Systems.

1. Is the system networked from the parent bank to branch bank?

2. Does the system provide flexibility for your bank to share
revenues with the provider or to mark up rates and still have
the ability to remain competitive? 3. is the system integrated
seamlessly with your bank’s other system? 4. Does the system
allow your bank to retain controls over profit margins,
processes and account management procedure? 5. Can the bank
re-brand the system for its bank and subsidiary? 6. What
capabilities are available to store, track, and send your
customer information’s? 7. How are investigation handled? 8.
What is the security feature? 9. Can your bank create a
centralized or decentralized process for managing its foreign
exchange transaction? 10. Does the systems enable your bank to
provide customer real-time market information’s?

For more information please log on to:
http://www.tatvasoft.com/outsourcing%5C2005%5C05%5Coffshore-outso
urcing_18.html

Start of a new year once again and it’s high time to make
predictions regarding the things that are going to come in
E-commerce web development. Will it be a better year or worst
than the exiting year? It remains to be seen. Nonetheless, let
me present my predictions as well…

1. The giant among the search engines will purchase additional
technology start-ups. It will also contemplate on purchasing an
older company and let go of its product for free.

2. Another is that web-wide video search will be developed into
something big. It can now be found both in user-uploaded files
and web videos.

3. A major revamp will happen on major search engines indices.
As a result of this, numerous sites will be kicked out of the
engines.

4. Internet Explorer 7 is soon to be released. This version
includes several features.

5. Google will release Google Talk. This new feature can be used
by chatters in their browsers.

6. Consequently, Microsoft Windows will suffer a little because
of the E-commerce latest web developments.

7. Yahoo will again release a new email client. This can trigger
the change of heart among Gmail users. The change will be by
reason of the formers look and feel.

8. New translation tools will be introduced to the web. This
way, just anybody can search in any language they prefer.

9. Bloggers will still be given attention. In fact, additional
search engine features will be made for their enjoyment and easy
access to other blogs.

10. Google will increase the frequency of their updates. Those
who rank high in its PageRank will be made more accessible.

11. Google will also introduce graphic ads and do away with old
features. This can trigger the user’s angst.

12. Yahoo and MSN will contemplate on focusing on its search and
do away with their so-so features.

These are the foreseen future of E-commerce web development.
Other predictions may mark a good leap while others may mark a
horrible downfall. Let the future clear the clouds of
ambiguities and make certain out anticipations. Let the days of
the year 2006 be our guiding torch…

The trend today to overuse animation in a website’s opening pages only serves to confirm that style often overshadows substance. Sometimes a “flash” in the pan - often courtesy of Macromedia Corp.’s web animation program - is simply a flash in the pan.

These often-clever animations succeed in doing two things consistently: 1) wasting
precious time getting the information to site visitors and 2) delaying delivery of the
message that the company or organization wants visitors to see.

Effective web design relies on communicating information and the message in an
attractive, efficient manner. The concept of “you only get one chance to make a
good first impression” is jeopardized when a new visitor has to endure the “loading”
message.

Often, the Flash opening has little to do with the reason the visitor typed in the URL
or clicked the link in the first place. For example, one marketing firm’s homepage
opens with a Flash montage featuring a boy looking out over the ocean through a
telescope, cats playing on a floor, a close-up of a man’s lower face covered with
powdered sugar and the interior of a cab festooned with mosaic tile. The relevance
of all this to the firm’s capabilities as far as meeting marketing communications
needs escapes us.

But don’t misunderstand. Using programs that add some spice to your site or your
message is a smart use of current technology (see www.zyman.com, for example).
Designers just have to make sure that your message - “We can meet your business
needs” - are part of the Flash effort.

Also, make sure that the Flash introduction includes an opt-out link (”Click here to
skip intro”) and doesn’t run for more than 15 seconds or so. The idea is to draw
visitors into the site and engage them, not to overwhelm them with cool gimmicks
or how much money you spent developing your site.

As non-engineers or non-designers put it, just because you can do something
doesn’t mean that you should just for the sake of doing so.

Chris Scott heads Hodge Media Group, the custom publishing arm of Hodge
Communications, Inc. Hodge specializes in strategic public relations and marketing
communications for businesses, entrepreneurs and professional associations.

Formerly an award-winning journalist, he brings over 20 years of experience to
client engagements. Subscribe today to Communic@te! our free bimonthly e-
newsletter and get a free special report: “Using Buzz To Create a Groundswell For
Your Business.”

Visit http://www.hodgecommunications.com

People think that its easy to make money from the Internet.
While the cost of setting up a company has gotten cheaper on the
average compared to the Industrial Age overhead. You also have
more people with the same idea to compete with now. So in
exchange for less capital, you get more competition. If its not
one thing its the other.

There is a theory why not everybody, a large majority of online
businesses fail to make money online: The Pareto Principle.

Simply stated. The Pareto Principle posits that there is an
imbalance in the way wealth flows. A significant minority of a
certain group will always get a larger share than the rest of
the majority in terms of certain desirables like profit, market
share, customer satisfaction, etc.

Most people tend to assume that all things are in equilibrium in
one way or another. It was assumed that 100 units of input
usually and logically gives you simply 100 units of output as
well. But this is not the case. This fallacy is so prevalent
most people take it at face value.

The Truth is that 100 units of input can actually give you back
0 to more than 100 units of output. If in actuality, you take a
look at reality, when the causes and effects of a phenomenon are
analyzed, more often than not it will show an imbalanced result.

We use the numbers 80/20 to show the disparity in general, but
the results arent usually along this ratio. There is usually no
50/50 balance but more often an 80/20, 70/30, or even a 99/1
ratio. Therefore, when we have grasped at the true critical
relationships of a phenomena, then the natural state of things
is most likely to be significantly imbalanced.

So what does this have to do with making money online? Very
elementary, Dear Watson. The Pareto Principle also applies in
force to the Internet. Why are most businesses not making much
money online? It is because a businesss presence is not
optimized to its strengths, giving Murphys Law a big field day.

To be more specific, here are the reasons why:

1. Great wealth flows to the most optimized. Businesses that
have spent the time to capitalize on their strengths and protect
their weaknesses will have the advantage in attracting more
business. This is because most people online who want to
purchase a service or a product prefer that it can be reliable
as well as trustworthy with the money they spend.

Businesses that have determined their target market and spent
the time aggressively wooing these customers get the most
revenue. Take note that even a slight advantage is highly valued
by customers.

2. Concentration on a strength that matter to the customer.
Markets are fickle. And online businesses that take the time to
identify their target markets needs and wants will always get
the customers favor and money.

Another benefit on making the effort to communicate with the
customer is the surgical and precise allocation of capital to
support and enhance a feature customers value. Businesses like
these are never flying blind.

3. Businesses that react or initiate actions to positive or
negative customer feedback the fastest gets the businesses.
Companies that address a customers feedback for better service
and sustains it while making a profit, gets more customers to be
loyal to the business.

Since customers mostly do not want to start searching for a
better business unless they see the advantage from a competitor
or worse, forced by incompetent service from their current
provider, it would logically be better for a business to just
make significant adjustments to keep customers than lose them to
competitors.

Most online businesses do not see the potential dangers of
ignoring feedback from customers and not taking action to
rectify their concerns in the most effective way possible. The
next point explains this.

4. Small factors exponentially affect huge outputs. Imagine a
herd of zebra in an African plain. When one zebra spots a lion
nearby, it alerts the rest of the herd, and they run for safety.

Same goes with the money from customers. If at a crucial moment
negative feedback from customers hit critical mass, customers
will start moving to the nearest seemingly competent competitor
for safety. Customers follow safety in numbers.

This is also the same for making profits. Customers who found
gold in a company in terms of product or service will try to get
everybody else on the bandwagon, creating a vortex of spending
that concentrates on the lucky company. Sales will be
exponential as long as it can sustain the phenomena that
customers are crazy about.

If you are a knowledge seeker or if you are into researching,
the web can be a great advantage and help to you. You don’t need
to go out and search in the towering heights of books in
libraries. That is if you have time too. Almost everything can
be found with just the click of your finger and you are
accessing information worldwide in the easiest way possible.

You can get resources such as e-books, music, videos and
software. If you want to sell out something, of course your
option would be like to ask anyone in your town who is
interested. That makes a lot of effort but with the web, you can
easily interact with people online. You can even post your
products on websites for a wider viewing. Plus, supplies never
run out so if you are planning of buying, they have a lot of
pretty stocks because it is worldwide.

Websites have extremely improved our lives. Everything goes
instantly and we never have to bother anymore with the time.
Since websites are highly in demand, then they should highly be
comfortable for the people who are accessing it. Your aim is to
make stunning designs that will capture the eyes of the users
and grant them with the information they want in a clear manner.
Some websites are very sturdy and some won’t even take the
chance to stay long with it. Fast loading and access is what
makes them stay in your site.

Graphic design is important in keeping up your website. Graphic
is like the center of the page. Imagine a website with no
designs and contains text only? For sure no one will even bother
to check it out even the oldies. What makes up a good website is
the header graphics. If your page does not have a very enticing
header graphics, then the users accessing your page would think
the rest of the page looks more like it. Who would even be
interested? The product cover is something that makes up the
page too. If your website is mainly for selling purposes, then
of course keep up with your products list and cover. You need
not incorporate too many designs in it, just images and
descriptions of the product. And the last thing is the
background graphics. A webpage is dull without background
graphics. Without it, everything will be lifeless. So don’t rush
your pages. Keep it up and it will be worth it.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit
http://www.ucreative.com