Add Search and Earn

Mar 012009
 

searchIn regards to improving the usability of your website,  it’s always a good idea to have a search function for your site. It helps the visitor find what they are looking for faster on your site, and it supports your site when simple navigation fails to help a visitor find what they are looking for. Many platforms come with a search engine, like Joomla and WordPress, but you don’t have to rely on them. A great alternative is using Google’s search function, and you can actually make money from it as well.

Search In Action

Here is an example of it in action on this Investment Blog. When using the Google search, the visitor has the option on how to search. They can search all of Google or only the sites content. By default the results page take the visitor to Google to show the results, but you can also set this up to display on your own site.

When the results are displayed Google Ads are also displayed. When a visitor clicks, you make coin. You do lose your visitor though, and that is the downside. It really depends on your sites business model on what you want the visitor to do. Really though, if you don’t have a search function for you site, I would jump on this right away. It’s a win for you, and a win for your visitors. The investment blog also displayed a Tag Cloud which can also support visitors in their quest for your content by quick search. No surprise their biggest word is DOW.

googlesearch

AdSense

I you are unfamiliar with Google’s AdSense, you can sign up here: Google Adsense. Once you have an account set up, just click on the second tab labeled Adsense Setup, and you are on your way. Good Luck!

And on a side note, I try to avoid getting political, but I am getting tired of these stimulus packages. It’s seems like we are just paying off debt with another debtor. Anybody else hate these things?

Web Hosting Search

Feb 032009
 

webhosting

Over the past month I have found two popular site themes or ideas amongst my clients. Many of them are financial related, I will be doing a three part series this week on credit cards site by the way, and the second popular theme is hosting reviews. I can understand the sudden increase in financial sites, but have been a little surprised in the number of hosting review sites. I have analyzed ten of them in January alone. By comparing all of them I also learned a little something new in regards to hosting. It also brought me to a hosting review site that has figured out the same thing I did, not all hosting sites are the same, and they should really not be generalized.

Common Hosting Review Sites

So we know all hosting sites are not the same, they offer different packages, different prices, and different customer services. What we often forget, or don’t even realize, is that many hosting companies are geared for a specific audience. They could be specialized for bloggers, e-commerce sites, gaming sites, or anything really. Imagine a typical blogger. Do they really need a host that offers free SSL certificates, or dedicated servers. They want to know what’s best for hosting a blog. Who has the best software, what are the lowest prices, do they support php? What I have found looking at several hosting review sites, is that they commonly omit this concept.

The review sites are catering to a general audience. Only a few of them review hosting sites based on specific niche, and when they do, it’s typically just one. Then I found one site that didn’t forget that there is more than one kind of hosting company, WebHostingSearch.com. Web Hosting Search nicely breaks down the reviews by niche making it easy to pick the right plan.

Reviews by Hosting Types:

  • Cheap Hosting
  • WordPress Hosting
  • eCommerce Hosting
  • Reseller Hosting
  • Virtual Private Servers
  • Dedicated Servers

They have reviews for each type, and if you are still just looking for a generic server they have reviews on those as well, see getting shared web hosting. For those of you looking to support your small business with a website, I had to do a little digging, but they have reviews for you as well, see business website hosting. There is no reason to be paying higher prices for a server that is ten times you need, even if it was rated number one overall. Find the kind that is rated best for for your needs, and then look for the best price.

Web Hosting Search

So why name your site Web Hosting Search when you are a hosting review site? It’s their search function that’s why. They have an advanced search page where you could border line build your own server. As a webmastser setting up a new domain, you can simply go to their advanced search page, check all the different options that you may need, and they will give you the best results of their current 143 different types of hosting plans researched. This is an intense form, and you should have no excused about picking the wrong plan afterwards.

Add This

Feb 022009
 

Back in August I mentioned this cool little bookmarking icon that can play a huge roll in marketing your site. You can find it at the bottom of all of my posts, and on several other sites I have. I was recently asked to look at this used Honda Civics site, and was happy to find it on their site. Their site is in blog format, and if you are running a blog or a blog styled site you better get one. These little buttons make traffic.

Add This

addthis

What’s so great about that little Add This icon? Well for one, visitors use it to bookmark your site in their favorite social bookmarking sites, and also add tags. It’s a tool, and checking my stats it’s a tool that is being used more frequently. Visitors on BestWebImage.com alone, are now using it four times more than they were in September. It’s becoming to be an expected item by site visitors, and though you may think it’s not that important look around. Many of the big bloggers are using it.

The second reason to have it is because it helps you market a site, and it does it in the best way. It allows a visitor to socially bookmark it, creating a free public backlink to your site. Additionally, if they happen to select Digg as the bookmarking service you could be in for a whirlwind of traffic. Many of the services listed in the AddThis tool are big traffic suppliers, and marketing is all about getting your site seen.

A Little Comparison

Looking at the Honda site a little more I saw something that could possibly help their site, and the automotive site I mentioned in my last post, Big and Clean. Let’s say you wanted to look only for “Honda Civic 2000 used” on the Honda Site. All you would have to do is click on the year 2000 in their left sidebar, and their you are. On the other site, their is no way to search by year. Something I didn’t notice until I looked at this site.

What I am wondering is what is better for the user in this case? Would it be easier to just click on the year to find or would you rather input the year into a search form? Any suggestions out there? Searching for a car help.

Call to Action

Jan 212009
 

Should I say “Call to Action” or “FOUR”? Check out this Discount Golf Equipment site. When you visit you will quickly notice that it is a e-commerce site, and that they sell golf equipment. When visiting one of their product pages the call to action is very obvious. There are product details, pictures, product options, and an obvious method to make a purchase. What about the home page though? Are you compelled to do anything?

Getting Action Out of the Home Page

One of the big problems with a sites home page is that fact that they are usually designed for a general audience. We often design them trying to reveal everything we have to offer, and not really consider what the next action would be.

Here are your options, hope you do something.

So how do you get action out of a visitor without reallying knowing what they want, and without displaying your entire sitemap on the home page? You let them search.

Zappo Into Action

One of my favorite e-commerce sites usability wise is Zappos, the shoe store. What is their major call to action on their home page? It’s their search function. Comparing both sites they are both very similar in content. They both have: a search function, categories of products, and products that you can buy right from the home page. What gets people moving though is the very obvious search box Zappos has. It’s compelling, and once a visitor hits that search button the sale is half way done. Zappos knows the visitor wants shoes, they just don’t what kind. What should the visitor do? They should find it. What should the major call to action be? Make them search.

Not an e-Commerce Site

Not all sites are their to sell, but having a call to action on the home page is still just as important. Imagine if you site was just about golf tips in general like the Golf’s site blog, Golf Equipment Blog. Emphasis needs to be created to why a visitor is there, and what the valuble parts of the site are. Establish specific values, and specific actions will follow.

Able Ize It

Dec 182008
 

When creating a website making sure it’s easily accessible is important. Here in the U.S., if it’s a site made for the public, and it’s managed by the federal government accessibility is not just a consideration, it’s the law. If you are a huge corporation with a giant web presence like Target, you could even get sued, like they did for not making their site accessible for the blind. Accessibility shouldn’t just start or stop with your website though. You need to “ableize” your business. Where are the resources? Try the UK Disability Directory.

The directory is called Ableize. It’s owned and run by people with disabilities. The directory lists sites that are information based and service based for all types of disabilities. It currently has over a thousand listings, and additionally has a pretty cool forum (I like the theme). I found the site upon request to do an analysis on it. For most of the items I do in my basic analysis  it passed with flying colors. There was only two real accessibility issues I thought needed fixing, and they could be done in minutes. Hopefully they will take my advice.

One feature of the directory that I especially liked, was their search function. Having a search box is important, but it’s the quality of results that make it effective. Their search box automatically began dropping down possible answers while I was topping. This is a great, speed it up method, to improve usability. The second thing I like was the results. The results seemed well scored, and also included highlighted pages that were  starred as favorites.  Great, quick results, with additional eye cues. This is a very effective search.

Many webmasters skip the time it takes to make a site accessible for dissabilities, and this is unfortunate for themselves and the visitor. Simply checking the colors of your website could improve the experience of 5 out of every 100 visitors. Why? One out of at least ten men are color blind. 5% market share is not something to ignore, especially when we often fight to get just a half of percet improvement our bounce rate. Considering everyone isn’t always easy, but the reality is, it could help your bottom line.

How Life Works

Nov 202008
 

lifeHow Life Works is a cool new website packed full of easy to read articles about, you guessed it, life, or should I say tips on improving your life. You can find helpful tips on everything, from saving money on your grocery bills to relationship advice. Money and love, pretty important topics for life.

You can probably find plenty of advice sites out their, but there a few things I really like about this one. The first, which I am sure you saw already is their great big Search form. Having a search function is a great tool for users, and on this site they should have no problem finding what they are looking for.

recommendThe other two items I really liked was their listing of Recommended Articles, and their listing of Recently Featured Articles on their home page. Having a recommended article section is a great way to sell your site by showing your visitors your best work. If it’s your best work, or most valuable content, odds are good your visitors will like it as well. Having your recently featured content is also a great tool. It’s great for those returning visitors who made have already read your new content, and have returned to reference it in some way. It can also help draw in the new visitor, and give them an idea what happens on this site.

Thumbs up or thumbs down? I would have to give it two thumbs up. Honestly I was sold with the header alone. Cool logo, easy search, professional appearance. I did manage to find some good advice articles though (see their recent stuff under flash). I even found some stuff about web hosting in their business section.

Fast Forms

Nov 112008
 

fastformvip

I have wrote about these guys before, and I am doing it again. I love this company, and how the tackle the web and their web presence. Houston Real Estate, also known as VIP Realty uses several techniques to get their desired visitor action. The use parallel designs, multiple domain names, and different methods to get visitors feedback.

Their recent change was to their search form. The form is designed for a speedy submission, and an easy submission. There is lots of criteria to go by when looking for a new home, so a search form needs to be pretty extensive. How do you solve? Use drop downs. How do you keep it from being cumbersome? Group form types. See example: Houston Flat Fee MLS

Looking at the example I have taken a screenshot from, you will see the first two boxes are just basic text boxes, and then the rest are drop downs. Where do most webmasters mess things up? They throw the text boxes in the middle someplace slowing down the users experience. As it is now, a user uses the keyboard then move to the mouse to input form data. Grouping keeps the back and forth movement between the two to a minumum. I have said this before, but I can not say it enough because I have seen countless forms that just do not follow this basic advice. Group your forms by type, and group the user movements. It’s a basic usability tip for you.

Where’s Your Search Again

Aug 082008
 

On the first of the month I made a post, Where’s Your Search. I mentioned the value of having a search function for you site, and in that particular case it even effected the site owners bottom line. I can’t stress enough how valuable a search function is for your site, and in this particular case it’s just plain mandatory.

I was reviewing a site called, Albox Information. I was a little disoriented when I first visited the site. I first thought it was only a directory, but then found it offered other items in the left menu that gave it more of a community site feeling. It was a directory with local information like events, and weather. I liked the idea, and it looked like a great resources for those who live in Albox, Spain. When you have a directory though, that search box has to be clearly visible on all pages. It’s what visitors expect.

I thought of ending this by saying “if you are a directory, have a search”, but I think this site could be on to something in regards to creating a community site for their area. Maybe the easiest solution could be just to redefine their title, and to reanalyze their business plan. Instead of being titled “Albox Info – The Albox Directory for you..!”  maybe a better tag line would be “All things Albox”. It’s not the greatest title I know, but with a little navigation support below it, it could be very clear to visitors what this site is all about. Here is an example of a site they could be like, Tahoetopia. It’s a small site, but has been growing quickly because it now seen as a great resource for those visiting Tahoe. You will also notice that Tahoetopia has a search box on the top left of every page of its site.

Where’s Your Search?

Aug 012008
 

I was reviewing a web hosting company today, and liked what I saw. Clean layout, side by side comparisons, easy to scan text, but they were missing out on one thing. They didn’t have a search function. Typically, you want a search function to help support your visitors in site navigation. Navigation is not always intuitive as we might think, and that search button can help out a lot. For WebHostingGeeks though, they were missing out on money making opportunity.

Web hosting review sites often make money by having referral links to the hosts that they have done a review on. People like me, search for hosting companies, and find sites like theirs. The next step is to click on one of their links and move on to ordering the service that looked good. What happens when I don’t find what I am looking for though? In their case, I go back to Google, and start my search over. This is where they are missing out. If they had included a search function on their site, and made it visible near the top, chances are I would have used their search function first. Then the results are their referral links, not another hosting review company.

I was able to find a search function on their site located in their 2007 reviews, but it was a Google search form. There is no advantage to having that because it will just send the visitor off site. Having a internal search engine for your site is worth the time to set up, and could substantially effect your bottom line.

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