Well-designed Headings to Improve Usability of Website

When people go online in order to seek information, they usually end up utilizing means in order to best find the content they are looking for. At the end of the day, when they are able to determine if a web page contains the information they are looking for, they become better equipped in searching, deciphering, and even choosing the information they want to access at any given point, but particularly through search engines.

Headings play a particularly important role when it comes to finding information online, and secondly, facilitating the use of the website within which the content or information desired is to be found. It can be illustrated in two-fold scenarios, one before the website is found, and one when the user is already within the website.

Headings in hypertext protocol or HTML are a group of text rich with content, usually composed of primary keywords that give a clue or idea about the content of the website. In general terms, a heading is a line or hierarchical label that informs the users as to the content of the website, alongside pertinent information as regards the nature of this content.

When it comes to searching for particular websites, headings play a pivotal role in having the page show up at all in the results of any search engine query. Search engines, when they ‘crawl’ through the Internet looking for relevant information and related websites, usually put into consideration the heading. Headings are so important here that in order to search engine optimize one’s website, many believe that it must then contain major keywords that truly characterize the content of the page.

Moreover, aside from the HTML content rich code headings, it’s also important to put primacy upon the heading that is present within the main text body displayed on the website. This is the huge hierarchical label or title that gives the readers an idea of what is contained in the page.

In search engine results, these in-text headings are extremely important because they are what most search engines use in order to label each individual link derived from the search. This then can then determine if the user will find the heading relevant enough to the search he or she is looking for. By providing an efficient heading, one is already providing a great convenience to the user by making the website readily accessible and usable.

More importantly, once the user is already within the realms of the website, headings in particular guide them as they explore its complete contents. When the heading reflects effectively the very content of a single page, the website as a whole is made more usable as no page is designed to mislead the user into thinking the information he or she is looking for is within that page.

Another great function of headings in a website that may be used to subdivide various information contained in them is that it facilitates the scanning through of information of users in a page. As it is, users are oftentimes not interested on the content found in its entirety in a page, but only a particular part of it. By allowing them to be guided by headings, websites become more usable, friendly, and convenient for all its users.

Moreover, it gives users a general idea about the hierarchical structure of the website and how information is organized. The flow of this information, and the understanding of the users of this particular flow, is of importance to users as this could very well determine their understanding of the concepts explored in the information presented.

Headings also imply that when users scan for information they need selectively, they may pick out particular portions of the text in between headings without necessarily compromising understandability and being taken out of context.

The most convenient use of headings is when text-heavy pages utilize a small portion of table of contents at the top of the page, where the information is subdivided into their respective headings. In this way, users are already able to have a general understanding of what the website contains in a direct and straightforward manner. Thus, if the table of contents is also link-activated, it will allow for them to skip only to the information they need.

At the end of the day, headings improve a website’s usability by simplifying information made available to users and organizing them into a format most convenient. It allows for users to first, find the information they need through a search engine, and once within the website, determine and scan through the text easily in order to find the information they need in a short time and with very little trouble.

Information on Websites: Moving Around, Saying a Lot, and Remembering More

Arranging information in a website is hardly different from laying out furniture in a house. As much as you would group different kinds of furniture together in certain rooms, so would you group different kinds of information in certain pages.

If you’re just starting out in building your own website, then this is a useful metaphor for you when it comes to positioning information effectively in your website and avoiding a confusing, unorganized mess.

Grouping information together
Beds, dressers and closets belong in a bedroom; kitchen appliances, cupboards and pantry shelves belong in the kitchen – you get the idea, right?

The idea is to categorize information. You don’t want to be hopping from one page to another and back again to get a coherent set of information. You’d want them all conveniently contained in one page.

So for example, if you sell items on your website, group these into one page. (Of course if you have a lot of items to sell, categorize them into the different kinds of products as well).

If you maintain a website about your family or an association you’re part of, group pertinent information together. It probably won’t be helpful if you lump the family tree with the photo albums and the contact information all in one single page. That’d make for one very cluttered site.

Typical websites have major headings or categories, which are:
- Home (also called index) page
- About Me / Us page
- Resources page
- Contact page

A Home page should contain information that answers the question “What is this website about?” It should also display the other categories so a visitor can easily access them.

The About Me / Us page holds information about the person or organization who owns the website. Some websites don’t have these, but it adds to reliability and attachment to the site when visitors are allowed information that lets them know more about the site’s owner.

The Resources page holds useful and practical information for the visitor. Some resource pages also contain trivia and games, which many visitors enjoy. The resources page is usually the page that gets updated the most as resources are added or renewed. Updates on this page is usually the main reason a visitor comes back to surf the site again.

A contact page is usually the last page to be viewed by visitor when accessing a site. It is usually done only when the visitor wishes to directly communicate with the website’s administrator and / or owner. While the information for this could have been included in the About Us page, a Contact page makes this getting information easier for the visitor. And ease in accessing information is an important factor in good website design.

Laying Them All Out
Now that you’ve got your categories and the information ready, now is the time to lay the information out on each page.

First of all, it is highly recommended that you maintain a uniform layout for all your website’s major pages. This is to help the visitor orient himself quickly to your site navigate easily.

For example, if you locate the major headings of your website at the top area of your Home page, it is best that you do the same for all the rest of the pages. Getting a different layout for each page tends to confuse the visitor.

Hot Spots, Weak Spots
With a uniform layout, now it’s time to begin prioritizing information. As it is with a room, a web page has choice focal points and weak spots. You should identify these areas on your web pages and lay out the information accordingly in degrees of priority.

Even with animation and graphics, the main medium of the Internet is still text. Since this is so, applying the principles of reading when laying out information on your website will make it so that viewing each page is easy and effective.

The English language is written (and therefore, also read) from left to right, top to bottom. The website visitor will skim the pages in this general pattern. So the information you consider the most important should ideally be located at the top left area of your web page.

Of course, the information may not necessarily be text as it could very well be a picture. But rest assured, what will be located in the top left will get the first and therefore, freshest attention from the visitor. It would do well to present your core message in this area.

Other information follows as the progression from left to right, top to bottom continues. However, despite this pattern, a visitor is capable to digressing from such a pattern. In fact, next to the top left area, a visitor tends to notice the left and right margins of a page. Usually, links to other pages are located in the left side of the page, while pictures or advertisements are located at the right.

The center can either become the weakest or strongest area of a page, depending on how the other elements are laid out.

It becomes weak when the body is uniform all throughout (as one continuous block of text or pictures). However, if the body is strategically broken up, the center of the page becomes a prime focal point and therefore may rank as the most important area next to, if not higher than, the top left area of a web page.

While it is possible to have an endless length for a web page, it is highly discouraged. It is much preferred to have several short pages that are concise with easily seen information, rather than to have a few long ones that are crammed with text and pictures.

As you layout the information you wish to share on your website, keep in mind convenience and practicality as would in laying out tables and chairs in a room. You will soon find that you have come up with a website that is not only informative, but memorable as well, because of how well you laid it out.

You can Earn Money by Blogging!

Indeed this is true. If the first outburst of blogging in the Internet was introduced for hobbyists, now, you can enjoy doing it, while earning thousands of dollars.

Yes, truly and surely, you can make money blogging. Realistically, the most you can make is a few hundred dollars a month that cannot be found on trees or scoffed at. Nowadays, the Blogosphere, a social network of bloggers, have provided more options and ways wherein you can maximize your earning potential by blogging.

Do you want to make money blogging? Then, choose an ideal blog site that will cater to your requirements for a blog, sign up, create a blog and publish it right away! Blogging sites allow you to build blogs according to your tastes. Others have HTML and link options. Others have customized templates where you can change your blog page’s color and design.

In between signing up and creating a blog, though, you must know what subject to blog about. Your subject is an important consideration, so take your time conceptualizing before jumping into the fray. If you must know, the subject will be the determining factor how much money you can earn with the blog you’re going to create.

Try to look for subjects or topics that pay more from per click among others. Check out Google AdWords and AdSense to know how much each clicks on a subject costs. Google AdSense then allows you to place ads on your blog. Once a user happens to open your blog and click on the advertisement, you will earn money on it. Just that!

There is also the BlogAds.com services wherein allows you to gain control over the ads appearing on your blog. This service is not based on a pay-per-click system, meaning it will allow you to make money blogging regardless of the number of clicks on the ads.

This is because BlogAds pay companies for the space of their ads for a certain period. Their sign up options are free and after joining, you can then determine what your advertising prices you will charge.

Once your offering is announced to companies, consequently, they will contact you for an ad space on your blog. Google, meanwhile, will place any ad that has keywords related to your blog. Any which way, you are guaranteed to earn.

Other ways to secure earning from your blogging activities is to become an affiliate partner to another company. There is a popular affiliate program, which provides commission to its partners for every click on the ad, placed on their site/blog. You will also get a percentage from the sale of their product made in your blog.

There are plenty of affiliate programs with varied commission percentages. Others even offer profit sharing.

If you are blogging for a specific cause, you still can take advantage of it in a positive way. You can earn money blogging for a cause. You can ask people to give donations for a specific cause, though most of it will go to you.

You can use the PayPal donation button and put on your site. There is also Amazon with its honor system that sets up a donation button for you.

Are picking up nice ideas already? Well, here is one you will definitely enjoy, how about making money through blogging about unique merchandise and then offering them up for sale simultaneously in your blog site?

There are people who would gladly spend for merchandise that are custom-made, unique and totally out of this world! Edit your blog headline into a catchy one, create your very own logo and then offer up these kinds of items with your logo in it. It will be a sort of brand tag.

There are online companies that allow you to design your own items and those that allow you to custom design your logo, too. You will see how it will boost your blog once people start wearing and using your items with your logo attached in it.

Do not just concentrate on one way of money – earning opportunity. You can even combine these methods and earn more.

As the blogosphere develops, evolves and takes with it lots of internet users, so as earning opportunities increase by blogging. Just think, you will enjoy blogging as a hobby and earn in the outset, too!

Need More Subscribers and Huge Traffic? Produce Viral e-Books

Viral marketing, when done correctly, can produce very good results. These results can be in the form of site traffic, subscribers to your mailing list, or increased sales of your products and services.

One of the best ways to do viral marketing strategy is the production of viral e-books. This is not just an ordinary e-book. These are books that can be freely passed on by someone to another person with added benefits to both parties.

How does it work with viral e-books?

Aside from having an interesting topic and a wealth of information, the main purpose of the viral e-book is containing links to the site and products the author is promoting. These links can be modified from one person to another by changing the affiliate ID in the link. These links still lead to the web site of the author but credit will also be given to the affiliate which is like a commission.

The author can allow rebranding rights of the e-book to its readers. That means the reader, who would also want to earn from the e-book by becoming an affiliate, can replace the links with his own affiliate code to earn commissions. With this incentive or reward, he will surely pass the book to more and more people. That’s where viral explosion begins.

To be able to maximize the purpose of producing the viral e-book, have an explosion of traffic and have huge number of subscribers, we must have the following factors in place.

- Wide distribution. There are several ways on how you can offer your e-book. You can offer it for free or for a minimal amount. If you allow rebranding, you can also charge for it and have options such as full customization or just part customization rights. Resale rights can also be offered for a certain fee.

However, if a certain amount is tagged to your e-book, its spread will be limited as not everyone is willing to spend money on these e-books. So to have the widest possible reach of your e-book, it is best to offer it for free and the rebranding rights, maybe the part customization, for free as well. Anyways, what we are after is for the e-book to reach a huge number of potential customers and get the most commission from the attached affiliate links.

- Quality affiliate links. To be able to maximize your e-book and give its full potential, it should have good and legitimate affiliate links. But how do you make the readers really click on those links?

If your e-book bombards the readers with lots of affiliate links instead of quality information, they will probably stop reading your book, deletes it and forgets about it. Likewise, if the links lead to affiliate products which are totally not related to the e-book’s theme, you will just lose a good number of potential customers.

The best way to include the affiliate links in your e-book is to make them appear as natural as the other statements in your book. Try to weave them into the content in such a way that it is not obvious to the eyes of your readers. For example, when you want to readers to learn more about a certain topic discussed on your e-book, you can then mention the link as a source of additional information.

- Maximum return for all parties involved. Since you want wide distribution of your e-book, you will offer it for free as well as the rebranding rights. But what will you benefit from it? Of course, just the fact that people will sign up as an affiliate for them to be able to rebrand the links with their own codes means that you will gain more and more subscribers to your list.

Having more and more people who would want to rebrand the links means that more chances of your e-book getting distributed to others because of the incentives these people would gain. And the more people who will get to receive your e-book, the more traffic you will get on your site.

It wouldn’t really matter now if you are not earning from the rebranding rights. What is more important is the increased traffic and subscribers you will get which will eventually lead to more and more sales and success for your business.

Modern SEO Techniques

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are methods that aid in the improvement of a website’s ranking in the listings of search engines. There are different kinds of listings that are displayed in the results pages of search engines, such as paid inclusion, pay-per-click advertisements, and organic search results. Utilizing SEO can increase the quantity of site visitors that acts on the activity that the site intends.

Sites have different goals for search optimization. Some sites search for all kinds of traffic. A SEO strategy that is broad in scope can be advantageous for sites that cover broad interest, such as directories and periodicals. On the other hand, majority of the sites attempt to maximize their pages for a high quantity of very specific keywords that radiate the possibility of a sale. Usually, focusing on well-chosen traffic produces sales leads of desirable quality, and allows advertisers to pull in more business.

The importance of having a high rank for an advertiser’s site cannot be emphasized enough. Unfortunately, many site owners believe that their site has a high-ranking, when the truth is exactly the opposite. Others who are aware that they do not possess enough presence in search engines do not know that it is possible to achieve the ranking they want, and that they can get it through means that are a lot easier and more efficient.

So what are the techniques that advertisers must employ to maximize their optimization and garner the site activity and profits that they seek? Here are some of the most useful ones.

1. Title tags should be written in a creative way. It should be created with the strongest keyword targets as the basis. It is the most important tag of a web site when it comes to optimization. The specific keyword of the web site that is being optimized should be the one that is placed in the title tag. It goes without saying that every site should have its own title tag.
 
2. Carefully select the words and phrases to be assigned to Alt tags. Alt tags are not really mandatory, but they are provided for text browsers because images do not get displayed in web browsers, and it is the Alt tags that give information to the users about its significance. The rule in Alt tags is fairly simple: only key phrases or key words should be put in Alt tags, overdoing may cause a site to disappear in search results or get banned from it indefinitely.

3. Manage keyword density. Keyword density is the percentage occupied by keywords or keyword phrases in a web page. Ideally, keywords are used once in the title tag, the heading tag, and in bold text. Keywords should be placed at the top of the page, and phrases can be inserted in every paragraph, depending on how long the paragraph is.

4. Determine the appropriate page size for the site. Speed is a vital element to the success of a site, and it important to both online visitors and the search engines. It is recommended to limit web pages under 15K.

5. Create rich themes for the pages. Search engines are increasingly getting particular about themes. Content should be created as often as possible, and the pages should be maintained to 200 to 500 words. The content should be created in relation to the market, and should be linked to the other related content present on the site.

6. Make the site’s design attractive to the viewer. All efforts in optimization will be in vain if the site is poorly designed and if its contents are hard for viewers to read. There should be more text content than HTML content in the web site. Viewers should be able to use the pages in all major browsers. It should be noted that most search engines veer away from JavaScript and Flash.

7. Stay away from the bad techniques. Utilizing them could get a site blacklisted from the search engines. Spamming is a no-no, and the following techniques are considered spamming: doorway and identical pages, tiny or invisible text, cloaking, usage of keyword phrases in author tags etc.

Advertisers should keep in mind that simplicity is the basis of a successful SEO campaign. Sites should be easy for viewers to locate, follow, and read, and should contain relevant content. Following the techniques above will prove worthwhile for site owners in the future.

A Fitness Plan for a Lean & Mean Website

In this age of instant everything, hardly anyone wants to wait. That is probably the main reasons why drive-thrus, instant messaging, one-touch photo printing and all sorts of “now” technology and products were invented and are profitable today.

The same can be said when surfing the Internet. Recent studies conducted on Internet habits show that users get irritated when a web page takes more than 10 seconds to completely download; beyond 15 seconds, more than half leave the site entirely. That is how demanding the average Internet user is.

Some web designers and developers would probably argue that with broadband access, download time should no longer be an issue. However, what these people fail to mention is that only 3 in 10 users in America have hi-speed access. A great majority of Internet users still surf the Internet via dial-up modems. At speed of about or below 50 kbps, web pages heavy with unnecessary baggage easily lose the race for the user’s precious attention.

So how do you keep your website lean, mean and quick? Here are some tips:

1. Use lean graphics.
Graphics, even in .jpeg or .gif form will still take a while to load. But since images do enhance a website’s appearance, it is very likely you will find these necessary. However, keep the loading time for the images down by specifying the height and width attributes of your images. That way, the user’s browser will be able to map the page’s layout while the images are being loaded.

If large images are necessary for your content, use a thumbnail a link to the bigger version of the picture. This allows the user choose what images he will wait for to load and saves him from needing to wait for those pictures he’s not interested in.
Another nifty trick for quick-loading images is to use software that cuts up large graphic files into smaller pieces that can be put back together using a table. Software like PictureDicer (by ShoeString) or Online Image Splitter does exactly that and generates HTML code for a table tag. However, be sure to reduce 256-color images to 8-bit colors before processing the picture.
2. Cut down on the flash intros.
They may look nice, but they take forever to load. And if these animated presentations are at the front door of your website, you stand to lose a lot of visitors (practically half) even before they saw your actual site.

If you simply have to have a flash introduction, please do not forget to include a “skip” button prominently displayed on the page as an option for those who don’t want to wait to load the intro.

Another caveat that comes with flash intros is that (as of now) search engines are unable to index content on flash format. So if you intend to present most of your important information via flash presentation, you stand to lose a lot when it comes to hits from search engines.

3. Maintain an ideal page size.
Experts vary in opinion on what is the optimum file size for a web page. As a middle figure, somewhere between 30 to 50 KB file size (including fonts, graphics, html and JavaScript and so on) should do fine and load pretty quickly.

4. Keep the pages as shallow as possible.
No one wants to go through so several clicks and links before accessing the page they intend to reach. When creating your site’s over-all organization, make sure that every page can be accessed from any point within 2 clicks. (3 are ok, but it’s pushing it.)

That said; try to keep all your pages no further down than 2 levels deep from the home page. If the site grows to have so many pages that making deeper levels is inevitable, consider creating an archive page where outdated pages may be kept for reference without causing delay to the more current content.

Having a quick-loading page show that you value your visitors’ time. They will show their appreciation by staying longer to know what you have to say. It also enhances your company’s brand, showing that you can be efficient, but substantial.

Paying attention to what is important and useful rather than what looks good but offers little in content will result in a website that is not only quick and lean, but usable as well. And for your target audience, that is the main and most important key.

Seven ways of making blogging work for you

With the software that blogging have nowadays, setting up one is much easier than it used to be.

Blogging has become the trend of today. They have also become a great tool that most businesses use to get the attention of more customers.

For the independent professional, blogs are an easy communication tool to enhance credibility and trust among customers. Besides that, blogs make it easy for other people to locate you on the Internet.

But then, 9 out of 10 blogs that are created have the tendency to be abandoned because they can take up a lot of time. And time is one thing that professionals do not have so much of. The result may not seem apparent in the beginning but it will be later on.

There are some keys to making your blog work best for you, instead of you working for it. Once you learned and incorporated these steps, it will only take you less than 20 minutes to post one entry. 

But it is already advised that additional minutes should be spent on reviewing, reading and commenting on your blog and other blogs sites on the internet. This way, you get to keep your customers and gain potential ones.

What are seven ways of setting up a successful blog?

1. Write important and unique contents. You can also narrate and share stories to highlight your knowledge and expertise. Never forget how telling your readers how you deal with clients. Let them know the value of what you are offering. And make it easy for them to contact you if they have questions to ask or if they want to avail your services.

2. Put up something new twice or thrice weekly. It does not to be very long articles. Short articles are fine as long as the essence and value is there.

3. Link to other useful resources available on the web. This is very important in order to build traffic expanding your target market. You can research online for topics you can post that is related to your site offering. If possible, write out comments on other blogs. Let them know that you are spending time reading about them so they know that you are always available.

4. Do not forget to submit to blog directories and do trackbacks. If you do not have any idea how to do this, get the help of someone that is an expert on that field. You can also read some blog tutorials available on some sites. Ebooks are also offering some tips and techniques on how to go about blogging.

5. Keep track of your visitors. Have a counter set up in your blog so you will see who has been reading your posts. This will also help you in figuring out the number of people that are coming in and coming back to your blog.

6. Make a list of all your products and services. Check if the landing pages are linked correctly. Nothing can turn off visitors quickly than having been linked to some site not in any way related to your blog. If you have a shopping cart, you can use your affiliate links and ad tracking features for easy access.

7. Remember to link to your own website and vice versa. It is better to have a different site dedicated to your blog than having one incorporated to your website. Having it separately increases your chances of getting more and varied types of visitors. Why do your advertising in one when you can do it in the ways.

8. Blogs should not be pure “sales talk”. Readers are a lot smarter nowadays. They can sense marketing from afar. If this happens, they will not be interested in continuing on because they do not want to be marketed on. They encounter those things everyday so spare them the suffering.

9. Be patient. Although there are some blogs that work right away, some takes time. Update, update and update but do not expect instant result to come pouring in. Just sit back and think of other techniques you can use to your blogs to make it more successful.
 
Blogging should not be set aside as something unimportant. It can be very useful for you once you know what you are doing.

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