Drive It - Convert It!

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Archive for the ‘ General - Blog ’ Category

How “Accessible” Should You Be
Thursday, March 23rd, 2006

The Point:
Economic specifics trump economic generalizations.

The Background:
A client’s site had some design issues that made it somewhat less accessible to certain web visitors. If a User had changed the “text size” setting in their browser (e.g. Internet Explorer), to “largest”, some of the text menu’s would blow out of their space and became unreadable. Many far-sighted people do exactly this.

I talked to some technical resources to see what options there were to modify the site to limit a browser’s ability to enlarge the text within certain menu areas. This has traditionally been done using images (i.e. pictures of text), as opposed to using text characters themselves. However, there are certain design techniques (e.g. CSS), as well as Search Engine Optimization traits that make using text preferable to using an image. Well this started a whole discussion on the aging population and how a user should be able to view a site in whatever manner was best for them. It also led to a further discussion on moral and social responsibilities not to discriminate.

Now, I’m getting older, too, but it didn’t quite sit right with me that a site should need to cater to me, if indeed I wasn’t their typical audience. The answer all boiled down to target marketing.

If your target market includes people who are likely to have their “text size” set to large - then make sure your site is designed accordingly. However, you may very well be targeting a younger audience where this is secondary to other design considerations.

For all I know, the younger generation may soon be demanding non-resizable text sites as a way of rebelling against the older generation.

“So Dad, you want to monitor my MySpace account, bring a magnifying glass with you - ha ha ha.”

The bottom line is that when we try to cater to large trends we can lose sight of the immediate opportunities. Have a good understanding of who your target audience is. Design your site, design your ads, and design your ad landing pages all to appeal to that audience. If you’re in business to do business, your first priority must be economic specifics.

Examine generalizations; just because the macro market of the U.S. population is aging, doesn’t mean that you should be catering to it at this point. However, if you are targeting that market, then proper use of technology could definitely leverage your marketing strategy and your ability to convert these users.

Finally, a good piece of news is that true accessibility (i.e. for the handicapped), usually has excellent benefits. For example, if your site is developed so that a visually impaired person could easily understand and navigate it with a screen reader, then it is perfectly designed for Google and Yahoo’s crawler robots, too. For a crawler, like love, is blind.

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Why do techies do it?
Thursday, March 16th, 2006

The Point:
Do what you should, not what you can.

The Background:
A business associate/friend and I were talking. I was lamenting the fact that often when I came up with a strong marketing answer to a client’s business challenge, I was often at odds with my technical staff. They preferred to do things the “right way”. Additionally, they often came up with fantastic ways to deploy new technologies without any idea of the marketing purpose.

So I asked my friend - “why?” His answer - “Because they can.”

Now, to some I am a tech geek, to others a neophyte. It usually depends where on the spectrum you are coming from. I have both a strong marketing and strong technical background. However, I’m no match for those creating, using, and deploying technology on a daily basis. Still, I have felt the thrill of overcoming a technical challenge, of creating something that should be exciting to all - but isn’t.

Web Marketing is a marriage of marketing and technology. It is a constant battle for balance. If done right - you, the business client win. You leverage technology to drive more high quality traffic to your website. If done wrong - either you get a cool look that nobody sees, or a well trafficked, poorly converting page.

Seek out specialists that also see the big picture.

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The First Post
Friday, January 20th, 2006

Welcome to the Drive it! - Convert it! blog. The purpose of this blog will evolve. Initially I’ll be commenting on the news, events, and trends of the day. I’ll focus on how these items affect how you drive more traffic to your website and convert that traffic once its there.

I welcome your feedback and emails.

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