http://www.successful-sites.com/ SEO, Usability, and Online Marketing Articles on Successful Sites en-us Copyright 2005 Successful Sites http://www.successful-sites.com/images/successful-sites-logo.gif http://www.successful-sites.com/ Is advertising a sellout, or can it actually improve your site? The right kind of advertising can actually make your site a valuable destination. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/content-claiborne-advertising.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:45:38 EST Conventional wisdom tells us it's better to sell more things...not less. But surprisingly, you can often be more successful by limiting what you sell and who you sell it to! Read on to understand what we mean. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/content-claiborne-targeting.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Mon, 26 Feb 2007 10:45:38 EST What does the WWF wrestling have to do with SEO? More than you might think! Take a look at this amusing and accurate aricle by Matt Williams. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-williams-smackdown.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Fri, 16 Feb 2007 10:45:38 EST Sure, we'd all like to have the magic formula for top rankings, but it really doesn't exist. Copying your competitor's SEO strategies will only make you a pale imitation of the original. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-claiborne-paint-by-numbers.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Fri, 16 Feb 2007 10:45:38 EST Google Local search has the potential to drive business from your geographic area. Are you optimizing for this niche? http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-jahn-google-local.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Fri, 22 Sep 2005 11:45:38 EST Why did your site lose rankings right after you changed it? Did you cause the drop? People worry themselves to death over many changes that have little to do with their efforts on their site. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-claiborne-cause-and-effect.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Fri, 22 Sep 2005 11:45:38 EST It's easy to overlook usability issues that frustrate your audience because you already know how to use your site. We often blame visitors for being wrong when they can't use the site! Scottie Claiborne compares the functionality issues of a light fixture in her house and how users interact with it to the broken spots in a website. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/usability-claiborne-audience.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Fri, 09 Sep 2005 11:45:38 EST Are you aware of the seven deadly sins of web design? These are the things that drive users away instead of inviting them in. Diane Aull gives us an overview of the sins and some practical strategies to avoid or minimize them. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/usability-aull-deadly-sins.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Fri, 09 Sep 2005 11:45:38 EST Is your website shallow? Have you put too much emphasis on looks and not enough emphasis on substance? Kim Krause Berg touches on the reasons why users abandon sites without getting to know them. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/usability-krause-abandonment.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Sun, 25 Aug 2005 08:35:18 EST Customer Care is often a term used for the department that doesn't seem to care at all- the complaint department! Are you prepared to care for your customers when things don't work as they should? This article by Scottie Claiborne stresses the importance of error handling. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/usability-claiborne-errors.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Sun, 25 Aug 2005 08:35:18 EST Intuitive site navigation is the key to all usability efforts. This article contains the basics of laying out and organizing your site architecture. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/content-claiborne-architecture.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 08 Jul 2004 11:19:28 EST There is one thing you can do to improve your website that will attract both search engine rankings and convince people to buy- add more words. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/copywriting-claiborne-secret-sauce.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 13 May 2004 11:19:28 EST More creative ideas for adding content to your site and value for your visitors. This article is part 2 of and overview on ideas for building up your site with information from different sources. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/content-claiborne-content2.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 19 Feb 2004 11:19:28 EST What makes a testimonial believable? Read some great tips from Diane Aull on testimonials that build credibility. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/content-aull-testimonials.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 05 Feb 2004 11:19:28 EST Content, content, content. Content is king. What exactly is it? This article covers some basic things you need to include on your site along with some creative ideas that will keep visitors interested. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/content-claiborne-content1.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 05 Feb 2004 11:19:28 EST What can you learn from cheesy infomercials? More than you think! This look at wacky infomercials will show you a writing strategy that sells. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/copywriting-claiborne-infomercial.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 15 Feb 2004 11:19:28 EST How do you turn features into benefits? Karon Thackston gives us 5 steps to turn your boring features into eye-popping benefits. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/copywriting-thackston-features.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 19 Feb 2004 11:19:28 EST The right keyword phrases will make or break your search promotion efforts- Shane Pike shows us a great method of finding those elusive keyword phrases. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-pike-broadmatch.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 30 Jun 2005 11:19:28 EST You wouldn't expect your plumber to do drywall work, so why do you expect your designer to do your web marketing? http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-claiborne-specialists.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 30 Jun 2005 11:19:28 EST This tongue-in-cheek advice from Diane Aull will give you some great advice on things you shouldn't do for your web marketing efforts. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-aull-insane-seo.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 16 Jun 2005 11:19:28 EST Should you submit your pages monthly, weekly, or daily? The answer is NEVER! Read on for more details about the uselessness of submitting your pages to search engines. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-claiborne-submitting.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 16 Jun 2005 11:19:28 EST Links, links, links! Why are they so important? Find out in this easy-to-follow analogy and get some ideas about how to go about finding those valuable, needed links! http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-claiborne-linking.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 16 Jun 2005 11:19:28 EST Which are better for SEO, image or text links? The answer is both are useful, depending on your needs. Image links can be helpful with awkward keyword phrases and can make a difference in your internal linking strategy. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-claiborne-image-links.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 18 Mar 2005 11:19:28 EST This article from Scottie Claiborne outlines several examples of businesses that need to start with online marketing in order to make search a successful strategy. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-claiborne-more-than-search.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 05 Mar 2005 11:19:28 EST You don't need to stuff keywords all over your home page to rank well! SEO guru Jill Whalen explains why keyword stuffing and doorway pages aren't a good long term strategy. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-whalen-seo-myths.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 15 Feb 2005 11:19:28 EST How do you stay ahead of the game when it's so easy to duplicate strategies on the web? Some ideas to get you started. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-claiborne-competitors.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 18 Nov 2004 11:19:28 EST This silly little story explains how a search engine spider crawls the web and what it likes! http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-claiborne-story.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 18 Nov 2004 11:19:28 EST Debra O'Neil-Mastaler presents a strategy for turning copyright infringement into a link building campaign. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-mastaler-copyright.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 16 Sep 2004 11:19:28 EST How do you find copyright infringers without spending lots of time on it? Some great tools that can help you protect your hard work. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-claiborne-copyright.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 16 Sep 2004 11:19:28 EST Is your newletter lackluster? Does it get results? Read this article for tips on effective newsletters. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-krause-newsletter.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 08 Jul 2004 11:19:28 EST Keyword research is the foundation to a strong search marketing campaign. Find out how to get started finding the phrases to target in your optimization efforts. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-marks-keywords.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:19:28 EST When it's time to hire a pro, how do you go about selecting one? This article offers some things to look for and some things to watch out for when hiring a search marketer. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-claiborne-hire-seo.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:19:28 EST The fastest way to the top of the engines is to pay per click. Where do you get started? Ed Kohler reviews the basics to get you started on the right foot. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/promotion-kohler-ppc.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 29 Apr 2004 11:19:28 EST Optimizing for search engines is just a small part of making sales. Rosemary Brisco provides us with a step-by-step guide for assessing sales potential and making them happen. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/brisco-online-sales.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 13 May 2005 11:19:28 EST Why should you bother with web analytics? What can they tell you? Sally Falkow explains how tracking your website's progress is essential. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/roi-falkow-why.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 15 Apr 2005 11:19:28 EST Web analysis terminology can be confusing. This article tells you which metrics you should be tracking and why. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/roi-claiborne-terminology.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 15 Apr 2005 11:19:28 EST A simple tutorial for using SSI (server side includes) to manage your website. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/technology-claiborne-ssi.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 10 Jun 2004 11:19:28 EST While most people would never consider parking in a handicapped space when they weren't handicapped, few webmasters think about the online equivalent; keyword stuffing that clogs up screen readers and braille converters. Matt Bailey offers some thoughts on why accessibility should be considered for all sites. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/usability-bailey-accessibility.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 18 Mar 2005 11:19:28 EST Kim Krause Berg brings us this look at why usability and search engine marketing go hand in hand. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/usability-krause-passion-usability.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 05 Mar 2005 11:19:28 EST PDF files can trap searchers who want more information. Craig Geis details this problem and how to solve it. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/usability-geis-pdf.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 10 Jun 2004 11:19:28 EST Many sites achieve great rankings, only to drive visitors away with a number of annoyances. Kim Krause details the top 10 usability errors in web pages and offers practical advice for improving both usability and conversions. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/usability-krause-search-engine.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 13 May 2004 11:19:28 EST Is your web copy readable? Read this article from Christine Churchill to find common mistakes made when formatting text for the web along with suggestions to improve readability. http://www.successful-sites.com/articles/usability-churchill-readbility.php rss@successful-sites.com (Scottie Claiborne) Thu, 22 Jan 2004 11:19:28 EST