I love the fact that I can email you, link up with you on Linkedin, like you on Facebook and @reply you on Twitter. I’m thrilled that I can subscribe to your blog and download your free report on 5 ways to fabulous riches online.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I mean it, thank YOU!
Unfortunately, I want to call you.
Archaic, I know, but I want to pick up the phone and ring you up and talk to you about what your business can do for my business and I don’t want to be limited to 140 characters or what my brain can remember to squeeze into an email before my knubby fingers accidentally brush the send key on my lilliputian smart phone’s keypad.
Unfortunate because I spent 10 wasted minutes cruising your website for a phone number to no avail. No phone number, no where. Now I’m cranky, the moment’s lost, I’ll call someone else, maybe someone who feels it’s valuable and appropriate to allow those who so desire to cut to the chase (and cut out all the social chaff) and actually pick up the phone and call them.
Webdesign 101 – Include a Phone Number
Include a phone number on every page, prominently if possible. Don’t assume that people don’t want to call you, often times they do. Often times that’s the only reason they go to your website, to get a phone number. So certainly, include all of the other means to communicate, socially and otherwise, but don’t forget the freak’n phone number!
After all, our whole site is geared to (supposedly) converting visitors to prospects to customers and what better way to convert than to actually engage in an ear-to-ear dialogue.
(By the way, you can call me to discuss how your website converts at (720) 319-8256!)
Call me
And now, back to our regularly scheduled entertainment…
Google, in their never ending quest to make the internet search experience more relevant, not to mention faster, is rolling out Google Instant Previews.
Back Button Joins the Unemployment Ranks
Google Instant Previews provides a magnifying glass to the right of the top line of the search results…
Clicking on the magnifying glass turns the Instant Preview feature on and displays a snapshot of the page along with the search terms outlined on the snapshot page as well as displayed in a call out box. Clicking any ‘preview’ icon turns the feature on for all the listings on the page.
Search Term Used: Best Toaster Ovens
How Does Instant Preview Affect Small Business Search Results?
What do small business (or any size organization) need to understand about the impact of Google Instant Preview?
Consider how your website appears in the scaled down window that Google Instant Preview provides. Searchers only give you 8 seconds to convince them they’re at the right place when clicking through to your site; how many seconds will they give you when scanning through Instant Previews?One impact I noticed immediately is that Google previews don’t appear to like Flash as shown here:
Be prepared, I believe, to see your bounce rate drop and a corresponding decline in site traffic – your bounce rate is determined by the number of people who click away immediately after landing on your page. They’ve determined from their initial scan that your site won’t fit their search needs. An example would be a search for a “motivational speaker” that lands you on a “car stereo” site.This is not necessarily a bad thing but if the wrong terms are bringing the wrong traffic to your site, it can be a bit of a downer if you measure site success by overall traffic (never a good idea).
Better clarity about how your site displays keyword terms and phrases versus your site and, with a little analysis, an opportunity for improvement.
What’s Wrong with this (Internet Explorer) Picture
Interestingly enough, the Google Instant Previews icon was available in my Chrome and Firefox browser but not Internet Explorer. I’m sure it will but an interesting omission for the time being…
