|
|
Bad Web Design: Advertising Mistakes
Okay, we know we all need to pay the bills. I know that many of us want toget traffic to our web sites. And some of us just want to make enough moneyto pay for our costs so that this thing we love to do is free.But, come on, that doesnt mean you should plaster a hundred ads or a dozenbanners on every page of your web site. A banner here and there, a smallbutton or a few text links is fine, but Ive seen some web sites that havedozens and a few that have hundreds of ads on each page! Now this is justtacky and is virtually guaranteed to get your visitors to hit that handyback button fast.One of the worst kinds of web sites, in my opinion, are those that are justhuge advertisements. Especially those that are advertisements for dozens oreven hundreds of other services. People do not surf the web looking forbanners, text links and other advertisements to click on. In fact,statistically, most people are surfing because they are looking for (a)information, (b) entertainment, or (c) someone to talk to. Most web surfersare not looking for something to purchase.A good web site offers excellent content (which can be graphics, text orinteractive features). Even those sites which sell something also offercontent which is of interest to their visitors. Go take a look at any reallygood shopping site and you will see what I mean. Look at Amazon.Com orBarnes And Noble and you will understand - these sites offer tons ofcontent. Reviews of their products, consumer comments and large amounts ofdata about the items being sold. This is what people want - information.Some common things on web site that you should never do.Banner exchanges - Its real simple - these do not work. Oh, you will get aclick or two, but banner exchanges tend to look tacky, take up valuablespace on your web pages and increase your load time. To make it even worse,many times you will lose far more traffic than you will gain. Dont evenbother putting even one of these on your entire web site.Notices saying "please, pretty please, keep my site free and click onsomething". This just makes you look like a rank amateur. In my humbleopinion, its very tacky to expect people to click on links just so you can"keep your site free". Come up with or find a good product or service, andsell it if you must. Advertising is not in of itself of value - onlyproducts or services have value.Pornographic ads (unless your site is a pornographic site) - You want tochase away your visitors fast, then include pornographic ads. Yeah, youmight get a few dollars from them, but you will lose visitors and your sitewill not be "family safe", which can be important.Gambling ads - I understand that these advertisements may be the only things(besides pornography) that people will click on nowadays, but quite a fewpeople do not want to be exposed to these things. I believe that these kindsof advertisements will cause you to loose a large amount of traffic.Web sites that are just advertisements - I suppose there is a place forbrochures or full site advertisements, but I personally hit the back key assoon as I run into one of these. I want content. If I wanted this manyadvertisements Id buy a magazine or look in the classified section of thenewspaper.Any large graphic advertisements. Remember one of the very important thingsin web design is load time. Your site must load fast. If you include largegraphic ads you are increase your load times.Sites which are just lists of pay-surf, MLM or other money making schemes.There is nothing wrong with include some pay-surf or MLM ads here and thereon your site. Including a section on these programs is also fine. But comeon, please put some real content there also. Otherwise people will hit theback key fast and never come back.Brochures - Ive seen a large number of web sites in my days, and one of theones that I click out of the fastest is one that looks like a brochure. Itfeels just like someone took the company brochure and converted it to webformat. What on earth makes companies think these are of value to anyone?Popup Windows - If you do a survey of web surfers, you will find that theseare among the most hated "features" that exist. No one likes pop up windows,and if your site has too many of them you will loose visitors fast. Oh, youmay get a few more clicks or signups for your newsletter, but the amount oftime your visitors remain on your site will be limited and of less quality.900 Numbers - Sites which advertise 900 numbers (a) dont work, and (b)clutter up the web needlessly. My advice is to find something better to do. About the Author Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. Thiswebsite includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internetprofits, enjoyment and knowledge.Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.netWeekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htmDaily Tips: mailto:internet-tips@GetResponse.com
|
|
Web Development |
Most Popular Articles |
|
|
|
Random Article 1 |
Random Article 2 |
- Changing Web Hosts
One of the biggest pains about having a web site is . Iought to know, Ive changed over half a dozen times in the last three years.Each time has been a step up and with each move it becomes easier and easierto change.Why change web hosts?In many cases, your web site is the first and only thing that y
|
- How to Choose a Quality Webhost
by: Jesse S. Somer If you are anything like me, youd probably like to have a website on the Internet but you just have no idea how to go about it. All this talk of web hosting, bandwidth, disc space, and other jargon can cause one to say, This is too complicated and technical, I just
|
Random Article 3 |
Random Article 4 |
- HOW FRAMES AFFECT YOUR PROMOTION AND MARKETING EFFORTS ?S ?
The following article outlines the Pros and Cons of using frames with adeeper look at how they might affect your promotion and marketing efforts.When designing a new website, one of your first decisions is whether or notto use frames. Frames technology allows you to have more than one web pageon you
|
- How to Write Effective Web Copy
Writing effective web copy begins with an understanding ofwhat the goals of your web site are. Are you trying to getyour visitors to purchase something or have them sign upfor your newsletter? Remember you are trying to get someoneyou cant see and have never met take a step towardsbuilding a relatio
|
|