Welcome to Web Yodel’s blog. With this blog, Web Yodel likes to share some of the recent research, cool tools we found, marketing tips, and anything else that's interesting and related to website design & development.
Enjoy...
Mia Mestdagh, Web Yodel, Boulder, CO
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By mia, on May 9th, 2012
by Jeff Sexton
The thing about user testing is that even if you do a sub-par job of it, you’re still all but guaranteed to walk away with valuable, usable insights. So when user testing can be had for as little as $39, it becomes a no-brainer. Just do it.
Consider UserTesting.com, a fast and inexpensive online user testing tool. You pay a flat $39 per person fee, with a discount the first time you use it. The users are selected by demographics you choose. They provide feedback on your test. You provide a task for the users to complete. What you get is a video of each tester speaking his or her thoughts while completing your task. The video is usually about 10 to 15 minutes, plus the testers provide written responses to your questions.
Read on…
By mia, on May 8th, 2012
By Dave Taylor
 Smart idea to check the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “uspto”) to see if the word or phrase you want to use is already trademarked or not. It’s not the easiest site to navigate and some of what it warns you about seems a bit obsolete technologically, but once you get the hang of it, it really is easy to poke around and can be extraordinarily interesting (like learning that Facebook has a registered trademark for the word “Like”).
To demonstrate, I’m going to do a search for the phrase “Made Easy” to see if it’s been used in publishing and if so, in what specific context.
First step is to go to the USPTO, easily found at USPTO.gov.
Read full article…
By mia, on May 3rd, 2012
by Andy King
Splash pages are branding or branching pages that usually appear before the main home page of a site. Many splash screens are graphically rich to entice users to explore the site. Unfortunately, splash pages decrease credibility, traffic, search engine rankings, and web site performance. This article explores the effects of splash pages and offers some solutions to lessen the pain.
The Effects of Splash Pages
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By mia, on May 3rd, 2012
By Sven Lennartz
Yes, sometimes we do. Should we use them? No, we probably shouldn’t. Splash screen (or splash page) is a front page of a web-site that don’t provide the actual content, but offers visitors some kind of intuition or background information for what the site is about. Designers use splash pages in their portfolios to impress potential clients with eye-candy. Companies tend to make use of them to draw users’ attention to their latest products. And users literally can’t stand them, because splash pages usually take a long time to load and provide (almost) no navigation options — except of “entering the site”.
Read full article…
By mia, on April 25th, 2012
by Mona Elesseily
1. Credibility Indicators
On landing pages, try including credibility indicators such as testimonials, reviews, awards, social media information (i.e. Facebook likes, number of tweets, etc.) and seller ratings.
2. Add Elements To Your Existing Buttons
To improve conversions, add some extra pop to your existing buttons. For example, instead of a simple “buy now” button, try dual buttons with options like “quick view” or “order now”.
3. Remove Page Elements
We usually try to add elements to pages. Instead, try removing elements that can decrease the chance of a conversion (you should always focus on your primary conversion event first).
4. Calls To Action
5. Try Different Wording
Different words evoke different kinds of emotions. Try different wording to try to improve conversion rates
Read full article…
By mia, on April 24th, 2012
By mia, on April 23rd, 2012
by Lorrie Thomas Ross
There’s no denying the growth in the use of mobile devices. Mobile’s growth isn’t just big news for big business; there are new marketing opportunities for small businesses too. As exciting as the new frontier of mobile marketing tools and technologies are, the uncharted territory can leave many business owners and marketers lost and uncertain. New marketing journeys are less overwhelming when you know how to navigate, so here are some mobile marketing tips to help you get on the best road for a rewarding trip.
1. Know where you are: ASSESS your current mobile situation.
2. Determine where you want to go: Think mobile OPTIMIZATION.
3. Remember mobile marketing is a journey, not a destination — Try NEW mobile ideas!
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By mia, on April 20th, 2012
by Ken Lyons
Whether you’re a boot-strapped startup on a shoestring budget or a blue chip company with a giant stack of cash in the bank, every company can use free marketing ideas to promote their brand, products, or services.
- Author and publish guest posts on high profile or well-trafficked sites in your niche
- Find bloggers to review your products.
- Similar to leveraging product reviews for free promotion, mine the search results for bloggers who host product giveaways, using simple query operators, such as “[your product type] + giveaway” (e.g., “charm necklace giveaway”).
- Hold a sweepstakes, contest, or a giveaway on your site
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By mia, on April 19th, 2012
by anthony
Here are eight reasons users don’t fill out sign up forms.
1. Fear of getting spammed
2. Fear that a Facebook/Twitter sign up will spam followers & friends
3. No option to delete account
4. Feeling insecure with personal information handling
5. Too much work to fill out compared to value gained
6. Asking for information users don’t think you need
7. Asking for their credit card number for a free trial
8. Product/service is not clear or appealing
It’s all about user trust and comfort.
Getting users to fill out your sign up form is all about trust and comfort. Earn your users trust by taking security precautions with their information, and being transparent with why you need a particular piece of information. Make them comfortable by giving them control over their information, and only asking for what you need at the time of sign up. If you can do all this on your sign up form, users won’t have any reason not to sign up.
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