• Everything You Need To Know About Meta Tags And More!

    Date: 2011.02.22 | Category: Search Engine Optimization, WebDesign | Response: 0

    Everything You Need To Know About Meta Tags And More!

    There’s a plethora of different META Tags that you can make use of on your site. Because there are so many, it’s impossible for me to cover all of them in this article. However, I will describe the most common ones. But let’s start from the beginning, shall we?

    What Are META Tags?

    META tags are similar to standard HTML tags. However, there is one big difference: You have to insert all META tags between the <head> </head> tags on your page(s). META tags are used primarily to include information about a document. The META tags will be invisible to your site’s visitors, but will be seen by browsers and search engines.

    For The Search Engines.

    Several of the major search engines make use of the META Keyword tag, and virtually all of them make use of the Description tag. These tags help the search engine spider determine the content of your web site so that it can be indexed properly.

    This is what they look like:

    <META name=”keywords” content=”Webmaster Resource Site”>
    <META name=”description” content=”Online Webmaster Resource Site”>

    You can also instruct the search engine robot/spider how to index your site using the robots META Tag. This is what it looks like:

    <META name=”robots” content=”noindex,nofollow”>

    What the tag above does is tell the spider not to index the page that it appears on, and not to follow the links on that page. Here’s a complete list of attributes for the robots tag:

    index – the default, the page is added to the search engine database

    noindex – the page is not added to the search engine database

    nofollow – the spider doesn’t follow the links on that page

    none – same as “noindex, no follow”

    To use any of these attributes simply replace the “noindex,nofollow” text in the example above with whatever you want to use. If you need to use more than one attribute, separate them with a comma.

    Client Pull.

    Have you ever seen a page that automatically refreshes to another URL after a few seconds? Did you ever wondered how it was done? I’ll tell you. The page made use of one of the http-equiv META Tags to automatically “pull” you to a different page after a few seconds. Here’s what the code looks like:

    <META http-equiv=”refresh” content=”1; url=newpage.htm”>

    The value of content denotes how many seconds will pass before the new page is called for. If you want it to happen as soon as a person hits that page, then set the value to “0”.

    Prevent Caching.

    If you want to prevent a page being saved in your visitor’s cache you can do so by inserting the following three tags:

    <META HTTP-EQUIV=”expires” CONTENT=”0″>
    <META HTTP-EQUIV=”Pragma” CONTENT=”no-cache”>
    <META HTTP-EQUIV=”Cache-Control” CONTENT=”no-cache”>

    Why would you want a page not to be cached? If your site is updated frequently and you always want your visitors to see the newest content/changes, or if you want to ensure that a new banner is loaded each time from your server when a page is accessed, you’ll want to use the tags above.

    A quick note here on banner caching: In addition to using the tags above, you’ll want to append random numbers at the end of the tag calling the image.

    Rating Your Content.

    By using the rating META tag on your site, you can specify the appropriateness of your web site for kids. The tag looks like this:

    <META name=”rating” content=”general”>
    In addition to the general rating, you can use three others. They are:

    mature

    restricted

    14 years

    Misc. Tags

    Below I’ve listed several other popular tags that you may have seen around the web.

    The generator META tag is used to specify what program was used to create your web site. Many HTML editing tools automatically insert this so that a company can gauge their market penetration. The tag looks like this:

    <META name=”generator” content=”program name and version”>

    The author tag is used to identify the author of a page. Simply replace “author’s name” with your name or email address.

    <META name=”author” content=”author’s name”>
    The copyright tag identifies the individual or company that holds the copyright to a particular page. This is what it looks like:

    <META name=”copyright” content=”This page and all its contents are copyright 2003 by Lee Windsor. All Rights Reserved.”>

    I hope this article gave you some insight into the usage of Meta Tags and how they can benefit your day to day business.

    Article written by Lee

  • Community Forum Scripts

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Scripts | Response: 0

    Whether you have little or much traffic one thing that will enable you to benefit greater form this traffic is giving your surfers the sense that they are part of a ‘community’ much like the message boards built around adult webmasters have the feel of a community to them your surfers will end up staying around a lot longer if you can give them a reason to come back to your site over anyone else’s.

    That said, one of the main factors in starting your own little porn community is the need to have a place where all the ‘action’ take place. What better way than you own message forum.

    However, we hit our first problem, having never thought about starting a forum up before you wouldn’t know where to go to look for scripts or, what the best one is. That’s the reason behind this little guide.

    Below you will find a short breakdown of the more commonly used message forum scripts along with a short list of features each one has to offer you when choosing to build your own online community.

    VBulletin http://www.vbulletin.com

    This is actually quite a good forum script, most of the main forums on the web use either VBulletin or PhpBB when it comes to threaded forums. VBulletin uses MySQL and .php to run the actual forum and, set-up of it can become a little tricky if you want to customize it to your exact needs and color scheme. That said, once you overcome the initial complications in setting the forum script up it is easy to handle and, with a price tag of only $160.00 its an affordable option for many.

    Ultimate Bulletin Board http://www.infopop.com

    Unlike VBulletin UBB uses Perl programming for the forum script which, means you can install it on any cgi enabled host. However, the one main drawback with this script is that it uses flat text files to store all the data which, can sometimes bog down your server with unnecessary file calls. The cost of $199.00 however can be a bit to expensive for most webmasters.

    Ikon Board http://www.ikonboard.com

    Ikon board is a nice little threaded forum script and, the fact that it is free to download makes it even more so however, even though it uses MySQL for the backend or, choose to store your data in flat text files this script just seems a little to ‘basic’ looking for my personal taste. That said, there are many types of site using IkonBoard so the script must be good enough for them to be using it. Then again, maybe its the price tag of $0.00 that has made this a popular choice.

    PhpBB http://www.phpbb.com

    PhpBB is probably the most well known free forum script on the web today, its easy to customize (within reason) supports php and MySQL functions yet seems to offer nothing in return. The basics of a forum are there however, every webmaster and their closest friend seems to be using this script. The whole idea of building up a community is so that your site can stand out from the crowd, in my humble opinion, the script does what it is supposed to but, it doesn’t offer any redeeming qualities to your site.

    Site Net BBS http://www.focalmedia.net

    Sitenet BBS, formally known as Netboard, is probably one of the better Perl based forum scripts on the market, it price tag of $69.00 makes it an affordable choice for almost everyone and, the installation process itself is VERY simple to understand. The one drawback that i have found with this forum script however is that it stores the data in flat text file which actually slow the server down quite a lot making connections to the forum time-out on numerous occasions. However customization of the script is very easy using only HTML based templates you do not need any additional programming skills and, it has a nice interface with a few good features. For the price it is well worth a look. They also offer a freeware version however the links on the bottom of the forum become annoying after a while.

    In summary there are a lot of popular forum scripts available for webmasters to start using some are free other require payment ALL have a range of different functions available in them.

    Before looking at installing any of the scripts you should always try a demo first to see which one has the features and benefits you would like to offer your community members.

    If you can get your base community built up on a forum they enjoy using then all the rest of your marketing should pay off in dividends long term.

    Article written by Lee.

  • Adult Webmaster Health

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: General | Response: 0

    Sounds to me like you are a webmaster. Most of us realize that working at a computer everyday can and often is, bad for our health in one way, shape or, form. However, how do we alleviate these potential problems with our health?

    Well in this article I will detail some of the things that can often affect the webmasters in our industry and how they can be solved.

    RSI (Repetitive Stress Injuries) are the results of, as you may have figured out already, the effects of constantly doing the same movements over and over again using specific parts of your body. One of the most common of these that webmasters are aware of is CTS (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) which is a result of typing a lot.

    So, how do you combat the effects of CTS? First and foremost, if you experience any form of pain at all, your first port of call should be the doctor, the pain you are feeling could be an indicator of a bigger problem. If you think your pain might be caused by use of the computer then an occupational therapist might also be a good person to visit.

    CTS is often attributed to use of your digits and poor hand positioning when you type one way to solve this problem is to go to Office Depot and purchase a wrist rest, this will ensure your wrist has ample support whilst you are working throughout the day.

    You might also like to try re-positioning your monitor, as a general rule of thumb, having your monitor placed about 20 inches away from your face will usually result in good posture and that in itself can often be a solution to the potential medical problems. One other thing on your posture, get a good chair, one with a high back may be good, these generally offer you more support and, can stop that awkward habit of leaning into your keyboard when you type.

    Eyestrain, Eyestrain is another common problem that the webmaster faces, often it leads to things such as excessive headaches, fatigue and, blurry vision, the most acceptable relief from eyestrain is the use of screen filter that will reduce the glare your monitor emits.

    There of course, some other things you can do to alleviate this problem such as, Adjusting your monitor so the top of the screen is no higher than eye level, as already mentioned, keeping the monitor a safe working distance from you, usually between 18 and 30 inches is recommended by doctors.

    We know computers are machines and tend to forget that our own bodies are complex machines which, should be looked after just as our computers should be, we often forget that sitting at the PC building what was meant to be a 10 minute site can turn into an hours worth of ‘online work’. Take some time every now and again to stand up and walk for 5 minutes, even if it is just to the local store to buy some more smokes, you are actually getting some exercise and, even though the tar in your smokes will end up killing you anyway, you’ll at least be able to work a little longer without getting any problematic computer related medical symptoms.

    This article is not meant as an alternative to visiting your physician and, should you think that any of the above are relevant to you then it is recommended that you visit your doctors without delay and follow any advice that they give you.

    Article written by Lee.

  • Using JavaScript To Auto Scroll Text

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: Scripts | Response: 0

    Using JavaScript To Auto Scroll Text.

    There may come a time when you would like to have some text on a page that is simply just to big to fit on a single page. Of course, you could always create a new document for this text but, what if you could make the text actually scroll through the surfers browser?

    The following JavaScript will do just that.

    Place the following section of JavaScript coding between your <head> and </head> tags:

    <SCRIPT LANGUAGE=”JavaScript”>
    <!–

    function scrollit() {
    for (I=1; I<=1200; I++) window.scroll(1,I);
    }

    // –>
    </SCRIPT>

    Along with the following JavaScript coding someone in the Body of your page:

    <FORM>
    <INPUT type=button value=”scroll” onClick=”scrollit()”>
    </FORM>

    Have a play around with the numbers in the first section of the JavaScript to speed up and slow down the rate of scrolling until you find a speed that is easy on the eye.

    Article written by Lee

  • The Web Safe Color Palette

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: WebDesign | Response: 0

    The “Web Safe” palette is a bit controversial. It is a set of 216 colors that are, supposedly, guaranteed to appear as intended on all graphical displays when used in HTML, CSS, and images embedded in Web pages. Many Web developers believe that sticking to these colors is one of the holiest commandments in the Web design scripture.

    This was mostly a concern when most computers had 8-bit color displays; these days, most people run at 16-bit or 24-bit color. Although these bit-depths render the Web Safe palette pointless, dithering and quantification bugs in browsers and operating systems still cause problems in 16-bit displays (16-bit display, also known as “High Color” mode or “Thousands of Colors,” is generally problematic). Extensive testing has led to a new palette, called “Really Safe,” whose colors are guaranteed to appear correctly on all displays and all browsers.

    If you use different colors than these, you might see images and backgrounds of the same color appear at a slightly different tint, so that a “box” will be visible around them if the background extends beyond the image’s edges.

    Below is the table of ‘Web Safe’ and ‘Really Safe’ colors, you will see some of the color hex codes are in red, these are ‘Really Safe’ colors.

    Code Color Code Color Code Color Code Color Code Color Code Color
    000000 000033 000066 000099 0000cc 0000FF
    003300 003333 003366 003399 0033cc 0033ff
    006600 006633 006666 006699 0066cc 0066ff
    009900 009933 009966 009999 0099cc 0099ff
    00cc00 00cc33 00cc66 00cc99 00cccc 00ccff
    00FF00 00ff33 00FF66 00ff99 00FFCC 00FFFF
    330000 330033 330066 330099 3300cc 3300ff
    333300 333333 333366 333399 3333cc 3333ff
    336600 336633 336666 336699 3366cc 3366ff
    339900 339933 339966 339999 3399cc 3399ff
    33cc00 33cc33 33cc66 33cc99 33cccc 33ccff
    33ff00 33FF33 33FF66 33ff99 33FFCC 33FFFF
    660000 660033 660066 660099 6600cc 6600ff
    663300 663333 663366 663399 6633cc 6633ff
    666600 666633 666666 666699 6666cc 6666ff
    669900 669933 669966 669999 6699cc 6699ff
    66cc00 66cc33 66cc66 66cc99 66cccc 66ccff
    66FF00 66FF33 66ff66 66ff99 66ffcc 66FFFF
    990000 990033 990066 990099 9900cc 9900ff
    993300 993333 993366 993399 9933cc 9933ff
    996600 996633 996666 996699 9966cc 9966ff
    999900 999933 999966 999999 9999cc 9999ff
    99cc00 99cc33 99cc66 99cc99 99cccc 99ccff
    99ff00 99ff33 99ff66 99ff99 99ffcc 99ffff
    cc0000 cc0033 cc0066 cc0099 cc00cc cc00ff
    cc3300 cc3333 cc3366 cc3399 cc33cc cc33ff
    cc6600 cc6633 cc6666 cc6699 cc66cc cc66ff
    cc9900 cc9933 cc9966 cc9999 cc99cc cc99ff
    cccc00 cccc33 cccc66 cccc99 cccccc ccccff
    ccff00 ccff33 CCFF66 ccff99 ccffcc ccffff
    FF0000 FF0033 ff0066 ff0099 ff00cc FF00FF
    ff3300 ff3333 ff3366 ff3399 ff33cc ff33ff
    ff6600 ff6633 ff6666 ff6699 ff66cc ff66ff
    ff9900 ff9933 ff9966 ff9999 ff99cc ff99ff
    ffcc00 ffcc33 ffcc66 ffcc99 ffcccc ffccff
    FFFF00 FFFF33 FFFF66 ffff99 ffffcc FFFFFF

    Hopefully, you will find a use for the two different color palettes that are now available and, you can begin designing for your surfers, regardless of which browser they use.

    Article written by Lee

  • Adult Industry Standards – What Are They Exactly?

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: General | Response: 0

    For some, the term ‘industry standards’ might seem like an oxymoron and, in such a wide spread global industry this might just be the case, the adult industry is not regulated in any way shape or form however, this term is thrown around with the best of them.

    In this article we will take a quick look at some of the ‘standards’ which have been set and, for the most part, seem to be accepted across the online adult industry as a whole.

    Industry Standards – The Basics.

    ‘Industry Standards’ are, in effect a set of guidelines or rules by which any person operating a business in a specific sector operate by. These may range fro charging a standard price for a product, operating in a certain way or something else. Most industries have their own set of specific ‘standards’ which are usually upheld regardless of whether they are actually written in law, as regulations, rules or, unwritten, unspoken standards.

    Adult Industry Standards – The List.

    This is a list of the 4 most common ‘Adult Industry Standards’ that webmasters would seem to operate their businesses towards, these are not ‘official’ industry standards more general operational guideline which are accepted as the ‘norm’ in our industry.

    1) Adult Webmasters should use ‘legal’ content.
    2) Adult Webmasters should abide by the rules of the sponsors they use.
    3) Adult Webmasters should not promote ‘child pornography’ or imply the promotion of the same.
    4) Adult Webmasters should operate their business within the scope of the law.

    Taking the above four items into account, there of course, other standards by which webmasters already self-regulate to some extent for example, you shouldn’t steal other webmasters work, content, bandwidth (through hotlinking), etc. However, other than the four primary ‘unwritten rules’ above there doesn’t appear to be any special ‘code of practice’ to which webmasters should or even, can adhere to.

    Taking the above information one step further, lets take a quick look at the adult industry sponsors, almost all of them have a different variation of their Terms and Conditions however, implied or otherwise, most of them tend to stick within the confines of the details already mentioned above. This in itself can lead webmasters into some troubles for example, promotion of sites, most sponsors have unwritten rules about what webmasters can and cant do to promote sites, no spamming paysites, no misleading links but, again, there are no ‘set’ rules that any two sponsors seem to say in the exact same manner.

    Adult Industry Standards – Self Regulation.

    We all know by now (at least those of us whom have been doing this for a few months) that the adult industry is pretty much self regulated and, whilst this is almost certainly a good thing it can also lead to complications. For example, ‘Webmaster A’ does something to promote a site that they got permission to do whilst, ‘Webmaster B’ does the same thing without having permission. in this instance, more often than not ‘Webmaster B’ will the one who gets their name blackened in the industry. it would also seem that, whilst those webmasters who have a long standing in the industry are capable of getting away with certain things, others, who perhaps have seen things done, when they try the same they get ridiculed.

    Adult Industry Standards – Overview.

    As ‘Adult Webmasters’ and, i would like to stress the ‘Adult’ part of that job title we have a lot of information thrown at us from the very first day of joining this industry, how we choose to use that information is up to us on an individual basis. That said, until the ‘standards’ are set on a level playing field i cant help wondering what effect, negative or positive our own style of self regulation is having on our associates and peers, does it help that we can go to message forums and call sponsors, hosts, other webmasters cheats? or, does this hinder our industry on a much wider scale?

    One thing is for certain, if i were a journalist writing a report on the adult industry as a whole, i don’t even think i could write about the actual ‘business’ side of things after all, we all run our businesses as we see fit and, at the same time, read the rule book that would at least, for the time being, suit us as individual business owners.

    Article written by Lee.

  • JavaScript Know How

    Date: 2011.02.22 | Category: Scripts | Response: 0

    JavaScript can be one of the most useful additions to any web page. It comes packaged as standard in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and, Netscape Navigator and allows webmasters to perform field validations, mouse-over’s, pop ups and a whole entourage of other nifty little features on our sites.

    In this article we will show you how to:

    – Display the browser name and version number
    – Change the text in the status bar of the browser
    – Use an input box to get text from the user
    – Use a message box to display text to the user
    – Change the title of the browser window

    Before that, however, we need to know how to setup our web page so that it can run the JavaScript. JavaScript code is inserted between opening and closing script tags: <script> and </script>, like this:

    <script language=”JavaScript”>

    –> JavaScript code goes here <–

    </script>

    These script tags can be placed anywhere on the page, however, it’s common practice to place them between the <head>and </head> tags. A basic HTML page that contains some JavaScript looks like this:

    <html>
    <head>
    <title> My Test Page </title>
    <script language=”JavaScript”>

    function testfunc()
    {
    var x = 1;
    }

    </script>
    </head>
    <body>
    <h1>Hello</h1>
    </body>
    </html>

    For the examples in this article, you should use the basic document format I have just shown you, inserting the JavaScript code between the <script> and </script>tags. When you load the page in your browser, the JavaScript code will be executed automatically.

    Displaying the browsers name and version number.

    The “navigator” object in JavaScript contains the details of the user’s browser, including its name and version number. They can be displayed in a browser using the document.write function:

    document.write(“Your browser is: ” + navigator.appName);
    document.write(“<br>Its version is: ” + navigator.appVersion);

    I run Windows 2000 and Internet Explorer version 6, so the output from the code above looks like this in my browser window:

    Your browser is: Microsoft Internet Explorer
    Its version is: 4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0b; Windows NT 5.0)

    Changing the text in the status bar of the browser.

    To change the text in the status bar of a browser window, just change the “status” member of the “window” object, which represents the entire browser window:

    window.status = “This is some text”;

    Using an input box to get text from the user.

    Just like in traditional windows applications, you can use an input box to get some text input from the user. The “prompt” function is all you need:

    var name = prompt(“What is your name?”);
    document.write(“Hello ” + name);

    The prompt function accepts just one argument (the title of the input box), and returns the value entered into the text box. In the example above, you get the users name and store it in the “name” variable. You then use the “document.write” function to output their name into the browser window.

    Using a message box to display text to the user.

    You can display a message box containing an OK button. These are great when you want to let the user know what is happening during their time on a particular page. You can use a message box to display the “name” variable from our previous example:

    var name = prompt(“What is your name?”);
    alert(“Your name is: ” + name);

    The “alert” function takes one argument, which is the text to display inside of the message box.

    Changing the title of the browser window.

    To change the title of a web browser’s window, simply modify the “document.title” variable, like this:

    document.title = “My new title”;

    One bad thing about the “document.title” variable is that it can only be manipulated in Microsoft Internet Explorer. Netscape’s implementation of JavaScript doesn’t allow for modification.

    In Closing.

    As you can see from the examples in this article, JavaScript is a powerful scripting language that can be used to enhance a visitor’s experience with our site. However, you shouldn’t use JavaScript too much because in some cases it can annoy visitors and send them packing before your site even loads!

    Article Written By Lee

  • Cascading Billing – Using Multiple Payment Processors For More Profit

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Billing Solutions | Response: 0

    ‘Cascading Billing’ has been somewhat of a buzz word of late in the online industry however, there seems to be some confusion as to what this billing process actually involves or even does other than ‘process payments’ this is what we will take a look at in this brief article.

    Cascading Billing – The Basics.

    Simply put, Cascading Billing is a method to enable your surfers to buy membership to your site or, products utilizing multiple third party credit card processors and, other payment options. The process used, as its name suggests, is that of a ‘cascading’ feature meaning that, if you have multiple processors set up on your site and a surfers credit card is declined on your primary processor, the details will then be passed onto a secondary credit card processor where, they will either be accepted or declined and, if declined, the details can then be passed onto yet another credit card processor or, some alternate payment solution.

    Cascading Billing – The Benefits.

    From the initial reaction this new payment process has received in the online community it would appear that this new solution actually does work and, work well. Many companies who are adopting the ‘Cascading Billing’ process are reporting an increase in sales, some reporting upto a 20% increase over the normal procedures they used. This increase in sales also enables affiliate programs to pass the new found benefits onto the webmasters themselves through raised payouts and better sign-up ratios.

    Cascading Billing – The Options.

    As with any type of online payment processor or, payment system, you need to evaluate what your individual needs are and, using a cascading billing program is no different. With many solutions currently available and in development stages the choices for webmasters and program owners are growing and growing.

    However, that said, first and foremost you need to choose which processors or, billing solutions you will use to begin your cascading billing. In an ideal world, you should choose two of the more reputable third party payment processors as your primary and secondary processor in addition to a tertiary payment option or, perhaps even a custom dialer solution. Generally speaking, this will give you the best way to monetize your own and, your webmasters traffic.

    Cascading Payment Solutions – Overview.

    When all is said and done, cascading billing offers webmasters and online e-business owners ample opportunity to increase their profits through minimal outlay either by renting the scripting that will allow you to utilize the cascading billing option (costs from $300 a month) or, having such a solution custom coded which, you can have done from as little as US$5000. Either way i am certain we will start to see many more of the top online companies offering this type of payment solution in the near future and, with some of the larger online companies already adopting this method, it is sure to start happening soon.

    Article written by Lee

  • Calling Complete JavaScript’s With One Line Of HTML Code

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: WebDesign | Response: 0

    We all know that some JavaScript coding can be excessive and add considerable amounts of additional coding to our pages making them both slower and less search engine friendly however, what if I told you there was a way you could call the EXACT same JavaScript functions you are calling now by using a single line of code and, in the process you would NEVER have to find a specific piece of JavaScript again as you would instantly know where it was saved.

    You would probably think the above is in fact very time consuming but, it actually takes no time at all.

    The secret is to copy and paste the JavaScript into a plain text file and save that on your server somewhere. However, instead of saving it as a .txt extension save this file as a .js extension and, to make it easier still to find, when you upload this file to your server place it in a directory called /JavaScript/.

    That’s pretty much it, easy huh?

    Now comes the part of actually getting the JavaScript to work on your web pages, what you need to do instead of using the complete JavaScript coding that you usually would if you wanted to make a pop-up console appear is to use the following coding placed between your <head> and </head> tags:

    <script language=”JavaScript” src=”../JavaScript/popup.js”></script>

    That will now call the popup.js file or whatever it was you called it from your server and make the JavaScript function work for your surfers with JavaScript enabled in their browser.

    As you can see, not only does using this method save you a considerable amount of time but, it will also make your pages more search engine friendly as spiders will not have to work their way through a lot of heavily JavaScript before they get to your SE content.

  • Writing Your Sales Text – Some Facts

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Writing | Response: 0

    Do you know the difference between writing sales text for print advertising i.e. magazines and, writing sales talk for websites?

    Well some of these differences will go against your intuition however, these differences are based on how people read specific items.

    Where Do Eyes Go First When Your Page Loads?

    Contrary to what most webmasters think it may not always be towards the thumbnails and banners on your page instead, surfers eyes will more than likely go to the first few lines of text on the page therefore, your first chance at making a sale before the surfer starts to burn your bandwidth is to have some enticing text on any site or page you build. Another reason why learning to write good text links can benefit you long term.

    Also, as most surfers will only look at a page for between three and fifteen seconds before they decide whether they want to stay on the site they are at or close it this now starts to question webmasters use of heavy graphics on their sites, if a graphic takes three to four seconds to load you have just lost valuable sales time on your site.

    How Much Of Your Copy Do Users Actually Read?

    On average surfers will read about 75% of the length of any given page. Again, this is good news because it now means we can draw our surfers attention tot he ‘important’ sections of our sites by using headlines and bullet points to make them stand out. Also, this means that, given surfers will read only the first 75% of any page that the bottom half of your pages may not be as important as what was first believed.

    Why Do Most Banner Ads Produce Poor Click-Through Rates?

    Again as with any advertising media there is only a specific time frame that anyone will look at something, in this case it has been found that the vast majority of surfer will spend a mere 1.25 seconds looking at a banner which, is about enough time to read say 5 words based on the average college students reading time of 350 words a minute.

    Therefore, banners which are animated and can take up to 5 seconds to get all the information across may in effect be completely worthless on our sites. More bad news for webmasters who have fancy animations and the likes on our pages.

    Why Is Reading Online More Frustrating Than Reading Print?

    Did you know that reading text on a computer screen can cause your reading ability to slow by up to 25% in some cases? This means that over inflating pages with text heavy content may actually aggravate the surfer instead of draw there attention! But, how can we stop this from potentially losing us a sale? Simple here are a few suggestions.

    Rather than having one long continuous stream of text have several smaller one or two line paragraphs of text.

    Use headlines to summarize what you are telling the surfer for example, if you sponsor has free trials tell them in bold lettering ‘Free Trials’ you get the point across and, you may draw their attention to click on the text.

    Are Your Web Page Users Not Getting The Whole Picture?

    Can surfers ‘scan’ your website? Lets look back at the above figures, 75% of the page gets read, banners have an attention span of only 1.25 seconds on average, that’s not much time for a surfer to look at your pages.

    I think that would probably explain the reason why surfers tend to ‘scan’ our sites and only concentrate on the free images, how many of us actually take the time to read word for word EVERYTHING on a page?

    I know I hardly do I just sit there and scan the page for things that draw me into the text or site. This is true again for surfers in fact, estimated figures show that roughly 21% of surfers actually spend the time to read every single word on any site meaning the other 79% only scan through our sites this again, cuts down our marketing capabilities dramatically making it more important to have headlines and well laid out pages highlighting the part we want our surfer to look at, namely, our sponsor links.

    If we do not do this we are in effect only making 21% of our marketing efforts count again, taking away from our profits. That’s a huge chunk of our surfers we are losing out on gleaming a sale from.

    What do all of the above figures tell us? Simple, we need to keep our pages quick loading, concise and more importantly unique, we need to draw our surfers to the specific areas that we want them to go to first and, in the process we should start to make more money from each of our sites.

    Article written by Lee

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