Introduction |
|
xv | |
Let's Start at the Beginning |
|
xv | |
What Do I Mean by ``Now What?'' |
|
xvi | |
Okay, Who Am I, and Why Should You Listen to Me? |
|
xvii | |
What This Book Is |
|
xviii | |
What This Book Isn't |
|
xxi | |
About the Pictures |
|
xxii | |
A Note to Web Designers |
|
xxii | |
A Few Disclaimers |
|
xxiii | |
Say It Again, Dan ... |
|
xxiv | |
|
Understanding Website Conversion and Targeted Traffic |
|
|
1 | (12) |
|
Website Conversion Basics |
|
|
1 | (3) |
|
|
2 | (1) |
|
|
2 | (1) |
|
Establishing your conversion rate |
|
|
3 | (1) |
|
So what is an acceptable website conversion rate? |
|
|
3 | (1) |
|
How to Use Conversion Rates |
|
|
4 | (2) |
|
Let me tell you a quick website conversion story |
|
|
5 | (1) |
|
Website Conversion Rates are a True Indicator of Success |
|
|
6 | (1) |
|
|
7 | (6) |
|
What is targeted traffic, and why is it important? |
|
|
7 | (1) |
|
How do you get targeted traffic? |
|
|
7 | (5) |
|
Wrapping up targeted traffic |
|
|
12 | (1) |
|
The Fundamentals of a Successful Website Today and Tomorrow |
|
|
13 | (18) |
|
|
14 | (1) |
|
How the Web is Currently Used |
|
|
15 | (1) |
|
Okay Dan, So How Exactly Do You Let Visitors Know They Should Use You? |
|
|
15 | (1) |
|
Laying the Foundation of a Successful Website |
|
|
16 | (1) |
|
A Successful Website Answers Six Basic Questions |
|
|
16 | (3) |
|
|
17 | (1) |
|
|
17 | (1) |
|
Why someone should do business with you |
|
|
18 | (1) |
|
What locations you service |
|
|
18 | (1) |
|
How someone goes about using you |
|
|
18 | (1) |
|
|
18 | (1) |
|
A Successful Website is Simple to Use, and Does Not Frustrate Users |
|
|
19 | (3) |
|
A Successful Website is Easy to Read |
|
|
22 | (3) |
|
|
22 | (1) |
|
|
22 | (1) |
|
|
23 | (2) |
|
The ``Furman 21'' Website Questionnaire |
|
|
25 | (6) |
|
To whom should you give the questionnaire? |
|
|
25 | (1) |
|
So what do the answers mean? |
|
|
26 | (5) |
|
Page Order and Information to Include |
|
|
31 | (19) |
|
|
32 | (1) |
|
What Type of Website Will You Have? |
|
|
32 | (2) |
|
|
33 | (1) |
|
|
33 | (1) |
|
``Informational'' company websites |
|
|
34 | (1) |
|
Information (Pages) Needed for the Three Types of Websites, and the Page Order |
|
|
34 | (16) |
|
Page order and page information for a service website |
|
|
35 | (6) |
|
Wrapping up the service site |
|
|
41 | (2) |
|
Page order and page information for a sales website |
|
|
43 | (5) |
|
Wrapping up the sales website |
|
|
48 | (1) |
|
Page order and page information for an informational website |
|
|
48 | (2) |
|
Dan's 11 Rules of Effective Website Writing |
|
|
50 | (54) |
|
Rule 1: Web Copy Must be Scan-able |
|
|
51 | (11) |
|
|
52 | (4) |
|
|
56 | (5) |
|
|
61 | (1) |
|
Rule 2: Use Short Paragraphs |
|
|
62 | (7) |
|
Rule 3: Don't Dwell (Keep Your Pages Short) |
|
|
69 | (5) |
|
|
69 | (2) |
|
|
71 | (3) |
|
Rule 4: Throw Out the English Rule Book |
|
|
74 | (4) |
|
The way we are taught to write is wrong (for business) |
|
|
75 | (1) |
|
How many rules does your reader know? |
|
|
75 | (1) |
|
|
76 | (1) |
|
Okay, so what rules of English do you need to know? |
|
|
76 | (1) |
|
Commonly misspelled words and misused phrases |
|
|
77 | (1) |
|
|
77 | (1) |
|
Rule 5: Do Not Preach to the Choir |
|
|
78 | (3) |
|
Targeted traffic revisited |
|
|
79 | (1) |
|
|
79 | (1) |
|
What are they expecting from you? |
|
|
80 | (1) |
|
Rule 6: Keep Your Audience in Mind, but Don't Alienate Anyone, Either |
|
|
81 | (4) |
|
Write so your audience understands you |
|
|
81 | (1) |
|
|
82 | (1) |
|
|
82 | (3) |
|
Lose the corporate jargon, again |
|
|
85 | (1) |
|
Rule 7: Write with Confidence |
|
|
85 | (4) |
|
Confident words and phrases |
|
|
86 | (3) |
|
Rule 8: Use the Word ``You'' a Lot |
|
|
89 | (2) |
|
How often to use the word ``you'' |
|
|
90 | (1) |
|
One more ``you'' myth dispelled |
|
|
91 | (1) |
|
Rule 9: Bolds, Italics, Underlines, Parentheses, Dashes, and Other Formatting Tricks |
|
|
91 | (5) |
|
|
92 | (1) |
|
|
93 | (1) |
|
|
93 | (1) |
|
|
93 | (1) |
|
|
93 | (1) |
|
|
94 | (1) |
|
|
95 | (1) |
|
|
95 | (1) |
|
|
95 | (1) |
|
|
96 | (1) |
|
|
96 | (1) |
|
Rule 10: Lots of Escape Hatches (Calls to Action) |
|
|
96 | (2) |
|
|
98 | (3) |
|
What do I mean by ``be an Oreo®?'' |
|
|
98 | (3) |
|
|
101 | (1) |
|
|
102 | (1) |
|
|
103 | (1) |
|
Writing for Your Home Page |
|
|
104 | (9) |
|
The Three Main Things the Writing on Your Home Page Needs to Address |
|
|
105 | (1) |
|
|
105 | (6) |
|
|
111 | (1) |
|
Wrapping Up the Home Page |
|
|
112 | (1) |
|
Writing for your About Us/Why Use Us Page and your Products/Services Pages |
|
|
113 | (7) |
|
Your About Us/Why Use Us Page |
|
|
113 | (3) |
|
|
114 | (1) |
|
|
115 | (1) |
|
|
116 | (4) |
|
|
117 | (2) |
|
|
119 | (1) |
|
|
120 | (6) |
|
Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers) |
|
|
120 | (6) |
|
SEO and ``Traffic''-type Writing (Blogs, Articles, Press Releases, Pay-per-click Ads) |
|
|
126 | (17) |
|
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) |
|
|
126 | (1) |
|
|
126 | (3) |
|
|
126 | (1) |
|
|
127 | (2) |
|
|
129 | (12) |
|
|
129 | (6) |
|
|
135 | (3) |
|
|
138 | (2) |
|
Some final thoughts on SEO |
|
|
140 | (1) |
|
|
141 | (2) |
|
|
141 | (1) |
|
|
141 | (2) |
|
Alternate Landing Pages and Microsites |
|
|
143 | (7) |
|
The Concept Behind Alternate Landing Pages and Microsites |
|
|
143 | (1) |
|
|
144 | (1) |
|
Alternate Landing Pages and PPC Ads |
|
|
145 | (1) |
|
|
145 | (5) |
|
Other advantages of using microsites |
|
|
147 | (1) |
|
Domain names and hosting for microsites |
|
|
147 | (3) |
|
Dan's Bonus Chapter (Even More for Your Money) |
|
|
150 | (1) |
|
Why All of This Website Conversion Stuff Matters |
|
|
150 | (1) |
|
|
151 | (1) |
|
Stop Hiding Your Phone Number |
|
|
151 | (1) |
|
Stop Scolding Me About Copyright When I Right Click |
|
|
151 | (1) |
|
If You Aren't in a Band, Don't Play Music |
|
|
151 | |