Topical Posts about a Variety of Internet Skills

Add Personality to your Blog -  bring repeat visitors with something catchy each post

Identify Yourself – Get a Gravatar -that little picture thingy

Digital Photo Copyrights for the Internet- what’s OK and what’s not

31 Days to Building a Better Blog - Darren Rouse’s ProBlogger self-guided Tutorial

6 Misconceptions about How Search Engines find Websites - Search engines are smart

3 types of metadata you need for your website -avoiding some common mistakes

Quilt Art Copyrights - Quilt This – a synopsis of a quilt artist’s “almost” lawsuit

Copyright vs Copyleft – Building a richer public domain

Upcoming Internet skills post- scheduled for March 13, 2010:

How to Write a Great Web Link

A link is a signpost, a promise. If a customer clicks on your link they are spending their time. Don’t make them waste it.

By Gerry McGovern, November 09, 2009 – permission to reprint from gerrymcgovern.com

How to write effective links that are part of the body text of a page:

Links should embody the action. Links should be written like a heading. Ideally, all the reader should need to do is read the link to decide whether to click or not. People only read as much as they absolutely have to before clicking.

What’s wrong with this link? Customer satisfaction survey: 2006

The critical year 2006 is at the end. Many people will be looking for the 2009 survey, They have to scan across the first three words and then click. So, to avoid this sort of situation do this:

2006 customer satisfaction survey

Lead with the need. Start with the most essential information. Avoid “click here.”

A text link should look like a link. Use the standard blue and underline. Why would you do anything else? There are reasons why signposts, even across international borders, are consistent and familiar.  They simplify travel, and the essence of a link is to help someone navigate. They want to get the information and save their precious time.

When linking with a graphic make sure there is a very clear call to action.  This call to action unmistakably must look like a button or a blue underlined link.

Where to place Graphics links? Graphics links are rarely effective if placed in the left or right sidebars. People think they’re ads. We (Gerry McGovern) had a situation where a graphic link for “Apply now for your rebate”, placed in the left sidebar of the first screen, got nine times fewer clicks than the text link “Apply now for your rebate” which was three screenfuls of content down the page, but in the center column.

Web designers do other egoistic but “customer irrelevant” things. They create links that are subtle, with no underline, that integrate well with the rest of the page’s ambience, look, feel. This really means Their Image as “very talented designer”. The only way you often know a link is a link is if you hover your mouse over it and the cursor gives you the finger. Go figure that.

Place the link at the point of action. A good web writer is constantly thinking about the journey the customer is on and placing links at appropriate decision points in that journey.

You’re at the end of this Gerry McGovern article, so please read on for one last example: What do you think of customers who have reached the bottom of one of your webpages? They’re engaged; they’re interested. I once worked with an electronics company who had a “Buy” link to the shop at the top of each product page but none at the bottom. We added a Buy link to the bottom of each product page and doubled the number of purchases.

Gerry McGovern’s website is about New Thinking for website content management.

Other posts on various topics related to Internet Skills and Website Tips