So you've got your website up and running, complete with some key products and ads and maybe even a sales page. So now what, you just sit back and wait for the sales to roll in, right? Well, in your rush to get online, you may have overlooked the importance of a key task that just might be the single most vital thing you do as a marketer: split testing. This, in a nutshell, is... Continue Reading

Have you been procrastinating from getting your online business started because you can't figure out what kind of site to start? It can be helpful to take a look at some relatively simple sites that work because of a relevant idea coupled with great execution. Really all it is about is creating something that can help people solve a specific problem in their lives (in the examples below, the problems would be: what to make... Continue Reading

There are certain aspects of web design that you should make absolutely sure you are getting right. Here is a short list of the most important ones: Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Joel Ownby) In the early days of the Internet, commercialism had not made its entrance and no one was thinking about tracking traffic, much less analyzing it. Nearly a decade later, we had progressed to tracking visitors in the form of "hits," which did not tell you effectively even how many individual people actually visited your site. Now after nearly another decade, we find ourselves in a virtual analytical paradise comprised... Continue Reading

If text is your message, then your use of text is your tone. Typography is the art and technique of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs. In fact, the aesthetic you create through the use of typography often goes further in creating an atmosphere of professionalism, credibility, and organization than the content of the text itself. This article and next week's will be focused on helping you achieve better results in your designs... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Andrew Krzysiak) Photographs and illustrations are elements of nearly every design. They have the power to add emotion, interest, and impact to the content of any layout. Getting the right image that will communicate your message to the desired demographic can be a challenge. This article will help you get the picture. Continue Reading

"All aboard!" shouts the conductor, alerting the passengers that the train is getting ready to pull out of the station. If you don't have your ticket and know where you are going, you'd better get it sorted out fast. After all, there are many tracks that lead out from the station. And while you might travel miles and miles down one track, you could end up finding out that you've traveled miles and miles... Continue Reading

What do users really want? It's a question that publishers ask themselves all the time. We look at the comments our articles receive. We review our stats. We check the popularity of keywords. We ask for ideas on Twitter. And we do all sorts of other things that try to second-guess what's going through our users' minds so that we can deliver content that interests them most. But maybe we're asking the wrong question. Continue Reading

A few weeks ago when iFart was at the height of its popularity, I was contacted by Rob Walker. Rob writes the Consumed article for the New York Times Magazine, published every Sunday. He thought that the success of iFart was an interesting barometer of American pop culture and asked if I would do an interview. Of course, I was delighted to provide whatever information he wanted. The article was just published in today's edition! Continue Reading

Building a successful website doesn’t happen overnight. You have to create the pages, write the content, optimize your ads, drive traffic. You can be up and running within minutes but to earn the sort of revenues that make the whole thing worthwhile (and more) you’re going to have to invest time. And much of that time is going to be spent troubleshooting. A poorly-designed, badly-optimized site might make a little bit of money. A site... Continue Reading

Like most things on the Internet, marketing can be divided into two distinct periods: Before Google and After Google. Before Google, getting a link to your site on other sites took a huge amount of work. You'd have to write to each publisher separately. You'd have to try different CPC networks until you found one that worked for you. And you'd have to create a new Web page just for reciprocal links. After Google... well... Continue Reading

I offended Vern Troyer, the actor who played the role of "Mini Me" in the Austin Powers movies. Why would I do such a thing? I didn't mean, to, but it happened anyhow... If you've been following my blog, you would know that I've been in D.C. attending Yanik Silver's Underground Seminar. Yanik was very clever in putting the seminar together. He gave the entire thing an "Austin Powers" secret agent feel, which each attendee... Continue Reading

I recently received an email from a reader lamenting how I have strayed from my political rants. Believe me, it's not for lack of material. Between the mainstream media's pathetic obsession with VP Dick Cheney accidently shooting a friend while hunting (don't get me started) and the never-ceasing parade of Democrat leadership attempting to undermine America, I could blog for hours on end. I have just become fed up with the lunacy and have focused... Continue Reading

Some sites I have recently bookmarked... Oklahoma City Astronomy Club - My son has become increasingly interested in the planets and stars, so I believe I am going to look into checking these folks out. American Oddities - You have got to see this unusual collection of photographs of homes and office buildings. What's My IP? - Need to know your IP address? Not sure what an IP address is, or why you would need... Continue Reading