Chris, a new consulting client, asked me to help him increase sales on his affiliate marketing site.
As he was describing his site and the problem, I thought, "This is going to be a quick fix."
How wrong I was!
His site was excellent. Other than a few minor points, it followed all my basic rules for a successful affiliate marketing site.
The site was focused around a single theme in a profitable niche, with an excellent selection of high-priced, high-commission products.
Chris had gone the extra mile to have his site professionally designed, and it was simple, elegant and user-friendly, employing consistent navigation and a nifty database-driven search results system.
He was working directly with his merchant partners to create ad copy that offered his visitors the best possible deals.
And he was advertising in the pay-per-click search engines to drive tons of targeted traffic, and using hundreds of keyword listings with brilliantly worded titles and descriptions.
So, why on earth were his sales so low?
I knew I was picking at straws, but during our first session, I made a host of recommendations for improvement, which included:
- a domain name change
- a background color change
- reformatting the page table size
- rephrasing offers more positively
- adding relevant graphics and photos
- dropping poor performing merchants
- adding a newsletter
- adding new products
- redirecting non-buyers to additional offers
Chris implemented all my suggestions as well as a few of his own. After giving the new version a few weeks to prove itself, we scheduled our second teleconsulting session. I was anxious to hear how well the site was now performing.
You can appreciate my dismay when Chris told me that his sales had actually dropped!
Aargh!
I reviewed his site again, and it suddenly struck me... he should try blue links!
Why?
Because web design convention suggests that links should be blue, visited links purple and active links red. Although nothing written in stone about link color, I believe that those conventional colors should used whenever they compliment site design.
I'd changed my own site links, Sage-Hearts.com, from maroon to blue sometime before and noticed a nice conversion rate increase.
Sure enough, that WAS the answer to Chris' site problems...
His conversions increased 1100% almost overnight JUST by changing his link color to blue.
In addition to being underlined, people expect links to be blue, and in some cases visitors may have problems with sites that don't conform to their expectations.
With the average site visit lasting only about 8 seconds, we don't have time to waste confusing our visitors with basic site navigation. Use blue links if possible to keep your navigation instantly recognizable, unambiguous and consistent.
? Copyright Rosalind Gardner, All Rights Reserved.
Article by Rosalind Gardner, author of the best-selling "Super Affiliate Handbook: How I Made $436,797 in One Year Selling Other People's Stuff Online". To learn how you too can suceed in Internet and affiliate marketing, go to: http://netprofitstoday.com
Lincoln Stretch rentals Alsip ..Want to know what the worst thing to say on... Read More
In retailing there is a saying that sales are made... Read More
You've thought about it and you're ready to go. You're... Read More
You spend time and money promoting your website; but what... Read More
As of September, Smartads went through what so many have... Read More
Color is one of the most important but least understood... Read More
Do you have a website? If so, you need an... Read More
Regardless whether you manage a small business, charitable organization, or... Read More
Surfing the internet is basically an information-fest! From intellectual discussions... Read More
All websites have a homepage. It is the most important... Read More
When you design a website how do you start ?Do... Read More
Studies done by Jakob Nielson the man touted as the,... Read More
These days, it seems that everyone has a website. Unfortunately,... Read More
Colors have long been known to have psychological affects on... Read More
Web advertising has taken many forms, including those that appear... Read More
One visit does not make a sale. Be sure to... Read More
Ecommerce is just exploding right now on the Net. More... Read More
Creating your web site can be a tricky process. Choosing... Read More
The "Wow" factor that accompanied the introduction of streaming media... Read More
Web Design is a very subjective process. Your idea of... Read More
When considering whether or not to incorporate Flash into your... Read More
As search engine marketers, we spend an enormous amount of... Read More
I want you to imagine a lemon. In your mind's... Read More
Have you seen Jesse James on the... Read More
The title tags of your web pages are more important... Read More
Western Springs shuttle limo ..Geared Up with a website and lots of energy to... Read More
This article gives free tips on how to find a... Read More
Almost everything is available on the web? products, services, e-books,... Read More
Remember your vision for your company and the brand or... Read More
Never put form over function. Why? Because it's crucial that... Read More
If someone doesn't know you personally, will they trust you... Read More
Writing for your web site is not the same as... Read More
One of the biggest problems with Web sites is that... Read More
Just what is web copy? Some people think that web... Read More
Due to the large number of people offering website design... Read More
We've all seen them. Poorly designed web sites that make... Read More
Website Design Usability Tips1. Getting to know about audience membersYou... Read More
Being a writer, when I was asked to do some... Read More
For many webmasters the title of my article may seem... Read More
In retailing there is a saying that sales are made... Read More
On the internet we don't deal with face to face... Read More
A long, long time ago? In a galaxy far, far... Read More
Have you ever walked pass a shop that, for some... Read More
Designing your website can be a difficult task especially if... Read More
If you've a website but not making a lot of... Read More
Building a website can be overwhelming, here are some design... Read More
Nope. You certainly don't need a website.But you don't need... Read More
FIRST IMPRESSIONS. First impressions often leave lasting impressions. Impressions... Read More
Many times I've seen a web site undergo a revision... Read More
In learning webpage design, I encountered many problems that took... Read More
Web Design |