Finger Eating Garage Door Reveals Breakthrough Web Design And Linking Strategy
|
|
Last Thursday afternoon I was working on a garage door and regrettably loosened the torsion spring too much. This spring is what relieves or neutralizes the weight of the garage door so the openers can work without burning out and so you don't have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger to open it.
I released the door from the opener and it began closing way too quickly. As I rushed over to try and slow it's decent, I grabbed the handle with my left hand and was trying to grab anything with my right hand. Unfortunately, the only thing that got grabbed was my pinky finger ? two knuckles up. The 1000 lb. door came crashing down so hard it broke the glass in one of its sections.
When the dust cleared and the glass had stopped clinking- I looked over to see my finger clamped firmly and squashed flatly between two sections of the heavy wooden door. I had no one around, no other neighbors were home, and I was trapped, in lots of pain, and unable to get free or lift the door (what would you do?). I tried pulling my cell phone out of my pocket but inside the garage there was no signal.
I did the only thing I could ? I screamed for help through the broken glass?
Now, you may be wondering what in the world this painful story has to do with web design- but read on and I'll explain...
I yelled for what seemed forever, but in reality was maybe five minutes, yet no one came. Now, for a few minutes I thought to myself ? "I have a knife in my pocket- am I going to have to cut my own finger off to get free?" Seeing how flat it was crushed I didn't really think it had much chance of surviving that trauma anyway?
I wasn't that desperate quite yet and figured I should try calling for help again ? and here's where some recent training with internet marketing came in?( "What are you talking about, Bob?" you ask.)
Dan Kennedy always talks about "leading a customer through your site". Don't leave anything to chance. They want to be told exactly what to do next.
So as I stood there in gut wrenching pain, totally unable to move or get free, I thought to myself, "maybe people are hearing my cry for help, but don't know where it's coming from. It could be just echoing around the neighborhood?"
So in a last ditch effort, I started screaming (and I can be quite loud) "HELP! I'm trapped in a garage at 52 Lakeview Ave. and I need help NOW!" Within a minute or two about 5 guys came running down the street from somewhere (I don't know where) and up the driveway. The specific directions worked! They began trying to pry the door up but it had come off the track and was jammed. So their prying was only clamping the door sections even tighter on my finger. OUCH! So once again, I got specific.
I told 2 guys to stay out side-3 to come around back and come inside. I had 2 go to work on the pulleys on either side and get them back in the track, the other one called 911. After what seemed like ages, the door was back on track and lifted high enough to allow the finger to be finally pulled out from between the sections. Ugh. It was nasty looking, flatter than a pancake...(almost surreal)
Now, how does this relate to Web site design? It's very clear to me? In a matter of life and death (ok-life and death of a finger), nothing happened until I specifically yelled for help with exact directions where to come. I tried for five minutes screaming just for help- that didn't work. Only when I screamed the address where I was at and what the problem was, did I finally get a good response. Zero before, 5 after. Hey! That's a 500% increase!
We need to do the same thing with our web design and linking strategies. Specifics- Lead the client or potential client through the process step by step clearly. Use accurate keywords and descriptive text for all your links. Don't scream out generically, or they will never know where to go next. All they'll hear is a vacant echo, as they continue doing what they were doing before. And they'll probably end up someone else's client because they can't hone in on where the cry for action is coming from and where they need to go.
Miraculously, after being rushed to the hospital, blood had begun to flow back into the finger and x-rays revealed only a broken knuckle. Because it had been caught sideways, the tendons and nerves were preserved and not cut, aside from some numbness and pain, the finger is well on its way to a full recovery (Phew! Really glad I didn't cut it off now).
Moral of the story: Design your site and your linking strategies as if your life (or finger) depended on it. Be specific, be specific, and oh yeah, be specific.
Bob
Bob Volk, Founder of VolkNet Enterprises, is an Internet Entrepreneur and has started/co-founded many sites including http://volknet.com, http://seo-elite-services, and his newest venture, an automated link exchange program with a unique twist at http://Link-Blaster.com. He specializes in Web Site Design, Marketing, and SEO Consultation for both small and medium size businesses doing $30 - $40 million a year.
|
|
|
Created & Maintained by Empower! CMS Web Sites
Host2Sell Web Hosting | Emarketing Workshops | Site SEO Review | FREE Newsletter6 Tips To Improve Your Business Website
There are six important characteristics that can play a major role on the impact your website has on prospects. Outlined below is the importance of each characteristic and tips on how to maximize your potential. It is always important to tailor everything you do to what your customer is expecting, doing so will help keep you one step ahead of the competition.Convenience ? Allowing your customers to make decisions at their convenience is a very powerful element. Nobody wants to feel pressured or hurried into making a buying decision. When a customer can go to your website, browse your products and services, and make a purchase at their convenience, you are satisfying a crucial consumer obstacle -- t...(related: Web Design)
Website Promotion Ideas: 10 Web Site Add-ons To Increase Your Traffic
If you're not getting a lot of traffic to your website anymore, must implement these Website promotion ideas immediately.1. Add a message board to your web site. Peopl...(related: Web Design)
Web Usability: The Basics
What is web usability & why is it important?Web usability is about making your website in such a way that your site users can find what they're looking for quickly and efficiently. A usable website can reap huge benefits on to your website and your business.* Every £1 invested in improving your website's usability returns £10 to £100 (source: IBM)* A web usability redesign can increase the sales/conversion rate by 100% (source: Jakob Nielson)Your ...(related: Web Design)
Making Good Websites That Stand Out
Websites, there's literally billions of them out there in cyber-space. How many of them do you go to and just think this is boring, bland, or hard to use? It seems like too many to mention. So what makes a good website? I reckon it's about interaction. You've got to make the visitor interested. You've got to grab their attention. Many sites use plenty of bright and shiny gimmicks to attract you, but once you make it through to the content of the site it's just not worthy. A good site uses easy navigation, relevant content, and interactive medi...(related: Web Design)
What Your Website Really Says About You And Why It Matters
Everything you say and do says something about you. This has never been more true than in a text based environment like the Internet. You only have one chance to put across what you want to say. Use it wisely.Getting a website right does take work and commitment. If you want it to succeed you must spend time to get it right and present the right impression to your potential customers.During any conversation you can pick up extra clues from tone of voice, the choice of words used, the way it is said, pauses, etc. They provide emotion and meaning over and above the actual words being spoken. The same is true of text and other website content. There are extra clues of emotion and meaning and what you choose to write and how you say it can say a l...(related: Web Design)
Understanding How Html Color Codes Work
Ever wonder how HTML color codes are put together? For the beginner, it can look like lots of numbers and letters that make no sense. In reality, HTML color codes are written that way for a specific reason that we'll look at in this article.Introduction to the Hexadecimal SystemIn mathematics,...(related: Web Design)
Why Not To Use Web Design Templates For Your Website
In today's age of fast food and high-speed Internet, a business may be tempted to take the "more convenient" route in launching a website ? buying a template and customising it.Website design templates are like off-the-shelf websi...(related: Web Design)
Handwriting Font Tips - The Personal Touch That Makes A Difference
Most websites use similar fonts and as a result have a generic look. So, if you want to differentiate your look and also add a personal touch to your website, consider using handwriting fonts. These fonts really make people feel more comfortable with your site because it is personal rather than computerized, or at least that is the feeling that is portrayed. There are many additional uses and tips for handwritten fonts as well that will give you an idea of ways to use these fonts on your website and why.- Teach Children how to WriteFirst of all, using handwriting fonts is a great way to teach children how to form letters correctly and also how to write in sentences. By using handwriting fonts children can learn t...(related: Web Design)
Want To Increase Your Online Sales? Make Sure That Your Web Site Has A Unique Selling Proposition
If you own a web site or if you are going to build a new one, the most important thing about your site is to achieve as high as possible visitors to sales conversion rate.Although they say that "the traffic is king online", if your website converts poorly, your online business will fail, unless you receive tons of free traffic which I doubt....(related: Web Design)
7 Benefits Of Html Validation
You may not bother with html validation or writing simpleand clean code when designing your web site. Later you mayfind your site is slow loading, appears incorrectly in themain browsers and does not rank well for the major searchengines.Now there are sites that still do rank well even though thehtml code has many errors. This is because most of thecurrent major browsers are still very forgiving of htmlmistakes, however future browsers will become more htmlcompliant as the Internet ad...(related: Web Design)
Technology Vs. Usability
When JV Media Design was formed, the year was 1995 and the Internet was a very different place than it is today.The first websites we created used simple layouts, a modest amount of graphics, standard "web safe" colors, and no javascript. This was all done in an attempt to create websites that worked well with the browsers of the time (namely, Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator).As the years went by, technology rapidly changed, and so did the web. Soon enough, javascript was standard procedure to create...(related: Web Design)
How To Design A Search Engine Friendly Web Site
Many web site designers don't design their sites for thesearch engines. This is a huge mistake because they missout on attracting lots of free traffic. Your beautifullydesigned web site may have cost you thousands of dollarsbut it still needs to attract visitors to be profitable.Here are 12 highly effective strategies for designing asearc...(related: Web Design)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 Empower! Web Design | All Rights Reserved. | Web Design