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Posts Tagged ‘planning’

Test The Usability Of Your Site

Where People Are Looking

When it comes to designing your site and choosing the best layout, everybody has their own opinion of what looks good. Obviously if we have created the design or selected a theme to use, then we have placed in our minds the reason for creating our choice.

The problem is that what gets filtered through our mind, might not necessarily get passed onto other viewers. There are several ways to test the usability and flow of your site. There are various premium solutions that conduct some research or formulate some plan to determine where eyes lead to, but is there really any way to determine if its right?

The easiest way to test the usability and flow of your site is to simply monitor people actually using your site. Find friends, family, co-workers, or just somebody you can sit in front of a computer screen and let them freely peruse through your site.

  • Take note of the first thing they notice or pay attention to when the site first loads.
  • Are they able to effectively navigate to where they want to go? Can they find what they are looking for?
  • Are they able to understand the point of the site?
  • Are they clicking on ads? If you have some sort of pop-up or obtrusive ad, then are they just closing the window and moving on?

Create a list of questions you may want answers to:

  • Does the color scheme match?
  • Does the site look like spam? Is there definition between content and advertisement?
  • Do they know what the site is about?

Regardless of what your site is about, you are ultimately trying to funnel readers somewhere. Whether you want them to comments, sign-up for newsletter, or purchase your product? The idea is to see if whatever you are highlighting is being focused on by the tester you are using and not just if your site looks good.

Web Hosting Comparison

Lasted updated: May 14, 2010

There are only 2 things you need to run a website: a doman name and web hosting; however, as demand as increased more and more hosting companies are popping up everyday. With so many choices how do you know which hosting to use?

The truth is, unless you signed some contract, you are never attached to a single hosting. If your hosting is really not cutting it, then you can always easily change and transfer to another.

That being said, there are usually a few things to consider when determining the right web hosting (If you are just starting out, you don’t necessarily need all the bells and whistles yet. Start basic and you can add on later:

  • Space - These days it should be unlimited.
  • Domain Names – Do you get 1 free domain name (.com). Does the hosting company offer domain name management? How much?
  • Email – Does the hosting give you email management? How much?
  • Simple Install – Does your hosting have one-click install for popular web apps (i.e. WordPress)
  • Price – The cheapest is not always the best, especially for what you may need. Maybe you don’t need unlimited email address. Maybe you don’t mind installing WordPress on your own.

The key is to look for what you’ll need 1-2 years out. Remember you can always start low and add-on more as needed.

Web Hosting Comparison Chart

The following is a list of some of the more popular and stable hosting companies out there. You can’t go wrong with any of them. ASANT Media uses HostMonster for all its hosting needs.

Hosting Company
Space
Domain
Cost (monthly)
HostMonster
Unlimited
1 Free
$5.95
FatCow
Unlimted
1 Free
$5.50
Blue Host
Unlimited
1 Free
$6.95
HostGator
Unlimited
-
$4.95

Most hosting companies pay for any transfer fees.

If you want good hosting, any of the above will do. While GoDaddy is one of the most widely known web hosting companies, we feel for what it offers, their service is more costly and outdated, and DO NOT recommend it.

If you have more questions on selecting the right web hosting, then feel free to contact us.

There is No Right Way

Whenever I tell people that I am making money off sites that I have created, their first response is how is it done and can they do it? While obviously anybody can do it, not everybody is willing to put in the time to see it through.

About a year ago I was telling one of my friends about The Wild Investor, and just like everybody else he wanted to have a stab at it. Since we were both huge sports’ fans, I recommended that maybe we should start a sports’ blog. I would buy the domain, create the site, and then together we would write the articles and market the site. He was on board and we set our profit distribution ratio (which you should always do before starting a partnership).

It was barely a month before his article creation diminished to nearly 0 and his marketing was nonexistent. While I can’t say I didn’t see this coming, it proved my point that there are no true step by step formulas to creating a successful online venture, rather it depends more on the person using them.

Sure, we can have our usual steps, but just like any formula there are always tweaks that need to be done. The main problem my friend was having is that he lacked the creativity it takes to make money online. Although I told him the steps that needed to be done to help market and create articles, that is all he would do. There was no “big picture” for him. It was just do this, that, and the other, and it should all work out. Whether I am marketing a financial site or a sport site, there are obviously going to be adjustments in schemes that need to be done.

Bottom Line: While you can be given the steps, tools, and knowledge, it is up to your to decide how to properly use them. I can give you 8 steps to start your online venture or 5 steps to dominate your niche, but it is up to your to figure out how to make these steps work best for your specific niche.

5 Steps to Dominate Your Niche

We have already covered 8 steps to start your online venture; however, the odds are high that you won’t be the first and last to enter that particular niche. In order to really start making money and create some sort of authority, we need to figure out:

  1. Who’s the competition?
  2. Major players?
  3. What communities exist?
  4. Affiliate programs available?
  5. Any multimedia targeted to the niche?

Competition?

By far the most important step is figuring out who your competition is. What are these people doing, how are they trying to make money, and does it seem like they have a good following? You can do this by performing a Google search. See why you think they rank high for certain keywords.

It is important to remember that just because they are competition does not mean that they can’t benefit you? Feel free to ask them some questions. Most people online like to feed their ego, and asking them questions on how you can be successful is definitely stroking their ego.

Who are the Big Dogs?

Who are the top players in your niche? While these people may be a little bit more preoccupied, it does not hurt to try and shoot them an email. It would be best to constantly track the content they put out. The best method to do this is through an RSS reader, such as Google Reader.

What Communities Exist?

Probably the best and somewhat easiest way to gain authority and notoriety is by actively being involved in message boards and forums. You will usually find that most of these community members are the real fanatics of the particular niche. If you can make a name for yourself with them, then it will go long ways to gaining traffic and authority to your site.

What Type of Affiliate Programs are There?

There are so many different type of affiliate programs out there (AM Certified Affiliates), and you are almost doing yourself a disservice if you don’t sign up with them. Your affiliate manager has tons of experience with gaining exposure, and they are dying to help you out. After all the more money your bring in, the more money they make as well.

What Multimedia Options Are There?

The internet is definitely moving from text to other multimedia outlets, such as podcast and videos. Scour services like YouTube and iTunes to see what is already available. Depending on your niche, you may be the first to break into this class of your niche.

Bottom Line: So we have covered the basis of trying to figure out how we should go about trying to overtake others already in the niche