Internet Marketing Consultant London Blog: New Cookie Regulations – how will they affect you?

Posted on December 20, 2011 by admin

New Cookie Regulations – how will they affect you?

New cookie regulations came into force in May 2011. Website owners have until May 2012 to comply. So, if you’re a website owner you need to a) be aware of the regulations and b) ensure you comply with them by May 2012.

These regulations are designed to ensure that visitors to websites are made aware of how the site uses cookies and that their consent is obtained for the use of certain types of cookie.

So, what are cookies? Most of you reading this will know what cookies are but for those of you that don’t here’s the definition from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

A cookie is a small file, typically of letters and numbers, downloaded on to a device when the user accesses certain websites. Cookies allow a website to recognise a user’s device. (More info on cookies at http://www.allaboutcookies.org)

The regulations are complex and by no means completely clear, which is why the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham issued his ‘Half-term Report’ into how compliance with the regulations is going (or not), on 13 December. You can download a PDF copy of this from http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/blog/2011/half-term-report-on-cookies-compliance.aspx. Just click on the link in the fourth paragraph.

I strongly recommend that you read the document and talk to your web designer, web master or web/internet marketing consultant to ensure you comply with the law. If you don’t have any of these and want clarification about how the rules might affect you then please email me at jns@theinternetspecialist.co.uk.

The good news is that for many businesses, particularly those using cookies mainly to collect anonymous website traffic data (through Google Analytics for example), it is not going to be too difficult or expensive to comply. But comply you must!

Thanks for reading.

Jeremy

Internet Marketing Consultant London Blog:

Internet Marketing Consultant London Blog: Lead conversion fundamentals – maximise visitor engagement and response

Posted on December 5, 2011 by admin

Lead conversion fundamentals – maximise visitor engagement and response

Attracting quality visitors to your web pages is hard work which takes time and money. It makes sense therefore to ensure that your visitors are as engaged as possible when they land on your site.

So:

1. Make sure your content loads quickly so visitors don’t have to spend time waiting for it to appear, particularly images and videos. Note: Google now takes page load time into account as part of its ranking algorythm.

2. Have a clear call to action on as many pages of your site as possible, even if it’s just a ‘Call us now!’ button. Note: it’s amazing how many web sites I still see where you really have to hunt around for the contact phone number, or go to a Contact Us page to find it. Put your phone and email contact details on every page!

3. Give your visitors a compelling reason to respond to your call(s) to action. Think what it would take for you, as a visitor to your own site, to respond to your own call to action, then apply that.

4. Update your content and even your page layouts regularly. Your website is your shop window. Do Harrods or Selfridges leave their shop windows the same day after day, month after month? No, they most certainly don’t! They respond rapidly to marketplace changes and trends and dress their windows accordingly. You can apply that thinking to your main landing pages (not just your Home page).

Hope you found the above useful.

Wishing you all the best with your business.

Jeremy

For a copy of my free guide ‘How to Generate More Revenue from your Website – Guaranteed!’, go to www.the-internet-marketing-expert.co.uk

Internet Marketing Consultant London Blog

Internet Marketing Consultant London Blog: The Wonders of Google Analytics (Part 2): Visitors Flow Report

Posted on December 2, 2011 by admin

The Wonders of Google Analytics (Part 2): Visitors Flow Report

Do you want to see a flow diagram of just how your visitors are moving through your web pages, whether they’re reaching the right pages or abandoning their visit too early?

Well, thanks to the new Google Analytics Visitors Flow Report you can now see graphically just how your visitors are proceeding (or not) through your web site.

The Visitors Flow report can be found at Standard Reporting (top level orange nav bar) / Audience / Visitors Flow.

Visitors Flow is a graphical representation of the paths that your visitors took through your site, from the source, through to various pages. It also shows where along their pathways they exited.

If you move your mouse over each page name a pop-up window will show you the total visitors, the through traffic, i.e. the visitors that went on to another page and the number of drop-offs, i.e. the visitors who left at that point. This is obviously very, very useful in identifying whether your visitors are intereacting with your content in the way that you would like.

Another brilliant feature is that you can view the flow for different visitor segments (e.g. new visitors, visits with conversions, mobile visitors etc.). Just select the segment you want from the drop-down above the report.

You can also vary the number of visible connections between pages by using the Connections slider to the right of the Select a Segment drop down.

All in all Vistors Flow is another excellent improvement to the functionality of Google Analytics.

Wishing you success with your internet marketing

Jeremy.

P.S. For a copy of my free guide ‘How to Generate More Revenue from your Website – Guaranteed!’, go to www.the-internet-marketing-expert.co.uk

Internet Marketing Consultant London Blog