Web design, web development, marketing and strategy blog by Foraker Design of Boulder, Colorado » Marketing

Unleash the Hounds

Derek Olson — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:41:41 +0000

Ever watch a dog walk through a door into an unfamiliar room? It immediately sniffs around the perimeter, sniffs each person, and sniffs any objects or dark spots on the carpet. The dog is on the lookout for the two essential communication devices of the canine world: food and excrement. Web users act in much the same way.

3 Basic Steps to Nonprofit Twitter Success

Nicole Konkoly — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:06:16 +0000

A nonprofit organization can begin to build an effective Twitter presence in several basic steps when they give their audience a reason to stay connected and provide opportunities for direct action. Keep in mind that Twitter is a two-way communication street. Strive to give your audience a reason to stay connected, and provide opportunities for direct action whenever possible—usually in the form of a hyperlink that takes the person to a webpage where they can carry out that action.

Does “Above the Fold” Matter?

Derek Olson — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:17:49 +0000

What is “the fold”?

“The fold” comes from printed newspapers (remember those?). In a printed newspaper, the prime real estate is on the front page, above the place where the paper is folded in half.

At a news stand, stories that are above the fold are visible without any manhandling on the part of the consumer. Stories that are above the fold are also typically the only ones you can see (before buying) in newspaper vending machines.

On the web,…

Is Conversion Optimization the Holy Grail of eCommerce?

Derek Olson — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:16:33 +0000

Conversion optimization is, loosely put, the process of making incremental changes to your website that increase the volume/pace/value of desirable actions by your users (as measured by your web analytics software). But can conversion optimization go too far? Is there ever a case where optimizing conversions at the expense of all else could be harmful?

Get Your Web Content In Tune

Nicole Konkoly — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:53:17 +0000

Creating effective web content involves artfully balancing usability and search engine optimization. Viewing content through the lens of your audience is a great first step. On the Web, your audience consists of both website users and search engine bots or "spiders". Let's take a look at some of their unique attributes, as well as corresponding content development methods.