While you should be setting a variety of goals outside of purely raising a following, let’s not forget some of the ways that a user Liking your page can help your organization.

The Perception of Popularity

When someone lands on your Facebook page, they’re going to judge you immediately.  And because this judgment happens so quickly there’s not nearly enough time for them to get a complete picture of who you truly are.  While Likes aren’t the only influencer, they’ll play a key role in your visitor’s mind when determining the popularity of your organization.

A popular page simply makes a stronger first impression.

The Influential Power of Friends

Facebook also displays the number of friends that Like a particular page.  If a user visits your Facebook page, there’s a better chance they’ll Like your page if a bunch of their friends have already done so.  People place far more value on the opinions of others they know and trust than they do on total strangers.

Help Reach Your Audience

While there are many factors that influence the frequency with which Facebook serves your content to other user’s feeds, more followers means your potential audience is larger.  By strategically leveraging Facebook Insights you can turn this audience into a more engaged following.

Increased Sample Size for Analytics

Any statistical analysis is more meaningful with a larger number of respondents.  Pulling trends from analytics is great, but trends drawn from the behavior of 40 people often mean far less than trends drawn from 400.  A larger sample size can lead to more robust findings and ultimately help you make more informed decisions moving forward.

Do You Value Likes?

What do you think?  As a Facebook user how much weight do you place on the number of Likes a page has?  We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Image courtesy of SmallBuck.com

These are phrases you never want users of your website to think.  But when a user clicks a link on your site and is kicked to a third party site without opening a new window or tab, you’re setting them up for frustration.

Here are some tips on when you should open links in a new window and how to do it on your website.

A Quick Note on Browsers

Whether a page opens in a new window or a new tab is dependent on each individual user’s settings.  For the most part, modern browsers open pages in a new tab instead of a new window by default.  Some older browsers are the opposite and open in a new window instead of a new tab.  Since that’s largely out of your control as a website administrator, I’m using “new window” and “new tab” interchangeably throughout this post.  Just want to make sure we’re all on the same page.  So where were we…

Why Open Links in a New Window?

The main reason is simple: you want people to stay on your website.  If a user clicks a link on your website and is taken off your site, there’s not a great chance they’ll take the time to navigate back.  Sure, they may hit the Back button in their browser or retype your URL.  But that’s all extra work for your user.  It’s hard enough to get an interested visitor to your website in the first place.  You should try to make their lives as easy as possible once they’re on your site.

Is It Ever Appropriate to Open a Link in the Same Window?

Of course it is.  The idea of opening a link in a new window is not by any means a hard and fast rule.  The best way to figure it out is to view each page with your user in mind.  If you were a visitor to your website, would you expect the link to open in a new window or in the same window?

As a general rule, if the link is taking a user to another page on your website it should probably open in the same window.  If a link is taking a user off your site, open it in a new window.

How to Open Links in a New Window

Since the nuts and bolts of how to open a link in a new window vary widely based on the way your website is built, I’ll focus on how to do so in the most popular content management system out there, WordPress. We’ll also throw in good ol’ fashion HTML just for good measure.

Open Links in a New Window in WordPress

To open a link in a new window in WordPress, all you need to do is make sure you check the box beside “Open link in a new window/tab” when adding your link.  It’s that simple.  Now, as the name implies, your link will open in a new window or tab.

Note: I’m using WordPress Version 3.3.1 for this demo.  In an older version of WordPress your dialogue box likely will look different.  If you see a dropdown menu, select the option that says “Open link in a new window” to achieve the same goal.

Open Links in a New Window in HTML

Chances are if you’re writing HTML you know how to do this, but I want to make sure I’ve got my bases covered.  To get those links opening in a new window all you have to do is add a little code.

Original Link (opens in the same window)

<a href=”http://www.wordpress.org/”>WordPress</a>

Resulting Link: WordPress

New Link (opens in a new window once you add target=”_blank”)

<a href=”http://www.wordpress.org/” target=”_blank”>WordPress</a>

Resulting Link: WordPress

Your link will now open in a new window.

Share Your Thoughts

What do you think?  As a user, do you like or hate when links open in new windows?  As a website administrator, do you tend to open your links in the same window or in a new one?  We’d love to hear your thoughts.

But before you scoff and roll your eyes at this apparent non-answer, hold up.  While I can’t tell you without specifics what success means on your site, I can tell you setting website goals will ultimately help you measure whether or not you have an effective website that is helping your organization in a meaningful way.  But first let’s talk about why you should care.

The Importance of Website Goals

So why do website goals matter?  Website goals help to inform a lot of the decisions that influence how your website is designed and built.  Knowing what you hope to get out of your site can help you answer a lot of questions, including:

• What information do we need to prioritize on each page?
• What’s the best organizational structure for our website?
• What do we need to allow visitors to do when they visit our website?
• Is our website actually helping us in any way?

Once you have website goals, you can start making decisions to help realize them.  But how do you come up with these goals in the first place?  Ah, well I’m glad you asked (or at least that I asked for you).

Start with Organizational Goals

Your website should help you meet your organizational goals.  The whole point of having a website is for it to help your organization in some way.

As such, the best place to start is with your organizational goals.  Generate a list of all your goals for the fiscal year.  Identify which goals you think a website could potentially help with.  For instance, let’s say a nonprofit organization is trying to raise 15% more money in donations this year.  Their website could play a huge role in making this organizational goal happen.

Adapt Goals to the Web

It’s important to figure out how your organizational goals can translate into website goals.  How hard it is to adapt these goals really depends on the goals and the functionality of your website.

For instance, let’s stick with the nonprofit that’s trying to raise more money.  If their website allows for online donations, adaptation is easy.  Clearly you’d want to see a boost in online giving through the website.  In this case the organizational goal and the website goal are the same.

But what if their website doesn’t support online donations?  This is where it’s time to get creative in figuring out how this organizational goal of more donation dollars can be translated into a website goal.  Maybe they have a page dedicated to donations and how to donate.  A visit to this page seems like a great goal.  Or maybe they have a contact form for visitors that are interested in hearing more about how to donate.  Another great goal.

As a related semi-tangent, it’s also important for you to remember to ask callers how they found out about you.  Your website can be instrumental in convincing interested visitors to give you a call.  And you likely won’t know how they found you if you don’t ask.

When coming up with website goals it’s important to remember that website traffic shouldn’t be your only goal.  No doubt it’s easy and fun to track total monthly visitors.  But in reality quantity for quantity’s sake doesn’t really matter.  You could get a ton of website traffic, but if these visitors aren’t really interested in what you do and aren’t engaging with your organization in any way they don’t really help you meet your goals.

And yes, I realize the fact I think “it’s easy and fun to track total monthly visitors” makes me a nerd.  But it’s surprisingly fun.  Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it.

Monitoring Using Analytics

While details on how to monitor your goals is outside of the scope of this post, it’s important to make sure you have some sort of monitoring system in place on your website.  We personally love Google Analytics and are planning some future posts to justify our feelings.  But there are many other solutions out there.  As long as you have a way to monitor your progress towards achieving your website goals, that’s the most important thing.

Share Your Thoughts

As always, we’d love to hear what you have to say.  Have you gone through the process of determining goals for your website?  What did you come up with?

Uh, what?

I can already picture the blank stare and furrowed brow I’d give someone that said something like that to me.  And yet we come across content like this all the time online.  Well, maybe not quite this bad.  But close.

I’m not discounting the importance of search engine optimization (SEO).  Good SEO can be incredibly helpful in driving the right people to your website.  And of course you should follow SEO best practices like:

• Creating keyword-rich content
• Writing sufficient content on each page
• Putting keywords in headings
• Doing all the behind-the-scenes work like creating meta tags and submitting a sitemap to search engines

While there are many more best practices, giving SEO tips isn’t the point of this post.

The takeaway message is this:

There’s no point in driving traffic with SEO if your content doesn’t make any sense.

True, quality SEO can get more hits on your website.  But if you want your website to actually do whatever it is you’d like it to do, you need to write your content for humans as well as robots.  While robots can help get eyes on your page, it’s ultimately up to real people to give you a call, insightfully comment on your blog or donate to your cause.

But it’s this very question that a visitor to your website thinks when they land on your site.  Sure they want you to solve their problems.  But there are likely plenty of other people that can solve their problems.  When a visitor is deciding why to hire, donate to or get in touch with you over everyone else, they’re not looking for a slick slogan or sales gimmick.  They’re looking for your story.

This isn’t really about marketing yourself or pitching your organization.  It’s about putting together a compelling story.  Good stories are memorable.  We may not remember the exact words, but we remember our feelings as we heard them and the thoughts they churned up within us.

If you’re creating content for a website, you need to start thinking of yourself as a storyteller.  Essentially you are trying to craft a compelling story and present it in a way that makes people want to know more.

Your story is really the “what” and “why” of your organization:

• What are you doing?
• Why are you doing it?

Once you can give a concrete and succinct (think one or two sentences) answer to these questions, you can create your content to fill in the details.  But your content should largely be centered around the story you’ve crafted.

Storytelling Exercise

Before generating the content for your website, it’s helpful to know the story you’re going to tell.  I hope you find the following exercise helpful in developing your story.

1.  Free Write Multiple Stories

You’re not going to actually use these exact versions anywhere, so the pressure’s off.  At this point the words don’t matter.  Don’t think about target markets or even grammar.  You’re free writing.  Just write.  Try to come up with stories from multiple angles.  Don’t judge or think about which one is best.  Try to keep them narrow in scope and only a few sentences in length.  Try to answer:

• What do you do?
• Why do you do it?

The “what” may be similar in each, but the “why” can differ greatly.  There are probably a bunch of reasons you do what you do.  Don’t worry about being compelling.  Just be honest.

2.  Pick Your Favorite Story

After a bit of time away from them, come back and read over what you’ve written.  Pick the story that feels like it best represents you and your organization.  Don’t worry too much about the words that you’ve used to tell the story.  Focus on authenticity.  The story you select here will be the core of the content you develop.

3.  Pick Other Stories That You Like

Once you have your favorite picked out, identify any that you’d like to keep around.  Maybe there’s a story that seems particularly appropriate for an About Us page.  You may not know how to apply each, but keep the ones that you like.

4.  Develop Your Content

Once you have your favorites picked out (and assuming you have your website structure solidified), use your stories to develop your content.  You don’t need to use any of the words you’ve written.  But make sure you’re consistently reinforcing the story you want to be telling.

Using a central story will help ensure clarity and consistency in the content throughout your website.  It can also make you a whole lot more memorable.  Plus the next time someone asks you “What’s your story?” you’ll have something ready.

Related Reads

Bringing Authenticity to Web Copy
The Best Way to Be Heard? Provide Value

While there’s no guarantee that writing better titles for your blog will lead to an influx of visitors, it definitely doesn’t hurt.  Here are five tips to help you write better titles for your blog posts.

Keep Blog Titles Short

Make sure you accurately convey what the post is all about, but try to keep it succinct.  Doing so has a few key benefits.

First, shorter titles are much easier to scan.  Users will thank you for this (by actually reading your content).

Second, shorter titles are easier to share, especially when you’re talking about a social space like Twitter that has a 140-character limit.  The easier your content is to share, the better the chances users will do so.

My Goal: less than 70 characters

That way you can use the entire title as your title tag which means it will display in its entirety when it comes up in a Google search (as in the image below).

Put Important Words First

This is better for both the people and the robots that come across your content.  People are impatient, especially online.  Putting important words first helps to cut through the clutter and get interested readers to your post.

Also search engine robots tend to give more value to words at the beginning of phrases.  So whenever possible it makes sense to put these keywords early in blog titles.  However, remember you’re writing for human readers.  It’s important to understand search engine optimization, but none of your efforts matter if your titles are awkward and unappealing to users.  Try to balance the needs of humans and robots when writing your titles.

Use Terms That Are Searched

Make sure you use the kind of terms that people will likely search for when trying to find your content.  It seems intuitive, but this tip is often overlooked in titling blog posts.  You don’t have to do intense keyword research if that’s not your thing (although a bit of research can go a long way), but you should at least give some thought to what people who are looking for your post would likely type into a search engine.

Ensure Accuracy

Avoid the temptation to come up with that awesome title that is kind of, sort of tangentially related to your blog post as long as you read it with an open mind.  For example, if I come across a post entitled “Tips to Get a Sick Dog to Eat” but find what’s basically a long pitch for a specific dog food, I’m not going to be happy.  Chances are my dog is sick and not eating.  I’m not looking for a new type of food.  I’m looking for specific things I can do to make him eat.  By ensuring your titles are accurate you can help provide genuine value to your visitors.

Be Creative When Possible

Truth be told, there’s no formula for how to write a perfect blog title.  Some posts lend themselves to straightforward titles (like this post).  But others allow for a bit more creativity.  Don’t be afraid to add your own personality when appropriate.  One great way to do this is through creative word choice.

A great creative post will have a few key features.  It will:

1. Pique a reader’s interest
2. Describe what the article is about
3. Use keywords that are relevant to search traffic

Some clearly forego point 3 in their quest for creativity, but the best titles will incorporate as many of these features as possible.

Here are a few creative titles that recently stood out to me and lead me to open the post:

SEO Drummers & The Same Old Tune
Tools, Twitter and a Ton of Opportunity
When NORAD tracked Santa: Bruno Bowden on the TED Blog
Capturing Speed on a Tokyo Train
Bone-Rattling Sound: New Speakers That Are Made From Bone

Your Thoughts

Did you find any of this information helpful?  Did you think any of it was off base?  Have any examples of titles that piqued your interest lately?  We’d love to hear from you.

Related Reads

4 Simple Ways to Write Better Headings

We get it.  It’s easier said than done.  But that doesn’t mean it’s untrue.  That same sagely advice is pertinent as you approach the way you represent yourself and your organization in your web copy.  There are likely numerous other folks that do something (or at least claim to do something) similar to what you’re doing.  But there aren’t any others out there that are exactly the same as you.  And that can be a huge asset to you.

Here are a few tips to help you bring authenticity to your web copy.

Highlight Your Story

Your story is a big part of what makes you and your organization unique.  Don’t be afraid to bring an authentic portrayal of yourself to your web copy.  I don’t know about you, but I always check out About Us pages on websites that I visit to see the people behind the organization.  And I’m always disappointed when it’s the same old industry jargon and sales pitch rhetoric.  I tend to promptly forget it.

But a memorable, authentic story sticks with me.  Designer Jon Tan has an excellent About page that he’s personalized to be totally his own.  He highlights his professional accomplishments, but also shares a glimpse of his unique story if you scroll down to the “Personally…” section.  It’s easy for me to remember he started designing at Lego and worked as an octopus fisherman.  And being memorable in the clutter of web content these days is no easy feat.

Create Realistic Expectations

I’m sure you’re great at many things.  But there’s just no way you’re great at everything.  And if you tell me that you are I’m going to think you are lying.

Focus your copy on what you are actually great at doing.  This will help you in two important ways.  First, it will increase the likelihood that you’ll be contacted by people that can actually benefit from what you have to offer.  Second, it will help you to manage expectations.  You can’t be all things to all people.  So focus on what you’re good at and explain in layman’s terms what you’re all about.

Write How You Talk

Web copy is almost always too formal.  In most cases it’s better to just write how you talk.  Don’t worry about sounding smart.  It takes far more intelligence to present complex topics in an understandable way than it does to look up big words in a thesaurus.

Write First, Revise After

The key to authenticity is that you’re telling your story in your voice.  Don’t worry about getting every word perfect.  Focus first on the message.  Don’t overthink how each and every word will be received.  Once it’s written, you can start revising and cutting to make sure you’ve highlighted your core message.

Your Thoughts

What do you think?  Does authenticity in web copy influence your perception of an organization?  We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Related Reads

The Best Way to Be Heard? Provide Value
4 Simple Ways to Write Better Headings

Maybe you’ve just come across a terrible post.  Maybe you’re just in an awful mood on this particular morning.  We’ve all been there.  You’ve read something online that’s so bad it’s moved you to action.  The words of opposition pour effortlessly from your fingertips.

But before you start ripping on the author’s worthlessness, take a deep breath.  Offering a dissenting opinion is a great way to push the discourse forward, but there are a few things to keep in mind to turn that angry rant into something productive.

1. Make Sure You Have Something Worth Saying

Your comment need not be incredibly profound, but if you’re going to disagree with a post, at least make sure you have something worth saying.  Otherwise you’re just adding to the noise on the Internet without pushing the conversation along (which is really the whole point of commenting in the first place).

2. Keep It Focused

If you ramble, it dilutes your message and people are less likely to read what you have to say.  Think about the main point of what you’re writing and focus on that message.

3. Work the Issue, Not the Author

If your main critique is that the author is stupid, there’s little chance you’re going to get a whole lot of engagement.  First off, authors likely won’t respond to outright attacks on their worth as a human being.  Second, other readers will (understandably) shy away from engaging with you out of fear you could turn on them next.

Instead, focus on critiquing the points the author made.  Offer your criticism of the information they’ve presented in their post and not their value to society.

4. Don’t Be the Annoying Kid in Class

No one likes the kid in class that thinks they know more than the teacher.  It’s fine to question a post, but don’t use your comment as a chance to prove how much smarter you are than the author.  Let your words show your intelligence instead of just ripping on the writer.  Plus the kid showing up the teacher isn’t usually all that smart (and, if we’re being honest, is pretty damn annoying).

5. Read Other Comments

This is always a good practice, but worth repeating in the context of offering your own dissenting opinion.  Read what others have said and frame your own as a reply if appropriate.  Doing so may allow you to engage not only with the post’s author, but also the author of the original comment.

Share Your Thoughts

Here’s your chance to tell me how stupid I am.  Feel free to sound off in the comments below.

Related Reads

Commenting on Blogs: Feel Fear But Do It Anyway
Why You Should Never Comment on Blogs. Ever.

I’m a flighty Internet surfer.  When I read content online, I have a very short attention span.  I tend to scan through articles and open at least ten times as many webpages as I actually take the time to read in their entirety.

But I know I’m not alone.  We, the surfers of the web, are a flighty group.  And our lack of willingness to devote all of our attention can’t be stopped, it can only be contained.  That’s where headings come in.

Headings help to show a visitor that your content is worthwhile.  It’s your best bet to convince them to actually engage with what you’ve written.  Below are a few best practices to keep in mind as you write headings into your website content.

Make Your Headings Short

The whole point of a heading is to provide a way for a reader to scan through your content without reading every word to see if it’s what they’re looking for.  The longer your headings, the harder they are to scan.  Use as few words as possible while still conveying what each section is about.

Make Your Headings Clear and Accurate

If your reader doesn’t know what your heading means, it doesn’t provide much help in navigating your content.  Use simple language that clearly outlines what a reader can expect from the content that follows.  Headings with ambiguous jargon don’t help readers understand your content.

Use Keywords in Your Headings

Just like your readers, search engines give more weight to your headings when deciding what your content is all about.  Make sure you include relevant keywords in your headings throughout your content.  However, make sure you remember the points above and keep those headings short and clear.

Make Your Headings Prominent

Even if you do all of the above, your headings honestly don’t matter much to your reader if they can’t easily see them.  Your headings should stand out.  While there’s no universal rule for what constitutes prominent, it likely means your headings will be bigger, equally dark or darker and bolder than your body text.  It’s also generally a good idea to leave a little space above a heading to help it stand out.  You’ll likely need to enlist the help of someone with basic coding knowledge to make this happen, but it should be a pretty easy fix.

Your Thoughts

What do you think?  Do you scan headings before engaging with the content on a webpage?  As a reader or someone that writes content, is there anything else you think makes headings more effective?  Feel free to share your thoughts below.

Here’s a cold, hard fact about the Internet: anyone can say anything.  There is no lie detector for the content you post up.  You can say you are awesome on your website and you very well may be.  But there are plenty of people, products and organizations out there that claim to be fantastic when in actuality they’re junk.  They may be blissfully unaware of their shortcomings or simply understand that highlighting their deficiencies isn’t a great marketing strategy.  Regardless of their motives, there’s a good chance they’re going to claim to be just as amazing as you.

As an explorer of the Interwebs, I’ve grown used to hearing the same old spiel.  The repetition of this noise has led me and my fellow explorers to be better and better at tuning it out.  When I come across an elevator pitch on a sales page, I scan ahead in my search for substance.  If the pitch persists, I leave.  And I don’t think I’m alone.

The Alternative: Provide Genuine Value

When writing content for your website, stop thinking so much about why you’re so great.  Stop saying it and start showing it instead.  Don’t worry about giving away too much of your knowhow or trade secrets.  Think about what your visitors value and give it to them.

People are looking for solutions to their problems.  When I hire a mechanic I realize anyone with a computer and Internet connection can promise to “fix my car regardless of make or model.”   But I’m more interested in someone that can tell me what can lead an engine to make that grinding noise I hear when I shift gears.  If I come across a mechanic’s site that explains it to me in a way that I can understand, I’m more inclined to believe they know what they’re talking about and listen to their pitch.  And I’m much more likely to tell my friend about it when their car starts clunking.

You can claim to solve problems all you want.  But so can anyone else.  If you can truly solve one or two of a visitor’s problems by providing content that is truly valuable, there’s a much better chance they’ll listen to what you have to say.

Share Your Thoughts

What do you think?  Are you more likely to trust an organization that’s providing helpful content?  Have you come across any terrible sales pitches lately online?  Feel free to share them in the comments below.