When preparing websites, we often have clients say they don’t want to put too much information on their site, because they “want people to contact us”.

The belief is that too much information means people won’t contact them.

But think of it this way: your website is often the first point of contact a customer will have with your business. If your website is helpful, you are being helpful. That creates a positive first impression, and first impressions count. The additional detail you provide can also eliminate enquiries from people who you really can’t help anyway, so that can be an additional time saver.

On the other hand, if the information on your website is overly brief and sketchy, a potential customer may well leave thinking, “That was a waste of time - it didn’t tell me anything!”

Having said this, every industry is different of course, but you really need to consider the end user’s experience. Will it be a good one or a bad one?

More specifically many have an issue with pricing.

Think of it this way: You’re walking through the supermarket and a certain biscuit company has all their goodies stacked up on the end of the aisle. It has cost them a fortune to buy that space for the week, not to mention the extra stock and the time spent in stacking it up.

But there’s no price on anything.

So, when you’re walking past with your trolley, do you put any of those biscuits in?

Chances are you won’t.

At the end of the day, people will want to know the price. So why make that information difficult to get?

And if you’re in an industry where pricing is a bit tricky or complicated, read this advice for a possible solution.

The recommendation?

Don’t let people walk past your site like a supermarket display without crucial information. Put enough there so they do stop, look around, and just maybe you’ll have a new customer!

Jill from Boutique Diva came to us needing a new logo for an existing business in Yeppoon that she had just purchased.

With no specific preferences on colour or style, and a broad demographic of a 25-65 age bracket, Jill was after a modern and unique logo as the shop is positioned in a main street and is in a market with many competitors.

We looked at her location, and in keeping with the beach theme we designed a logo that was free-flowing, and could be either casual or formal.

Keep an eye on the shop in Normanby Street Yeppoon over the coming months - you might see a bit more if this logo in the future!

The search engine landscape is constantly changing. New competitors enter the market. Exsiting ones update their websites. Even the search engines themselves change their ranking formulas from time to time. How do you keep up?

For some time we’ve offered Search Engine Ranking reports to our customers for a fee, but I’m pleased to announce that they are now free!

Every three months, our web clients can receive a report via email listing where they rank in the major Australian search engines for their selected keywords. As the old saying goes, “If you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it!”

This service is part of our overall philosophy: your online success is our success, and we’ll do our best to help you achieve that.

Contact us if you’d like to know more.

All the news in Rockhampton at the moment is obviously about the flood.

But someone has taken a different angle and posted a bottle of “genuine” flood water on Ebay.

With about 3 days left on the auction there are already 18 bids!

It just goes to show: if you’re quick enough, there are opportunities everywhere!

If you’re anything like me, you receive a lot of email. Some days I feel like the only thing I’ve done all day is deal with email! Given the amount of other things that must be done in business, it’s easy to just put it in the “too hard basket” - but that can also be very dangerous.

I read this article on email and customer service about 6 months ago but while I was looking at some goals for 2008 I thought it was worth revisiting.

So how do you stack up in those figures? If I’m not careful I tend to find myself amongst the 70% who fail to respond within 24 hours. Definately something I’ll be fixing for 2008.

A good tactic is mentioned in Mike’s first point:

Automatically respond to all emails received: People will be more willing to wait for a reply if their initial communication has been acknowledged. Include a commitment to act on the issue and when you will respond fully.

I think people will generally understand if you can’t address the issue immediately - but it’s important to acknowledge the email and set an expectation of when you will be able to do so.

It also ties in to something I wrote back in 2004 about controlling your email (instead of the other way around!) - it’s as relevant now as then.

So, my top tips:

1. Choose when to check your email - don’t let your computer decide for you
2. As you’re going through your messages, fire up your diary (or whatever time management tool you use) and mark a time to actually attend to the task or issue
3. Respond to each email as soon as you read it (even if it’s only a brief response) - and at that point you can let the other person know when you’ll attend to is as well

Of course, if it’s an emergency you may need to deal with it straight away and all the above advice is null and void, but we don’t live in a perfect world, do we?

Almost Anything Web & Graphic Design has just taken out a Queensland Multimedia Award for Best Logo Design - for the third year in a row.

After success in 2005 and 2006, our design for His N Hers Surf and Leisure’s new logo took out the Best Logo Design - Retail Award at a gala dinner in Cairns last month.

The judges’ comments: “Great simplicity and energy in the design. Sure to be a hit with the surf community.”

It’s rewarding to receive these accolades, knowing we were competing with many entries from across the state.

The following article is from the Morning Bulletin, Friday 23rd November 2007:

New kids clothing online store, Little Poppets, was launched last week.

Carrying brands including Fish Lilly, OOBI and Anna&Sally, the store has a “Shop by Brand” option to make it easier to find exactly what you’re looking for.

We also added support for Gift Vouchers, which can be either a set dollar amount or a % discount value.

The website also features a Birthday Club registration to encourage purchases leading up to those special occasions.

Visit www.littlepoppets.com.au.