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New trends are
emerging in the
fast paced world
of the Internet.
A major change
in viewpoint is
occurring - that
a Web site is
a publication
and not a static
electronic brochure.
If a visitor clicks
on your site once,
reads it all and
then returns in
a week or two
and finds it is
still exactly
the same, they
never come back
again! A new Web
career emerging
this year will
be - Content Strategy
and Development.
The Web Content
Report (www.ragan.com)
says industry
experts have tipped
these trends as
the ones to watch
in 2001:
- Original
content will
be the big
draw card
on Web sites
this year.
Forrester
Research's
recent study
shows 75 percent
of respondents
ranked content
as the No.1
reason
why they return
to Web sites.
Ease-of-use
followed second
at 66 percent;
then quick
download times
at 58 percent.
If your
web site
does not
have relevant
content
that is
easy to
find you
will continue
to lose
more and
more visitors.
Your Web
site is
more like
a magazine
than a
brochure
and it
needs
a good
content
editor.
Learn
to integrate
your communications
and IT
functions.
Find out
what your
target
audience
is interested
in and
supply
that.
Update
it at
the very
least
once a
month.
Interactivity
is the
buzz word
http://www.clickz.com/cgi-bin/gt/article.html?article=2944
http://contentious.com/articles/001105-1.htm
- E-newsletters
bring visitors
back.
People may
forget to
visit your
site, but
they never
forget to
read their
e-mail. Savvy
Web marketers
will use this
effective
tool to tell
their visitors
about the
new, original
content on
their site
and lure them
straight back
in. This tool
can increase
you traffic
by as much
as 20%.
http://www.clickz.com/cgi-bin/gt/article.html?article=3076
- Usability
testing.
Two years
ago almost
no sites were
doing usability
testing says
Nielsen, the
guru of Web
site content
and testing.
The practice
is catching
on fast and
of the 20
million sites
out there
about 20,000
now do usability
testing. Most
sites use
it on an already
developed
design and
not to guide
their design.
"Companies
that test
their redesigns
via user testing
are likely
to see at
least a 50
percent increase
in usability,
but that number
can reach
1000 percent
if a design
is determined
by user testing,"
says Nielsen.
Case in point
is www.talktogov.com.
They redesigned
their site
using audience
surveys and
usability
testing and
increased
usability
by 400%.
- Online
advertising
is not bringing
home the bacon.
Click through
rates
are at
an all
time low.
Nielsen
provides
an insight
into why
Web users
ignore
online
banner
ads -
they like
to feel
in control
when surfing
your site.
Any signs
of you
trying
to control
or manipulate
them and
they click
right
out. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20001224.html
- Major changes
in search
engine submission
tactics are
coming.
The most significant
changes in
search engine
submission
this year
will be two
new programs:
pay-for-placement
and self-serve
paid inclusion.
See www.searchenginewatch.com.
Lycos, HotBot,
Netscape Search
and AOL Search
will offer
top placement
for cash.
- Privacy:
The biggest
legal issue
for Web content
managers this
year will
be privacy.
Make sure
your site
includes a
privacy policy,
and ensure
your staff
honors it.
http://www.publish.com/features/0012/feature13.html
Take these insights
to heart and have
a great year on
the Net.
Sally Falkow
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