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The copy is probably the most important aspect of your website because it communicates important information about your business to your customers and prospects. Writing for the web is a lot different to everyday writing. Web users read the content of websites very differently to the way they would read a newspaper or book, and you need to be aware of this when you are copywriting for your website. You need to take into consideration the fact that people are scanning your site quickly rather than reading it word-for-word. This means that you need to write clearly and concisely and keep it as simple as possible. You should do the following for your website copy: Use keywords Your copy is important because Google uses it to rank your page in its search listings. Using and repeating keywords throughout your content will make your Google ranking higher, so find out what words your target market search by and incorporate these. Put your keywords in important places like the page title, headings that are formatted differently to the body text and hyperlinks. Try to use keywords three times in the body copy of each page and remember to bold them so they are easy for users and search engine crawlers to find. Include hyperlinks in the text All Internet users know that they can click on hyperlinks to access more information when they are reading a webpage. So make sure you include hyperlinks throughout your text so site visitors can easily access other parts of your site for more details. Hyperlinks allow you to keep the information on the page brief and succinct then direct the reader to somewhere else if they require in-depth information. Also, make sure the text that is hyperlinked looks ‘clickable’ so users know they can click on it. Use meaningful headings and subheadings The key to successful copywrting for the web is navigation. Readers don’t want to spend time searching through the text to find what they want – they want to be able to glance quickly at your page and be directed to the correct place. So, make your content easy on the eye and simple to navigate by using headings and subheadings. When you are compiling your copy, break it up into logical sections then devise short, descriptive headings and subheadings for each section. When you are putting the copy on your webpage, make sure the headings and subheadings stand out from the rest of the text – make them bigger, a different colour or bold. Use bulleted lists Your site visitors will want to find the information they need quickly and easily when they arrive on your site. Make it simple for them by putting detailed or complex information into a bulleted list. Not only does this make the content in the list easy to find on the page, it also makes it much easier to read because it breaks up the text. Use the inverted pyramid style The inverted pyramid style of writing is commonly used by newspaper journalists to convey the most important details of news stories at the start of an article. To use this style, identify the most important information on each page of your website – remember, this is the information that is most important to your target audience, not to you. Then make sure you include all of this information in the first few paragraphs or sentences of your page. Using this style of writing is just like starting with the conclusion, rather than taking the whole page to build up to it. Stick to one idea per paragraph To make your copy easier to scan, you should make sure each paragraph contains only one idea or topic. You should make the idea of each paragraph clear by ensuring that each paragraph has a topic sentence that explains what the paragraph is about. Doing this means that a reader can see the topic sentence and know immediately if they need to read your paragraph or not. Halve the word count of normal writing The majority of people using the Internet are time-poor. Therefore, you need to write a lot less than what you would for non-web writing. A good rule of thumb is to write half as much as you would write for other mediums. Go through your writing with a fine tooth comb and cut out anything that is not related directly to the key idea of the page. Also, work on making your sentences shorter and sharper and use simpler phrases to make your writing shorter. Avoid jargon and complex words Reading from a computer screen is hard enough without having to negotiate technical jargon and difficult words. Remember, you’re not writing an academic essay, so you can use short, simple words to get your message across. Try to avoid using jargon as much as you can, and if you do use it, make sure you explain it in simple terms. Also, don’t try to impress your readers with complicated, fancy words – write in normal, everyday language. As you can see, writing for the web requires different skills and a different mindset to other forms of writing. Follow these tips to ensure your site visitors can find the information they need quickly, which will make them more likely to become customers.

About the Author: This article was provided to you by Bloomtools, Australasia’s leading website developer. With Offices in Melbourne, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Wellington New Zealand. Online business solutions provider SEO, Websites (with simple to use Content Management System), Email Marketing and CRM.

Today, businesses are taking advantage of the Internet to market and sell their products and services. It is now considered a necessity for businesses to integrate the Internet in their operations in order to effectively compete with other businesses and become the best.

The Internet offers many advantages in your business. It will provide a wider range of potential clients and it also provides a great way to advertise your products and services. Integrating the Internet in your business will mean increased profits and decreased cost in overall advertising. It will also provide you with more potential customers worldwide.

However, the Internet also has its disadvantages. Because more and more people are spending their money in the Internet by purchasing products and services, they will also leave traces of their financial and personal information in their computers. Because of this, there are quite a number of people who are also taking advantage of the Internet to steal from other people.

Your business will also be vulnerable to this kind of crime. Although the Internet exposes your company to the world in order to make more money, it will also expose your online business to people and software that aims on destroying your business or steal money from it.

This is why it is important for you to get an internet security program for your online business in order to protect you and your company from malicious softwares and also from people who will want to gain access to your company’s secrets and use it to steal from you.

Today, there are quite a few numbers of Internet security programs that you can take advantage of in order to protect your business computers from adwares, spywares, spam and phishing emails, and also protect your business from hackers.

However, some of the Internet security software available are too weak and can only provide minimum security for your computers. This is why you should look for an Internet security software program that can effectively protect your computer from malicious software circulating the Internet today.

You should consider purchasing an Internet security software program that is designed specifically for online businesses. There are quite a few companies that offer great security for computers. Here are the things you should look for in an Internet security program that you should install in your computer:

• AntiVirus Programs – Since there are quite a lot of viruses circulating the internet today, you should look for an internet security program that offers maximum protection against computer viruses. It should also contain updateable virus definition features in order to help your computer fight new computer viruses popping out in the Internet everyday. • AntiSpam Software – Phishing and spam emails are very dangerous. A good internet security program should have an antispam software to automatically detect spam and phishing emails and protect your computer from people who wants to take advantage of your online business. • Website Lock Features – Since your employees may have the urge to download things in the Internet, your Internet security program should provide a website lock feature to prevent your employees from wandering around the Internet and accidentally download files with malicious programs. • Anti Adware and Spyware – Adwares and spywares can be annoying popup ads. When you accidentally click on the popup ad, you will automatically install a spyware program. This program is like surveillance equipment that reports to the person who designed the program about the activities you do in your computer. These are some of the things you should look for in an Internet security program. With this, you can be sure that your online business will be secured from hackers, identity thieves, viruses and other malicious software.

The online business is on an all time high. Millions and millions of people are venturing in online businesses and as expected, they would try to outdo each other. Competition is so stiff that businesses have tried to do all tricks in the book just to be able to stand out from the rest. Massive advertising campaigns were launched with the purpose of luring potential customers. Giving coupons and promotional items are just two of the several tricks employed by business to promote the company. Of course these are effective ways to gain traffic that could be converted into potential customers but an equally important factor vital to the success of any online business is a good website.

A good website serves as the virtual office of an online business and as such should be able to present a good impression to the potential customer. Just like any other office, it should be “uncluttered”, clean and pleasant to the eye. With just a single click, it should be able to provide the visitor or customer with the vital information he or she is seeking for. And this is possible by creating a website free from excessive trimmings, from unnecessary graphics and animations.

Slow loading sites due to heavy graphics are comparable to an unattended store where customers are waiting in line to be served. There’s a great probability that customers would transfer to other stores rather than cool their heels waiting. This would mean losses in terms of sales. Just like an office space, the interiors should be pleasant and cool to the eyes. This could be achieved by using complementary colors and decorations. This is also true in a website; the background should be lighter to give emphasis to the darker text. This way, the site is made more reader friendly. Nothing is more distracting than a website with glaring colors, with jumping animations and with bouncing banners. These are sure customer turn-offs.

Serving as an online store, the website should be able to provide unobstructed view of the merchandise offered. Using the simple Times New Roman and Arial for the text is most advisable as well as using bold letters and underlining words to give emphasis to key points. This would surely draw the attention of readers.

An office or a place of business will reflect the personality of the company-meaning a beautifully kept office with carefully tended grounds would mean that owners are serious with the business and that they are ready to give the optimum service to customers. The same is true with an online business. A website that is visually appealing to the visitors would draw more traffic thus increasing the chances of attracting customers. This would also mean that the webmaster is serious with his business and have taken great pains to ensure that the site have a professional look. Moreover this would mean that the website owner have used programs that made the creation of the website faster and easier. Attracting visitors is easy with professional looking websites and shopping would be a pleasure because of the security it provides to the customers.

• online virtual offices in Sale

I’m directing this article to those who are just starting their eBay Selling Venture. Whether you’re selling books, DVDs, CDs, collectibles or clothing, all things (with the exception of eBooks and services) need to be mailed. And it’s the postage, handling fees and mailing that seems to cause a great deal of angst among new sellers.

You’ve heard the advice – don’t overcharge for shipping. That is very good advice, indeed, as nothing turns off potential buyers like sellers who gouge you on the shipping costs. It’s also a practice that can rack up bad feedback.

However, I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate here and suggest that you don’t go overboard and give so much of a break on shipping that you’re chipping away at your profits. It’s good to remember the “hidden costs” of shipping: bubble wrap to secure your breakables, tape, shipping envelopes, boxes, etc. Then there’s the gas you put in your car to take all those trips to the post office.

You might think I’m being cheap, but, if you added up all your eBay expenses for the year (as some did for their recent taxes) you might be shocked to see how all the packing materials and gas for your car added up and took a little chunk out of your eBay profits. And, believe me, they do add up.

Some people are even more surprised to find they underestimated the weight of their packages, causing their profits to shrink even further.

How can you be fair to both you and your buyers?

1. Buy a scale. It may sound simple, but purchasing a scale can save you a bundle in shipping. If you’re just eyeballing the weight of the package, you can often times guess too low, and be in for quite a shock when you go to the post office and see the package is going to cost twice what you thought to ship.

2. Know the dimensions of your packaging before listing the item. Some packages cost more to ship because of their dimensions. Knowing the weight alone isn’t enough.

3. Offer the buyer a variety of shipping methods. Some prefer speedy delivery with Express mailing, while some prefer to save money with parcel post even though the wait is longer. It’s always a good idea when using parcel post or other slower ground shipping to alert the buyer by email that it can take anywhere from 8 to 10 days.

4. Save yourself money whenever possible by using boxes that have been used. Most stores are more than happy to let you rummage through their old boxes and take some home with you. But, do remember to choose boxes that are presentable, secure and strong enough for your items. And, if you have breakables, don’t skimp on the bubble wrap.

5. Give yourself a small handling fee that will cover your expenses. Some sellers add on an additional $1 or $2 to the shipping fees for their handling fees (depending on the cost of the item and how much packaging you have to use). I really advocate doing this because your expenses will add up if you do a lot of selling on eBay. Be sure to be upfront with your buyers that you have a small handling fee so they can’t complain about it later.

Being fair to both yourself and your buyer will keep you both happy, and keep more of your profit in your pocket.

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