August 11,
2004
In
This Issue:
1. Your Friend, White Space
2. In the News - Everybody Pile on Google
3. More News Headlines
4. This Week's Q&A - Web Site Upgrade Issues
5. Wrapping It Up
_________________
Your Friend, White Space
Here's an issue that seems to come up with a lot of the web projects
we've done over the years: white space. Specifically, how much
is needed, is it really necessary, and so forth. Many business
owners want to fill every available space on a web page with ...
something. "Do we need more text there?" "Can we
add another photo to fill that empty space?" They think empty
space is a Bad Thing.
In situations like this, I try to explain that empty space is
your friend -- it can help your readers focus on the most important
message, whereas those extra photos or doodads on the page may
prove to be a distraction. White space takes away the appearance
of unorganized clutter, which is one of the first signs of an
amateur,
unprofessional design. White space, or empty space if you prefer,
is a Good Thing.
And now there's even some research that proves the point -- at
least concerning the reading of text in a document. According
to recent research at Wichita State University, having adequate
white
space in a text-based document will improve the reader's enjoyment
and comprehension of the material. The study compares four documents
with different margins and leading (space between lines).
The result? "Users favored the Margin condition, reporting
lower levels of physical fatigue during reading and greater satisfaction
with the layout for the presentation of textbook, leisure, and
news material."
And the document that had the least white space? Reading that "was
significantly less satisfying and more strenuous", the study
says.
Reading Online Text: A Comparison of Four White Space Layouts
_________________
In The News
Everybody Pile on Google
In the run-up to Google's IPO, which could happen in the next
few days, the search engine has been taking it on the face from
a
variety of media sources who seem almost excited to take shots
at Google. A recent Washington Post article collects anti-Google
sentiment from: Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York
Times, CBSMarketwatch, Forbes, and a few others. And Google,
in an SEC-mandated "quiet period" before the IPO, can't
say anything to defend itself.
Is
Google Fumbling Its IPO? (registration required)
Speaking of Piling on Google...
The San Francisco Chronicle writes about the confusion some Google
AdWords advertisers have over what's allowed and what's not
when it comes to individual ads. For example, legal issues
have led
Google to give special attention to ads promoting the Church
of Scientology. Ads that advocate against an individual or
group are
a no-no. The policies mentioned in the article may not impact
any of our readers, but if you're an AdWords advertiser,
it's interesting
reading.
Advertisers confused by Google's policy
_________________
More News Headlines
Here are a few news headlines worth your time to read.
These are just some of the headlines we've posted
to OWTweb.com in recent
days.
Next-generation search tools to refine results
August 09, 2004 - News.com
The vast corpus of human knowledge could soon be published on
the Internet. The problem now is how to wade through it.
Search individualized by demographics
August 06, 2004 - ClickZ.com
Internet users are generally satisfied with search results,
but there is room for improvement. Greater than one-quarter
(29 percent)
of survey respondents said they only sometimes or rarely
find what they want.
More headlines: http://www.owtweb.com/news/
_________________
This Week's Q&A
Hi Matt,
We're working on upgrading our web site with more content and
products for sale. We want it to replace our existing site which
has been
okay for us over the years, but we think we can do better.
But we're getting into our busy season and we're not sure about
the
timing. In terms of search engines, what are the issues involved
in replacing an old site with a newer, improved one? Could
we possibly lose rankings when we go to the new site, even if it's
better than what we have now?
Thank you,
Allison
Hi Allison --
In general, ANY change to your web site has the potential to
impact search engine rankings. And on the flip side,
NOT changing your
site can also impact rankings, too ... stale, unchanged
web sites generally don't rank as well as fresh sites. You should
assume
that your search engine visibility will change when you
switch
your site over. Hopefully you're doing things right and
your visibility will improve for most of your keywords and terms;
but you'll probably
lose visibility on some.
The thing that interests me is that you said this is your
busy time of year. With that in mind, I'd probably suggest
you keep
your existing site up and running until business slows
down again, even if it's not as good as you'd like it
to be. There
are two
possible negatives from switching your site before or
during your busy season:
1. Search engine visibility, as mentioned above.
2. Web site usability -- Your customers are comfortable
with your existing site, and know how to use it. Whenever
you
switch, there
will likely be some re-learning they have to do - how
and where to find the products or information on your
site
that they
want. That may turn some users off, and you don't want
to risk losing
their business during your busy season.
(Have a question? Email questions@owtweb.com)
_________________
Wrapping it Up
Here's a nice change of pace.... Despite what you see and read
about online scams, the FTC says the Internet is not the biggest
source of fraud. What is? Print advertising! According to the FTC
survey, 33% of scams came from ads in newspapers, magazines, direct
mail, etc. The next biggest source is telemarketing at 17%, and
the Internet is third at 14%. Rounding out the list of fraud and
scam sources is TV and radio advertising at 11%. So the Internet
isn't that big, scary place a lot of people make it out to be.
FTC Consumer Fraud Survey
Thanks for reading,
Matt McGee
The OWT Newsletter is a weekly service offered free to anyone
interested in learning more about web development, search engine
optimization/marketing, and just about anything else related to
running a business web site. You don't need to be an OWT client
to subscribe to our newsletter!
Subscribing and unsubscribing can be done online at OWTweb.com.
You may share this newsletter with others as long as the newsletter
is shared in its entirety.
Private replies to emails will be written if we have time, but
we don't provide web site critiques or consulting services
for free. You can learn more about our web development and search
engine marketing services online at www.owtweb.com.
|
