Comments on: Drive-By Shooting Special: Pick Nick’s Brains

By: write a writing

write a writing — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:37:40 +0000

@ Nicole: yes you are right. Placing categories in the top navigation is a dilemma if you got loads of them to show. You fret over whether the folks viewing the site know that there is the drop down menu or not. On the other hand , placing em in the sidebar gives an instant access and high CTR… but still I chose to stick with the top nav since it seems more tidy to me.

P.S. Do share your experience in getting clicks through the sidebar. might aid me and others in formatting blog layout in future.
.-= write a writing´s last blog ..How and Why to Write a Book =-.

By: Nicole Johnson

Nicole Johnson — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:20:19 +0000

@write_a_writing I opted to add the categories to the sidebar and leave it in my navigation, for now. My audience is not all that blog-knowledge-able, I don’t think, so I think it makes sense for me to have it at the top, too. I think the sidebar gets glanced over a lot of times and top navigation seems to be standard. I want them to know there are free options on the site, if they are new. My blog posts are what sell my services, I do believe.
.-= Nicole Johnson´s last blog ..Is Co-Sleeping a Solution for Baby Sleep Problems? =-.

By: write a writing

write a writing — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:57:45 +0000

@ James: “Also, add a Categories widget to the sidebar â€“ that will help users. Remove it from your drop-down navigation bar.”

Well what I got from this was that categories or category widgets are recommended to go in the side bars. Since, I’ve got mine as drop down at the top navigation, so that got me wondering….

I really hope, I took it wrong *wink wink*
.-= write a writing´s last blog ..How and Why to Write a Book =-.

By: Nicole Johnson

Nicole Johnson — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:57:16 +0000

@Melinda Thanks! I will look at Aweber’s HTML form option, then. I didn’t realize you can function much online without javascript enabled, so I hadn’t even considered that. I will definitely look into that. I’m glad you told me!

As for popups, that’s ok. If they have them blocked, I don’t want them to get it. Nothing lost, there. When I tested not having one, it made a dramatic difference in the # of sign-ups per day, but it’s hard to gauge how many people are turned off and thus turned away, too. Tough balance. Since they only get it once (and I tell them that), I am hoping at least some ignore it. Small price to pay for as much free content they get…I think.
.-= Nicole Johnson´s last blog ..Is Co-Sleeping a Solution for Baby Sleep Problems? =-.

By: Melinda | WAHM Biz Builder

Melinda | WAHM Biz Builder — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:49:40 +0000

Nicole, popups don’t come up if you have them blocked… and I’m guessing that you’re using javascript for your mailing list signup because that doesn’t appear for me. If I wanted to sign up to your mailing list (I don’t, because I do’t have a baby) then there’s nowhere for me to do that.

How many people have popups and javascript blocked these days as security settings?
.-= Melinda | WAHM Biz Builder´s last blog ..Email Branding â€“ Add Titles to Your Feedburner RSS =-.

By: Nicole Johnson

Nicole Johnson — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:44:42 +0000

@Marc Thank you!

@James I just increased the font size and darkened the color and will monitor if a larger % of people stay longer or other conversions increase. I’ll continue to chip away at the drive-by report. Thanks, again, for everything!
.-= Nicole Johnson´s last blog ..Is Co-Sleeping a Solution for Baby Sleep Problems? =-.

By: Marc - WelshScribe

Marc - WelshScribe — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:15:13 +0000

@Nicole That’s exactly how to make use of keywords

Sounds like you’re doing everything right namely, keeping a close eye on all the analytics and looking for areas to improve.

Domain name will affect your search rankings (not by much) but it’s not really a concern for anyone performing a search. If they clicked on your page in the SERPs then job done, traffic captured. Move on to the next job, converting that traffic.

By: Nicole Johnson

Nicole Johnson — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:09:44 +0000

@Marc Sales have also increased, yes. Up 14% last month. New leads (i.e. those who got my free guide and get into the sales funnel) up 26% and 23% in May and June, respectively. I have a spreadsheet and track it very carefully. LOL RSS subs have gone up, too, so that’s good.
.-= Nicole Johnson´s last blog ..Is Co-Sleeping a Solution for Baby Sleep Problems? =-.

By: Nicole Johnson

Nicole Johnson — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:05:26 +0000

@James Yes, you are absolutely right! It’s converting okay, but obviously, it could be better, which is why I requested the drive-by. Based on some research, it might be converting in the standard consumer rate of about 4-10%, though. I’m not sure of the average e-Book conversion rate. Those are lower, but my services have really blossomed over the last 2-3 months. I just wonder if someone searches for something related to sleep say “why doesn’t my baby sleep?” and get my site, will they really go away because of my domain name? Sure, people who just go to picknicksbrain.com won’t get it, but if you’ve specifically requested info from Google pertaining to sleep help, do you really care that the URL doesn’t say anything about sleep? I don’t know.
.-= Nicole Johnson´s last blog ..Is Co-Sleeping a Solution for Baby Sleep Problems? =-.

By: Marc - WelshScribe

Marc - WelshScribe — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:01:47 +0000

@James True. But that’s where my question was leading. A steady (or increasing) stream of traffic indicates that some sort of conversion is going on. Might not tie into a goal, but even repeat readership is a conversion.