While we're known primarily as a web and print design company, we also offer complete printing services on a wide variety of popular print products at competitive prices. If you're currently using another printer, get a printing estimate from us before your next order. Show us your previous estimate or receipt and we'll either match or beat the price you're getting on your print products.
Blog
Posted on 03/24/2010 - 7:08pm
How to Maximize Conversions on Your Website
Conversions are some action that you define. Typically they're when someone fills out a form, completes a transaction, or goes to a specific page. It can be anything, but these are the most common conversion goals.
Your conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your site or a specific page (also known as a "landing page") that complete your defined action.
Some general tips to improve conversion rates are:
- Make your site as accessible to as many users as possible. Take into consideration things like site speed, browser compatibility, page widths, and file size.
- Present your site in a credible way. Good design, consistent page layouts, association logos, and ratings or reviews go a long way to making your user trust your site.
- Make your user feel secure. If you're collecting sensitive information, you'll want to make sure your page is encrypted with an SSL certificate and you disclose your privacy policy.
- Make your site and yourself available. Invest in a good hosting company with solid uptime, and inform your user when they can expect to hear back from you. The sooner the better.
More specific things you can do are:
- In a sentence or two, explain the purpose or goal of the page your user is on so they can immediately identify if what you're offering is relevant to them. For example: "Are you interested in learning more about online marketing? Attend our monthly Meetups!"
- In a short paragraph or bullet points, make the value proposition in easy to understand terms. Example:
- Get free tips on how to promote your site
- Meet with other business owners in your area
- Enjoy a free lunch and learn from professionals
- Provide clear instructions for your user. Tell them what they should be doing on your page and the expected result. Example: "Fill out this short form with your contact information"
- Limit distractions. Get rid of unnecessary links so the user can focus on completing the task of filling out the form, checking out, or reading your information.
- Tell what stage they're in if you're collecting multiple pages of information. Let users know what's next so there's no surprises.
Track your progress with tools like Google Analytics. Follow the instructions under their "goals" section to see how your site is performing. For more advanced testing, you can use Google Website Optimizer to automatically perform A/B split testing and determine the best elements to use on your page.
Posted on 03/22/2010 - 2:26pm
In January 2010, management from the new Courtyard Marriott in downtown Seattle, WA contacted Gaslamp Media to design window displays announcing the construction of their new hotel in the historic Alaska Building in the Pioneer District. Inspired by the recent work we did for the Residence Inn Marriott in downtown San Diego (Gaslamp District), the Courtyard Marriott hotel managers wanted something similar to make a splash in their neighborhood.
We followed strict design guidelines laid out by the corporate style guide to make sure their branding is respected and consistent. As opposed to the perforated material used for the Residence Inn's outside window display, we used an indoor banner mounted by suction cups to meet local historical building codes. The end result was a five-pane window display over 25 ft wide and 9ft tall that can't be missed by any motorists or pedestrians passing through.
Posted on 03/11/2010 - 12:40pm
As a company of internet marketers, designers, consultants, and web developers, we pride ourselves on educating our clients, prospective clients, and anybody who wants to learn. It's important that everyone we work with make informed decisions and know their options. That's why we're committed to presenting free educational seminars on at least a semi-weekly basis, covering topics such as:
- Search engine optimization
- Maximizing conversions
- Social Networking and Social Media
- E-commerce
- Content Management Systems (Drupal)
- Branding
- Effective Print Marketing
Registration is free to everyone. For upcoming events, check out our upcoming seminars or join our group on Meetup.com.
Posted on 03/01/2010 - 10:05pm
Last Friday, we had our second Meetup event held at our office. There were 12 people in attendance, filling up the conference room table for a cozy one hour seminar. It was lead by presenters Chris Shaughnessy and Thai Yin.
The purpose of the seminar was to educate the general public about what they need to start their first website. Too often we hear horror stories about what went wrong: spending too much money on things they didn't need, getting into tough situations with their web designer/developer, projects falling apart due to poor planning - to name a few.
We covered the following topics in this seminar:
- Choosing a domain name
- Tips for choosing a name
- What to watch out for registering
- How to protect yourself from domain name hostage situation
- Choosing a hosting company
- Differences between Linux and Windows environments
- Recommended hosts for shared and dedicated servers
- How the website design and development process works
- Determining a goal and how to measure and reach it
- Working with a company vs freelancer vs outsourced
- How to choose a route that fits your needs and budget
- Tips for a successful website
- Elements of a successful website
- Website no-nos
- When and when not to use Flash
What attendees said about our seminar:
"If you need to learn more about starting a website or even if you already have one, this is a good place to spend a Friday lunch hour." - Sally S.
"Its free and informative. Content is up to date and relevant to business owners who deal with online marketing." - Dennis T.
"cordial and informative, i felt welcomed and attended to, good information and know who to go to 4 prof. help, thanx!" - Marcelo
Our seminar series is ongoing. For up to date event information, check out our events page or join our Meetup group.