Almost everything I do brings me back to Web sites. Through this blog, I’m going to encourage you to do the same, because it’s amazing what you can learn by simply listening and watching as the world goes by.

Here’s a perfect example.

I picked up a magazine today and was flipping through it. Here’s your first tip:

The ads are as important as the articles. Don’t ignore the ads just because you aren’t interested in the products. Look at how the ads are written and study the ads themselves. Can anything be learned that will help you with your online marketing efforts?

Here’s today’s ad:

Sandwiched (in much larger print)

between a cement mixer and a semi.

Never saw it coming.

47-car pileup in Nevada.

After they separated everything,

he drove himself home.

(end of ad)

The picture on the page is a closeup of a guy in his mid- to late 20’s, slightly messed up hair, one-day old beard, intense look in his eyes, dimple in his chin, blue jean jacket, and blue t-shirt. Rugged. Average build. The picture is from right below his shoulders up.  

We have no idea what the ad is selling because the rest of the ad–the second page–has been torn out of the magazine. All we have is this one page.

Are they selling vehicles?

We can deduce that they’re not selling a luxury car, because this isn’t a luxury car kind-of guy. They’re not selling a “cutesy” kind-of car either. We can picture a rugged car like a Hummer or a Jeep. A tough vehicle.

But we don’t know.

Someone tore out the most important part of the ad–the part that included what the company is selling. Maybe on the back of this two-page ad had something he/she wanted to save, so he/she tore out the page. Maybe he/she wanted to save the second page of the ad, which is great for the seller, but not great for the rest of us who wants to know what they’re selling.

Even more, we’re assuming that the company is selling a vehicle. I once had a boss whose motto was Never Assume. We could apply that principle here. They could be selling blue jean jackets, because his jacket certainly wasn’t torn. They could be selling the importance of getting your life together, because today might be your last. We just don’t know.

How can we apply what we’ve learned to our own Web site?

Picture the first page of this print advertisement as what appears “above the fold” on your Web page. Above the fold means before you begin scrolling.

The content that appears above the fold is the most important part of your Web page. It’s what your readers see when they first see your Web page. Some readers won’t scroll down any further. We can break it down further than that, but for now, let’s concentrate on above the fold.

Look at your own Web site. Is the message of your Web page stated very clearly above the fold? Are you using valuable real estate for information that doesn’t need to be there? Is there important information that appears below the fold that should be moved up higher on the page.

You need to get it to where your Web site visitors can clearly understand what your Web site is about above the fold. Do you really need a picture of your office above the fold? Or a picture of you receiving an award? Put your 1-800 number above the fold if you want your potential customers to call you. Make it EASY for your visitors to contact you, and they will.

But if you aren’t clear, like the print ad we’ve been discussing, and if your visitors don’t understand what you’re selling, you’ll lose them. Put too much below the fold and make your visitors dig for the content, and you stand the chance of losing them.

Make it easy for potential customers, and your chance at conversions will increase. Once you get those valuable visitors to your site, you want to do everything you can to convert them to customers.

Have you seen any good ads lately? Let me know!

Robin