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Looks better, but I still think the front page is too busy. If I understand it, people seeking ISO certification are likely also in some sort of engineering field? And also my experience (only) with engineers has been they`re real meat-and-potatoes people. They`re not willing to spend a lot of time on anything unless it directly interests them. If so, then the front page should answer 1 question: Why use this site for ISO certification?

Everything else can be the "specs" sheets. :-)

Craig,

We had the text submitted but it took our developers overnight to get the page updated. Let me know if you feel this answers your questions. Thanks for all your feedback.

John


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<A HREF="http://www.AuditAuctions.com">Get ISO Certified</A>

Hi John,
What I`m looking at is the landing page. It has a heading, then four "blocks" of text on a gray cell background. It`s the "About the company," "Who are we," and so on.

Being that I`m NOT looking for ISO, and that I`m guessing toward an empathy with engineers, I`m saying all four of those blocks should be removed from the front page and put on their own pages. Each resulting page would have its own nagivation button to the left, in a standard menu format.

So what would take up all that empty space of the front page? I dunno, `cause when I tried the "More..." button under the Earning your Business," it didn`t go anywhere.

What I`d like to see would be a 12-pt typeface that VERY quickly tells me something to effect:

• We walk your company through the ISO certification process.
• Automate the process
• Resolve "X" standard problems easily, quickly, and efficiently.

In other words, a sort of executive summary hybrid-sales-pitch that subsumes what you`re saying in the gray blocks but can be read in 5 seconds.

If you have a screen shot or any kind of product picture that depicts exactly how fast someone can use this product, that could go there in place of whatever it is in the graphics down below.

Finally, and still above the fold, a 1-paragraph sales pitch as to the benfits of becoming a member.....for free, I assume.

I may be totally off-base in my profiling of your typical customer, in which case you`ll know far better than me. But it`s that profile I`m generating. Getting into the mind of the customer!

Too many Web site owners are in their own mind, failing completely to understand things from the point of view of the potential customer. They think they understand their customer, but when I ask them for a quick "character synopsis" as I would for a novel`s character, they draw a blank.

Example: It`s midnight, I`m an engineer, and I`ve just finished Prototype 12 for my new calibrator. I need to get going on that ISO crap, but I`m tired. I was going to ask Jackie if she`d get the paperwork started, but she quit. The bank`s after me for the last two loan payments, and I`m not sure if I`m going to have enough to keep the factory open if this prototype doesn`t pass muster. I`ve got that presentation in San Diego tomorrow, but this frickin` ISO process is making it hard to sleep. I wonder if there`s someone else who can help?

"Hey...what`s this? Here`s a company that talks about ISO. Lemme look real quick."

At that point, you have 4 seconds to resolve the guy`s problems for him, help him sleep, take a load off his mind, and get him signed up. Your current site doesn`t do it, assuming my profile is anywhere close to your target market. If it`s not, then what IS your target market character synopsis? :-)

In other words (Craig says...)

Writing for the web is different than writing a pamphlet or other print marketing material.  Web viewers "scan" a page they do not read it. To give them some thing to scan--find a topic they are seeking quickly you need to write from the conclusion/solution...back.  What is the most important marketing message (or two) you want to communicate? Start with a paragraph heading that summarizes that in a few words, then have a little more detail under itm and finally a link to the complete detail.

~Roland

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Craig,

I think you are looking at the old link which was not updated. Many of the changes you are suggesting have been made at www.auditauctions.com.

If you can take another look and see if the changes are similar to what you had in mind I would appreciate it.

I made some minor grammar modifications and changes to make things more consistent  (proper spacing and underlining) that will be uploaded overnight.

We are also in development of a prototype that hopefully we can use that to demo how the system works. Not sure how that will come together but I think if I wait until things are too perfect I will never get started.

Roland

I could not agree more and I had actually done just that prior to reading your feedback. I put the link at the end of the first paragraph to the how it works paragraph on the about us area. I know it is not perfect but will half to do. Those changes should be uploaded overnight and ready by the AM.

We are getting ready for a trade show this weekend and I need to keep the development staff focused on completing the prototype until after the show. Then hopefully we can install a more elaborate demo.

Thanks guys for your feedback.

John




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<A HREF="http://www.AuditAuctions.com">Get ISO Certified</A>

Ah...good! I`m glad I described what I was seeing, then, because it was indeed the old link.

Roland and I agree, where he`s more concise. :-)

Your front page still has too much "stuff." Too many words, to paraphrase the line from "Amadeus," where Mozart has "too many notes." Roland`s right that people don`t read a Web page until AFTER they`ve become intrigued. Instead, they rapidly scan for possible interest, then click on to the next.

First big problem I have is that when I click the three images at the bottom of the too-much-text, they`re not clickable images. I have to reach for the mouse, precisely locate it on some small line of words. Make the whole picture and the words clickable.

Second is that the line height all over your page is so cramped it just looks tiring to have to read it. Reduce the words by half, and increase the space between each line.

That`ll go a long way toward at least getting me vaguely energized enough to embark upon the Herculean effort of actually reading each word for some kind of meaning. :-)

The other option is summarize your entire 196 words into 3 bullet points.

Unfortunately, none of my feedback is useful to a Web development team. If you have copywriters, they`re the ones who`re up at bat. If not, then I`d suggest exploring the possibility of hiring one.

I am searching for a copywriter now. If you know of any please ask them to contact me. 

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<A HREF="http://www.AuditAuctions.com">Get ISO Certified</A>

Have you searched the SuN profiles? I saw someone just joined, who`s a writer. Also there are places like elance.com. They seem to possibly have something like that?

I looked at eLance and did not see anyone with SEO copy writing. I am looking for someone who is a good wrtier as well as someone who understands SEO strategies. 

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<A HREF="http://www.AuditAuctions.com">Get ISO Certified</A>

Just an update. I found a copywriter. Even though we just put up the first run of the text she developed it is a world better than what we had. Paying a pro was worth its weight in gold. Anyway if anyone wants to look at www.auditauctions.com feel free to check it out and comment on the improvements.


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<A HREF="http://www.AuditAuctions.com">Get ISO Certified</A>