Using faces in photos on your website presents some unique challenges. I’ll group these challenges into two major groups for this article: “Faces draw attention” and “Faces don’t mean the same thing to everyone.”
Major Challenge #1: Faces Draw Attention

People look at faces. That’s just how we’re built, as humans. We look at eyes and mouths in particular to help us identify the person, their mood, and their intent towards us.

This can pose a problem for websites if faces are not used carefully. A face — or faces — in a prominent location on your web page can easily distract attention away from your product, message, or call to action. In other words, faces can become a true detriment to your website. For example, take a look at the Shutterfly home page…

Using faces in photos on your website presents some unique challenges. I’ll group these challenges into two major groups for this article: “Faces draw attention” and “Faces don’t mean the same thing to everyone.”

…Read the full article, with image examples, on WilsonWeb.com >

This article continues a series of guidelines to help you with website image selection. In Part 1, I covered some general principles to consider, including the image’s mood, uniqueness, content quality, and contextual cropping. In this article I’ll discuss ways to use images to support and reinforce a business brand.

Guideline #1: First, have a clear understanding of your brand

Before we look at how images can support your brand, let’s back up one step and look at your brand itself. How clearly can you describe your brand? Do you know what qualities you wish it to convey? If you were to summarize your brand with only four descriptive words, what would they be? And, even more importantly, would your target audience agree with your assessment?

…  (See the full article and examples on Web Marketing Today > )

Not all images are created equal.

The right image on a web page can capture attention, inform, and even persuade your site visitors. The right image can communicate who you and your company are more quickly and powerfully than words alone can do. The wrong image, however, can confuse, annoy, and even repel your visitors. The wrong image can give your audience a negative impression of your product, service, or company that you may never have a chance to correct.

Since the selection of images can be so crucial, I plan to cover the topic in several separate articles, each covering basic guidelines that will help you learn to evaluate and select just the right images for your site…

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This article provides foundational image selection guidelines for non-designers. Read the complete article here:
http://www.wilsonweb.com/design/niehaus-choosing-images1.htm

It matters where you put things.

I learned this basic design principle in 4th grade band class, where I noticed that each type of instrument had a specific place to sit within the larger group. The soft-sounding flutes were up front, closest to the audience, while the loud tubas and drums were in the very back. To reverse this arrangement would’ve unbalanced the sound of the band, making tubas too loud and flutes pretty much nonexistent.

Thus, one of my first design lessons: Look at the context, and arrange things so they balance the way you intend. Tubas in back, flutes in front.

What is button balance?

What I call button balance is simply a broader view of button design, one that considers the impact of where the button will be placed and what’s around it. It takes into account the button’s context, to help ensure the button is as effective as it should be. In other words, it means looking at the whole band, not just the trumpet section (wonderful though trumpets may be)…

Read the full article on WilsonWeb.com, here >

I’m one of four authors now writing the Just Behave weekly column on Search Engine Land. In a sure sign that I really suck at this whole social media thing, it only now occurred to me to cross-post that on my own company’s blog. Better late than never, though. So here’s a quick summary of the two columns I’ve written so far, with links over to Search Engine Land for the full articles. As always, all constructive criticism is welcomed.

Wagging the Long-Tailed Dog: Search Behavior & The Economy

As the head of a search agency, I admit that I was somewhat bemused at first by this whole financial crisis we’re having. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t like seeing people suffer, and it hurts to see the impact that a slowing economy is having on many of my friends and neighbors. But as a longtime critic of traditional media and promoter of Search, I couldn’t resist feeling a little smug knowing that traditional ad budgets were about to be cut and the move to online media accelerated as advertisers started focusing more heavily on ROI. Given that Search accounts for almost half of online media spending, that trend would be a good thing for Search and, selfishly, my company – right…? The big picture search trends aren’t going to change dramatically. More people will continue to search more often no matter what, so what could possibly go wrong?

Full Article…

Two Little Things That Make A Big Difference

A lot of the focus in the search marketing world—both paid and organic—is on the technical and quantitative side. And that’s understandable, given the technical background of many of the practitioners and the perception that those elements are relatively easy to control. But many search marketers do themselves and their clients a disservice by not taking a more balanced view, arming themselves with the tools that a solid understanding of the search user experience (SUE) can provide.

With all the talk about how to achieve high rankings, the right growth curve to target for inbound link counts, PageRank shaping (which always makes me think of Suzanne Sommers, like she’ll be pimping the PageRank Shaper as the next Thigh Master), eking out higher Quality Score, and the like, it’s easy to lose sight of the role that actual users play in determining the success of our search campaigns. But user experience considerations often play as large a role as any of the other topics that search marketers regularly discuss. The trick is figuring out where to focus your attention.

To provide a shortcut, here are two quick tips on SUE issues that don’t get a lot of attention yet have a big impact on results. The first tip focuses on how to increase organic traffic by achieving a higher CTR on your organic search listings. The second discusses how to reduce the bounce rate on your site by ensuring a good first impression.

Full Article…