While images do create an ambiance and set the visual mood and tone, images for purely decorative purposes should be avoided in favour of quality images that serve a specific purpose.

The most frequent example of images used purely for aesthetic purposes, is when you see images of happy smiling people. But who are these people and how do they relate to what you do? Just because an image is attractive does not mean it will be effective.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Here's are some pointers that can turn your images from drab to fab:

1. Use images that have a purpose

Images should either:

• Convey information or a message
• Illustrate a point, like charts and product shots
• Encourage interaction or help navigation by directing attention

Images can be used to convey information that is difficult to do using text, such as trends, data or concepts.

If you have a product, you definitely need good, close up images of the products.

If you provide an intangible service and want to provide images that show how happy you make people, thinking about adding captions that can provide some kind of context for the image.

People like doing business with people, so for this reason include a photo of you, your staff or a team shot. Don't go using models – you're not fooling anyone!

2. Consider image placement and direction

Where you put an image on a page matters a lot.

Research has shown that we will look at an image before we read headlines or copy so when using images on articles, put them above the headline.

There is a lot of debate about whether images should be on the left hand side of the page because doing so disrupts the 'left hand margin' and therefore the flow.

However, this will work well for images you want people to take notice of – like calls to action.

Take care of sight lines in images.

These are created by the direction a person might be looking or pointing, the straight lines of a road, roof or building etc.

People will follow this sight line and you want them to follow it to something important (like a call to action) or deeper into an article – not off the side of the page!

3. Use Captions

Captions under images are read on average 300% more than body copy* so not including captions can mean missing an opportunity to engage a visitor.

Captions are also useful if you need to explain the image such as "Roof before repair".

4. Use high quality images

The quality of images must be high which means make sure the subject is in focus and easy to see (no grainy shots!)

Images should be consistent in style, which means if you use black and white on one page, then you should keep the theme going. If you use cartoons then stick with those. And they should be in line with your brand identity.

There are many people who will say not to use stock images, but stock images can be beautiful and entirely appropriate. They are also much better than out of focus, low saturation images taken by an employee!

5. Optimise your images.

To keep image file sizes as small as possible, resize the images to the desired size before uploading them to your site. Quick loading pages are important from a user perspective, and Google takes notice of load times as part of 'scoring' your site for SEO.

To give a small helping hand to your SEO efforts you should also:

• Include a descriptive ALT text that includes keywords
• Include keywords in the image file name
• Makes sure they are optimised so they don't slow the page donw

Ask Yourself

For each image on your website:
Does this image communicate anything about the content
Is the image appropriate to the message
Does it fit with the style and organisation of the page

 * Source: kissmetrics

Make it clear to them how to achieve it with calls to action that people just can't resist and can't be ignored!

What is a Call to Action Anyway?

A call to action (CTA) is a piece of content, typically graphical in nature, that tells the visitor what to do next. It has to align with your business goals, of course. Do you want them to:

• Call you
• Buy a product
• Fill out a contact form
• Sign up for an email newsletter

Make sure you know what you want people to do when they get to your site and this aligns with their intent and your business goals. Of course all your promotional efforts will be bringing qualified leads to your site in the first place - there's no point having great CTAs for a kids DVD if the visitors to the site are looking for pink high heel shoes.

The next step is to make sure those visitors buy from you then and there.

Creating an Effective Call to Action

1. State the benefit.

   Mint.com states what they offer and the benefits right above their call to action.

   These are benefits that resonate with the visitors needs.

   It almost defies you not to download the software if you are looking for financial software - and they add a 'Free' incentive as well.

   You may have to offer an incentive for people to give you their contact details, such as a free download or free trial.

2. Use action oriented language

   • Call
   • Buy
   • Register
   • Subscribe
   • Download

   All of these are words that are specific actions. It's easy to for the visitor to know what they have to do next.

   To create a sense of urgency, add words such as:

   • Now
   • Today
   • Limited Time
   • Available until 30 Feb

   Don't use obscure language if you can avoid it like 'Go' or 'Interested?' or the dreaded 'Click Here'.

3. Remove distractions

   Don't give the user too many choices or they will become overwhelmed.

   Limit the number of interactions or choices your visitors have to make.

   Put enough white space around it so the CTA doesn't get lost competing with other content on the page, particularly anything else that is eye catching like images.

   Dropbox do this quite well – there is pretty much nothing else on the page.

4. Make sure they see it

   Position the CTA correctly – ideally high on the page above 'the fold'.

   Some will tell you it's best in the centre, others will tell you to put it at the top left of the page which is the area that gets the most eyeball time.

   Mozilla and Mint (above) put their call to action right at the top and to the left. For these sites the call to action relates to the primary purpose for the whole site so it works.

   Use a colour that contrasts with the main colours on the site.

   Make sure the call to action is big enough and use quality images and buttons rather that cheap clip art - there are plenty of free buttons available for download if you look for them.

   You can put some kind of call to action on every page. But try not to overwhelm useful content. You could use smaller versions of your main CTA that's on your homepage.

5. Reward them for responding

   If a visitor does click on a button in your call to action, don't punish them by asking for personal information that has no relevance to their use of the product, or taking them through a convoluted sign up process.

   If you've offered them something for free make sure they get what they are expecting, not something with conditions.

   Of course a Buy Now button on E-Commerce sites is a call to action, so easy check out processes are a must.

6. Test Test Test

   Ultimately any advice is going to be from either a 'what is best practise' or 'what we know works for us' perspective.

   This will get you a long way, but your business and your target audience create a special situation that means visitors will respond better to some words, images and designs better than others.

   While you could argue in theory that red or orange is a better button colour than blue - the only way you will know for sure is to try both and conduct tests to see what one gets better results.

Imagine a store where the owner stood by the door and told you they had the most amazing shoes ever inside, but to get in and have a look, you have to give him your name, address and shoe size!

You'd walk away, right?

Many a marketer will tell you (as I would) that you really want to capture a site visitor's name and email address so you can send them information in the future.

Over time, you can tell people about who you are and what you do. Hopefully you will give them valuable information in the form of advice or news, and they begin to trust you enough to buy from you. Regular contact keeps you in their mind when they or someone they know need what you are selling. You usually have to offer an incentive for them to sign up for these regular communications.

But asking people to give you their personal details without demonstrating you're someone they want to do business with may be futile. They may not be truthful, unsubscribe to your newsletters once they have the freebie or ignore your communications.

Show me don't tell me

You can generate interest and trust with content that doesn't just create desire for your product, but shows you solve problems. Have content that shows readers specifically what you can offer and how it will be benefit them.

Years ago I attended a short course about writing for the web, and the facilitator repeated a phrase that sums it up nicely:

'Show me, don't tell me'

In other words, don't tell me you've got the most amazing, ground breaking technology that's a huge buzz around the world. Show me by explaining what it can do for me. Features and benefits.

• Don't tell me that your services will save me $1000's without listing the monthly cost and how I will save.
• Don't say your motel looks out over stunning ocean vistas - include photos or video of that vista.

It is also about walking the talk.

• Don't say you listen to your customers then take three weeks to respond to an email enquiry.
• Don't say all your customers love what you do – show them by including testimonials and case studies.

It is becoming increasingly important to be clear in a world where people don't trust what companies are telling them via advertising or information clearly recognisable as 'spin'.

Now why should I give you my details?

You want qualified leads from your website - people that are likely to buy what you are offering. And you want to grow your database so you can market to those people.

Provide information that adds value and helps with problem solving. People are more likely to genuinely sign up for your on-going communications.

If you make their life easier by having content that clearly shows what you are offering they are more likely to think you'll be easy to do business with.

Show them you can be trusted by being upfront about what you will do for them and how.

People got tired of searching for Pizza Delivery and getting results from the other side of the world. Imagine ringing Tokyo from Auckland and asking 'Do you deliver?'

So, more and more people started to enter location information to refine the search results.  And Google includes location signals when it works out what to show people.

Location is particularly relevant if your business is geographically dependant, eg lawnmowing, dentists, childcare centres, restaurants etc.  If you don't narrow your focus there is going to be a lot of other similar business across the globe you'll be competing with.

Recommendations:

• Include your location details on your site. Preferably not just on the contacts page where you'll only get one instance of your location. You could include it in your footer to increase the number of instances the location words are used.
• Although I wouldn't recommend it unless it is relevant, try a page for each different location if you have more than one.  Eg one for your Auckland shop, one for Christchurch etc.  I've seen people add a page for each suburb they target, which is quite a nice tactic (at least from a search engine perspective) but if identical content is repeated across each page then you'll probably run into duplicate content issues (and it looks contrived from a user perspective).
• Treat location as one of your keywords so you appear ahead of that Christchurch promotional company if you are in Auckland (if the searcher has entered Auckland). You probably want to keep it to the general area (eg Auckland rather than Browns Bay), unless you really do only want to attract local residents. This might be OK if you are a vet clinic for example.
• Include your location in your directory listing information and descriptions.
• Get a local business listing in Google (Google Places). It's easy and free. You'll need to sign up for Google but that's no hardship.
• Consider your business name - eg Auckland Barbecue Warehouse. If you are able to choose which location, use the one earliest in the alphabet, ie Birkenhead Optics rather than Verrans Corner Optics. This is an old directory trick, hence the reason for so many businesses named "AAA Barbecues".
• Include your location in content - eg Testimonials, blog posts (erm, like this one although it wasn't intentional!). For example, "Tony's Tire Service in Henderson got me four new tires for the price of two!"

Google Places - it used to be so simple

Up until recently, a post about local SEO wouldn't be complete without a recommendation to add a Google Places page because it was quick and easy.  But then Google went and merged Google Places into Google+ Local.  And it got a lot more complicated.  Verification issues, duplicate accounts are some of the issues. 

If you want to go ahead and do this, here is a step by step guide and a FAQ posted on the forum

Footnote:

There is a lot of buzz lately around something called 'location wars'. This sometimes refers to competition between Foursquare and Gowalla which are mobile social applications, or it can mean the general rush to grab a piece of the location based services action. These use the GPS capabilities of smart phones to help you shop or socialise (for example).

In NZ these don't seem to be as popular - it migh be because they didn't live up to the hype, the number of users didn't reach a critical mass, or our mobile data prices are still too prohibitive.

How do you take advantage of the 'long tail' to get more traffic?

And no, wagging like a dog doesn't come into it.