Blast Advanced Media

Dream. Think. Advance.

Monday, May 5, 2008

.net Magazine Features Sacramento Web Site Design


We were recently recognized by .net magazine, a globally recognized magazine focused on the latest trends in web design and development, for our work on the Roseville Health & Wellness Center web site redesign. Here's what they had to say:

"Neat, accessible, fast loading and intelligent - that's Roseville Health and Wellness Center's website. It has the kind of flair and graphical polish that many a CSS website misses, yet manages to be packed with content and photos without looking cluttered or throwing up error messages in W3C tests. Blast Advanced Media are old hands at this type of site, producing dozens of equally impressive standard-based beauties, but Roseville's colour palette and treatment of the photos are uncommon and make it an instantly recognisable visit. Roseville must be chuffed with the quality here, and there will be no need to change the design for years to come."





Visit the Roseville Health & Wellness Center Website
Visit the .net Magazine Website
Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Wednesday, April 9, 2008

3 months = $450,000

How to evaluate what you lose by doing nothing!

One of the items we've been discussing with new clients a lot lately is estimating their "lost opportunity" with their current sites. If you are considering redesigning your site one of the important factors in your decision making should be what the cost to your company is if you decide to do nothing. We call this factor your "lost opportunity."

It's not difficult to calculate or understand what "lost opportunity" is, it's just that most people don't consider it when making a decision.

For example, let's assume you own an ecommerce website with the following characteristics:

  • You get 10,000 unique visitors per month.

  • You make 1000 sales per month.

  • The average revenue from a sale is $200.

You go to your friendly web development company and they tell you that they can increase your conversion rate (sales/visitors) from the current 10% to 15%. You decide you're going to do it, but you'd like to wait 3 months. What those 3 months cost you? Assuming traffic and average revenue stay the same: $450,000!

If you wait a year, $1.8 million!

Your numbers may be higher, lower, or similar, but the important thing to do is ask yourself two questions:

Am I getting all I can out of my website?
And what am I losing by putting off improvements to my site?

Give us a call and we'll help you answer those questions.

Read more!

1 Comments:

April 11, 2008 11:39 AM  
Blogger Philip said...

Very relevant article. I might have to translate it to Norwegian:)

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Thursday, April 3, 2008

Raving Fans: Placer County Probation

"The site is FANTASTIC! It's been a great asset to our business."

Chris Atrim - Placer County Probation

We provided Placer County Probation with a secure file management system that integrates the exchange of documents both internally and externally through an easy to use web based system.

Labels:

Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Saturday, March 8, 2008

Blast Team Adopts the Sacramento Highway


Amy, Ken, and Kelly Goofing Around for the camera




Our Adopt-a-Highway Sign on the Sacramento Freeway eastbound between Newcastle and Penryn.




We had some fun and great pizza afterwards at The Pizza Factory.




Here we are wearing our orange capes and cleaning up to make the planet just a little bit cleaner. Every little bit helps right!

What happens to highways that don't get adopted?

Labels: ,

Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Monday, March 3, 2008

Key Takeaway Downloads from Web Strategy and Marketing Classes

Did you miss our Web Strategy and Marketing Classes at Borders Bookstores?
Here are the key takeaway PDFs for you to download. Let us know if you have any questions or comments. Also, please let us know if you would be interested in attending an encore class at Blast or Borders in the future (email melvin@blastam.com and let us know what you are interested in).

Key Takeaway Downloads for each Borders class in Sacramento:

Get Googled: Learn Google Marketing Tools like Adwords, Adsense, Analytics, Webmaster Tools, Website Optimizer and Blogger
BAM-Free-Google-Marketing-Tools.pdf

Does Your Web Site Rock? Turn on your Competitive Advantage!
BAM-WebSite-ROI-Key-Performance-Indicators.pdf

10 Questions Every Online Marketer Needs to Ask
BAM-10Questions-OnlineMarketing-Website-Conversion-Optimization.pdf

Proven Practices, Trends, & Latest Technologies in Web Design
BAM-15-Step-Website-Marketing-Plan.pdf

Blogs and their Marketing Benefits
BAM-Blog-Marketing-Benefits.pdf

Ecommerce: What Factors Turn On/Off Prospective Shoppers?
BlastAM-Ecommerce-Optimization-Tactics.pdf


Make it a Great Day!

Labels: ,

Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





What is online conversion optimization?

Conversion Optimization, as defined in the web strategy book "Web Design for ROI", is the science and art of enhancing a web site's user experience with the goal of transforming the maximum number of visitors into customers.

More specifically, we are looking to improve the conversion rate, which is the percentage of unique visitors who take a desired action upon visiting a web site. The desired action may be submitting a sales lead, making a purchase, viewing a key page of the site, downloading a white paper, or some other measurable activity.

We have defined a simple way to approach conversion optimization. It starts with customer centric messaging where you identify with their needs/challenges. For example, when a customer lands on your home page they see a customer centric message that says, "Have Traffic but Lack Leads/Buyers?" instead of "Online Conversion Optimization" which they likely don't identify with or even understand.

Then this customer centric message links to your solution page that restates the customer centric message so they know they are on the right page. Then lead them into content that walks them through your solution to their challenge and is backed by results that you have had for others and testimonials and/or company logos of organizations you have helped which serve to build credibility.

By emphasizing results you have had and building credibility with this potential customer you increase the likelihood that they will take the desired action which should be clear and obvious on the page. A proven strategy that we often use is to have a simple form on the page or a large button on the right-side and/or bottom of the page. For example, the form might be 4 fields, (name, phone, email, comments) and be titled something like "Request a Free Consultation." The more you lead the customer down a clear path, answer their questions before they feel the need to ask them in their mind, and make it obvious what to do next you will drastically increase/optimize your online conversion rate.

Here is what the effective online conversion path looks like:

Customer Challenge-->Solution-->Results/Credibility-->Desired Action

At Blast Advanced Media, based in Sacramento, California, we have a focus on improving online conversion rates with a specialty in ecommerce. Our goal is to educate our clients so they understand exactly what we do so we can communicate and create more solid partnerships with them in order to achieve measurable results. We share simple tips/info as in this post and feature in-depth case studies regarding web design, strategy, ecommerce, and online marketing with our clients. So please feel free to post a comment/question if there is something you would like us to discuss on our blog. Make it a Great Day!

Learn more about the web strategy book referenced in this post: Web Design for ROI

Labels: ,

Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Raving Fans: Audio Editions - Love our Project Management

Autotask is Project Management made easy.

It's efficient and effective. All service desk tickets are centrally located, making it easy for all members of our team to view the status of each project and provide input. Accounting is also simplified; invoices include ticket numbers, making it easy to review projects billed.

Blast's personal service is exceptional. The response time by Blast's programmers and designers to a service ticket submission has always been within the hour, very often within minutes. And projects have always been completed quickly and to our satisfaction.

Autotask is just one of many innovative tools Blast has implemented that has contributed to the ongoing success of our company for the past seven years. Not only is the Blast team on the forefront of Internet technology, they're also a really great group of people. We highly recommend working with them.

Sincerely,
Kathy Young - Audio Editions

Labels:

Read more!

2 Comments:

March 3, 2008 12:56 PM  
Anonymous Jesse Kliza said...

Hey Kayden,

It's great to hear feedback like this! Thanks for sharing!

Please let us know what we can do to continue to make YOUR customers YOUR raving fans.

- Jesse

March 3, 2008 1:46 PM  
Blogger Kayden Kelly said...

Thank you, Jesse!

We are very happy with Autotask which powers our online client access/project management system. It allows our web design and marketing team to be more efficient and focus more of their time delivering better solutions that meet or exceed our clients' expectations.

Again thank you for helping us to interact better with our clients and for all the great work you are doing at Autotask!

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Monday, February 11, 2008

Partner Raving Fan: Closed Loop Marketing

"Kayden and his team at Blast have been great partners. Not only do they have great strategy, design and technology skills, they have a strong methodology and the project management and client service expertise to make every project run smoothly. We've worked with a lot of web design agencies over the years, but Blast is the first place we go when we need web design help - for ourselves or our clients."

» Lance Loveday
Founder & CEO, Closed Loop Marketing

We partner with Lance and Closed Loop Marketing on large-scale, enterprise level online marketing projects by integrating our user centered web sites with their expertly managed paid search campaigns. Their recent client list includes Hewlett-Packard, Quicken Loans, InsWeb, SalesForce and WebEx. Lance recently co-authored a book titled "Web Design for ROI, Turning Browsers into Buyers & Prospects into Leads." Learn more about the book or purchase it!

Labels:

Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Monday, January 28, 2008

Who doesn't love a Ruth's Chris steak?

If you've never had a Ruth's Chris steak, you do not know what you're missing. Seared in an 1800 degree oven, it's simply the best steak I've ever had. Plus the place has a great ambiance. I would feel comfortable there dressed any where from nice jeans and shirt to my best suit. The staff there is great also. So imagine my surprise at what I found when I went to purchase a gift card on their website.

Frustration, that's what I found. Our office is less than a half mile from the Ruth's Chris in Roseville, CA yet I would still rather purchase a gift card from their website than bother finding a place to park and purchasing one in the restaurant. However, after going through the process of purchasing a gift card from their website, I think I made the wrong choice.

It's a classic example of straying from the standards that people now expect to see from a checkout process. The goal of the checkout process is to get the sale finished in as simple a way as possible. Unfortunately the Ruth's Chris checkout process is far from simple and does not adhere to web best practices.

We hope this evaluation sparks you to test and analyze the checkout process on your website.

WebsiteReviewAnalysis-RuthsChrisGiftCard.pdf

Labels:

Read more!

2 Comments:

February 6, 2008 11:23 AM  
Anonymous Melvin said...

Speaking of web standards, why doesn't Blast Advanced Media protect there customers credit card information when paying for services on their own site? Sure Ruth Chris' checkout process is old and out of date, but at least they protect their customers identity by using an e-commerce fundamental.

My guess is that your blog is really just a glorified propaganda machine and this comment will never see the light of day.

February 6, 2008 12:31 PM  
Blogger Kayden Kelly said...

Sometimes gardeners forget to weed their own lawn. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. It has been fixed. This kind of input is often harsh to hear but if your site isn't working properly what's more harsh is losing business or damaging your credibility. By the way, look for our new site to launch March 1st that will feature a number of improvements to meet current web site best practices.

Make it a great day!

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Sunday, January 27, 2008

Web Design For Credibility

At Blast Advanced Media our creative development services are based on user centered design, but one of our main goals for design for any client is to provide their business with credibility. We want to provide your clients, customers and consumers with the highest level of confidence in using your site and doing business with your company or organization.

Make your site accessible even beyond your target audience. Make it easy to use and navigate with concise and pertinent content that is easy to find and follow up on if necessary. Believe it or not, customers DO care about what your site looks like regardless of how fabulous your product or service may be. It is akin to having a five star restaurant in a bad part of town. People may hear rave reviews about your food, but are they willing to make the trip to find out for themselves?

Credible design can make your business stand out from the competition. For a client evaluating two businesses, when it comes down to making a choice between two relatively equal offers, the difference can be as simple as "this LOOKS like a company I can trust". Pay attention to layout, typography, images, consistency issues, and realize that even color can play a major part in how your business is perceived.

Can users easily find the information they are looking for? A well organized, well designed site can aid in quickly accessing and filtering information which can be critical for users who will give your site only a matter of seconds to provide them with the answers or information they seek, or for those who will quickly abandon a potential sale because of a difficult to navigate check out process.

Can users find contact info for your business easily in the event they have questions before doing business with you or concerns regarding their purchase? Many users will look for this information before they even start navigating your site. For ecommerce based businesses it is particularly important that this information is available from every page of your site. Providing this information shows that there is a real organization behind your site.

A consumer study commissioned by internet development services firm, Genex found:

Web site design matters most to the affluent. More than 70 percent of those earning more than $75,000 per year say that they will not shop on a poorly designed site and may even discontinue offline purchases from a company with such a web site, compared to 60 percent of those earning less than $50,000.

The most active consumer group is most attuned to usability. In excess of 75 percent of those between the ages of 25 and 34 say that usability is a very or extremely important factor in their online and offline purchase decisions, compared to 64 percent of those ages 45-54.

Blast Advanced Media specializes in strategic analysis, user centered design, online marketing and web optimization. We can help you identify aspects of your site that are hindering credibility with your clients. Contact us today for your Free Site Evaluation.



Labels:

Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Meet Your Goals with Key Performance Indicators

Performance driven design is the future. Scratch that, it's what
companies are doing now to gain competitive advantage by optimizing
their web sites in response to constantly shifting customer interest,
needs and desires.

The crux of this approach is to clearly identify your goals in order to reveal
your key performance indicators which bring meaning and value to your
web site metrics. KPIs help you analyze and measure your progress
toward meeting your goals. In fact, KPIs help you meet your goals by
giving you something tangible and actionable to work with versus
remaining too vague and idealistic as goals often do.

Want to meet your goals? Identify and analyze your KPIs and you will!
This is because you'll be forced to better meet your customers needs
by seeing exactly what is and isn't working for you in respect to your
web site pathways, messaging and more.

Need help? We'd be glad to so please contact us today at melvin@blastam.com

Recommended Reading:
Actionable Web Analytics: Using Data to Make Smart Business Decisions

Labels:

Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Saturday, January 26, 2008

How to Calculate Web Site Design ROI

To properly calculate web site design ROI or any return on investment for that matter:

Return - Investment = Net Gain
Net Gain / Investment = Return On Investment (ROI)

Here is an Example ROI calculation:

$200,000 (return) - $20,000 (investment) = $180,000 (net gain)
$180,000 (net gain) / $20,000 (investment) = 9.00 or 900% ROI

Now learn how to increase your web site return on investment by reading the "Web Design for ROI" blog and book.

Labels:

Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Does your Web Site Rock? Turn on your Competitive Advantage!

Charles Davis will provide valuable insight to help you identify what works and what stops users from taking the desired actions on your web site. Show you how to use data to make better, smarter business decisions regarding your website. This class is based on experience running a company with a website that was large source of revenues and experience working at Sacramento based web design agency Blast Advanced Media. The class will include a humorous deconstruction analysis of audience web sites to explain problems and solutions for their web site issues.

By the end of the class the audience will be more adept at identifying key obstacles preventing people from taking the desired actions on their web sites and understand how to use key performance indicators to measure their success.

Feb 6 11:30am-12:30pm
Borders Books & Music
2339 Fair Oaks Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95825

Feb 29 11:30am-12:30pm
Borders Books & Music
2030 Douglas Blvd, Roseville, CA 95661

For a complete Borders event schedule visit:
http://www.bordersstores.com/stores/store_pg.jsp?storeID=130
or http://www.bordersstores.com/stores/store_pg.jsp?storeID=184

To get Borders store hours, maps, phone numbers, and directions visit: http://www.bordersstores.com/locator/locator.jsp

Contact Blast Advanced Media at 916-724-6701 or email us at melvin@blastam.com with any questions about these upcoming classes.

Labels: ,

Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Get Googled: Learn Google marketing Tools like Adwords, Adsense, & Analytics

See a demo of Google's powerful marketing tools that will help you add revenue generation features to your website, improve and lower the cost to market your business, and get input on what is or isn't working on your website. When you are done with this class you will better understand how to immediately take advantage of Google's powerful marketing tools.

Feb 5 11:30-12:30pm
Borders Books & Music
2030 Douglas Blvd, Roseville, CA 95661

For a complete Borders event schedule visit:
http://www.bordersstores.com/stores/store_pg.jsp?storeID=130

To get Borders store hours, maps, phone numbers, and directions visit: http://www.bordersstores.com/locator/locator.jsp

Contact Blast Advanced Media at 916-724-6701 or email us at melvin@blastam.com with any questions about these upcoming classes.

Labels: ,

Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Blogs and their Marketing Benefits

Learn how to quickly setup a Blog to better communicate with your clients and other targeted audiences. We'll walk you through the many benefits of Blog marketing to pull more users to your website and maintain a constant share of mind with your audience. This class is based on over 10 years of web design and marketing experience and by the end of the class audience members will be able to easily setup and manage a Blog to improve their marketing efforts.

Feb 21 11:30am-12:30pm
Borders Books & Music
4750 Natomas Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95835

Feb 23 7:00-8:00pm
Borders Books & Music
2030 Douglas Blvd, Roseville, CA 95661

For a complete Borders event schedule visit:
http://www.bordersstores.com/stores/store_pg.jsp?storeID=618
or http://www.bordersstores.com/stores/store_pg.jsp?storeID=130

To get Borders store hours, maps, phone numbers, and directions visit: http://www.bordersstores.com/locator/locator.jsp

Contact Blast Advanced Media at 916-724-6701 or email us at melvin@blastam.com with any questions about these upcoming classes.

Labels: ,

Read more!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



Links to this post:





Blast Advanced Media on Flickr