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Just a time ago it seemed like high performance laptops were only being produced by a few niche companies and were built to spec, not produced in large numbers. I pretty much doubt they sold in any significant quantities but they sure made lots of money for the resellers. The most sought after laptops were the ones that were too costly to contemplate purchasing. Basically they were the best laptops around. They most likely weren’t best sellers though because I believe us people buy laptops that we can comfortably afford. Nowadays things are a lot different with tier 1 manufacturers also launching gaming laptops.

Bringing their established names into the market could allow them to charge even more. Its definitely a great way to bigger profits. In my view well known manufacturers can utilise leverage to persuade potential purchasers to buy laptops regardless of cost. Could this be the end of littler resellers? The high end technology will rapidly forge its path into the sight of the normal customers. I guess the ignorant automatically feel secure by purchasing from a brand they know.

The laptops coming out are turning out to be the best laptops ever seen. In my view though, this is really a factor of promise for the little companies in retail. The configurability feature is a massive plus to the customer. I believe the guys that purchase laptops for gaming usually know what they’re looking for. More often than not these kinds of purchasers are to a greater extent partial to the performance than the aesthetics.

All of this is extremely positive from the potential purchasers view. As this drives down the prices even more, high end technology will get increasingly acquirable to the consumer. Though I say that, I’m not actually sure of my claims. High prices should continue and be normal with the latest laptops is what I’m guessing. The big manufacturers have already entered the gaming laptops sector so we will have to be patient and see what occurs I reckon.

If you are looking to purchase a laptop you may want to visit http://www.rizeon.com

THE PROBLEM

You landed after a rough flight, got the last rental car, battled the snowstorm, and finally arrived at the Holly Inn. It’s nice and warm in there, you can relax, ready for the conference tomorrow.

Out of the elevator, of course your room is at the far end of the corridor. No matter, the heating is turned up and you are looking forward to a good night’s rest. You make it to the room door feeling very sleepy. You reach out for the door handle when…Zap! It gets you every time!

THE CAUSE

Static electricity. Everyone knows about it, harmless really, happens when you get out of the car as well. Synthetics are particularly good for generating a good one, along with a dry atmosphere.

Thousands of volts - harmless? just a little shock? To you, maybe, to an electronic circuit static discharge is - death. Not necessarily instant, more likely a weakening effect, causing intermittent failures, the most difficult to catch, until the final solid fault.

THE EFFECT

The problem for an electronic circuit is that they work on 2 or 3 volts at low currents, so when a kilovolt charge turns up, the current which flows is many times more than it is designed for. The effect can be like a fuse, a connection to a microcircuit melts, or is badly damaged. For us there is millions of times less current than would be required to damage any tissue.

The voltage doesn’t need to be enough to cause a zap, an electronic circuit can be damaged by just handling it, touching metal parts. The potential for damage has been growing since transistors, and, particularly integrated circuits were introduced. Vacuum tube circuits used much higher voltages, such that the circuit was more likely to zap the careless technician than the other way round!

THE SOLUTION

We have mentioned, in the history of the computer series, the importance of power supplies and air conditioning controls. These are largely there to make sure the electronics can work in its designed range. When the engineer works on these circuits he must take precautions to ensure this range is not exceeded because of static build-up.

In the workshop, all work must be performed in a static free environment, components are to be stored in anti-static bags or containers, and anyone working on the equipment must ensure he does not allow static discharge through it.

Similarly, when working on the system in the computer room, perhaps removing or replacing a circuit board, or adjusting a circuit, the correct procedures must be followed.

THE EQUIPMENT

This has become more and more complicated as the potential for damage has grown, with the reduction in size and therefore concentration of circuitry. The replacement cost of a pcb can be several hundred thousand dollars!

The front line of defence is the Wrist Strap. This consists of a means of connection to the frame of the machine being worked on, linked to some form of bracelet or band which makes contact with the worker’s skin.

The link is not a normal piece of wire, but has a resistance of 1 Megohm. This high resistance is to reduce the current when connecting to the frame, so as not to cause problems.

The wrist strap itself is usually of some stretch material, with a metal connector for the wire link, and to connect to the wrist. Alternatively, some types have an expanding metal strap, similar to a watch strap.

The connector to the frame may be a metal clip, or a plug to fit a receptacle on the machine, for this purpose.

In the workshop, all work is carried out on an anti-static mat, made of metalised rubber, so that it is conductive. This mat is grounded, and connected to the frame of the equipment being worked on. Anyone working on the equipment must first connect his wrist strap to the mat via the connectors provided.

Another anti-static mat, also grounded, is placed on the floor at the workstation to stand on.

In the computer room, a portable workbench, is provided with an anti-static mat, connected to the machine frame, to place components removed or to be installed on. Bags or containers made from conductive material are on hand, and can also be connected to the mat.

A mat is placed on the floor where work is being carried out, connected to the frame. The people working on the equipment wear anti-static coats made of conductive material. They also have ankle/heel straps. These fit around the ankle, making contact with the skin, and under the heel of the shoe, to make contact with the mat.

Components which have been replaced for suspect problems are returned to the factory for failure analysis. The failed circuit is examined through a microscope to observe the failing area, and to determine if this is a potential problem for other similar circuits. Failures due to electrostatic discharge can also be determined.

THE HOME USER

Now you know the precautions the professionals take, you can understand the necessity for care to be taken when adding memory, or opening your computer for any other reason. If you have a wrist strap, use it. If not at least touch the frame of the computer before reaching inside. And don’t think you don’t need to because it works OK when you close it up again. You could be getting the results of your efforts down the track!

Tony is an experienced computer engineer. He is currently webmaster and contributor to http://www.what-why-wisdom.com A set of diagrams accompanying these articles may be seen at http://www.what-why-wisdom.com/history-of-the-computer-0.html RSS feed also available - use http://www.what-why-wisdom.com/Educational.xml

The laptop computer market has gone from strength to strength recently. In fact demand is so gigantic that taiwanese manufactures are anticipating part shortages before hand. Laptop computers have just been an incredible industry to check up on. There has been no decline in sales. Also with mobile computers now it looks like every 6 months or so the technology is already replaced with something new.

Laptops are becoming more suitable for gaming due to continuing speed increases. With prices coming down and new technology being launched rather quickly it means that purchasers are getting more roi. Gaming notebooks are no longer laughed at by serious gamers because they are actually pretty good. More positives to come from advanced manufacturing practices is smaller, cooler components that cater for thinner, attractive designs. Extreme game players will always prefer their desktop gaming machines for power and rightly so but it’s the functionality notebooks give that influences people settle on frame rates. It will be intriguing to see what gaming portables come out in the future and how portable they can manufacture them.

Even though the market share is ruled by brands selling via retail channels I feel the direct channel and custom built notebooks will always be here. Ram and disk drives are typically high performance branded components in custom notebooks which enthusiats consumers like. Certain market benefit because they only have get what they require. Laptops sold in retail are usually made for the mass market and perhaps this isn’t you. Custom made notebooks are about for this reason. They offer requirements that others can’t. There are numerous small system builders here and there that provide great customer care. This is also another big selling factor.

It’s fascinating to see fresh laptops hitting the market every 12 months. Mobile internet notebooks are the fresh development to get mass market popularity. The Asus Eee just created a new specialist market. If anybody builds a laptop that has a big screen yet also lightweight at an affordable market price point I feel it would be a great success. This is a thing that can be produced even today if we sacrificed performance. I am sure we’ll see ultra light gaming notebooks soon. All the brands are vying to come out with the next massive noteboo so it’ll be interesting to observe.

I really like the gaming notebooks at http://www.rizeon.com/gaming_laptops/page.php

When you make the decision to put your own home lab together for your CCNA and CCNP studies (a very wise decision, if I may say so!), the hardest part is figuring out how to spend your budget. Do you spend it all on the routers and go with a cheaper 1900 switch, knowing that the 640-801 (CCNA), 640-821 (Intro), and 640-811 (ICND) exams now place a premium on knowing the ins and outs of a 2950 switch? Do you buy a frame relay switch? Do you buy an access server?

One factor to keep in mind when you’re starting to put your lab together is that you don’t have to put it all together at one time. With some careful planning, you’ve got a lab that you can use for your Intro studies, perhaps add a router or two for ICND study, and then some more devices for your CCNP study.

Of course, it also depends on your budget. If you’ve got upwards of $500 to spend, great! If you don’t, that’s okay. The key is that you’re going to work with the real deal instead of simulation programs. And remember that you can always sell the equipment when you’ve achieved your certification goals. You’re basically renting the equipment and then passing it on to another CCNA or CCNP candidate.

Let’s take a look at several different toplogies, from basic to more advanced.

One router. You’ll have to keep the configurations pretty basic, but getting started with one router is still a start. You can practice setting passwords (and password recovery, perhaps!) and become acquainted with the hardware. You can practice setting the hostname and working with many global configuration commands. There are obvious limitations, but the big plus here is that you’ve
gotten started working with real Cisco equipment.

Two routers. You can do more with two routers than you might think. Make sure the first two routers you buy have serial interfaces. You can then purchase a DTE/DCE cable and practice working with directly connected serial interfaces. This is a valuable skill to have on your Intro and ICND exams. You can put PPP on the direct connection and practice working with PAP and CHAP, not to mention the vital troubleshooting command debug ppp negotiation.

Two routers, one switch. Your first two routers should have serial and ethernet interfaces. You can connect your routers to the switch via their ethernet interface in addition to the aforementioned directly connected serial interfaces. You can create loopback interfaces on both routers and then practice advertising them via RIP, IGRP, EIGRP, and OSPF. If you can, make sure to get BRI interfaces on these first two routers as well. The cost of an ISDN simulator might prevent you from running ISDN at first, but plan for the future now.

It’s best to spring for a 2950 switch if it fits your budget. That switch has an IOS as opposed to the menu-driven 1900 switches, so the practice will come in handy on exam day. If you simply can’t afford it right now, a 1900 switch is certainly better than no switch at all!

Three routers, one switch. I would consider using the third router as a frame relay switch. If your first two routers each have two serial interfaces, as well as the third one, you can buy a couple of additional DTE/DCE cables and configure your own frame relay cloud. The config for a frame relay switch can be hard to find there is one on my website you’re welcome to.

Four routers, one switch. This setup would allow you to have three routers communicating via the frame relay cloud, two routers connecting through their directly connected serial interfaces, and at least two of the routers communicating through the switch. Quite a setup! I’ve got plenty of labs you can run on such a setup, and you could even create your own.

Five routers, one switch. At this point, you should consider an access server as your fifth router. An access server is a Cisco router with the capability to connect to up to eight other devices via an octal cable. Not just any Cisco router can serve as an access server, so make sure the one you buy for this purpose has the proper async port(s).

An access server prevents you from having to continually move the rollover cable into the console port of the router or switch you need to configure. Once you have one, you’ll wonder how you lived without it!

From this point on, you can add a second switch or an ISDN simulator. The second switch gives you the opportunity to practice influencing root bridge elections and configuring VTP an ISDN simulator will give you priceless practice with ISDN in your home lab. (Don’t confuse an ISDN simulator with a router simulator. An ISDN simulator basically acts as the phone company in your practice lab.) New ISDN simulators can run up to $2000 easily there are many used simulators on ebay and from used Cisco equipment vendors.)

I know exactly what you’re going through when you make the decision to build your own lab I’ve been there myself. I hope you’ve found this article helpful in making a decision on how to get started. If you have any questions about a network topology you’re considering building, please let me hear from you at chris@thebryantadvantage.com. I’m glad you’ve chose to put together you own CCNA and CCNP home lab, and I’ll be glad to help with any questions you may have.

To your success,

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. Video courses and training, binary and subnetting help, and corporate training are also available. Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933!

This article lists some of the more well-known and interesting
landmarks on the moon.

The moon is the second brightest object in our nighttime sky.
Our moon is also known as Luna and is our nearest neighbor. It
takes 27 and 1/3 days for the moon to revolve around our planet.
We first visited the moon in 1969. The trip to the moon and back
takes approximately six days. The moon is highly visible to our
naked eye and it appears to be white with patches of gray. The
features of the moon were first viewed by Galileo in the 1600’s.
Since then, the features of the moon have been highly
photographed and detailed. Each area has a name. There are
mountains, basins, plains, craters, and seas. The word Mare
means “sea”, however there is no water on the moon. Here is a
list of some of the major features on the moon’s surface. If you
live in the southern hemisphere keep in mind that you are
viewing the moon from the opposite direction. This means that
the directions in this list will be upside down from what you
see.

Craters

Tycho: This crater is about 58 miles wide. It is considered a
young crater even though it was made about a billion years ago
as a result of a collision. This crater has a wide debris field.
Tycho is located near the southern pole region.

Copernicus: This crater is also a young crater like Tycho. This
crater is 56 miles in diameter. Copericus is located near the
center of the near side of the moon. This crater, along with the
Tycho crater, can easily be viewed with binoculars on a clear
night.

Seas and Oceans

Oceanus Procellarum: This is also known as the Ocean of Storms.
This area was thought to be an area of storm activity at one
time. It is located in the moons western hemisphere and looks
like a vast gray plain area. Surveyor 1, Surveyor 3, Luna 9,
Luna 13, and Apollo 12 have all landed here.

Mare Imbrium: This is also known as the Sea of Rains. This is
the largest basin area on the moon. It is also the second
largest overall area on the moon’s surface. It is located north
central region of the moon.

Mare Crisium: This is also known as the Sea of Crises. This is
the first feature of the moon to appear after a new moon. It is
located on the mid-eastern edge of the near side of the moon.

Mare Tranquillitatis: This is also known as the Sea of
Tranquility. This is a vast area in the northern hemisphere of
the moon. This was the site of the first moon landing in 1969.
The landing took place at Tranquility Base at the southern edge
of the sea.

Mare Serenitatis: This is also known as the Sea of Serenity.
This sea is located in the northeastern section of the moon.
Serpentine Ridge is located to the east of this sea.

Mare Nubium: This is also known as the Sea of Clouds. This sea
has a deep crater at its western edge. The areas surrounding
this sea are some of the mostly heavily cratered areas on the
moon.

Mountains

Apennine Mountains: These mountains are named after the Apennine
Mountains in Italy. They are located beside Mare Imbrium. On
July 30, 1971 Apollo 15 landed here at Hadley Rille. These
mountains go as high as 15,000 feet and are almost 500 feet long.

Haemus Mountains: This mountain chain is located along the
southern shore of the Sea of Serenity. They are to the south of
the Apennine Mountains.

Other

Altai Scarp: This is a steep slope that was the result of an
earthquake. This scarp is up to two and a half miles high in
some spots. This landmark is located in the southern hemisphere
near Mare Nectaris.

You can find more information here:
http://www.tradingideas4you.com/society-culture/science/science.h
tml

Surprisingly enough, password security actually is important. Learn how to get the most out of your passwords.

In the past I’ve never really paid much attention to security issues when it comes to user names and passwords. Frankly I figured it was all a lot of overblown hype. This led to an unfortunate incident that involved my website being attacked, apparently by a skillful youth with a propensity for mischief.

The main security flaw with my website was probably the simple fact that the username and password were exactly the same. Granted I did realize that this wasn’t highly intelligent but I didn’t have the power to change it myself, and I didn’t think it really mattered enough to bother about it. Having an identical username and password is a massive “no-no” in computer security. Your username and password should not even be related along the same line of thought. A username of “Dragon” and a password of “Fire” is not a secure combination.

For maximum security, passwords should not be cohesive words or phrases and should not be too obviously related to something like your birthday or the birthday of someone close to you. Personal information is one of the first things used when people attempt to break passwords. Having a password of “Password” is indeed humorous and ironic but it is not in the least bit secure. A “brute force” password hacking technique involves using certain rules and guidelines to take a guess at possible passwords and generally works through a dictionary of sorts, trying combinations of possible words and common characters. Your best bet at creating a secure password is to pick a random collection of letters, numbers, and symbols, including varying case changes (in a password the letter “a” is not the same as the letter “A”, so alternating at random between upper and lower case will increase the difficulty encountered in cracking your password). Selecting a sequence of characters on the keyboard (such as “asdf” or, worse, “1234″) definitely does not create a secure, random password.

Having symbols in your password is an easy way to greatly increase security. These are the special characters accessed by holding the “Shift” key and pressing one of the numbers at the top of the keyboard. If you want to truly expand your arsenal of special characters, try holding down the “alt” key and pressing a combination of numbers on the num pad (the rectangular collection of numbers on the right hand side of most keyboards) then release “alt”. For example, holding “alt” and pressing numbers, 1 then 6 then 8 and releasing “alt” will give the character “”. Most combinations of 3 numbers will enter a different symbol into your password. This may make it a little harder to enter your password but it makes it a lot harder for anyone else to crack it.

To make passwords easier to remember you can use something original, like the name of your favorite character in a book (personal information that other people won’t know). Then add some numbers to it, perhaps use the “Leet speak” (check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet for exact definition) method of changing letters to numbers and generally mix things up so that to you it seems coherent and memorable but to an automated pattern recognizer it seems random. For example, “jAm35_5m1Th” (”James Smith”) is actually surprisingly secure. In this case the password’s meaning is obvious to a human reader but it will take a lot of work for them to divine the password without prior knowledge (unless you’ve used your name or a close relative/friend’s name which, as we’ve already discussed, is not a good idea).

For additional security you should not use the one user name and password for every account that you have. If you do and someone manages to get hold of your details for one site they pretty much have the run of your digital life. It is not particularly vital to have perfect passwords for less important accounts (e.g. web based email from Hotmail, forums you visit etc.). These sites can quite happily be accessed using the same password. However, bank accounts, work email etc. should be made as secure as possible.

Hopefully a few of these tips will assist you in making your online activities more secure. Keep these guidelines in mind, change your password on a semi regular basis, and with any luck you’ll be able to avoid the hacking menace that befell me.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Daniel Punch

M6.Net Web Helpers

http://www.m6.net

Choosing a cellular phone contract and choosing a cell phone for you can be very challenging. Choosing a cell phone that’s right for you depends on your personal preferences and your needs.

Cellular phone choices vary from the multi-featured and cool style to the strictly functional and unassuming. It is strictly a personal choice, and you’ll want to choose a cellular phone that is right for the way you use it.

A good cellular phone choice is one that has features you’ll enjoy using. While there are many factors to consider, it all boils down to choosing a cell phone that will offer you the best design, features, and performance.

If you thought choosing a cell phone design was hard, choosing your features isn’t any easier. Cellular phone choices range from simple and functional to complicated features. As a general rule, don’t buy anything more than you will use.

If you want your phone to strictly make calls, stick with the basics. If you’re going to use your mobile for e-mail or multi-tasking, go with a higher-end cellular phone choice. If you want to have fun with your phone consider one with a camera.

When choosing a cell phone plan, think carefully about how much you’ll actually be using your phone. Usage time is the basis of every cellular phone contract. The more minutes in your plan the more money you will have to pay. Most cellular phone contracts from the major carriers vary from 300 minutes a month up to 5,000 minutes.

You also have to think about when you’ll be making most of your calls. Most carriers consider only those calls made during peak periods typically, Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., as minutes that actually count toward your plan minutes.

Calls made during the weekends, nights, and holidays, are usually free and are considered unlimited anytime minutes. Calls made to other cell phones on a carrier’s network can also be free.

You’ll need to find out if checking your voicemail, incoming and outgoing calls count toward unlimited anytime minutes. Be sure you know how everything works when comparing cell phone plans.

When choosing a cell phone plan that is best for you, you’re better off overestimating the number of plan minutes you’ll need rather than paying extra, expensive airtime charges each month.

If you find that you’ve overestimated or underestimated your usage, you can easily change your rate plan. When comparing cell phone plans, keep in mind that this may affect your contract date by moving it out further, so ask.

7 points to consider before agreeing to a cellular phone contract:

1. Verify the unlimited anytime minutes you have and what kind of calls count toward them.

2. Be aware of all roaming, overtime, and extra charges.

3. If you travel a lot, or have lots of friends and relatives all over creation get a cellular phone contract nationwide plan with free long distance.

4. Know where your local calling area begins and ends.

5. Many of the great deals require a two-year cellular phone contract. Make sure you understand this commitment and how much it will cost you to break it.

6. If you’re in the middle of a cellular phone contract or not on a contract and just want to buy a new phone you don’t need to sign a new contract. But you probably won’t get any discounts that would come with a new contract.

7. Extended warranties and insurance can come in handy if your phone is lost, stolen, or damaged. Just be sure to find out the total cost.

Before you sign any cellular phone contract just be sure you know how everything works so there are no surprises.

Copyright © 2005 1 Stop Shopping Online.com. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author

This article is provided by http://www.1stopshoppingonline.com offering you access to top wireless providers that make it easy for you compare and choose the perfect phone and cellular phone contract at http://www.1stopshoppingonline.com/wireless.html

Architectural CAD Drawing that would literally mean architectural drawing on Computer. Getting your architectural drawing done in Digital format.

This finds application for residential, commerical projects, layouts, elevations, details and 2D and 3D presentation drawings. These drawings and documents cater to realtors, owners, consultants and contractors. CAD (Computer Aided Design) is primarily be used for architectural and structural services .

Full Architectural CAD services would include working on existing, new build developments and planning applications. Architectural drawings can be custom designed for homes by CAD process for architects, builders, and owners. Full of CAD drafting services include design development, building plans, construction documents, mechanical and architectural drawings.

Architectural presentations are being widely on the web. Architectural presentation full range of services include models, renderings and animations. 3D animations improves your graphics & gives a better look to your website or to your presentations, which gives your organization an cut above the rest.

Walk through animations have become a regular part in larger architectural presentations. One can get dimentionally accurate, architectural renderings of the highest quality.

Using basic mouse movements one can effortlessly create walk through an AutoCAD model and can feel of actually being there. Renderings includes the latest developments in visualization.

More of this resouceful information is available on:

BluentCAD
www.bluentcad.com

If you plan to do basic office work on you new Desktop PC or the usual Internet stuff; surfing and email, any processor will work for you. That is good news because you can buy your new computer for around $299. Considering not too many years back that same computer would have cost you $2500!

But, if you need a Desktop PC to work with graphics, Video, Music, or large databases than you will have to dish out a bit more. But it is well worth it, because if you don’t you will spend more time waiting, waiting, waiting, than working.

On your new computer you really need more power then the basic PC provides. AMD Athlon XP or Intel Pentium4 (or which ever pentium we are up to when you read this article) are your best bets for this kind of work. Either will support the most demanding work. Bargain price computer equipment with either kind of chip with fast speeds can be found.

Intel has a newer motherboard chip for its Pentium4 and Celeron. With the higher speed front side bus, data moves more quickly from the processor to the system memory. You can find these boards on Intel’s 850 and 845 models. Just check the front side bus speed to make sure you are getting the right one before you buy your computer.

Now keep in mind the computer world is constantly updated. Just be sure to find a new computer with the most memory for your dollar. And if you fall into the category of ‘just do the basics’ than go with the $299 (or around there) deal.

A1-Computers : Bonnie Archer
For more information on buying a new computer visit our website. Be sure to check out our computer directory near the bottom of the page for our recomended online resoruces to get the best deals on your next computer.

Would you send a million letters costing tens of thousands
to print and mail, in a direct marketing campaign, without
testing the letter content first? It’s what many website
owners do when they don’t test and measure their own
website copy and content then spend thousands on web
marketing campaigns to drive traffic to their websites.

In a direct mail campaign the mailer knows based on test
mail outs what to expect and therefore what his return on
investment will be. They basically write, re-write and re-
write again until they have the content that gets the
desired response. Many moons ago I used to work full time
writing for direct mailing companies and the mailers would
ask for 3 or 4 different versions of the same message and
this was the reason. They tested each one with a short
mail out (about 1000 per mailshot) and gauged response to
find the best percentage.

So the direct mail marketer has a solid figure to work on.
He knows if he spends figure ‘a’ on direct mailing he will
get figure ‘b’ response. Why can’t the same apply to
website marketing?

We think it can. We tested this theory for 8 months and
for the last 4 months have consistently been hitting the
same percentage level (roughly give or take 0.5%) of
conversion.

By defining your website goal and objective, experimenting
with copy, content, persuasion, design, colour and
architecture it is possible to predict what the response
of your website conversion will be. In other words you can
confidently predict how many people will do what you want
them to do every month. Month after month. Easy? no, it
takes a lot of work but it certainly is possible.

In a number of tests conducted on a website designed with
web services for sale through a period of 8 months from
January 2003 till August 2003, it was proved beyond doubt
that a consistent level of conversion of new visitors can
be achieved. Conversion Chronicles is the result of these
tests.

It was found that:
1) Headlines can improve the click through of a page by up
to 35%! Over two months on one page we tested the headline
and looked to see how many more visitors moved onto
another page.
The first month with the headline “Just On Site, Improve
the way you do business online” only 15% of readers went
onto do another action and stayed on the page (reading
presumably) more than 3 minutes.
With the headline “Do you know if your website is a
success or a failure?” 50% completed another action and
stayed on our website for more than 3 minutes. A terrific
improvement when you consider it was only one line of text
we changed. Ok, we think the content was pretty good
anyway but the first headline was poor and so readers just
immediately left rather than read.

2) Scan proofing greatly improves the chances of
clickthough in your pages. By writing for a reader who
scans rather than reads and making the key words appear in
bold so that (if feasible) the bold words string together
in a rough kind of sentence we found a similar increase in
response to the page. There was again over a 30%
improvement by scan proofing the text. If you want to find
out more about scan proofing read the e-book available from http://www.conversionchronicles.com. There is a
section dedicated to it.

3) Active voice writing (referring to the reader as you
and your) dramatically improve the rate of readership and
conversion. When I say dramatically, it is pretty dramatic
to see 4 times as many people respond to text which says
exactly the same thing but written in a different way.
Again there is a whole chronicle dedicated to active voice
copy writing so read it if you don’t understand what I
mean.

Of course it depends on the service, the kind of
incentives, the clarity of your content and the overall
architecture to the pages. We found all this by using a
constant measure in conversion (the percentage of
subscribers from visitors rather than the number of
subscribers/enquirers) and a constant control in the email
address that was used to subscribe to.

The implications of this are that if you can do this with
your website you are in an informed enough position to
make a descision on what to spend to drive more traffic to
your website. If you get the conversion consistently right
then there is no reason to expect that the conversion rate
percentage will change simply because more qualified
traffic arrives. The key word here is qualified. If the
visitor isn’t interested he won’t stick around so you
still need to carefully plan how to get the traffic (the
job of SEO experts).

So if it costs you ‘a’ to drive 1000 visitors to your site
and you know your average conversion rate is going to be
10% you know that ‘b’ = 100 of those visitors will on
average be in your database. You then can do the maths and
figure out what the campaign is going to be worth to you.
Simple when you think about it.

In other words you have done what the direct mailing
marketer does, tested, experimented and then spent the
money rather than blindly hope that more visitors equals
more sales.

Have you tried it on your website? If not why not?

About the Author

Steve Jackson is a respected writer, editor of Conversion Chronicles and authour of the e-book Learn Before You Spend - 6 ways to measure web traffic. You can get a copy (worth $30) by subscribing to http://www.conversionchronicles.com