China’s government reported the country has surpassed the U.S. as the online population leader with more than 221 million Internet users.

The figure, reported this week by the Xinhua News Agency, reflects China’s explosive growth in Internet use. It was a 61% increase over the 137 million Internet users reported at the start of 2007.

Nielsen Online estimates the U.S. online population with home or work access at 221 million. By contrast, one-third of Chinese Internet users surf through cybercafes.

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A Forrester survey revealed what’s really no surprise: almost one-quarter of online shoppers leave websites without registering or purchasing when they are required to register.

The research firm suggests the missed conversions and lost revenues can be minimized by making registration optional, and clearly explaining the benefits customers will get if they do sign up.

“The right incentives can also be helpful — online shoppers are most likely to hand over personal data in exchange for discounts,” suggested Forrester’s Megan Burns.

Additionally, Webcopyplus has found an effective way to achieve registration is to introduce it late in a process, once online visitors have invested time in a task. However, even at a late stage, if too much information is required, it can still lead to both frustration and abandonment.

Webcopyplus is involved with a Yale study and would appreciate your participation in a survey that takes less than 10 minutes to complete. There are 20 questions, and you could win a $20 Amazon gift certificate.

Just click on Soe City Survey.

— Thanks!

Author and marketing guru Seth Godin posted a sharp entry in his blog about the inbound phone call being a hugely valuable marketing event for a business.

He noted: “The goal of every single interaction should be to upgrade the brand’s value in the eye of the caller and to learn something about how to do better, not to get the caller to just go away.”

That seems to be the prevailing objective: do away with the nuisance, rather than learn something from the prospect or customer.

Also, almost every consumer would wholeheartedly agree with Godin’s statement:

“Your call is very important to us,” does not jibe with, “Due to unusually heavy call volume.”

Read his post: Who answers the phone. Or view a case study on how not to deliver
‘customer service’.

The key to successful conversion rates is getting information to the right people at the right time.

Internet technology provides businesses the ability to pin-point markets at precise moments. However, if you’re not delivering the right information, the entire effort, investment and process is severely flawed.

The Web is a fantastic medium to determine what web writing works and what doesn’t. Recent A/B split tests targeting US and European audiences helped Webcopyplus establish how web writing approaches and styles influence online consumers’ behavior.

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While there are numerous elements to successful web pages, three are absolute musts and are straightforward:

• Begin every web page with a unique, accurate and explanatory headline.
• Your conclusion must follow. To deliver effective web writing, your web page’s summary, description or key message should be at the beginning of your main copy.
• Use several subheadings or kickers. They should be descriptive, just like headlines, to help your visitors zone in on information relevant to their needs.

Here’s a Rogers customer service case study on how not to conduct business. It’s no wonder so many consumers are turning to the superior services of Skype, Vonage and Shaw.

With my business phone and mobile with Rogers, I decided to bunch everything together and switch my home phone to Rogers as well. Here’s a breakdown of the events that spanned more than one year:

• After talking to two Rogers call centres for more than an hour in total, a switchover was scheduled for the morning of March 13, 2007.
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While speaking at a recent Web forum in Vancouver, a web copywriter from the audience approached me with disheartening stories about how his skills were not valued at his workplace.

Part of the reason web copywriters are under-valued extends from the fact managers often get excited about new technologies. They believe employing new software and applications demonstrate they’re on the leading edge, creating an opportunity to score points with their superiors. As a result, the employees who handle design and development tend to gain more attention and recognition.

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During a meeting to discuss an upcoming project, a marketing director from a U.S. firm suggested the client would be better served investing more on print materials, including print ads and direct ad mails, versus search engine ads and search engine optimization (SEO).

While print ads and direct mail have their place in the marketing realm, Webcopyplus strongly suggested the client stay the course and focus mainly on SEO.

The client, who is introducing a new type of data storage component for computers, is targeting a broad market — virtually anyone who uses a computer.

Even if you gain access to a direct mail list of individuals who recently purchased computer products, there’s no accurate way of forecasting current or future purchases.

Meanwhile, SEO allows you to target your audience when consumers are at their peak point of interest.

That’s when they are most likely to make a purchase, which translates to high conversion rates, and your best return on investment.

Your homepage is one of the key pages on your website. It’s often the starting point for visitors and therefore viewed most often. So what should your homepage communicate?

Your homepage should:

• Introduce the purpose and scope of your website
• Set the tone and build credibility

Important homepage elements:

• Header and footer
• Logo and tagline
• Clear menu and table of contents
• Company overview
• Key benefits you offer
• News, events and announcements

Like other pages, keep the design and messages simple, and use small images so the homepage loads quickly. Also, use direct, simple sentences.

Every slight improvement to your homepage’s web content will help you create a good first — and lasting — impression.