Online visitors form a first impression of a website quicker than the blink of an eye — literally. It typically takes humans 300 to 400 milliseconds to blink. Meanwhile, scientific research led by Dr. Gitte Lindgaard at Carleton University in Ontario reveals websites have as little as 50 milliseconds to establish a first impression — a mere 1/20th of a second. That’s it!

This is crucial information for any business because once a visitor forms an impression on a subconscious level, he or she will selectively search for information confirming that impression. People do this because we all want to prove we have good judgement. So, if our first impression of a website is negative, we have a tendency to mainly seek and see the negatives, regardless how good a business’ products and services might actually be. Alternatively, if we immediately like what we see, we’ll look for positive information to reinforce that impression.

So how do you avoid making a bad first impression on the Web? Easy. Get a good designer.

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Adding a blog to your website is a simple and affordable way to strengthen your connection with both current and potential clients, while improving your search engine rankings. However, many business blogs quickly become neglected and abandoned, which leaves a poor impression. So we asked successful bloggers and online marketing experts:

When should a business launch a blog, and how do you create a following?

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Consumers are going mobile, and fast. If your business isn’t, it could be missing out on potential revenue from the increasing number of consumers using their phones to decide where to direct their spending.

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Sex has been used to successfully sell products as early as 1890 when W. Duke & Sons became the leading cigarette brand by including trading cards featuring scantily clad women in their cigarette packs.  Many decades of positive reinforcement later, selling with sex has become commonplace, with boundaries being pushed as far as societal morals allow.  Evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller even wagers that all of our consumer choices are motivated by our pursuit of primal desire, for procreation or otherwise.

How has selling with sex manifested itself on the Web?  Webcopyplus recently spoke with Melody Nieves, blogger and marketing enthusiast behind www.sexidesign.com, a blog dedicated to exploring the role sex plays in marketing, for her take on sexy advertising online.

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Social media empowers consumers to be recognized by marketers as human again, their voices amplified through an expanding array of platforms in the transparent online marketplace.  Businesses are learning the value of this increasing amount of unsolicited market data, as well as the power of engaging their customers in conversation.  As a result, products and services are being tailored to customers more efficiently, and businesses are able to respond quicker to issues and concerns.

How are these changes affecting web design?  In order to fully leverage the benefits of this new relationship between business and consumer, websites must be designed with and for the ‘social Web’, affecting aesthetics, functionality, and the development process itself.

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There’s a prolific villain on the loose that must be stopped.  It’s a complex shape shifter and not easy to track to the untrained eye.  The villain, my good people of the Internet, is bad web copy, and it’s infecting the Web, leaving traces on websites, blogs, social networks — everywhere! Your website may have already been infected, and the damage immeasurable.

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You’ve got Microsoft Word, a good handle on the English language, and know your business intimately. So when it comes to writing your web content, why would you spend money on a copywriter?

Following are six things you might consider when it comes to writing your web content, or any other sales and marketing copy.

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A great press release can go along way in terms of gaining virtually free publicity for your business, especially in an increasingly digital media environment. Learning to combine old tricks and new in your press release composition and distribution can help you leverage the power of both traditional media outlets, such as newspapers and magazines, and newer ones, such as blogs and social media networks, to get your message to your markets.

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