But as the years went by and web users begin to advance in their surfing skills, one thing became clear:  Web users wanted options.  And they wanted control over those options.  Even over minor things such as whether the links they click on open in a new window or in the same window.

Browser designers – the people who designed Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc. – recognized that fact and made it possible for web users to right click on a link and choose “open link in new window” or “open link in new tab.”  But they missed the one choice that many web users long for:  an “open link in same window” option.

Something seems to be missing. Where is the option for opening a link in the SAME window or tab?

The Case for the SAME Window or Tab

Sometimes web users want a link to open in the same window or tab because:

• They are finished with the web site they are currently on.
• They don’t want to clutter up their desktop with multiple browser windows or clutter their browser with open tabs.
• When a new window pops open unexpectedly, it annoys, confuses or startles them.
• Sometimes new windows open in the background and they aren’t even aware of it.  This is especially true for those who are new to the web or are at a beginner’s level.

The Case for a NEW Window or Tab

There is really one defining reason why web users want a link to open up in a new window or tab and that is:

• They can easily return to the original web site without having to navigate their way back to it.
  

Can You Make Everyone Happy?

The short answer is no, you can’t.  But you can implement some simple techniques that will help make your web site more user-friendly.  Let’s take a look at them.

3 Tips on Coding Links

1. Let the User Decide. Most people who want a link to open in a new tab or window will automatically right click the link and choose the option they desire.  Therefore, I suggest allowing external links (links that lead to other web sites) to open in a the SAME window or tab.  This gives the web site visitor control and freedom of choice.  And don’t worry.  If they liked your web site, they will find their way back. Web users are smart that way.
2. When Opening Up a New Window or Tab is a Better Option. There are times when it just makes sense to have a link open in a new window or tab.  For example, one web site that I maintain has small images that when clicked, a new window opens up displaying a larger version of the image.  I added an explanation under each image that states “Clicking the small image will result in a large image opening up in a new window or tab.”  While that may seem wordy, it gives the web visitor fair warning, and they know what to expect.

   I also believe it is acceptable to code links to your social media sites so that they open up in a new window or tab.  People often want to return to your web site or blog after they link up with you on Facebook or Twitter.

3. Give the User the Options. When linking to documents, such as PDF or Word files, it is very likely that the user intends to return to your web site after the document has opened.  Because of that, I believe it is acceptable to code these links so that they will open in a new window.  What I suggest doing is adding an explanation next to the link that informs the site visitor 3 things – 1) What kind of a file it is (or insert the PDF or Word icon) 2) That it will be opening up in a new window and 3) That they can right-click and download it rather than open it.

What it all boils down to is being sensitive to the web site visitor.  Let them have control over how they open links, or provide them with an explanation on how a link will open.  While there is no pleasing everyone, most web site visitors will appreciate the user-friendliness of your web site.

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• boast search engine rankings
• increase sales or conversion rates and
• define the popularity of a blog or web site

However, learning how to be an online copywriter comes at the cost of educating yourself, which can be very expensive.  Just a single copywriting course can range in price from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

That’s why I’m so excited about the upcoming Online Copywriting 101 telesummit.  For just 10 days, from September 1 – 10, 2010, you can get free access to 10 classes on various online copywriting topics.  All you have to do is sign up.  Then each day for 10 days, you will have access to one class for 24 hours, completely free of charge.  You do NOT need to give out any credit card information to sign up.  Just your name and email address and you are set to go!

The class line up is as follows:

• 9/1/10 – Copywriting’s First Commandment: Know Thy Target Audience
  by Karon Thackston
• 9/2/10 – Copywriting Basics & Planning: Two Steps Pros Never Skip
  by Karon Thackston
• 9/3/10 – Sales Letters 2.0: More Than Long, Scrolling Copy
  by Michel Fortin
• 9/4/10 – Busting the Press Release Writing Myths
  by Shannon Cherry
• 9/5/10 – Blogging Basics That Make All the Difference
  by Lynn Terry
• 9/6/10 – Article Writing Secrets Your Mother Never Told You About
  by Jeff Herring
• 9/7/10 – Dissecting, Diagramming and Delivering Exceptional Landing Pages
  by Brian Massey
• 9/8/10 – Applying the Science of Persuasion to Copywriting
  by Kevin Hogan
• 9/9/10 – The Myths & Musts of Writing Search Engine Optimized Copy
  by Karon Thackston
• 9/10/10 – Crafting Intriguing Headlines That Pull
  by Karon Thackston

Don’t forget, these classes are available for free for only a short period of time, from September 1 – 10, 2010, so sign up now.  You may chose to watch one class, a couple of them, or all of them.   Whatever you decide, they are a cost-free way for you to increase your online copywriting knowledge and skills.  Don’t miss out!

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Their books come in downloadable PDF format and many are also available in MOBI and EPUB formats as well so that you can read them on your iPhone or Kindle.

I own most of these books myself and I can tell you they are packed full of high quality information.  Some of my favorites include:

• The Principles of Beautiful Web Design
• Build Your Own Web Site the Right Way Using HTML and CSS
• Sexy Web Design
• Online Marketing Inside Out
• The CSS Anthology

It would normally cost $149.75 to buy 5 books, so this is quite a savings!  Use this link to access the sale.  Remember, this is a limited time offer, so buy your books today!

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In essence, Amazon gave all its Colorado affiliates the pink slip.

Amazon claims the new law is burdensome and unconstitutional. The response from the Colorado governor was that:

“Amazon is simply trying to avoid compliance with Colorado law and is unfairly punishing Colorado businesses in the process.”

This isn’t the first time it’s happened.  Amazon has shut down affiliates in several other states including North Carolina, Hawaii and Rhode Island because of similar tax laws.  This has the potential to become more and more of an issue as other states try to increase their  revenue by collecting tax on Internet sales.

Regardless of who’s to blame – Amazon.com or the government – this situation exposes a risk of doing business as an affiliate.  One can spend a tremendous amount of effort building up an online affiliate business, only to have the affiliate program go “poof” and disappear into thin air.

But, quite frankly, the risk of being an affiliate neither started nor ends with Amazon.com.  Affiliates are completely at the mercy of those running the affiliate program.  It can be pulled at any time for any reason.

While Amazon has promised to pay for any commissions earned prior to the shut down date, sometimes affiliates never get paid for what they earned.

I learned this lesson the hard way.

Some years ago, I teamed up with a friend and joined an affiliate program for a company located in Australia.  My friend was in direct contact with the president of the company.  We had his permission to use the product name in the domain names we purchased.  He was very friendly towards us and my partner spoke on the phone with him on a weekly basis.

We put in long hours and created several web sites that promoted the product.  They were all approved by the company owner.  We quickly rose to the top of the search engines and started making some pretty decent commissions, in the range of $500 – $1000 US/month.

But then the owner of the company got greedy.  He decided that he was losing out on the money he was paying to us affiliates.  We started getting late payments, then partial payments and finally, promises to pay us in the future.

At first, he claimed lack of finances to pay us. Then he claimed we stole his rightful spot in the search engine rankings.  He felt that his company web site – not an affiliate web site – should be the first listing in Google whenever the product name was searched for.

He demanded that we change the wording used on our web sites to reflect that we were affiliates.  He required us to add links from our sites to his as the official company web site.  We complied.  When that didn’t change the search engine rankings to his favor, he shut down our affiliate account.

We never saw the couple grand he owed us.  When we inquired about it, he threatened us with legal action.  A bad experience for us, and a very painful lesson learned.

Does this mean you should shy away from using affiliate programs to supplement your income?  I don’t believe so.  However, there are a couple of things that you can do to help protect yourself.

Tips on Using Affiliate Programs

1. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Make use of at least a couple different affiliate programs.   That way if one program goes under, you will at least have a couple others to back you up.
2. Do your research. How long has this company been around?  Do they have a history of paying their affiliates on time?  Research might turn up valuable information and help you decide whether or not you want to do business with this company.
3. Find out what system is being used to track and pay affiliates. Many companies use a 3rd party company to track and pay affiliate earnings.  3rd party companies that issue payments directly to affiliates tend to be more dependable.  Other affiliate tracking methods require the company itself to issue payments to their affiliates.  These are often less dependable as the company may decide to withhold payments or make late payments.
4. Go by your personal experiences. Apply for affiliate programs where you have purchased the product yourself and your overall experience with the company is positive.  Chances are, if they take good care of their customers, they will take good care of their affiliates.

Keep in mind that there are no guarantees when it comes to affiliate programs.  With the economy struggling, many businesses are tightening their belts and some are going under, both of which will affect affiliates.

Affiliate marketing, however, can still a good way to earn extra income.  Treat it as making an investment.  Take the time to choose wisely, don’t rely too heavily on just one source, and be aware of the risk involved.

Have you had a bad experience with an affiliate program?  Let’s talk about it!  Have some tips to share?  Leave them in the comment section below.

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Why We Hated Flash

Years ago, one of Flash’s biggest strikes against it was that it used a lot of bandwidth.  Web sites containing Flash took forever and a day to download on a slow Internet connection, but high speed Internet has become the norm (at least in most areas of the United States).

Another argument against Flash was that it was not search engine friendly.  However, since mid-2008 Google has been able to index text and follow URLs contained in SWF files.  It’s true that other search engines might not be able to index Flash, but that doesn’t have much relevance as long as Google continues to dominate the search world.

Finally, Flash requires a plug-in in order to work.  But these days, many computers come with the plug-in already installed.  If not, the user is normally prompted to download Flash and provided with a link to the download page, making it easy for most people to install it.

So why did an innovative company like Apple purposely leave out a technology that is so widely used?

Why the iPad doesn’t support Flash

As far as I know, Apple hasn’t released a statement as to why the iPad doesn’t support Flash.  However, there is a lot of speculation going on in the blogosphere.  Here’s a summary of what other people are saying:

1. Flash is a resource hog. It uses a significant amount of CPU and drains the battery.  The iPads 10 hour battery life would be significantly reduced if it supported Flash.  Mac OS X users have long complained that Flash freezes up their browser or crashes their computer.  Maybe Apple thought that eliminating Flash meant eliminating headaches.
2. HTML5 has the potential to replace Flash. HTML5 allows you to embed audio and video directly into a web page without using a plug-in. It also works along with Javascript to allow you to insert interactive animations - no Flash required. See a cool example of an HTML5 animation here.
   
3. Flash is a usability nightmare. I recently experienced this first-hand with an online shopping cart that was completely designed in Flash.  Navigation was a disaster.  I couldn’t use the back button without being forced to completely start over.  When I tried to use the search box to find an item, it stalled…and I once again had to start over.
4. Security is questionable. Flash security flaws exist that have been deemed unpatchable by Adobe themselves.  How scary is that?

Many anti-Flash commentators also pointed out that Flash blockers are some of the most highly downloaded add ons for Firefox and other browsers.  Flashblock, for example, has been downloaded more than 8 million times.  This leads me to believe that although the use of Flash has increased, not everyone has embraced it.

So the question remains:  Is Flash about to make a quick exit or are Web designers so used to relying on this technology that they will be resistant to change?  Will Apple’s non-support of Flash help force their hand?  Only time will tell.

What do you think?  Leave your thoughts in the comments box and let’s discuss it!

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