Broken links are links that lead to pages that do not exist. When clicking on a broken link, the page you land on is called a 404 error page, and that indicates that the requested URL doesn’t exist.

Even the most diligent site-owner can have broken links on their site. Whether the broken links are a mistake or because a page has legitimately been removed, it’s still frustrating for users to suddenly come across a 404 error. Most of the time, the immediate response would be to simply leave the current site in favor of another one because both people and search engines consider broken links an untrustworthy sign.

There are many tools online for checking and removing invalid URLs. If you have a Google Webmaster Tools account, they offer an easy to use diagnostic tool that will check this for you. Webmaster Tools provides a Remove URL tool, which allows you to remove invalid pages from Google search results. First things first, sign up for a Webmaster Tools account if you don’t already have one. It’s free to sign up. Once you add your site, you will be prompted to verify the site (to prove that you have ownership of the site).

1. In the left-hand side navigation menu, click on Diagnostics
2. In the Diagnostics menu, click on Crawl Errors.
3. At the top of the list of “Issues Google encountered when crawling your site”, click on the Not Found category.
4. To make sure that the URL is indeed indexed in Google, copy and paste the URL into Google’s search and see if any result comes up.
5. To remove URLs from Google’s search results, click on Site Configuration in the left-hand navigation menu, and select Crawler Access.
6. Select Remove URL (which will be the third option in the Crawler Access menu at the top of the new menu window that appears).
7. Click on New removal request.
8. You will be asked to enter the URL of the address you would like to completely remove from Google search results. You can copy and paste the address from the list of broken URLs that Google previously provided.
9. Click on Next. The URL to be removed should now appear in the list of requested. If you would like, you can add more pages for removal.

There are a variety of reasons why a link might appear with a 404 File Not Found error, including links to a product that you have sold out of and hidden. Webmaster Tools doesn’t provide an explanation for why the links appear in the broken list. If you created a blog post and then changed the address of the post after Google had already indexed it, this could result in a File Not Found error. If you are using a system that recommends items “If you like, you may also like this…”, a link might appear broken if a suggested product is hidden. The link checker tool is a valuable resource that can help you uncover problem with the way that your site is indexed that you might not have been aware of. An example might be a broken link to a contact form. If people are trying to contact you but the form doesn’t work, you may never know, because they may just give up.

While pages that repeatedly return 404 errors will naturally fall from the index over time, there may be a case when you want to remove something quickly. For instance, private content that was accidentally posted, such as credit card information, could be removed using this tool.

Most business owners use email every day. Despite the rise in use of Twitter and Facebook, which is a way to potentially communicate with millions of people instantaneously and all at once, email is still the “default” tool for communication by most of us.

In our industry, we encounter many people–both customers of ours and not–who are not sure how their email works. Many people have one primary account, such as yourname@comcast.net, and many other accounts related to their business, such as “sales@”, “info@” “news@” and others. Yet it is confusing how these accounts work together, and also equally difficult know what you should do if you ever get an “over quota” message or people tell you that emails to you can’t be delivered because your inbox is full.

If these are the kinds of questions you have ever asked yourself, head over to the HEROweb site and read the article we just posted, called Email Basics: Accounts versus Aliases.

Are you happy with your email experiences? Let us know!

In September 2011 Google made some significant changes to their data feed requirements. MightyMerchant has made the appropriate updates to our feed templates, but if you manage your feed yourself it is important that you log-in to your Google Products account to be certain that your feed is running properly. MightyMerchant customers using our Managed Feed Service need take no action.

We recommend you check on your Google feed regularly. Going through these steps every month will help you stay on top of any feed import or data quality issues that may crop up.

Visit our documentation page explaining how to verify your Google Product Feed.

Have you noticed that your analytics for the past month look a little different?

In a move that is bound to make Internet privacy advocates cheer and SEO’s and website owners jeer, Google recently announced that when users are signed in to their Google account, the search service is taking them to the secure search page (https:www.google.com . . . note the extra ‘s’) by default. If you’re not logged in to your Google account you can navigate to the secure site directly if you choose to. This change encrypts users search queries—a useful and desirable feature when users are on a public WiFi network or hotspot, but it has significant implications for site owners using Google Analytics to track their site visitors.

In unsecure search, site owners not only know that a visitor came from Google, but they get individual data about each referral, for instance, whether the user came from another link or what specific search term they used. With secure search, site owners will know only that the user came from Google.

Paid search data will not be affected.

What is a victory for privacy means that website owners that want this information they used to have access to will now have to pay for it. While this change is estimated to affect only about 10% of a site’s traffic, that’s 10% less data that you will now have access to.

You can still use your Google Webmaster Tools account to see your top 1000 search terms each day for your site, but that data is just a sample, doesn’t show every single search term, and the numbers are rounded off.

As business owners, how do you feel about this change?

One of the mysterious things about search is that we know what we want when we search, but the computer doesn’t. Google’s entire kingdom has been built upon their efforts to break through this barrier to delivering users the information that they really want.

Google just announced an improvement to their algorithm that delivers fresh content when you want fresh content, and all content when the freshness might not matter so much. Let’s explain more. . .

Current events and news pop up on a daily, hourly, and minute-by-minute basis. If you search for a current event, you probably want the most recent information. Even something from a day or two ago might be too old to be useful.

If you search for information about a football game score, you might want the one from last week, but there’s an even better chance that you want scores for the game that ended earlier that day.

An event such as the Olympic takes place every 4 years, but if you search for Olympics today, you probably don’t want results from the last Olympics–there’s a good chance you’re interested in the one that is coming up next summer.

Google Search uses a “freshness algorithm” they call Caffeine that delivers the most up-to-date results, even when, like the Olympics example, you don’t specify Olympics 2012.

The results from Caffeine have now enabled Google to improve the ranking algorithm that they say impacts roughly 35 percent of searches and better determines when to give you the most recent results that you probably want.

If you’re searching, for instance, for Occupy Wall Street info, you may get results that are only minutes old, rather than news reports from last week.

But there are lots of times when the most recent results don’t matter that much, for instance, when searching for a recipe or some other reference point. In those cases, the algorithm update now better “understands” what you want and delivers freshness to meet your needs.

While on the surface this seems like a great thing, SEOs and webmasters are concerned, and rightly so. This change may put even more influence on content that changes on a regular basis. If your site doesn’t update very often, you may want to keep an eye on how this affects your rankings. Let’s say you have helpful, informative articles on your site about your products. If they haven’t been updated since last year, Google may not pay much attention to them anymore in favor of articles about the same topic that have been updated more recently.

Also, for the user, the best search results are the ones that are relevant, not just fresh. If you have any doubts about how you should proceed with your site updates and optimization in light of this change, here’s our advice:

Relevancy will always be important. If you can make updates to your site’s content, review, articles, etc., do so. But don’t update haphazardly so that you’re updating with low-quality information just for the sake of updating. And, like most things search-related, keep an eye on things. There are opportunities for webmasters in any industry to provide fresh, relevant content.

Google updates its products faster than most people can keep track. The same is true for Google Analytics. The company is constantly announcing updates to the Analytics program, which you can read about on their official blog if you desire.

Google is releasing a continual flow of update to Analytics. Some are minor and you might not notice them. Some are major and require a bit of a learning curve. The most recent update announced on October 19 is called Flow Visualization.

The issue they’re trying to fix is that analysis of visitor paths through a website has typically not been very intuitive. Their new solution is a visualization of visitor flow that allows you to analyze site insights graphically. This week, “Visitors Flow” and “Goal Flow” will be introduced to all accounts, with other types of visualizers coming in the next few months.

The Visitors Flow view is located on the left-hand navigation menu. As you can see in this example screenshot from the Google blog, it shows a graphical representation of visitors’ flow through the site by traffic source, showing their journey, as well as where they left.

Screenshot of Google Analytics Visual Flow

You can interact with the graph to highlight different pathways, and to see information about specific nodes and connections. For example, if you want to dive deeper into your “specials” set of pages, you can hover over the node to see more at a glance.

Screenshot of Google Analytics Visual Flow Node

This handy feature instantly reveals how many visits (5.46K visits) and how many came from Google search to the “specials” or promo page. Drill down further by “exploring the traffic” through the node to see how visitors coming specifically from Google search journeyed across your site.

Google Analytics Visual Flow Traffic Node

If you want to specifically focus on a node, the new view provides data on all the visits that lead to that node, and not just the ones that come from the top sources in the Visitors Flow. The visualizer allows you to follow the path forwards or backwards to better understand how the visitors to your site are engaging in your content.

Is this update going to be helpful to you? Let us know!

Content may be king — but unlike a king, content has to earn its power first. Once you have the right words, you need to present them with clarity. In other words, you want your pages to be both compelling and easy to read. Color can be friend or foe.

All too often, a great site suffers from an over-use of colors that don’t work with the design. The fact that we now have powerful content editing tools at our fingertips means it’s especially important to understand the basics of working with color. Today, we’ll look at how color is used in your copy.

Less is More

Why do we apply color to copy? Usually, to make it stand out. The problem is, add too much color, and nothing stands out. How carefully do you have to read this information to find what you’re looking for?

Compare that to a page on Amazon:

You don’t even need to click the thumbnail of the Amazon page to see how effectively color is used here, right?

How do they do that?

A lot of scientific research goes into how people process copy on a page. This research confirms the core concepts of typographic hierarchy — the use of type size, spacing, weight, style, and color to organize your copy. In a trained graphic designer’s workflow, most of that organization happens before color is even considered. In other words, arrange your copy blocks, change font sizes, work with weights and styles, and then apply color as the final step when you need yet another level of differentiation.

If you still find yourself highlighting your copy with a lot of colors, so that half the copy is in color, this is a strong indicator that the other half could be fluff. When you think of it, every word on the page should be highlight-worthy. Take this as an opportunity to revisit your copy and remove the fluff.

Use Color Consistently

Consistency has implications for both usability and conversion rate.

Here’s a 10-minute exercise:

1. Think of the 5 most successful companies you shop with, and visit each website.
2. Make a chart for each: Write down each color used on their site.
3. Then under each color, list all the places that color is used on the page.

You’ll notice some patterns. Use these as your guide as you decide how to use color on your own site.

Here’s a hint: keep all the calls to action the same color, and don’t use this color anywhere else.

Use The Right Colors

Colors have strong psychological effects on your users. Nurture and nature both apply. Here’s a great resource that will give you a run-down on each color’s meaning, both psychologically and culturally.

Two colors that I find are particularly difficult to get right are greens and browns. If you’re choosing either of these, ask a few people for their honest opinion. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when they see that color? This is always a handy question to ask when you’re choosing colors; don’t underestimate the power of association.

Use Color Schemes

A color scheme is a group of colors that work well together. Sticking to the colors in this scheme will keep your pages looking balanced and easy-to-read. If you don’t already have a color scheme, there are a few ways to get one:

• Talk with your designer — they should be able to provide you with the correct color specifications they used in building your site.

• If you don’t have a designer, or the budget to hire one, here’s the big secret. Designers build color schemes by utilizing a color wheel. On the color wheel, the hues are arranged so that good relationships are easy to find. A straight line across the wheel makes a complementary scheme, a triangle with three colors at the points makes a triad scheme, a rectangle makes a tetrad scheme, etc. Nowadays, there are lots of great color wheel tools online and built into the latest versions of popular design software. Start with your logo color ( or the color you use the most to brand your business, and use the color wheel to find supporting colors and shades.

• Another great resource is Kuler, a repository of color schemes that users from all over the world contribute to and +1.

Mastering these basics will bring your content to a whole new level. If you have any more questions about using color, ask away in the comments section below!

Robert Asumendi is a front-end web developer at HEROweb. In addition to his 15 years of web experience, his design background has focused on fine-tuning brand identity for local, regional, and notable national campaigns.

Ecommerce website owners know that offering affordable shipping options can set them apart from their competition. However, clearly communicating delivery expectations to your customers can also make the difference in the sale.

Many ecommerce websites often neglect including delivery information at all, are very vague about it or bury the information on a FAQ page.  This is a missed opportunity. Making the choice to actively include comprehensive delivery information on your site will help to distinguish your business, provide insight on the quality of your customer service and win the trust of your customers.

Certainly, it will take a bit of consideration to determine a delivery time frame but don’t let that deter you. The important thing to keep in mind is that it must be a reasonable time frame for your business. As the saying goes, it is never good to over-promise and under-deliver.

Why is it important?

Just imagine if a potential customer comes to your website looking for a product they need in a rush. It is much more likely that they will buy the item from your website if you include delivery details over a site offering the same item where this information is not clearly shared. The advantage is definitely in your favor.

What is the best strategy to communicate delivery information to your customers?

• Include delivery information in the banner or sidebar of your site.
  For example, a graphic that says something like “All Orders Ship Next Business Day” would be compelling.
• Include delivery details with your product information.
  Another very effective method is to place the information near the “add to cart” button for each of your products. With this approach you are informing the customer about your delivery details at the moment they are making the decision to buy the item.

Here are a few examples from 3 online booksellers that effectively utilize this strategy:

amazon.com

barnesandnoble.com

powells.com

• Reinforce your delivery message at every opportunity.
  Add your information to the shopping cart pages, the “Thank You” page when the order is submitted and the order confirmation email that a customer receives.

Don’t miss the opportunity to help your potential customers make an informed buying decision by omitting delivery information from your website. It may seem like a small thing but it can make a big difference.

Since customers who shop through your website will most likely never meet you in person, the only way they will know about the quality of your customer service is through your website and the email communication you send after they place an order.

As a site owner, you want to make sure your website includes, at least, contact information and shipping, returns, and privacy policies. This will help customers feel confident that they know what to expect when they place an order on your site and who to contact if there is a problem. However, once the purchase is complete, don’t think your job is done. This is the time to let your customer service skills shine.

I do a lot of shopping online and receive my fair share of order confirmation emails. I have come to expect that they will include a generic thank you message,  my order number, a summary of what I purchased, contact information, an estimate of when items will ship, etc. I especially appreciate when I receive a shipping notification that includes tracking information, but even a simple shipping notification is sufficient.

But, over the years, there has been one notification that really impressed me. In fact, it impressed me so much that I’ve kept the email in my archives since 2007. After a very informative order confirmation and shipping notification, I received this:

I’ve received follow up emails from other companies asking for feedback or with special offers – and those are great marketing tools – but this note with a direct email address to the Customer Service Manager made me feel like my order was very important and that this company really paid attention to customer service. I would definitely be a repeat customer.

If you’re using HEROweb’s MightyMerchant Site Manager for your website, click here to find information on how to set up your email notifications.

What is the first thing you notice when you visit this blog post? I’ll bet you it was the image I’ve floated into my text. Like it or not, images grab our attention like nothing else on a web page. So why not make that image as relevant as possible? As inviting as possible? As clear and focused on your topic as possible?

For example: If you are selling products be sure to include those products (or at least a sampling of them) on your home page. If the product can’t be easily identified with just a close-up, show it in use.

Some other important notes:

1. Be sure your photos are in-focus (not blurry) and cropped tight enough that someone can see them.

2. Optimize the photos for the web before uploading them. Digital cameras can take extremely high quality photographs now – which means the file sizes are HUGE. Either switch to a low quality setting or, better yet, use photo editing software to save your photo for the web. Here’s a link on our website for more info.

3. Name your images something relevant (use “rose_colored_glasses” rather than “IMG12345″). Be sure “ALT” information is included about your photos for usability (and search-engine use).

4. If you sell photographs, art or want to protect your images, here is a link to some advice on copyrighting.

5. Product photography should be of high quality and consistent. Take a few photographs and upload them to your site to see how they look before taking hundreds of shots. You may have to adjust lighting, angle or background.

6. Check out stock photo sites such as bigstockphoto or iStock for good quality, relevant images. Just stay away from too many of those “Anonymous People Pix” that you may like but have nothing to do with your product or service!

7. If you are taking photos – especially digital photos – take lots and lots of them. Better than to have to choose from too many than not have just the right photo. Remember: there’s no film to waste when using a digital camera!