Last month I posted about Barnes & Nobles tedious process for unsubscribing from their email newsletters. It was so complex that I honestly coudn't even figure out why I was receiving emails to begin with. By all appearances I was not subscribed to anything. This was confirmed after a couple of submissions to tech support, they also told me that I had already unsubscribed. Phew!

But then today, guess what lands in my inbox? Too easy, huh? It was yet another email newsletter from our friends at B&N.com.

My first thought was, "Here we go again." I quickly scroll to the bottom of the page and find the so-called unsubscribe links:

How to unsubscribe: This message was sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it on October 9, 2007. If you no longer wish to receive promotional email from Barnes & Noble, please click here [link removed]. If you have a Barnes&Noble.com account, you can also log in [link removed] to your account and follow the instructions under Change Your Communications Preferences.

I didn't notice if that was any different than the message at the bottom of all their other emails so I simply hit the "click here" link. You could say I was surprised when I was taken to this screen:



Could it really be this easy? I mean, yeah, it should be this easy, but it was so haaaaard before! Sure enough, one click and I'm told that I'm unsubscribed:



Though 10 days does seem long a long time to be removed from the list. That should be automatic. But still, I'm impressed.

So, just for fun I wanted to see what the process was like by logging in. I clicked the "log in" link in the email and was brought here:



Well, this is new. I logged in and was taken to an account screen. I quickly found the "Communication Preferences" area that gave me a couple of options:

• Change Your Communications Preferences
• Change Your Keep Me Posted! Newsletters and Alerts

The first option sent me to a page that le's me change if or how I want to be communicated with. Notice the yes/no options about receiving any kind of communications at all. By default my options were yes and well, contact me any way you can. Not what I expected to see after unsubscribing, but they did say it would take ten days!



The real disappointment set in when I click the link to change my "Keep me Posted" options. As you can see below this is the same sorry "we'll email you a link" scenario that I came across before.



Barnes & Noble needs to take a lesson from itself. All communication options should have a two-click (or less) unsubscribe option. But for now, I'm just happy they got it half right.

A site's navigation structure is extremely important in providing a rich, friendly user experience. Well designed and implemented navigation assists in the process of helping visitors identify sections and pages of the website that interest them and then in moving them in that direction. If you're able to implement a solidly developed navigation system on your site you'll also be providing strong visual cues to the depth of content you have available. This alone can be an immediate first-impression indicator of trust.

When a site's navigation is intelligent, focused and intuitive, visitors have to think less and are able to more immediately find what they are looking for with minimal guesswork or backtracking. This, in turn, will most often translate into better overall conversion rates.

Navigation usability issues

The single most important aspect of the navigation is that it is usable to the visitors. If it's convoluted, confusing or broken in various ways, your users will simply abandon your site having not been able to find what they came for.

Site wide navigation, including top, bottom and side navigation, should be as user-friendly as possible, ensuring that what is "expected" is implemented just as much as much what should be obvious. The navigational elements used should reflect a logical flow of topics, subtopics and subject matter within the site and enhance the users ability to find key areas.

• Site indicators: Provide immediate indication as to what site the visitor is on (yours!). Typically, company logos are placed in the top left-hand corner of every page.
  
  
• Logo link: Site logo should always link back to home page. Users routinely click the logo as a means to return to the site's starting page.
  
  
• Nav bar location: Location of main navigation should be near the top and/or left side of the page. Avoid using right-side-only or bottom-only navigation.
  
  
• Home Page link: Each page must contain an obvious (different from the logo) link back to the home page. Keep this in a consistent location.
  
  
• Contact information: Access to a "contact us" page and/or specific contact information should be available in an obvious location on every page throughout the site.
  
  
• Ease of use: Navigation must maintain simplicity of use. Avoid using hard to navigate drop-down or -out menus. If used, never allow navigation to go more than two sub-menus deep.
  
  
• Page indication: Visitors should know what page they are on and where they are in relation to the rest of the site. Breadcrumbs and navigation highlights can provide these visual indicators.
  
  
• Visited page indication: Let visitors know which pages they have visited recently. While this is more difficult to achieve with main site navigation blocks, it can easily be accomplished by using alternate coloring of visited text links.
  
  
• Site access: Navigation must provide intuitive and obvious links to other main sections and areas of the website.
  
  
• Site search function: For deep sites, search functions can assist with finding relevant information quickly. If used, the search box is best located top right of all site pages or in another consistent location.
  
  
• Login access: Sites with shopping carts, accounts or member only access must provide a login link and/or page. This should be available on every page.
  
  
• Logout access: Once logged in, user must be able to logout at any point. Maintain a logout link or button in an obvious location on every page one user has been logged in.

Navigation functionality issues

The functionality of your website navigation can make or break a site's overall performance. Fully and properly functioning navigation makes it easy for visitors to quickly find what areas of the site they came for while broken navigation quickly sends visitors scurrying for the exit.

Poorly implemented navigation structures cause confusion to site visitors and are prohibitive in getting them to the information they want and taking the action you desire. Expertly implemented navigation allows both users to find your sites information without having to "hunt" to the point of frustration. Good navigation will also help search engines travel from page to page to reach your most important information quickly and effectively.

• Consistent navigation: Keeping your navigation consistent, both in form and in placement, decreases visitor confusion and increases ability to find relevant information more quickly.
  
  
• Categorical divisions: Navigation must present clear navigational categories for important areas of the website. Main site sections should be separated visually from other areas/pages of the site.
  
  
• Clickable links: All elements in navigation must be active clickable links. When using drop down menus the main category heading must also be linked.
  
  
• Navigation accuracy: Visitors should have a general idea of what they should find before clicking any navigational link. Link text must accurately describe the corresponding page linked to.
  
  
• Image alt text: Every navigational image links should contain accurate alt text. Text links verbiage must accurately describe corresponding page.
  
  
• Search results: Search feature must adequately compensate for misspellings, similar products and related items. Never leave a search result as "no products found."

Navigation semantics

The words used in the navigation are important indicators to your site visitors and should correspond tightly to the topic of the page being linked to. When any navigation linked is clicked users must be taken to a page that fulfills their expectations. Cryptic or misleading navigation text confuses and annoys visitors, possibly to the point of site abandonment. Make sure all link verbiage, whether textual or in an image, accurately portrays the corresponding pages.

Navigational Testing

A good way to test the effectiveness of your site's navigation is to go to competitor's site and browse around. Take notes on what you like and don't like. Jot down any problems you run across as well as anything that stands out as being exceptional. Once you've done this, then go back to your site and perform the same navigation and note-taking process.

Once you've completed your navigation test runs compare notes between your site and your competitors'. I'm sure you'll find areas where your navigation is better than your competitors but most certainly you'll have uncovered areas where your navigation is inferior.

Don't rely solely on your own experience. Find some family, friends, or co-workers who are both familiar and unfamiliar with your industry and have them go through the same process above. If you need to save time, have them just navigate your site and take notes on that alone. Undoubtedly your users find issues that you hadn't even thought of. These notes will probably be a better indicator of your site's navigation success than your own, as they will better reflect your site's users.

Discuss this article in the Small Business Ideas forum.

More than a year ago I started pushing the idea that link building is relationship building. It's since become a cornerstone of my small business marketing advice. After all, small business has almost always been about networking and word of mouth marketing. It only makes sense to carry those concepts over to the web. Unfortunately, many small businesses limit their relationship building to business associates and social networking communities. Duct Tape Marketing's John Jantsch explained over the weekend why relationship building should also extend to the media.

While social media marketing and viral marketing often focus on building buzz in consumer generated content, it's important not to discount the importance of a traditional media push. This is why PR execs work very hard to befriend the journalists that cover their client niches. If you're a savvy small business marketer, you'll be doing this too.

In a post titled "The Proper Way to Stalk a Journalist" John writes:

You know you need to get your story told in the media, but you can?t seem to get anyone interested. The problem is you need to look at journalists as a target market - you need to get them to know, like and trust you just like you would a customer.

Now John calls it "stalking a journalist" but if you read his article, it's clear he's talking about good old fashioned "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" relationship building. In fact, he offers up five tips for getting your name in front of a reporter and building a positive association.

Journalists are just like everyone else in the world. They respond to thoughtful commentary, helpful input and human interaction. That doesn't mean you should start shooting off a daily email with all the news stories that came across your Google Alerts, but it does mean that sending the occasional interesting story or pointing to a relevant discussion might be a good idea.

Over the years I've built up a pretty decent list of journalists who have covered topics related to my various blogs and clients. Since I'm reading news related to these topics on a daily basis anyway, it's easy to pull the name and email address of a reporter into a database. If the article is of special interest, I may dash off an email or a blog comment to the reporting sharing my thoughts or simply thanking them for bringing attention to a specific topic. These contacts can come in extremely handy down the road when you're working up a story pitch.

A helpful hint? If you build a database like this, make sure you leave a field for links to articles they've covered and another field to make a few notes about what the article was about. You'll get a lot further with a reporter if your pitch includes reference to something they've written in the past and a creative way to tie your pitch into the past coverage.

Yes, it can be a fair amount of work to maintain this type of information, but if you're a small business I can promise you it's far cheaper than a subscription to Bacon's (well, Cision).

Media coverage, like links, rarely just fall in your lap. If you're serious about your online marketing initiative and want to super-boost to viral marketing that can come with mainstream media coverage, you'll get that database up and running ASAP.

Anyone who has played around in the paid search realm for any length of time quickly learns that paying for traffic is a great way to go broke. It's a far better idea to focus on paying for targeted traffic by getting in front of the folks who not only have an interest in what you have to offer, but have actually gone looking for it. That's the point John Marshall makes today in a post called "Never, Ever Pay for Traffic" at Market Motive.

John writes:

When you buy keywords or hire SEO gurus, you are getting your message in front of the consumer at the exact moment where they are making a buying decision. Perhaps it's one of many decisions they will make before the final purchase choice, but the inescapable fact is the visitor has some kind of intent. And that is the magic word. SEM professionals take this for granted because it's worked so well over the past 6 years, since Google reinvented search results and PPC advertising. Google effectively taught the consumer that if they type their problem into the box, solutions appear.

Now, we also know that buying the same keyword in syndication (ie showing up in AdSense results) has a far lower rate of conversion, and therefore you should pay less for it. Around 1/10th the value is the consensus here at the office. This is because the visitor clicking the ads very rarely has intent. They are not so deeply interested in your product that they started out by typing some keywords into Google. They are in fact browsing. Just noodling around and clicky-clicky on stuff that seems interesting or at least diverting.

While these types of phone calls and emails are becoming less common, there are still plenty of companies out there looking to sell you "traffic."

For a new site owner struggling to make a dent with their web site it can be a tempting offer, especially when the quoted prices fall way below the average cost per click of a paid search campaign.

Remind yourself that traffic doesn't mean diddly. Traffic can come from people who have been tricked into visiting your site, from people who have been paid to visit your site and even from computer programs that simply make it look like someone visited your site. A registered visit doesn't mean a visit from someone who is looking to become a customer. That's an important thing to remember since may companies selling these types of services will point out that even if the traffic isn't targeted, more traffic means more chances to convert. It doesn't always work that way though, especially not when the company's motivation is to send you bodies and not buyers.

If you absolutely cannot resist the draw of cheap traffic, John suggests you at least track it carefully.

If you really must buy traffic then look very carefully for click fraud. Look very carefully for signs of zero intent (short average time on site) and ruthlessly kill all campaigns that don't deliver within a couple of weeks. Don't wait for ROI analysis to tell you the campaign isn't working. ROI is often zero even for good campaigns, due to cookie deletion and latent conversions. You need to examine metrics like time on site and use that as a predictor for whether the visitors have intent or are behaving like traffic

Remember, building a better business is about bringing in customers. No matter how you decide to market your site, you should always keep track of the quality and not simply the number of visitors and adjust your campaign choices accordingly.

If you aren't already reading Graywolf's SEO Blog, you need to add it to your feed reader. One of the smartest (and most quotable) folks in the search marketing industry, Michael Gray has been offering up a ton of excellent insight lately. In fact, there's a great interview with Michael covering a range of advanced linking strategies over at Link Juicy right now.

In it, Michael does a great job of boiling the idea of link bait down to it's roots. Link bait is all about catching your eye and while the term is new, the concept is not.

People in the online world think linkbaiting is some new concept, but it's been going on in the print and magazine world forever. Visit any bookstore or magazine stand look at some of the covers you'll see cover stories like this "5 Bedroom Tricks That Will Make Your Sex Life Sizzle", "30 Day Total Body Makeover", or "Tips to Help You Get Organized This Weekend". They are titles designed to catch your eye, connect with you personally, help you solve a problem, and ultimately make you buy the magazine.

Michael also offers up a quick list of four things you need when crafting solid link bait.

• snappy eye grabbing headline
• scanable style of writing
• put links in your linkbait
• linkbait is never ending process, the more you repeat it the more effective it is

The rest of the article is absolutely packed with great perspective, quotable quotes and some really strong insight into targeting your audience, leveraging social bookmarking sites and diversifying your links to protect your site from shifting algorithms. He also weighs in (again) on the paid links debate, offering up a pretty lengthy analogy to explain why he's so up in arms over Google's crusade against paid links.

I think it might be a bit helpful to use an analogy to help people understand it in real life terms. Let's say you own a house and to make the math easy we'll say it's worth $100,000. A developer comes along and offers you $150,000 on the spot to buy it from. You think wow that's $50,000 for doing nothing but being in the right place at the right time. You decide to sell, make a nice profit and are pretty happy with yourself. Of course you might feel a little bit different if you discovered your old house is smack dab in the area that Disney World is going to build a new theme park, and you could have gotten $500,000 for it. If only you had known all the facts and the true value of the real estate, you might not have been so happy with the peanuts the developer was willing to give you.

Websites are no different, most people don't know the true value of the websites they own, run and develop. Many people build them as a hobby and when something like AdSense comes along and gives them the ability to go from costing them time and money, to making $200-$300 a month profit, just like the guy selling his house before, they are happy. Of course they are also ignorant to it's true value. What if the guy running the hobby website finally figures out it's true value, and instead of taking the AdSense chump change, he starts selling text link advertisements and brings in $2,000 to $3,000 a month? That extra money would probably really make a difference in his life, and by the way those numbers are real for more than one website I manage. It's in Google's best interests to keep you in the dark as to the real value your website has, as long as they can keep charging the advertisers top dollar, they will sacrifice a few nickels and dimes to you via AdSense.

If you have any interest at all in learning more about link building or even just improving your marketing presence online, this is a must read interview.