Webmaster Crap
Going Native is Good
No, I’m not talking about the benefits of walking around in your birthday suit. I’m referring to a new article published over at Marketing Experiments that does an analysis of ad performance on the web. Not quite as exciting? Sorry.
The analysis does some measurement of online ads and sees which converts better. In short, the findings were that ads which look like they are part of the site they are on perform better. As they put it, “In these cases, contextual ads and offer links that appeared “native” to the page performed significantly better that those that stood out from the site’s own native content.”
People are becoming increasing ad-allergic online, and they just become accustomed to blocking out advertising. If they don’t do it in actuality, they do it mentally. In order for your ad to be noticed, you need to respect the user and make the ad fit into their online experience. Some might view this as tricking the user into thinking it is actual content. There are, no doubt, those who will try that. However, if the ad is indeed relevant to the content and also looks like it belongs, then I would argue that it is not tricking the user at all. It is giving the user an option to solve some issue that they are obviously interested in because they are reading it.
Something to keep in mind, because I know the instinct is to go big, bright and bold in order to get the audience’s attention via the hammer effect. I’ve been guilt of it as well. But, perhaps its not as workable as we might have thought.
Solution – Wordpress Theme Reverts to Default (Kubrick)
OK, as some of you may have noticed if you come here every now and then, this site has been periodically reverting to the big, ugly default theme for Wordpress, known as Kubrick. It has been seemingly doing this all by itself. I thought perhaps it was a bug introduced by the Amazon Media Manager plug-in, so I completely removed it. The site ran fine for a few days and then, all of a sudden, the damn site reverts to Kubrick yet again. So, obviously it wasn’t AMM. I then began to wonder if perhaps Wordpress has a security breach that is allowing somebody to change my theme on me just to annoy me. Problem was that nobody else has reported this as a bug. There are a few other Wordpress users having the same problem, however it is certainly nothing widespread. So, it’s not a security problem either.
So, I investigate. First thing I do is look at the server MySQL query log. The log is called access_log, and each day’s logs are compressed via GZIP and stored in the same directory (/usr/local/var/logs). Now, in my case, the access_log file is WAY too big to open in a local text editor. So, instead, I use the grep command on the command prompt after logging into my server with Putty. I run the following on my access_log (after browsing to the above directory) to do a pattern matching:
grep "UPDATE wp_options" access_log
I get a long printout of all lines of the access log which contain that string. Sure enough, I find two lines, back-to-back, with the following:
UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'default' WHERE option_name = 'template'
UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'default' WHERE option_name = 'stylesheet'
Well, there’s my culprit. Unfortunately, it doesn’t tell me much. So, I open up Wordpress’s files in my text editor and start searching the code for this query. I find that there is a function called update_option() in the functions.php file which is used to update any option in Wordpress. So, I run another search for a query which would update specifically the “template” option. I find the get_template() function which does this. And, sure enough, if you look at the code, it is designed so that if the theme directory is not found, it will set both the “template” and “stylesheet” to default. That is by design, and not a bug. So, the question is, what is calling up this site’s Wordpress files from another location? If this site’s database was called from another location using a Wordpress installation which did NOT have the same theme installed, it would obviously set me back to “default”.
Well, now I’m onto something, but unfortunately, on first glance, I don’t have anything installed on this server which would be calling the same database using different Wordpress files. But, do I? Here is the “kick my own ass” moment. Yes, I did. I had had a Wordpress installation on this site sitting in the “blog” sub-folder which I used for testing back in the day. Something on that site must have been spidered and somebody came upon it. The moment I went and called up www.webbyonline.com/blog/, my theme on this site reverted to “default”.
So, the simple handle was to find the Wordpress copy which was calling up the same database (in my case in the /blog/ folder) and delete it. I guess I should give this a few days to make sure I really solved it, but I bet this is the problem.
For those few who may also have this problem, there are a few options if, for some reason, you can’t find the source of it:
- Put the files for your real theme into the “default” theme directory so that if it happens, your site will still look OK
- Change the code for the get_template() function so that if sets the options to your desired theme rather than default if the theme files cannot be found
- If you simply CANNOT find the source, you can modify the get_template() function so that it will email you the referrer information in the event that it resets your theme. Something like:
mail("YOUR EMAIL","Wordpress Debug","Self: ".$_SERVER[REQUEST_URI]."\nDoc Root: ".$_SERVER[DOCUMENT_ROOT]);
added right below:update_option('stylesheet', 'default');
Then, just monitor your email. If the site resets, you should get an email in your in-box which displays the path to the offending Wordpress installation. If you suspect it could be on a different server, then just include a line to print the IP address, too. Once you take care of it, just go back and remove or comment out the above line of code.
This should help those who have this problem. For the rest of you, sorry about the overly technical post.
Mysterious Theme Switcheroo
Apparently, sometimes Wordpress can kick your ass. Or so it seems. Late last week and Saturday, I put together a new theme for WebbyOnline which (hopefully) you are viewing right now. My reason for the design change is twofold:
- The old one was really basic looking
- The old one listed comments along the side of the post in a fixed width layout, which means that as this site grows and posts take on more comments, the layout would look really funky.
On Saturday, I finished the new layout and went “live” with it. Or, so I thought. I distinctly remember making the theme active. However, today I went into Google Analytics to view my traffic stats on this site and they were at record lows. I either scared everybody off or they weren’t being counted. So, I opened up IE6 (the other browser I hate using now, thanks to Firefox), cleared cookies and pulled up WebbyOnline. Sure enough, I’m staring at the default Wordpress layout, with that big blue bubble rectangle at the top.
So, apparently anybody that came by here in the last few days thought I didn’t know how to use Wordpress themes. I’ve made the correct one active once again. This time, let’s hope it stays intact.
Exporting USPS Orders From X-Cart to Endicia
I mentioned in the last edition of the WebbyOnline Newsletter that I was giving Endicia a try. Endicia is a service with an accompying program called Dazzle that allows quick usage of the United States Portal Service. It can be used for preparing your business mailings, but I am interested in using it to automate USPS orders placed on my ecommerce store over on PCMech. In the past, we used Stamps.com. Stamps.com is pretty good, but doesn’t offer as much for the money as Endicia. I had cancelled Stamps.com due to our switch to UPS, however we found before too long that the higher cost of UPS scared some customers off. So, now, we make USPS appear first as the shipping option but allow the customer to pay the extra cost of UPS if they want the tracking information. Now that our volume of USPS shipments has gone back up, we’re in need of an automated method of handling shipments.
So, having Dazzle installed on the local computer, we want a quick way to export USPS orders from X-Cart (the store software we use) and import them into Dazzle. Luckily, Dazzle supports printing postage labels directly from an XML file. You need to have the premium service with Endicia to use this service along with Dazzle Designer. You can find the PDF document here that describes the XML fields needed to make this work. With that as your reference, let me give you a big head start here on getting this done for your X-Cart store:
- Here is the source PHP code for the export. Note that I had to make this code a little more generic than the one I am using because I use my own database abstraction layer, etc. However, this is the logic I am using.
- In the source code, you may want to modify the $shipfromlocal variable. I used this because I have some products in my store which are not shipped from my office but are shipped from a supplier in California. I obviously don’t want to export those because we don’t ship them. If you ship everything in your store, then you can comment out that variable. If you do, make sure you modify the queries that use it otherwise you will get an SQL error.
- Also in the source code, you can modify the $customdesc variable. These are the item descriptions used on US Customs forms. Since I did not want these to be the same as the actual product names, I used this array to define names which are more vague for the purposes of customs.
- Finalize your PHP file and upload into your X-Cart admin directory.
- Next, log into your X-Cart store and go to the orders.tpl template in the “main” folder of your active skin. In that template, you can add a button next to the order search buttons that will directly call this new PHP file. When you are done, you can click that button and you’ll get an XML export of any new USPS shipments.
This script essentially looks for any orders with USPS specified as the shipping method where the order is in “Processed” status. You may need to modify this to suit your needs, but I couldn’t find anything that did this. Hopefully this can give you a head start.
To use it in Dazzle, you would go to File > Print From > External File. Select the XML file. Dazzle will immediately import the XML file, verify all the addresses, and begin printing postage labels. You will, of course, want to make sure you have any templates set up before doing this. Dazzle just begins printing.
What the Hell is Web 2.0 Anyway?
I found this video over on TechCrunch. It’s a nice compilation of interview snippets of internet leaders discussing what Web 2.0 actually is. I thought it was pretty interesting.
FeedBlitz’s Position on SPAM
I recently announced to my Tip of the Day mailing list that I was going to be converting the list over to FeedBlitz. I had one of my subscribers email me saying I was violating my privacy policy and that FeedBlitz is a “known spammer”. I have found nothing indicating FeedBlitz was a known spammer, and all indications have been to the contrary. In fact, a few days prior, here is part of a message sent to me from the CEO of FeedBlitz in response to a question on the topic of email deliverablity:
OK, to deliverability. We’re in the feedback loops for major ISPs like AOL, excite and United. Our hotmail / MSN / Live application is in process. So we track directly with major ISPs for any issues and immediately respond to unsubscribes / spam notifications from these channels. We also maintain the correct DNS entries for our servers and maintain the appropriate information at places like abuse.net. We have also placed our servers on various ISP white lists, including Yahoo and Verizon.
In addition, more formally, we use Return Path to monitor deliverability to major US and international ISPs. As part of the services we buy from them, we track our standing with the major anti-spam services to ensure our emails go to the inbox and not the bulk folders. Finally, we use Return Path to monitor several hundred major and minor SPAM RBLs (Real-time Black Lists) daily, to make sure our servers are not listed, and if they are to remove them. Since inception we’ve been only one RBL (twice), and the block was taken down in a day.
Ultimately, the only way to ultimately guarantee good delivery is to be a well-behaved sender that follows industry best practices. That’s why we require 2 phase opt in, we use image verification, we have properly formatted SMTP and HTML messages, we always provide text alternatives of the messages, we always have our sender in the header, we always and immediately honor unsubscribes .. you get the idea. Our reputation is ultimately at the core of how we work, and by combining best practice with 3rd party monitoring and ISP feedback loops our deliverability is excellent.
Which is not to say we aren’t working to get to the next level, however. We have issues with some Chinese ISPs that need work, and we’re working with Return Path on getting FeedBlitz into their “Sender Score / Bonded Sender” program, which will further improve deliverability. It’s an ongoing (and relatively expensive) process, but it’s worth it for us and for our publishers.
I have some issues with FeedBlitz, but all having to do with the design and user interface. But, I see nothing indicating they are spamming anybody. My suspicion is that what we have here is a case of a few stupid web users reporting FeedBlitz as a spammer when, in reality, they signed up for somebody’s feed and forgot they did so. Folks, there is a thing called an UNSUBSCRIBE button. For any legit emailer, those things work.
My Favorite Web Services
Working on the internet means that I’m online all the time. Or at least it seems that way. The saving grace is that I am online with a purpose, not just wasting time surfing Myspace. Being that I use the internet to serve an end, I am always looking for web-based services that can make my life easier in some way. Never more than in the last year or two, the internet has sprung up with some great web services that really make life easier. And the great thing, too, is that many of them are totally free. Let me share with you the ones that I use:
Google Analytics (www.google.com/analytics/)
For those operating a website, Google Analytics is a great option for capturing site statistics. The service is derived from Urchin due to Google’s purchase of that service in 2005. And in true Google fashion, the service is completely free. When first launched, Google ran into unexpected demands on this service and they had to severely limit the amount of sign-ups. At this point, though, I think they have things in order and, to my knowledge, you can get an account quite easily. I am using Analytics to track traffic on every one of my sites. For a freebie, the service is amazing, but true stat hounds will quickly see it’s limitations. One of those limitations is that it’s information on search engine keywords is a little limited.
FeedBurner (www.feedburner.com)
Feedburner is a service which allows webmasters to “burn” RSS feeds for their website. Of course, it is pretty easy to have your own RSS feeds independently of Feedburner. Most blog packages and CMS packages all generate RSS feeds. So, why would you want Feedburner? Because Feedburner not only ensures that the feed format is correct, they also offer a variety of add-on services to track readership, promote your feed, email items from your feed to a mailing list, etc. Feedburner is a good all-in-one kind of service for RSS feeds. And, of course, it is free as well.
DNSStuff (www.dnsstuff.com)
This site is a great, free tool for doing things like IP lookups, WHOIS lookups, pings, traceroutes, etc. Getting a strange e-commerce transaction and want to see if the guy is in some foreign country? Run an IP check on his IP address and find out their geographic location. Want to find out who owns a domain? Run a WHOIS report. This is a good site to bookmark for those times you need it. It looks like they just recently launched a membership service, however they still have free tools.
iWebTool (www.iwebtool.com)
These guys have a variety of web-based tools at your disposal, almost all for the webmaster. Things like domain checkups, SEO diagnostics, etc.
Basecamp (www.basecamphq.com)
Basecamp is a web-based project manager by 37 Signals. This is a great service, too, which emphasizes easy of use. As a developer, I admire the way this company approaches the field of application decvelopment. They focus on simplicity and the user experience, and that is the key to their success. But, if you need to coordinate with other people on your web projects, Basecamp is a nice option for you. There are some short-comings to the system, in my opinion. In some ways, its actually a little too simple. But, powerful nonetheless. I should note that I no longer use Basecamp mainly because of those shortcomings, but I still very much admire this service.
Google Docs & Spreadsheets (docs.google.com)
This is a free online word processor and spreadsheet app by Google. There are better ones out there, such as ThinkFree, but there is a certain stability to Google. For those in business, the great feature of this is the ability to easily share and/or collaborate on documents. So, it can be used for team collaboration. It can also be used to quickly write documents when you don’t have access to an office suite. There are easy options to save as standard documents (such as Word).
These are some of my faves, but I know full well that there are a bunch of great web services out there that I don’t use or didn’t mention. So, feel free to comment and let everybody know about your picks.
Increase Online Sales by Reducing Customer Anxiety – The Scientific Approach
This afternoon I attended the web seminar mentioned in the previous blog post. The seminar was put on by Marketing Experiments Journal, a very professional outfit that takes the science of online marketing to levels you would normally expect from a college course. The subject of the seminar was how to decrease customer anxiety levels and thus increase the conversion rate of a website. In other words, how do you alleviate any fears a customer might have and get them to click on the “Buy” button? Well, one of the things I am most impressed with from these guys is the degree of statistical analysis they put into these things. Most website owners simply guess at what will work on a website, usually from what THEY would want to see. The thing is that the science of raising website conversion is not a matter of guesswork, and it is certainly a matter of knowing your audience. Let’s get right to the 7 tips which formed the basis of this whole talk. And, for each, I will interject my own view and advice on the matter.
Use testimonials
More specifically, use testimonials which address specific points of customer anxiety. For example, if you know that speed of shipping is a concern, post a testimonial that talks about how fast your shipping was. If support is a concern, post a testimonial which talks about how great your after-sale support is. Really pay attention to the purpose of each testimonial rather than simply posting anything that says good things about you.
Use language and tone in your copy
Pay close attention to your audience and what their state of mind is. Use language on your website that specifically caters to your audience. For example, if your intended audience is a younger one, your typical corporate speak is probably not going to sell anything. The presenter of the seminar also alluded to the importance of matching the tone of the customer and said a future report of their journal would discuss how to make a site actually cater to the particular mood of the customer. Now that will be very interesting, if it is some kind of real-time thing.
Click Here To Continue Reading »
7 Ways to Increase Site Conversion
A couple days I got an email from Marketing Experiments Journal notifying me of a free Webinar they are hosting Wednesday, January 24th at 4PM EST. The topic?
Topic: Site design tested: 7 ways to increase site conversion by reducing Customer Anxiety
Does matching your site’s appearance to the expectations and preconceptions of your customer prospects influence its effectiveness?
Could be an interesting hour. If you are in the business and wish to see what’s going on, I thought I would pass on the info. The seminar will be hosted by GotoMeeting.com. Click here to register. And, if you can’t attend, stay tuned to WebbyOnline as I will be posting the highlights of the seminar here.
Yahoo Slurp Spider Drives Forum Server Load Through the Roof!
Not long ago, I made a change with my hosting account at Pair Networks, adding a second server for the sole purpose of handling our databases, while having our primary server responsible for the page requests only. I did this because our server load was consistently high. High server load is bad because that means your server is bogging down, and a bogged down server means slow websites. Website visitors are very intolerant of slow websites, and a recent survey showed that 75% of visitors to a slow e-commerce site will never shop on that site again. If they act like that on an e-commerce site, more than likely they’ll do the same on any other site as well.
Well, the mystery of it is that my server load was still relatively high even after this change in my server setup. Yes, there was an improvement, but the load was still not in the range I would have expected. Well, yesterday morning, I went over to the PCMech Forums as I do every morning to check things out. I noticed that there were over 900 guests on my forum! A couple weeks ago, I made a post here about the robots.txt file and how you can control spiders across your site. I put two and two together and decided to check out the listing of all people on the forums at that time. Sure enough, the Yahoo Slurp Spider was VERY active on my forums, so much so that there were probably at least 700-800 instances of Yahoo on my forums at the same time!
That is TOTALLY ridiculous. Google drives FAR more traffic to PCMech than does Yahoo, and we’re talking many orders of magnitude. And Google doesn’t send 800 instances of their spider to my site and drag my forums to a crawl. So, Yahoo is inundating my server all to send me a relative pittance in traffic. Come on, Yahoo! I like your company. I like your search engines. But, throttle back your damn spiders!
The solution? I changes my robots.txt file to include the following line:
User-agent: Slurp
Crawl-delay: 10
This dictates that Yahoo Slurp can only visit my site once every 10 seconds. You can even up the value if you want, however I do not think it is a good idea to make it TOO hard for Yahoo to spider your site. After all, they are the next major search engine after Google. The result? Whereas this time yesterday morning my servers were operating over 1.0 server load, now it is operating at between 0.10 and 0.20. As I type this, PCMech has 236 guests on the forums. That’s a far cry from 900+, and the server load has decreased considerably.
I think Yahoo needs to address this situation. I know they are trying to out-spider Google and compete with them, but in the process, it seems they are over-working the servers of those of us who provide the content they are trying so hard to spider.
I'm David Risley. I've been making my living as a blogger for over a decade. Blogging is my business and how I support my family. With this blog, I'm just gettin' REAL and telling you how this business works. 
