Ramanisblog

Tag: blogging

  • Bounce Rate, in Detail.

    The acceptable  Bounce Rate is between 40-60%.

    One must note difference between the bounce rate of the Home Page and landing Page.

    ‘Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page. Use this metric to measure visit quality – a high bounce rate generally indicates that site entrance pages aren’t relevant to your visitors. The more compelling your landing pages, the more visitors will stay on your site and convert. You can minimize bounce rates by tailoring landing pages to each keyword and ad that you run. Landing pages should provide the information and services that were promised in the ad copy.

    http://www.google.com/support/analytics/bin/answer.py?answer=81986

    First, let’s take a look at the problem from a theoretical standpoint: Is a high bounce rate bad? When is a high bounce rate something you don’t need to worry about? While each algorithm package has a slightly different technical definition of bounce rate, a bounce means that a person came to the website, viewed one page, and left. However, assuming this is always a “bad thing” is a bit naive. Sometimes the page answers a person’s question, solves their problem, or gives them the information they wanted. It does such a good job that users don’t need to do anything else. Want an example? I run some travel websites. As we know, airlines and government websites often have horrible SEO and architecture. So I often take the top questions people are searching for and create a collected FAQ page for these queries. One of my pages has a high bounce rate of over 85%. However, by using a service like crazyegg, I can track clicks on the print button. Over 45% of the people who visit the page print it. It’s pretty hard to say that page isn’t doing its job.

    http://www.wolf-howl.com/google/high-bounce-rate-bad/

    Bounce rate is a very important metric for website owners. It basically tells you what percentage of your visitors are “bouncing” away after landing on your site (e.g., they just visit one page and leave before clicking on to a second page inside your site). A bounce can occur for several reasons, including:

    • The visitor hit the “Back” button on his browser.
    • The visitor closed his browser.
    • The visitor clicked on one of your ads.
    • The visitor clicked on one of your external links.
    • The visitor used the search box on his browser.
    • The visitor typed a new URL on his browser.

    All the actions above would cause the visitor to leave your site. Provided he did any of these actions right after arriving at your site (and before clicking on to a second page), it would be counted as a bounce. In fact the formula for finding the bounce rate on your website is:

     Bounce rate = Visits that left after one page / Total number of visits

    For example, if during a certain month your site received 120,000 visits, out of which 80,000 bounced after visiting just one page, your bounce rate for that month would be 80,000 divided by 120,000, which equals to 0.66 (or 66%). Notice that you can calculate the bounce rate of your whole website or of single pages inside it.

    http://www.dailyblogtips.com/what-is-bounce-rate/

    If you have an engaging content and a simple design you might get a good bounce rate below the 40% mark.

    Reduce Bounce Rate.

    Smooth Navigation

    Smooth and simple navigation is necessary to enhance the user experience. Linking one web page to another helps in reducing the bounce rate of the website to a very far extent. The intention is to help the users extract the required information with an ease. 

    Do not add unwanted elements

    Suppose your website contains relevant information, appropriate images and essential call to action tools and suddenly a pop up ad appears, your ardent efforts to enhance your users’ experience may get hampered in a very short instant and thus distract the users’ attention from your website.This results in high bounce rate. Hence, it is advisable to exclude such elements.

    Eye catchy taglines

    Taglines/ headlines are the first elements that the users come across while reading a web page, an article etc. A headline is essentially the gist of what follows and should propel the readers to read further.On another note, key word rich headlines help in improving the search engine ranking of that page. If your headline is able to catch the eye of the readers, it automatically lowers the bounce rate of a website.

    Website compatible with different browsers

    Browser compatibility is one of the most important factors in reducing the bounce rate of a website.  

    Make sure that your website is compatible with every web browser.

    Encourage the users to take an action.

    Users participation is an essential factor to establish a strong brand identity, to improve your sales, to keep the users abreast of the latest in your company or industry, to uphold the interests of the users etc. This can be achieved with the aid of video clips, audio clips, live chat, discussions, answering questions, leave a comment section etc. All these activities helps in reducing bounce rate the bounce rate of a website.

    Use re-directions where necessary.

    Don’t overload with images

    Do not overcrowd your website with unrelated images as it makes the website heavy and thus have a negative effect on the bounce rate of a website.

    Read WordPress Blogs and watch the tutorial.

     

  • Beware of Confused Teachers and Teachings on the Net.

    Higher detail image of Swami_Vivekananda.jpg S...
    Image via Wikipedia

    I just had a Link forwarded to me by my son.

    The link is provided at the end of the blog.

    What was shocking is the confusion of thoughts masquerading as Teachings which will confuse the already confused ones who happen to come across pieces like this.

    Kindly read what you see but check out facts with authoritative sources before attempting to follow them.
    This applies to my writings as well, not that I teach.

    If God were to be in everything we see and because God is in my Mind, how is it that ‘Nothing I see means anything’?
    What is ‘attack thought’?
    What do you want to see differently if what ‘Nothing I see means anything’
    What is a ‘neutral thought?
    If You are invulnerable how does your ‘attack thoughts ‘attack your invulnerability?
    Seems to me a confusion of Ayn Rand,Kierkegaard,Jean Pal Sartre and Indian Philosophy thrown in haphazardly.
    Mind is an organ just like other organs like eyes etc.
    It receives information as a store house.
    It does not discriminate.
    Discrimination is the function of the intellect which ascribes values to thoughts.
    The world is what it is .
    At the same time it ceases its relevance when you realize your SELF-you can substitute it with God now, considering the thoughts you have.
    Mind, World etc. are the Attributes of God/Reality.
    Then why do we experience pleasure,pain,inconsistencies in the world?
    The answer is Nescience or Avidya at the individual level and Maya at the Universal level.
    The world of things always ‘is’
    The delusion is due to the interplay of senses with the finer matter called ‘Thanmaathras’.
    I recommend Swami Vivekananda‘s Works for the beginner and a little later essentials of Hinduism by Professor Hiriyanna,Six Systems of Indian Philosophy by Prof.Das Gupta.
    Reference may be taken to Srimad Bhagavad Gita under the guidance of one who knows Indian philosophy.

    Also The Bible without commentary,The Koran without reference to interpretations -straight.

    These Great Books are available in Google Books.

    May I suggest that original sources of Masters or justification for teachings(?) be incorporated in the blog as people under pressure may not be depressed further by a confused Mind.

    I  can write a detailed reply but I can not because of space constraints.

    If queries are posted I will be happy to assist.

    Story:

    Today we are continuing to develop the theme of cause and effect. You are not the victim of the world you see because you invented it. You can give it up as easily as you made it up. You will see it or not see it, as you wish. While you want it you will see it; when you no longer want it, it will not be there for you to see.

    The world you see is your invention. You have made up everything you see and you sustain the world through your thoughts about it. Every idea you have about what you see is simply wrong. The reason is:

    1. Nothing I see means anything
    2. I have given what I see all the meaning it has for me
    3. I do not understand anything I see
    4. These thoughts do not mean anything
    5. I am never upset for the reason I think
    6. I am upset because I see what is not there
    7. I see only the past
    8. My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts
    9. I see nothing as it is now
    10. My thoughts do not mean anything
    11. My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.
    12. I am upset because I see a meaningless world
    13. A meaningless world engenders fear
    14. God did not create a meaningless world
    15. My thoughts are images that I have made
    16. I have no neutral thoughts
    17. I see no neutral things
    18. I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing
    19. I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts
    20. I am determined to see
    21. I am determined to see things differently
    22. What I see is a form of vengeance
    23. I can escape from this world by giving up attack thoughts.
    24. I do not perceive my own best interest
    25. I do not know what anything is for
    26. My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability
    27. Above all else I want to see
    28. Above all else I want to see differently
    29. God is in everything I see
    30. God is in everything I see because God is in my mind
    31. I am not the victim of the world I see
    32. I have invented the world I see.

    http://thelighthascome.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/i-have-invented-the-world-i-see/

  • Blogging and Self-Promotion.

    Internet sites that ask Readers to submit Stories have a policy which states that self promotion of the reader is not permitted.

    What exactly are these  ‘Story Collecting Sites’ do?

    They take your time and of course power to run the Computer and earn advertisement revenue from the Readership generated by those who submit stories.

    The Traffic of these sites is because of the collective efforts of those who submit stories.

    What about Links in the sites submitted  from the sites?

    Are you not earning on some one’s sites?

    If this is not Self -Promotion, what else is?

    Self Promotion seems to be the bane for these sites who think they have a moral superiority,feigned of course; real reason is they want to earn at other’s expense and time.

    Even if you consider the traffic of the sites, you will notice that the Story Collecting Sites get referred to from your site and they build their hits.

    When these sites take your story, the link you submit appears under their url, where the original site  you have submitted is relegated to the back ground.

    In fact when you submit a story these sites get  more hits than yours.

    Commercially speaking, the sites to which you submit your stories get more hits than yours  even after them referring to your site.

    And no news is original excepting the event.

    It is being handled by multitude of people in the print media and electronic media.

    So shall we stop with the first report of the event?

    My view is that these Story Sharing Sites must allow Bloggers to submit their site stories which may be based on other stories published, in their own interest.

    Care must be ensured that it is not Spam.

    Ultimately Readers decide the traffic.

  • 2 G Scam,Intimidating Media and Bloggers -DMK Style.

    I have been blogging on Corruption issue , especially on the 2G scam and other swindles by the DMK, for quite some time.

    I Have been getting hate mails calling me names,like’ Brahmin Dog from Bangalore‘.

    For bigger people and companies, the DMK seems to reserve the intimidating tactics of threatening legal notices.

    DMK Chief  was seen indicating of the Sacred Thread of Brahmins(Yagyopaveedham), while defending 2G Scam on TV.

    He has been harping on Brahmin and North Indian Conspiracy for the present cases for quite some time now.

    He has not gone shrill as yet because the present generation has seen through his tactics.

    He is preparing to go all out on North- South divide to regain his popularity.

    Media must be aware of this and telecast his antics in front of the camera to show his true colors.

    A news Channel muted the sound bytes when he was making crude  gestures indicating Brahmins.

    ‘The DMK leaders — including Chief Minister M Karunanidhi — condemned the ”biased attitude” of the Brahmin-dominated journalistic community at Madras. Taking exception to a front-page report in The Hindu on Friday that the Salem conference would anoint his son Stalin as his successor, Karunanidhi said the party was not being run on hereditary lines like newspapers.

    The chief minister even resorted to Brahmin-bashing at his inaugural media conference. Did The Hindu ask how that ”Iyer” got all the money for his frequent Delhi-Madras air trips? ”They only raise questions when a Sandra cuts a tree?” he said, making light of the newspaper’s expose on a DMK legislator’s involvement in sandalwood smuggling.

    Karunanidhi said the ”paarpaans” (a derogatory term for Brahmins) found fault with everything his party and the government did. The reason: He and other DMK leaders did not wear the sacred thread.’

    http://www.rediff.com/news/jul/02dmk.htm

     

    In this connection it is advisable not to be carried away by trying to reply these allegations.We should remain focussed on Corruption without bothering about personal attacks as this would deflect the corruption.

    Whether Brahmin or North Indian,Corruption is Corruption.

    Let us fight in our own way.

    In this connection Tehelka’s reply to Dayanidhi Maran‘s  Legal Notice is worth of note.

    Unfortunately, Mr Maran’s arguments are not only weak but factually insupportable and a mere sleight of hand. Contrary to his assertions, M/S Astro, a Maxis Group company, announced a joint venture with Sun Direct TV in February 2007, barely three months after Aircel, owned by Maxis, had been awarded 14 lucrative licences. In fact, the Foreign Investment and Promotion Board and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting gave Astro the required approval to acquire 20 percent in Sun Direct (owned by Dayanidhi’s brother Kalanidhi and his wife) on 2 March and 19 March 2007 – while Mr Maran was very much the telecom minister.

    While it is true that Mr Maran then resigned on 13 May 2007, it is clear the apparent quid pro quo had already been set in motion while he was in office. What’s more, Mr Maran could not have forseen that he was going to have to resign as telecom minister in May because his resignation was triggered by a sudden family feud and his loss of favour with DMK supremo Karunaidhi, when the latter suspected the Maran brothers of creating a rift between his sons Azhagiri and Stalin.

    Astro’s 20 percent investment in Sun TV at a cost of Rs 315.71 crore – a process begun in February/March 2007 — was completed in December 2007. It then continued to invest further in Sun TV over January 2008 – December 2009. For Mr Maran to argue that he was no longer telecom minister is just sophistry.

    His assertion that he does not possess any shares in Sun TV is also sophistry as there is a clear conflict of interest when a businessman who had benefitted from him invests close to 700 crore in his brother’s company. (Former telecom minister A Raja was sent to jail for much less as Kaliagnar TV belonged to the DMK supremo’s family and Raja was not even directly related to any of its owners.)

    http://www.tehelka.com/story_main49.asp?filename=Ws310511maran.asp