You never know where you’ll get your next client.  I’ve had them find me online, call my toll-free number from business cards, and even stop me thanks to a window decal.

Just yesterday I took the kids to Six Flags, and as soon as we pulled up in the parking slot, someone approached me asking for a business card.  The guy said he currently had “two IT grads fighting over the best approach for his website”.  Of course I gave him a business card and asked him to contact me.  It’ll be interesting to see what his site is doing or not doing for his business.

If you decide to get a decal for your car, here are a few quick pointers that I’ve learned.

• Get a light color
  I prefer white, because it shows up the best.  When you’re driving, particularly if you have tinted/shaded windows, the vehicle looks very dark from the outside.  So light colored are the easiest to read
• Get BIG
  Don’t go cheap and think fitting more on your window is better.  Get something BIG and make sure everyone can read it.
• Be quick and concise
  People driving aren’t looking for your service, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need it.  Have something on your car/truck that tells just what you do, and a way to get in contact with you.  You don’t have a long time to sell.
• Contact info
  Phone numbers, unless they’re vanity numbers, will probably not get written down.  I’ve never written down a number from a passing car.
• Track your decal calls
  If you really want to see just how your new decal can do, get a vanity number and then use call tracking to see just how awesome your new advertising campaign is doing.

Here’s the one one the back of my GMC Denali

I must admit I’m pretty surprised nowadays when I come across a website that has a splash page.  Then again, I’m not totally surprised, as every day there are more and more people deciding that they are web designers, and adding their crappy coding to the mix.

Not to say mine is great, but hey.  If you’re going to hire someone to paint a big billboard for you, wouldn’t you want them to put it near a highway with lots of traffic?

What is a splash page?

A splash page is a pre-home page if you will.  It’s a page that is usually graphic-intensive and contains little or no real text.  Here are a few examples. Ugh.

What’s the problem?

Well, for one, they’re pointless.  Just makes your visitor have to click to get into your site.  Why not present them with your info immediately?  How many visitors do you lose because they don’t see the info they are seeking on your home page?

Second, they aren’t search engine friendly.  Since your home page is probably the most visited page (from SE referrals), a page of wasted real estate is just what the search engines don’t want.  They want content. Text. Data. Keywords.  Stuff they can chew up and digest and learn more about your business.  If all they find is an empty field and some weird Flash animation, you’ll never climb the rankings.  And if people can’t find you, you’ve wasted your time, efforts, and probably some cash too.

Third, they’re pointless.  Yeah, I know I already said that.  Catch my drift?