www.financialadviceonline.com.au

The technology of the Internet has smashed the barriers on yet another frontier in doing business online. Financial Advice Online, a Sydney based Financial Planning firm have created a completely new concept dramatically lowering the barriers to gaining unbiased financial advice.

Using a members section on their website, their clients can log in and conduct their own preliminary interview that gives the planner a comprehensive insight into the persons current financial situation, and a clear idea of their goals. From this concise picture, the planner can make unbiased useful recommendations in the form of a financial plan.

Access to the qualified planners is unlimited (phone, email, face-to-face) and costs just $79 per year for a single or $99 per year for couples.

This is an  industry first in financial planning, thanks to the web based technology that allows the fast and efficient transfer of information at a time and place that is convenient for the client.

Their site www.financialadviceonline.com.au offers clients ongoing unbiased financial advice anywhere in Australia no matter what the client’s location. The site is designed to save clients time and money as advice is accessed online at a fraction of the usual fees charged by Financial Planning firms.

“This product is an industry first and is very easy to use” says Chief Administrator of Financial Advice Online, Alan Pashut.”All client information is completely confidential, secure and only ever viewed by a qualified Financial Planner and the quality of the advice given by FAO is no less than that provided in the traditional face to face way.

“We’ve really removed all the barriers to getting a more secure financial future for many. It’s a real equaliser.”

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How Changing a Button Increased a Site’s Annual Revenues by $300 Million

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Really interesting presentation on What is the next in Marketing and Advertising.

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1. To understand the level of priority of advertising revenue.
Many websites include no advertisements at all, and others rely on ad revenue to stay in business. Still others include some ads but not as the primary source of revenue. The designer needs to communicate with the client to understand how much of a priority ads should have in the design. If ad revenue is critical to the business, advertising slots will be one of the most significant factors in the layout. If selling products or services is more important, then the products or services should be given priority in the design over any ads that may be included.

The designer’s job is not to determine how much of a role ads should play in the website’s design and layout, but he or she should make the effort to completely understand the needs and desires of the client in this area. Starting the design process with the right perspective and being on the same page as the client is critical.

2. To design a website that meets the needs of the clients.
Most Web designers would probably prefer never to have to design for ads and to be able to use the allotted space in other ways. However, the client’s needs include a website designed to allow for ad revenue, so these areas must be a part of the design.

3. To design an attractive and usable website that includes ad space.
Regardless of whether ads are a high or low priority, the designer needs to create a website that is attractive and gets the job done. Ads can be a difficult element to work with in the design because of the lost space and the interrupted flow, however, the designer must still create an effective website. If there are a lot of ads on the website, care must be taken to still make the website usable for visitors with minimal interference.

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While website businesses that sell advertisements want and need those ads to be noticed and appreciated by visitors, a delicate balance is required. Aside from made-for-AdSense websites and websites set up solely for affiliate income, a typical website set up for ads needs to send a portion of its visitors away to the websites of advertisers in order to continue generating that revenue, but it also needs to retain a majority of visitors in order to grow itself. Keeping all visitors will result in no ad revenue, and losing all visitors to advertisers will result in no growth for itself.

Website owners and designers need to consider this issue during the design process so that the locations and sizes of ads are appropriate and so that the ads produce revenue with minimal negative impact on the website. Offline ad publishers don’t necessarily face the same dilemma. A magazine may run full-page ads throughout the publication, but when readers see an ad that interests them, they don’t necessarily stop reading and put down the magazine.

In the online world, a click on an ad could result in a visitor not coming back. Ads can be set to open in a new window to prevent this, but that still doesn’t guarantee that the visitor will come back after clicking the ad.

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