Thanks to the ezine of book marketer Penny Sansevieri (www.amarketingexpert.com) I’ve just learned about this nifty tool from Google that enables you to see what others see — http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/
Now many of you know that your website doesn’t look the same on every person’s computer monitor. The size of the monitor affects the view as well as the browser you are using. (Internet Explorer 6 is especially poor at seeing websites. If you use Internet Explorer, upgrade to the current version now.)
Now the most important “real estate” on a website page is “above the fold.” In other words, the information you can see without scrolling down.
With this free Google tool you can see where “above the fold” is on different web browsers — as well as what happens at the outer edge of sites.
Above is the screenshot of the home page of MillerMosaicLLC.com as measured by this Google tool. I’ll admit I was surprised at how much of the right-hand sidebar can get lost on the monitors of some people.
Go to http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/ and put your site’s URL in the search box. Then see what others see when they visit your site.
(c) 2010 Miller Mosaic, LLC
Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is co-founder of www.MillerMosaicPowerMarketing.com If you liked this article, get her FREE report “Twitter, Facebook and Your Website: A Beginning Blueprint for Harnessing the Power of 3 for Your Business” – download the report now from www.MillerMosaicPowerof3.com
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: Site_Booster
March 21, 2010 at 3:08 pm
The more I read such posts and information here and there, the more I’m being convinced that measuring what you’ve planned and created (your site) is getting vital to be successful on the web.
It seems that the best arrangement of a site’s elements will be to allocate the most essential items on the golden triangle of the page, where 99% of the attention is drawn to and where SEO experts used to talk about. Actually, such triangle is the one discovered once a thermal test was conducted to see where web users’ eyes are mainly looking for a new page is opened.
The result of such a test has been the same area where 99% of the importance is directed at.
Twitter: WordsmithBob
March 22, 2010 at 5:13 am
That’s an impressive tool, Phyllis! Thanks for sharing it. As President of TC Web Pros, I’m going to forward your post to all our members just in case they don’t know about it. Good work!
Twitter: ZimblerMiller
March 22, 2010 at 11:27 am
Rahman and Bob — Thanks for these comments.
What’s interesting is that I just had several people disagree with me about a post I did where I said NOT to waste home page real estate on a picture of the company’s office or building. Perhaps this Google tool will make people realize why they don’t want that photo taking up as much as 99% of the most important home page real estate.