Login and Google

Does anybody know how much can a login page be a problem? My site has different search and download services, some of them are listed in google, but my boss wants to add a login and register page for all the users because she wants to know the "profile" of the people using the services. I think this can be a problem for Google, but don't really know how it would work. Any advice is welcome.

 

I don't think that a login page will be good for google at all.
Separate from the google issue a login will not be freindly to any web site visitors either. The site will probably lose most of its traffic because visitors do not like to jump through more hoops than necessary nor do they like providing personal info. Maybe an analysis of the vistor logs can provide your boss with some of what she wants without putting a semi locked front door on the web site?

 

That's what I thought. Thank you.

 

Wanting to know the 'profile' of site visitors is good... but there are ways to develop a website where you can figure that information out - over time, over multiple visits without actually requiring a visitor to fill out a form as the price of a ticket to visit your site.

You can require that someone fill out a short form if they are going to download something. You can offer them valuable information in the form of an e-newsletter subscription. You can give them access to a 'members only' area with access to applications, tools or other valuable information. You can have 'quick quizzes' or 'surveys'. I think you get the idea.

Over time, using cookies and compiling pages activity, visits and answers to survey questions and associating that activity with e-mail address and/or IP address.. you can come up with some pretty accurate profiles. Most of the major E-commerce sites do something on this level in order to present you with the items you're most likely to purchase.

 

What TopSpin is suggesting are excellent methods of retreiving information, but most of these things need to be used along side eachother. If you select only one or two of these methods, you will leave out a large portion of your audience.

I personally will spend quite a bit of money online buying, but will never fill out a form, survey, test, join a newsletter for a group of products, etc. The only way you'd get information from me personally would be via discounts on expensive products or tools (like they keyword tracker.)

Many of my clients have come around to the idea of implementing several different features together in order to grab a larger audience, which results in a massive up swing in sales potential.

 

Right on Schlottke... you have to do lot's of things to build your education base and learn more about your customers. And when you do - the effort pays big dividends. By combining good design, strong SEO efforts and solid back-end programming methods and features (and yes, you have to have all pieces of the puzzle...not just one or two) - you can realize the potential of your site's products and/or services.

PS - congrats on clearing 1000 posts (I have a loooong way to go my friend)

 

I've been here since we opened in March though