A survey of current subscriber sites reveals the following ways credit unions are getting their money's worth from their linked subscriptions:

Put the button on your home page
The easier you make it to find the Resource Center, the more likely you'll turn your members into regular readers and more frequent visitors to your Web site.

Ideally, members should find the link to the Resource Center right on your home page. Logo buttons, which you can download, are the most obvious and effective links.

However, if a logo button conflicts with your site's design, the next best alternative is to use the Resource Center's name as a text link. That way, members know immediately where the link goes, rather than having to explore indirect connections.

Consider also adding duplicate links to the Resource Center from secondary pages such as your online banking, consumer information, savings, vehicles, and lending pages.

Link articles to specific product and service offers
The Resource Center offers you standardized links in the form of ad copy at the upper right side of the screen that you can use to lead members wherever you want on your Web site.

The more direct you make the ad links, the more useful they'll be to members.

For example, "Shop our loan rates" can link directly to your table of loan rates or your online loan application.

Take a look at how these credit unions have customized links from articles to product pages:

• www.alaskausa.org
• www.uhscu.org
• www.lcfcu.org

Ideally, whatever destination you choose, the specific service you want members to consider should appear on the first screen they see, so that members have no doubt they've come to the right place.

If the service you want to target is not at the top of the destination page, modify the HTML code to take them farther down the page. (Click here for instructions.)