If you've been feeling like Tom Cruise climbing up the side of some remote jagged mountain in the blazing hot sun and concerned you're facing "mission impossible", chances are you own a web site.
Adding to the intense thrill of web site ownership are keyword comparisons and bidding for good keyword positions in search engines. You might hire a search engine optimization specialist who can track elusive algorithm clues and is unfazed by page rank drama. Your programmers and designers insist they get along. The marketing department actually believes deadlines are met. The new bank account is waiting for fresh revenue. And oh yes, it's assumed someone will come looking for your web site and wants to use it.
You did build it for them, right?
For every search result, there is the possibility that:
a. The engine will display a description that makes sense. Or not.
b. The page the search engine refers to does what the description said it would do and is about what the search engine said it would cover. Or not.
Your SEO/SEM, if you hired a good one, helped you write your title tag statement and Meta page description and structured it so it makes sense in SERPs (search engine results pages).
Your Usability professional, if you hired one, evaluated the page to make sure it would meet customer expectations and convince visitors there are other hot pages inside the web site to look at too. Without call to action prompts, well displayed, logically labeled navigation links and credible content, the chance of someone remaining on that page is pretty slim.
Says Gordon Hotchkiss, President and CEO of Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc., in a recent Search Day article written by Shari Thurow, called Creating Compelling Search Engine Ads and Landing Pages, "Once searchers arrive on your landing pages, you have 13.2 seconds to convince visitors that they are on the right site."
Impossible Mission?
Had enough of web page abandonment? Are those cost per click fees putting you further in credit card debt and not producing any bang for your buck? Which part of "understand your web site visitor" didn't make it to the drawing board?
I know this is hard. You're not a mind reader. Unless you have access to costly studies and data about who to build your web site for and their computer usage habits, chances are you simply wanted a web site and hoped people would find it and use it. By incorporating the skills and expertise of an SEO/SEM along with a user centered design specialist, you will not be wastefully tossing your web site off the search engine cliff. Rather, your adoring fans will clamor up the cliff to get to it.
Sometimes a web designer is also trained in these fields or is partnered with people who are. This is something to consider when shopping around for web site assistance.
Here are some things to keep in mind when studying your web site. You can also ask your team to consider these points.
1. What happens after your site reaches top rank? It's lonely up there, if nobody notices your page or understands the page description. How effective is high rank? Do people really click on "sponsored" pages vs. natural results?
2. Pay attention to inside "landing" pages. Optimize them for easy indexing and point visitors to your homepage, sale products or free stuff.
3. Be wise about what you invest. Every cost per click must be productive. If not, a usability web site review can locate roadblocks.
4. It's about the user experience. Really. It's a common habit for web site owners to create the site for themselves based on what they like and want. When you receive a complaint, consider it a favor. Yes, some people are mean and critical. But, enhancements are improvements that sometimes benefit a lot of people, and you too, in the long run.
5. Don't settle for minimum effort. One of your goals is to reach potential customers and readers. Your optimized pages reach people looking for them. Your user centered pages reach people wanting to use them and will refer them to friends.
6. Your competition does it better. Not by packing hidden keywords and buying links, but by carefully targeting keywords, providing cleverly written content and delivering user centered design.
7. Think sustainability. If you plan on your web site being around for a while, make this a checkpoint for every future decision related to your site. If someone has an idea that won't impact the long-term sustainability of the site, the site may disappear out of sheer user boredom. And search do engines notice.
8. Understanding your visitors and customers allows for more creative keyword combinations. Put a feedback form on your web site. Ask them how they found your web site. Ask them what keywords they used. Ask them why they came or what they wanted to find. Ask them if they found what they were looking for and if not, provide room for comments so they can explain what happened. This information is a gold mine for you.
9. Never mislead your visitors. Be accurate with what you say a site or page is about. Search results relevancy establishes trust from the start.
10. The elegance of action. The act of landing on a relevant, accurate, persuasive, interesting page leads to the fluid, unencumbered desire to know more and click deeper. Aim for this.
Do not drop your web site over the search engine cliff without considering the usability effect. Design it to be productive and user centered. This will pay off in many ways. Remember your original requirements and goals and trace back every dollar you spend to meeting them. Marketing efforts are strengthened when you make your visitors feel welcome, informed and productive once they arrive at your web site.
Usability Consultant, Kimberly Krause Berg, is the owner of http://www.UsabilityEffect.com, http://www.Cre8pc.com & http://www.Cre8asiteForums.com Her background in organic search engine optimization, combined with web site usability consulting, offers unique insight into web site development.
Copyright 2004 Cre8pc.com
Are You Really Measuring for Return on Investment (ROI) with... Read More
So, you've just paid £300 - £10,000 for a new... Read More
Search engine optimization refers to the technique of making your... Read More
The objective of all search engine providers is epitomized by... Read More
1. Google love ...Google and all its programming is not... Read More
Thinking about purchasing that premium SEO software that will hyper-optimize... Read More
When does long term SEO show ranking results? It takes... Read More
Everyone packs their website with keywords in order to feed... Read More
Good overall optimization, the right keyword phrases and quality content... Read More
It only makes sense. You have an e-commerce catalog site.... Read More
Have you ever seen any email offers of getting you... Read More
Source code optimization.{title}...{/title}This tag is to be a winner. This... Read More
Previously...In our article on Understanding Google's Algorithm,... Read More
Yesterday you should have read the fifth course out of... Read More
Google use a very complex function to determine which search... Read More
If you have an online business or you just use... Read More
Shopping and the Web. They go together like Mr. and... Read More
For your web site to succeed, you must use is... Read More
Link building is a waiting game. Many clients have asked... Read More
I admit it, our SEO services are pretty bad.Speaking of... Read More
When the movie Spanglish hit the screens in 2004, it... Read More
The first step in a search engine optimization campaign is... Read More
As my readers know, I've been one of Google's harshest... Read More
When you write a press release, what is your ultimate... Read More
Search Engine Optimization is the creation of a web page,... Read More
So your company has a website ? an important step... Read More
OK. So you've created a nice website with lots of... Read More
Google does not accept payment for inclusion in their main... Read More
What follows is a condensed version of a conversation that... Read More
Link popularity is just one of the ways you can... Read More
We've all heard about it-it seems like all the buzz... Read More
Long before the days of researching phrases with the helpful... Read More
I am a Search Engine Optimization newbie. I have read... Read More
The most important thing you can do for your business... Read More
One of the most frequent questions I get asked is... Read More
Back in November 2004 I discovered a way to get... Read More
With 40 million websites in existence, and more than 3... Read More
In parts 1 and 2 you learnt how to develop... Read More
Definition: A doorway page is content created specifically for the... Read More
When you write a press release, what is your ultimate... Read More
Ask any business person who's website is at the top... Read More
The days of basing a successful link building strategy on... Read More
For anyone looking to enhance their Google Page Rank (PR)... Read More
OK. So you've created a nice website with lots of... Read More
I built my website, it's perfect. My chosen subject of... Read More
Many search engine optimization companies will sell you a search... Read More
This is a serious matter, can Google really deliver top... Read More
Thanks to a unique algorithm that produces most relevant results... Read More
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know... Read More
First of all, What is SEO? SEO stands for Search... Read More
The first months my website was online, I was constantly... Read More
Today if you want your site to survive in the... Read More
If you want to increase traffic to your website and... Read More
In order to design a website that performs well with... Read More
If you're a webmaster, you've probably spent almost as much... Read More
Once you have your web site complete and ready to... Read More
Little do you know but you too could be making... Read More
In the Global Internet era the industry presence is undoubtedly... Read More
Let's talk about what keyword density is and how to... Read More
A recent Google patent application has the SEO community buzzing.... Read More
First, here's the rundown of some of the terminology I'm... Read More
Most people feel that optimizing is to target the search... Read More
The world of search engine optimization (SEO) can be a... Read More
Why get into Search engines and directories?Increase backlinks of your... Read More
In the fall of 1990, the musical group Snap had... Read More
Some of the basics when it comes to SEO and... Read More
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) |