Quick tips and tidbits: Websites and SEO.

My experience as a marketer is that business people are so very good at the service they provide or are experts in their field but when it comes to marketing, sales and more significantly lately; the internet, they are overwhelmed. This is not surprising, it is a minefield out there, with ever changing social trends and developments in new media. Should I be blogging, should I be twittering, why do I need email marketing; is sms marketing going to work better and so on and so forth.

I aim to offer a bit of friendly advice, some food for thought, from one professional to another. I often talk in laymen’s terms so there’s no excuse in not understanding it. I am afraid I can't help that being a laymen myself. I have thrown in some jargon busters so the next time someone uses the term you will understand what it meant. I am not going to tell you how to rank top of google but I am going to help equip you to make the best decisions for your business.

For now let’s just have a chat….

• Websites
  • Getting a new site - Content Managed Systems
  • Domains - best advice
  • Design - capturing the customer
  • Navigation - using the site and keeping the customer
  • Generating leads

• SEO
  • Golden rule
  • Charlatans
  • Jargon Buster
  • Pay Per Click Advertising

Websites.

You are starting a new business and you think you need a website. Either that or your old one is naff and you don’t even talk to the developer any more so let’s get started on a new one!

Ok first things first and hear my reason why but DON’T DIY! Are you a web developer? Are you a graphic designer? Unless the answer is yes please tell me why oh why would you develop your own site? It is like taking your own pictures at your wedding and wondering why your Aunts face is blurry and the white dress looks orange in 50% of the photos’. It is a big deal and you do not have the expertise to build a content rich and SEO friendly site that is going to actually get results. 90% of all cases will result in a poorly functioning site that does nothing for your brand or profit margins. It doesn’t have to cost the earth please shop around and please always opt for a content managed site.

What is a content management system. Everyone is talking about it and in short is means you will be in control of your companies’ long term online presence and marketing. There are free resources out there but it always involves an element of technical knowledge and it is so easy to make a bad site through lack of knowledge.

Own your domain. You should always own your domain, even if the web designer/developer wants you to buy another one to help with directing traffic properly (eg. Localplumersuffolk.co.uk instead of JDplumbing.co.uk) you should register it in your name. Keep control of your site and make sure everything can be taken with you should you fall out with the developer or worse, they go bust! Also google likes older domains so if you already have one then stick with it we can work around the whole 'business description in the url thing' mentioned above.

I digress, so you think you want a website?

The first thing to ask yourself is why it is you want a website? What is it’s purpose? Sell online, sell a brand, support your marketing, connect you with your customers, showcase products/services. It is likely you will fit into a category not already listed and that is fine. But knowing the purpose your website serves will guide the functionality, layout, content, design in fact every aspect of your website.

Now you know what it will do consider who will be looking at it and how they are likely to find you. (VISITS) Every aspect of your marketing should support your online presence. At this stage keep considering ‘who’ with regards to deign, content and layout. Later you will need to consider ‘who’ in terms of Search Engine Optimisation and online advertising, pay per click campaigns etc. Don’t even worry about that yet, first get a site that looks good, has easy functionality and is content rich.

Design is a key factor in attracting and keeping customers. Keep the feel fresh and clean. Busy, bold and bolshie are not what you want. White space behind bold fresh images is a common trend at the moment. It sends a clear message without suffocating the viewer. However you do come across a lot of design agencies opting for bold colours and quirky designs to showcase their creativity and talents. Here I refer to my earlier comment, that’s great for them they are designers you are not. It’s a personal preference if in doubt first consider your target audience.

The first impression your site gives will govern how many people will stay on your site (bounce rate) affecting how many page views you get and then whether or not they leave their details (call for action)  or better yet make a purchase! (conversions).

Human beings are highly aesthetic creatures and the images and colours on your site will directly affect your bounce rate. What’s a bounce rate? If someone navigates away from your page in under 8 seconds they have bounced. If over 50% of your visitors bounce then there is a fundamental flaw in your design, content, loading time OR you sell DIY supplies and the visitor just wasn’t looking for that kind of screw! Be sure your site is attracting and being found by the right audience.

Visible navigation on the landing page is essential along with a call to action. Not everyone would agree with me on the call to action comment but I am a marketer and I ask you this. Why go to all the effort of attracting and keeping the viewer just to let them leave without getting any of their details?! The viewer should not have to navigate/scroll around the page in order to find what they want to do next. Technology has made us lazy and if you can not be bothered to go to the effort to make sure what I want is there when I need it I can not be bothered to buy from you. (Unless I REALLY like the feel of your site, sorry I am the customer, I am fickle, and I am always right).

SEO.

Golden rule of SEO: It is a long term plan and no one can get your website to number one overnight without paying for it through advertising.

You should only be concerned with the basics of Search Engine Optimisation and analytics and leave the rest up to the experts. However with so many people fighting for your business and promising you number 1 results over night it is hard to know when you are onto a good thing and when someone is selling you the digital equivalent of a dodgy looking yellow elixir in a bottle!

Beware of the charlatans and educate yourself.

Google can't read or see so when it views your site what it does is interpret everything you have in-putted and the way it works as code. It has a check list for each site it visits and your aim is to tick as many boxes as possible with the biggest marker pen in your artillery.

Here's a bit of jargon busting to get you started:

• On Page SEO – making sure your content is clear and the key words applicable to your business can be found by the 'spiders' in the search engines.
• On Site SEO – Tags, Meta tags, Keywords, description;
  • The description is the text given by the search engines when your site is found.
  • The Titletag is a sentence that appears on the tab for that site.
  • Meta tags & Keywords; Information not seen by the visitor but used by the search engines to decide your sites relevance.
  • Alt tags: what your images are named when they are entered into the site.

So far this is all basic and a good development company will consider all this and discuss this even when producing a site for you with no SEO on top. Otherwise you have a pretty looking site that is not productive. A bit of an empty shell.

Remmeber the search engines can only read code and basic SEO is important. 

Also anyone trying to obtain your business should be offering more than this.

And more than this:

Pay Per Click

Google advertising: set up an advert with google and pay let's say £1.34 each time someone clicks on your advert after searching 'emergency plumber'. The cost is a) for the key word typed into the search engine and b) the fact that they clicked.

There is another type of online advertising CPM meaning cost per impression. Banner advertsing is CPM and based on the amount of viewers for that website. A lot like magazine adverts costing more for higher readership. It is costly with low returns. With online advertising for small businesses there is a greater rerurn for Cost Per Click or Pay Per Click.

However, you do not need cost CPC.

Any SEO company worth its weight will first try to get your site higher rankings in the search engines 'organically' and put their skills and knowledge of SEO to use. PPC should always be a secondary option. If you really feel you can't wait more than a week for that number one position and want to outrank all of your competition then prepare for it to cost you. But know that PPC is not your only option.