Archive for the ‘Usability’ Category

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I’m not trying to coin a new phrase here, just looking at SEO from a different perspective. See, I never really liked the term Search Engine Optimization. That seems like the job of the math geeks behind the search engine algorithms. Its their job to optimize the search engine, not mine.

To be more accurate, SEO should be called WO, or WSO: Website Optimization. That’s what I do, I optimize the website in order to help it gain more exposure, increase traffic and get more sales.

But what are we optimizing the website for?

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Ever see one of those movies where some secret government agency has a super high-tech office in an old, dilapidated building in some rundown part of town? The camera starts on the outside, looking over a ghetto as it moves down the street. It zeros in on a rundown building that a squatter would be embarrassed to live in. Then, as the camera moves inside we are shown a state-of-the art facility worthy of a Manhattan high-rise office in the 22nd century.

Sometimes SEO is just like that, but the opposite. A lot of time and energy is spent on the “exterior” (search engine rankings) while ignoring the interior (building a great website.)

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In the world of marketing and campaign measurement, the web has been a goldmine. Almost every conceivable metric can be measured online. But of all the things you can track, measure, weigh and analyze, the only metric that truly matters is conversions. Click through rates, page views, time spent on site, number of pages read, entrance and exit points, abandonment; all of these metrics are fantastic, but if you’re not using them to improve your conversion rates, then why bother?

Most people look at their website as a whole but in reality it is a collection of many parts. These parts (web pages) are essentially individual steps on a path that should lead your visitors to a specific goal: the conversion. If your site as a whole, and web pages individually, are working properly, you should see an increase in conversion rates and sales. If anything is broken along the way your visitors are led the wrong way at the wrong time and you open the door to having them leave before they’ve reached the conversion goal.

Each entry point of your site (wherever the visitor lands first, not just the home page) needs to be treated as the starting point that will lead your visitors step by step toward the conversion goal. In order to guide your visitors from this starting point to the end point, you need to make sure each step along the way is aligned with the next; in sync and unbroken.

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I’m going to start this article with the conclusion, so if you read no more than this first paragraph you can walk away knowing the most important thing this article has to say. And here it is: Fix your broken links.

That’s it, you’re free to go now. The rest of this article is just stories, opinion and my thoughts that reinforce the point above. But if you need more convincing, read on.

So many times I see businesses investing thousands of dollars building their websites, tinkering with SEO improvements, or increasing/improving their content, only to neglect one of the most basic problems that may be a significant contributing factor in reducing their conversion rates: broken links.

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If you run a blog you probably already know all about RSS feeds. If you read a blog, you probably do too. If you don’t know what an RSS feed is then I’ll give you a few minutes to go read Wikipedia’s RSS page. Go ahead, just come back here when you’re done.

OK, everybody caught up? Good.

So now you’re wondering what this has to do with you. Perhaps you “just” sell products. Or maybe you “just” have an information site. Or you “just” do some other thing that doesn’t require an RSS feed. In your line of work you don’t really get into the whole blogging, news headlines, audio, or video thing, so this post isn’t for you, right?

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For those of you who enjoyed my series of posts on The Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist, Period! I have (finally) compiled everything into one easy to download, save, print, and pass around PDF checklist.

The information here has been updated to include not only the check points but also the explanations of each, so you don’t have to keep referring back to the blog posts above. I’ve also added a few points here and there, but no major overhaul or anything.

Anyway, here you go: The Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist, PDF!

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Who you choose as your web host provider, or what type of web hosting account you have can have a profound impact on your search engine rankings. In Part I of this three part series we looked at the cost factor as well as up-time guarantee claims from web hosting companies. In this episode we’ll look at a number of other factors that can mess with your site’s performance in the search engines.

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A few weeks back I was on a flight across the country and I had the pleasure of sitting all the way in the back row… you know… where they used to put the smokers. Ahhh, remember those days? One of the luxuries of sitting in the back is watching people enter and leave the restroom. Oh, and that lovely toilet smell.

But on this particular flight the bathroom was out of commission. The airline helpfully placed the following sign on the bathroom door:

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If you missed my blog series titled Destination Search Engine Marketing or want to have an easy-to-read and print version, you’re in luck. We have created a 34-page downloadable PDF from the series of posts. Not only is the PDF fully illustrated, but it is has also been edited and updated.

The download is free and we don’t ask for any information or try to call you to sell you something else. Just click on the link above and save the PDF to your computer. That’s it. Enjoy.

If your website was presented before a jury of your peers, would you be found guilty of gross marketing misconduct or absolved of all charges of crimes against usability?

The fact is, your website is being judged. Each and every visitor that comes to your site is actively weighing, measuring and perhaps even finding you wanting in how you present your information to them. Every person will judge you on how quickly they can find the information they want, how complete that information is, and whether or not all their questions get answered.

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