Wed, 5 Sep 2007 22:54:26 by Jessica Faltot
Preparing Site Content For Optimization
A smart company should not rely solely on search engine optimization to drive online sales. The old adage about leading a horse to water comes to mind. The search engine optimization company can lead a horse to water, can even help make him thirsty but getting him to drink is something that companies must do. In addition to writing compelling content, you should first review your web site to make sure that it is aligned with your business goals in preparation for a fully managed search engine marketing campaign. This should not take a great deal of time, if you work smart. Here are some web site usability tips to get you started.
Who Are You Trying To Reach?
Back to marketing basics that will help you identify your target market and ensure that your web sites content outlines the need and solution your company offers. Ask yourself some basic questions:
- Does the home (index) page have text content of approximately 500 words that best summarize who you are and what your company and web site have to offer?
- Does the home page content focus on the primary keyword or phrase describing your business or services? This is the time to focus in and state the obvious. "i.e. We are one of the leading credit card processing companies..."
- Check each page to make sure that you have prominantly listed your telephone # or provide an easy path to have them contact you. Each page should have the appropriate course of action defined (in other words, what is it you want the visitor to do after reading this information? Leave, call, write in a question, sign up for your newsletter, register to receive a white paper, buy your product?) Make it easy for them to take that next step of action and help them become a customer.
- Do you have content (text) for each one of your products and services? For instance, if you are looking for new customers from Canada do you have a page that addresses why your services appeal to Canadian customers and make it easy for them to contact you or to make an appointment and arrange for a place to stay? If you offer family law services, do you have separate pages that outline each of the services offered under family law?
- Has the web site become a catch-all for each product, service or bit of information that doesn't stand on its own, but someone squeezed onto the web site? Or is your web site too busy, with too many options and choices? Check to make sure that visitors to your site can navigate easily and find the main areas of information, products and services. Also check to make sure that navigational links use text that helps the visitors move toward the action which you want them to take and also lets the search engines identify where and what those links lead to. (i.e. anchor text)
- Title: does your web page have a title that matches your product and services in addition to your company name and / or location?
- Description: Does each page accurately describe the content of that page and do it in such a way as to appeal to users to click on it? Description are viewable by users when your site is ranked.
- Are you using press releases, articles and other forms of social media to help your site achieve visibility within the rankings?
Those are just a few things that you can do in order to improve your visibility and conversions on line. Once you get a practiced eye and learn what to avoid, you will most assuredly help your search engine optimization efforts.
Jessica Faltot
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
