Methods For Optimizing Your Own Site
Also see:
What a Site Should Contain
How To Decide If You Need A Site Upgrade
If you are thinking of redesigning, do not throw out your old site before reading Planning a Site
Redesign? Please Read This First! from SearchEnginePositon.com, or
Planning Ahead for an Effective Redesign from Search Engine Guide.
These discuss the values of your old site and how it can be useful to you.
In short, do not just dump your old site in order to build a new one. Very good think
pieces before, during and after redesigning a site.
If industry-wide key words for your product which draw the most traffic
in the search engines are not present in your home page
There are good keyword analyzing software downloadable on the internet
which will help solve this problem. One review which covers some of them is mike's marketing tools which is an excellent review of keyword search
software and services.
If potential customers find it difficult to navigate your site
Look at your page as if you were coming into it for the first time. If your eye
is drawn in many different directions, you are possibly losing potential
customers because without a strong focus, there may be a sense of
confusion.
If potential customers miss important points made on the first page
Eye movement over the page (both direction, sequence and also the
amount of time spent at each point can determine what is lost in the viewer's
navigation of the page.
Fast movement may mean that the viewer is not
really captivated and will probably leave the page shortly after entry. Slow
concentration on unimportant features may also lose customers. Be sure
that the most important information draws the visitor's focus. Many sites do
this by minimizing the home page to just the essential pieces of information
and have all of the rest as linked pages.
If you find misspelled, misplaced, or incorrect use of words on your pages
Never put up copy not checked through a spell checker. If you do not have a
spell checker, just copy your material and open up a new file of Microsoft
word document or the spell checker available in Netscape. But there is a
danger here. Just the fact that it is spelled correctly may hide incorrect
grammar.
Always have someone else read your page. Aside from spelling errors, we
often overlook meanings and grammatical errors, because even though we
reread it ourselves we tend to overlook errors and believe that the script is
correct.
Do not let your potential customer see your mistakes before you do.
If pages, logos or photos load too slowly
A very good treatment of this topic Don't Lose Visitors
Because Of Slow Load Times
If the important information which customers need in order to make
an informed decision are not present in the site
Find out what the average target customer really needs to know about your
product and place all of the other information into links but not on the main
page. The customer should be able to make a decision on the basis of the
information presented and only be able to find out more information if he is
not sure about some point, or wants further support for his decision.
If information necessary is present but is buried under other information
Basically, cut out nonessential material. Ask yourself if each piece of
information on the page, particularly the home page, is essential to the point
which you are attempting to get across to visitors. If not, but still important,
place them in a sub page. Otherwise delete. If something can be said in
fewer words, do it.
If the customer feels there are too many decisions in order to make
an informed judgment
The decision process should be very easy to make for the interested visitor.
It helps to have a photo of your product, one or two key recommendations,
short description of what product or service gives customer. No more on the
home page.
If visitors to the page do not find it appealing
Check the site statistics which most site providers give you and find out what
percentage of the visitors are not going further than your main page or are
spending very little time on the page. Allow for return customers who know
what they want in the remainder of your site. You may be giving a page
which does not attract them to read further.
There are a number of free newsletters such as High Rankings Advisor
which can help in this regard and also a number of online manuals which will
help identify this problem and correct it.
If potential customers are not being drawn to the important elements
in your service or product
Select the 3 or 4 most important elements of information for the target
customer you hope to attract and place all other information on a separate
page labeled something like more info or further features. Overloading the
customer with features he may not find interesting, may cause him to miss
the important ones.
If potential customers are wary of being placed on mailing lists which may be
sold or may be used to flood them with emails
Assure your customers that
you will not give, sell or in any other way distribute their email address or
name. Reassure them that any information supplied will be kept within the
company. See our statement below. Then keep your word.
In general
It is useful to look at some of the principles adhered to by a
professional in site optimization before beginning your own effort.
A Search Engine Optimizer's New Year's Resolutions by WorkOnInternet.com
Site optimization is well left with those who earn their living (or at least part of
it) enhancing sites to achieve high rankings on the search engines and
increase potential customer or viewer ratings and sales. However, it is useful
to adhere to the basic principles of optimizing in the process of redesigning
or building your own site.
Contact us for a free appraisal of your site
and a quote with no strings attached.
Morgan In Israel
Dayna In the U.S.
Our Privacy Policy
Your name and email address will be protected and
will not be given, sold or leased to any third
party and we will not send unsolicited emails.
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