Author: Sophie Wegat

Search Engine Optimisation: Why You Need It

What is Search Engine Optimisation?

All websites have goals such as to sell online, collect leads, attract advertising, reduce costs or brand your business. In order to fulfil those goals your website needs to attracts visitors and convert them into customers.

Attracting visitors, the right sort of visitors, is a vital part of running and marketing a successful website. Where do you find them? How do they find you?

Search engines, such as Google, are one of the primary ways internet users find websites. In fact 81% of internet consumers find websites via search engines*. So website’s that have good rankings in the search engines can see a high level of visitors to their site. And if done right these will be highly targeted visitors who are searching for what they are offering.

So how do you get high search engine rankings? By ensuring your website is optimised for the search engines. This process is known as Search Engine Optimisation or SEO. SEO helps you increase your website’s visibility in the search engines. This is done by defining the keywords your prospects would use to find your products and services, designing your website in a search friendly manner, incorporating your keywords into your website and attracting quality relevant links from other websites to your site.

Search engine optimisation can be performed in conjunction with designing your website or at a later date. I always prefer the two to be done together as designing your website with the search engines in mind from the get go can save you time and money.

Benefits of Search Engine Optimisation

There are many benefits of having your website optimised for the search engines. Some of the main ones include:

Traffic, Traffic, Traffic

Traffic, or visitors, is the main goal of SEO. The more visitors to your website the more opportunities you have to convert them into customers.

Qualified Prospects

Not only are you attracting more visitors you will be attracting qualified prospects, i.e. people who are looking for what you are selling. You are much more likely to convert a qualified prospect than visitors who are “just browsing”.

Low Entry Costs

The more competitive the industry the more you’ll need to spend on SEO but generally speaking once your website is optimised it will continue to send targeted visitors to your website over a long period of time. And incorporating your SEO from the start, when your website is being built, will help manage your costs.

Target Hundreds of Keywords

You can target 10 keywords or hundreds if not thousands. The more keywords you target the more rankings and traffic you will achieve. Websites selling products online, for example, will benefit greatly by ensuring that every product page is optimised for that specific product. This can enable to site to rank for each product they sell.

Increased Brand Recognition

The more visible you are in the search engines the more recognisable your business becomes to your prospective customers. This helps you to develop trust and awareness so when the prospect is ready to buy they will feel like they already know your business.

Keeps You Ahead of Your Competition

By making sure you are visible in the search engines you will help keep your business ahead of your competitors. You can be sure they will be looking into SEO, if they haven’t already, so you have no time to wait.

Measurable Results

The performance of your SEO campaign can be measured and tracked, which will allow you to analyse what works and what doesn’t. You can use this information to tweak and adjust your efforts to attract in turn more targeted visitors and convert more prospects into customers.

Optimising Your Website

There are no quick fixes when it comes to Search Engine Optimisation. To ensure success you need to do it right from the beginning. Be wary of anyone who’s promises seem to good to be true. Some simple traps to avoid:

  • Search Engine Submission Services or companies that promise to submit your website to thousands of search engines. Ask yourself how many search engines do you know of? The main 3 search engines you should focus on are Google, Yahoo! and Live Search (MSN).
  • Reciprocal link schemes – these definitely don’t work and can in fact harm your search engine rankings.
  • Anyone who suggests they can help you “trick” the search engines by implementing techniques such as using hidden text on a page or creating doorway pages.
  • Anyone who tells you all you need to do is add Meta Tags. Avoid this like the plague.

So how do you optimise your website? You have two choices:

  • Do It Yourself
  • Use a SEO Specialist

Do It Yourself

There are so many online resources focusing on SEO. so if you don’t have the budget for a professional, or you have the time and inclination to learn, this could be the option for you. Bear in mind that you will need to spend a fair amount of time reading, learning, testing and testing some more.

Some more popular resources that I recommend to help get you started include:

Cre8asite Forums
Cre8asite is an online community that focuses on all element of building a website including SEO. I admit I’m biased, I’m an Administrator there, but it’s a great place to learn about creating successful websites.

SEOmoz
SEOmoz is a hub for the search marketing industry, providing a popular SEO blog, SEO tools and premium content.
High Rankings Advisor Newsletter
By well known SEO expert Jill Whalen.

More resources will be listed at the end of this article.

Alternatively there are a growing number of online courses where you can learn about SEO, from professional SEO’s in a structured environment. Do your research and make sure you choose a reputable company with a solid track record and a name in the industry. One I recommend is Search Engine College run by well known SEO Kalena Jordan.

Use a SEO Specialist

Using a SEO specialist will be the option for most businesses. There are a number of different options when choosing who to work with:

  • SEO Consultant

An SEO consultant is an individual who specialises in SEO and generally does not offer additional services such as web design. An individual SEO is a good choice if you already have a website.

  • SEO Company

Same as an SEO consultant but on a larger scale.

  • Web Design Company

If you need a website designed as well as optimised choosing a web design firm that can do both is often a good option.

Whoever you choose make sure you do your homework and that the company you choose can provide you with results. As I said above avoid anyone offering you quick fixes. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Search Engine Optimisation is a vital element in your website success and can deliver increased visitors, increased conversions and increased sales. Who doesn’t want that!

* Source: Forrester Research Inc.

What’s Wrong With My Website?

I talk to a lot of people who are puzzled by the lack of success of their website. After spending some time looking at the site in question I can usually spot a number of reasons for that lack of success.

If you have website that is not performing as it should it’s time to step back and take an objective look at it. It’s time to look at it through your prospects eyes, not your own. Start by asking yourself the following questions:

  • Can I quickly work out what this website is about. Is it clear?
  • Are the colors and text easy on the eye? Is it easy to read?
  • Does the site look professional? Could I trust doing business with this company?
  • Is it easy to navigate? Is it easy to find what I am looking for?
  • Does the design match the message?
  • How can I contact this business?

You might also want to spend some time filling out your own forms. Is it easy? Are you comfortable with the amount of information they ask for? Once you’ve submitted the form is there a confirmation page?

Often looking at a website with a clear objective mind helps you spot those little things that can be overlooked. By spotting them now and rectifying them you should see an increase in conversions and sales.

Finally, remember my golden rule: design with your prospects in mind not yourself. You need to appeal to them if you want any chance of success.

A Succesful Website Starts With the Strategy

It’s pretty obvious that any good house starts with a solid foundation. The same applies to a website. In order to ensure a successful website that achieves your goals you need to start with a solid foundation. You need to develop a sound website strategy that outlines your goals, target audience, market position, competitors and marketing efforts. This strategy, or blueprint, will help you and your web designer develop a website that will achieve you online goals.

Put it this way if you don’t know why you want a website, apart from because everyone else has one, how will you be able to measure your success? Quite simply you can’t.

So how do you develop your strategy? To get you started consider the following:

What Are Your Online Goals?

What are the goals of your website? What do you want to achieve?

  • Sell products online?
  • Build sales leads?
  • Reduce support costs?
  • Inform people?
  • Attract newsletter sign-ups?
  • Attract advertising revenue?
  • Brand yourself or your company?
  • To reduce time providing telephone support?

Once you’ve defined your goals you can set about working out how to achieve them and how to measure the results.

Who Is Your Target Audience?

Who is your website targeted to? Think about your audience and try to break it down in terms of:

  • Age
  • Sex
  • Location
  • Income
  • Internet skills
  • Other

This will help you to determine your target audience which in turn will influence the look and feel of the website, whether you need to target an international, national or local market, what sort of pricing strategy to adopt, how easy the website should be to use and what sort of ongoing marketing strategies are required.

Who is Your Competition? How Are They Positioned?

Take the time to check out the competitive space. Questions to ask:

  • Who are your online competitors?
  • How do they position themselves?
  • How easy/hard is their website to use? Is it engaging? Compelling?
  • How are they positioned in the search engines? Can you compete?

How Will Prospective Customers Find You?

Once your site is built and launched you need to ensure a steady stream of targeted visitors. Now is the time to start looking at your ongoing marketing and what strategies you’ll need to adopt. Where will your prospects come from? Some to consider:

  • Search engines?
  • Word of mouth & referrals?
  • Offline advertising?
  • Online advertising?
  • Forum participation?
  • Blogging?
  • Other?

The answers to these questions will help you define your marketing strategy and your overall website strategy. For example if you feel search engines will be an important driver of traffic to your website it is vital that that is taken into account when your website is being designed.

By considering the above you’ll be able to put together a clear blueprint detailing your website strategy and how it should be implemented. And in the long run it will help you, and your web designer, create a successful website.

The Recipe For Online Success

I’ve spoken to, and worked with, numerous people who have decided to set-up an online business. And as with bricks and mortar establishments some succeeded spectacularly and some fail badly. I’ve analysed these success and failures and have found some common traits in the successful online ventures. So without further ado here’s my straightforward recipe for running an online business, successfully.

Research Your Market

It seems obvious but this is one of the most overlooked areas of starting an online business. Which is all the more strange when you consider how easy it is to conduct research into a market and it’s competitiveness on the internet.

Researching your market will help you determine whether there is a need for your idea, whether that need is already being serviced, and if so how well. Using a search engine, such as Google, can help you determine the level of competitiveness of your chosen industry. You can use it to see how many relevant businesses come up in common searches (the more results the more competitive it will be) and then check out those websites to see how they are run.

Think about your audience, will you be focusing on a small regional area or aiming for a global market? Is there a reason why a particular demographic would want to choose you over another business? Can you, for example, promote a favourable exchange rate or the ability to work while the rest of the world sleeps?

Finally, it’s important that you take into account whether your idea translates to being sold online. For example large, heavy, fragile products will be harder to ship and therefore sell than smaller, easy to post items.

Set Realistic Budgets

I know I’ve talked about this before but I am again as I can’t emphasise enough how important setting a realistic budget is. If you’re planning on running a successful online business you will need to budget for both the establishment and the ongoing marketing of that business.

If you’re reluctant to divulge your budget when talking to online service providers at least provide them with a ballpark figure so they are able to tailor a solution to fit your needs. You’ll probably find that costs vary from company to company – take the time to do your research and choose the one that not only fits your budget but the one you feel will best help you succeed (more on this below).

Surround Yourself With a Good Team

In order to succeed in your online business you will need to ensure you’re working with a web team that can help you achieve your goals. As a starting point you will need the services of the following people:

  • Web Hosting Company
  • Web Design Company
  • Search Engine Marketing / Internet Marketing Company

You can choose to go with separate companies or select a full service business who can help you with everything. Whatever you decide the most important thing is to make sure you pick a company you feel is a good fit.

The right company will understand the principles of business and selling online, they will understand how to get a website to rank in the search engines and most importantly they will be able to build you a website that prospects find easy to use and converts those prospects into customers.

Budget is important, obviously, but it’s just as important, if not more, to work with a company who understands your requirements and is able to help you to realise your goals and turn it into a profitable business.

Invest in Online Marketing

Once you’ve got your website online you need to market it to attract targeted prospects. A mix of the following internet marketing efforts will be a good start:

  • Search Engine Optimisation – usually best done in conjunction with building your website. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of creating a website that ranks highly in the search engines for keyword phrases related to your business. A motel in Cairns would want to rank well for phrases such as “cairns motel” for example.
  • Link Development – links from credible, related type websites will not only bring targeted prosects to your website it will also help you with your search engine rankings.
  • Advertising & Sponsorships – seek out other websites that you can advertise on. Look for sites that attract an audience you think would be interested in your products and/or services. Consider banner ads, sponsorships, competitions and newsletter advertising, to name a few.
  • Pay Per Click Advertising – the two main players in the Pay Per Click (PPC) market are Google and Yahoo! PPC allows you to create advertisements that only display when specific keywords, chosen by you, are searched on. When your ad is clicked on you pay an amount (or bid), set by you. Bids start from about AU$0.10 and a campaign can be up and running in a few minutes.
  • Online Newsletters – online newsletters are a fabulous way to communicate with prospective customers. It’s an opportunity to showcase your knowledge, provide information about your products and services and promote special offers.

It’s the old adage, you’ve got to spend money to make money. With the right marketing mix and a focus on creating a positive return on your investment (ROI) your online marketing efforts will help you build and run your business successfully.

Finally, remember that the above suggestions are just a starting point. Talk to your internet marketing expert who should be able to help you develop an online marketing plan that will grow your business.

Be Prompt and Responsive

You’ve found a site that sells the exact widget you want. You place your order, and… pray. It sounds awful I know but I commonly hear people say that they’ve contacted a business via their website, or placed an order, and are now wondering if they’ll ever hear from them. You don’t want to be one of those businesses. Clearly state the best ways for people to contact you, let them know when they should expect a response and what to do if they’ve not heard anything.

On an e-commerce site have the order response page acknowledge an order and provide a shipping timeframe. Follow up with a confirmation email again letting the customer know when they should expect their goods. And finally, send them an email when the package has actually shipped.

The internet can seem very anonymous. By continually communicating with your customers and reassuring them along the way they will be confident in doing ongoing business with you. And perhaps even recommending you to their friends.

Measure Your Results

A website that’s not being measured and tracked is like running around in the dark, with sunglasses on. Are you getting lots of visitors and few sales? Are you getting a few visitors but most of them make a purchase? Where are your visitors coming from? What do they look at? How long do they stay?

One of the great benefits of running an online business is the ability to collect and analyse website visitor data. All this data will help you tailor your website and refine your marketing to ensure you’re bringing in maximum visitors and converting them into customers.

There’s no substitute for hard work but with some careful research and planning and ongoing effort into promoting and managing your online business you too can be one of the internet success stories!

Anyone Can Perform Basic Usability Testing

I am researching the competitive market for a new client and have been surprised at how poor the usability is on many of their websites. And these aren’t the sort of errors that could be overlooked – they are basic mistakes that anyone using their website will come across.

If any of these sites had performed some basic usability testing these mistakes would have been found and corrected. And it’s so easy. Grabs some members of your family and friends and watch them while they visit your website. Ask them to perform some tasks (eg purchase a widget, make an enquiry, find the contact details) and watch how easy or hard it is for them. This will give you a good indication of what areas of your website need improving. Then improve them.

Making your website an enjoyable, easy experience will help turn your visitors from frustrated browsers into customers. And who doesn’t want that?

Trusting Your Instincts

I’ve written a lot about how important it is for businesses to choose the right web designer for their online project. Not just the cheapest but the one they feel will best help them realise their goals.

On the flip side it’s just as important for web designers to vet their prospective clients too. A business relationship needs to be mutually beneficial and if your instincts are telling you you’re not sure about a project or client listen to them. I know that can be hard when you have bills piling up, or want the latest iMac, but believe me these are the projects that usually go pear shaped.

The irony is, for me at least, every time I have listened to my instincts and not done a project, another better one comes along. As they say when one door closes another opens.

It may take a while to listen to and trust your instincts but believe me it’s probably one of the best pieces of business advice I can give you.

Increasing Your Website Conversion Rate

A positive trend in web design is the push towards focusing on the return on your investment, or ROI, as it is more commonly known. Shouldn’t that always have been the case I hear you ask? Well yes, but unfortunately for too long, and by too many, the focus was on having a pretty website, high search engine rankings or the number of people who visit your website. All important things sure, but a website that converts visitors into customers should be your ultimate goal.

There are some simple steps you can take when designing or re-designing your website to ensure that you’re able to maximise your conversion rate and achieve a positive ROI.

Be Open To Everyone

If you ran a small bricks and mortar shop and kept the door locked and the phone off the hook I suspect you wouldn’t get much business. What a silly analogy I hear you say, well not really – the number of websites that make it difficult for people to order or contact you is far, far higher that you think.

Accessibility

Accessibility is the term used to describe the degree to which a website can be used by a cross section of people and devices. It has become increasingly important in recent years, and is even a legal requirement in some countries. Beyond legal requirements an inaccessible website will make it difficult for customers to use your site and encourage them to go elsewhere, such as a competitor.

It is important that you talk to your web designer and come up with an accessibility plan that is suitable for your website and its goals.

Browser Compatibility

Unfortunately the wide choice of web browsers available means that your website may not look the same in each one. Many designers focus solely on Internet Explorer thinking that as the majority of users use IE it should be ok. Not so. Depending on the industry you are in the percentage of visitors from alternative browsers can be as high as 50%. This means you could be turning away as many as 50% of your potential customers.

The good news is by designing with web standards your website will look the way it is intended across all web browsers.

By making it easy for visitors to view and browser your website you stand a far better chance of having them purchase from you.

Make Your Contact Details Stand Out

Oftentimes people want to contact you before placing an order online. Or they want to see your contact details to reassure them that a human is behind the site and can be contacted if need be. For this reason it is important to have your contact details placed prominently on your site. As well as a specific contact page I recommend placing your important details, such as address and phone number, on each page of your site. In the very least I suggest the following contact details:

  • Address
  • Phone Number
  • Email Address

If you prefer one contact method over another feel free to specify it. I also recommend letting people know roughly when they can expect a response.

Have a Clear Returns Policy

If you are selling products online a clear returns policy will help you increase your conversion rate. Encouraging people to order from your website is all about gaining their trust. Sometimes, for whatever reason, someone may want to return what they have ordered from you.

Prospects will feel far more comfortable buying from your site if you clearly state what your return policy is and how items can be returned.

Offer a Variety of Payment Options

Not everyone has a credit card and even if they do not everyone wants to use it. Make your visitors lives easier by offering them a variety of payment options such as credit card, Pay Pal, electronic transfer and good old fashioned cheques. By making it easy for them to pay you you make it easier for them to do business with you.

Make Sure Your Site Is User Friendly

Not everyone is a computer whiz. But almost all people have the money and desire to purchase online or to use the internet to research purchases. By making sure your website is easy to use you stand a better chance of having your visitors stay and do business with you and not your competitors.

Clear Navigation

Navigation is the main way your visitors will move through your website Make sure that your navigation options are clear and easy to understand so that visitors are able to find what they want easily.

Easy To Read Text

It’s common knowledge that most people don’t read huge tracts of text online. To help make sure your site is easy and appealing to read it’s important that you use clear, legible type, and break up your text with paragraphs as well as using bold text and dot points as necessary.

Make Links Obvious

Online an underlined word generally represents a link. For that reason I never, ever suggest underlining a word unless it is a link. If you are wanting to highlight a word do it by using bold or italics instead.

And while we’re on about links make sure it look clickable by using a strong link colour such as a bright blue.

User Friendly Error Pages

We’re not always able to stop visitors from getting an error page but making sure that error page is helpful and talks to them in easy to understand language, without technical jargon, is vital. It’s also often worthwhile to include a search box and links to the main pages of your site to help your visitors find what they are looking for. It’s also a good idea to include your contact details so if they get really stuck they can contact you directly.

Ask For the Sale

My final step is the most obvious but also the most overlooked – ask for the sale. Add to Cart, Order Now, Contact Us – these are just three simple ways to ask your visitors to take the next step with you, whether that be purchasing something online or calling you for a quote. As well as providing information about your products or services you need these well placed Call To Actions to tell your visitors what they need to do next. Calls to Action can be in the form of text or graphics and often a combination works well. Whatever you do make sure it is big and bold so it can’t be overlooked.

By incorporating the above steps into your website you’ll stand a better chance or converting visitors into customers and thus ensuring that you get a positive return on your website investment.

The Reasonable Test

I was just chatting to a colleague (hi Michael *waves*) and we got discussing what I call the “reasonable test” and I figured it would be a good blog post.

We’ve all heard of job creep, whether it be through additional features and functionality or due to having to do numerous mock-ups for a client. Doing too much of this will cost you in both time and money, however you probably want to keep your client happy as you work tgether.

When this happens I apply what I call a reasonable test. Is it reasonable that I do the additional work for no additional fee? Is it reasonable that the client should be billed extra? What is a reasonable solution to this?

This litmus test has stood me in good stead over the years and ensured that everybody is happy and knows where they stand.

Choosing the Right Web Designer

When deciding to set-up a website for your business one of the first steps you’ll need to take is find a web design company who can help with your project. With so many web design firms available the biggest problem will not be finding one but making sure that you find the right one for you.

The right web designer will not only make a website that looks good but will understand your site is a business tool that needs to perform for you. In order to find the best web designer for your project you’ll need to spend some time researching the market, looking for potential design firms and talking with them to make sure you are a good they understand your needs and can deliver a successful solution.

As well as reviewing portfolios and testimonials making sure the web design companies you talk to have knowledge in the following areas will help you make sure you make the right choice.

Clear Communication

To the uninitiated internet lingo can sound like a foreign language. A good web designer will talk to you in a language you understand. So you should hear less of the acronyms and more of the details.

When talking to potential web designers be prepared to stop them when you don’t understand what they are saying and ask them to explain, in a manner that you do. This is nothing to feel bad about. Everyone is knowledgeable in their industry – I have no idea how to fix a broken toilet and I wouldn’t expect a plumber to know what CSS is.

You’re hiring a professional web designer to help you navigate the online world so use their expertise to help you understand.

Designing With Web Standards

Many industries have a set of standards that people should comply with, and the internet is no different. Designing with web standards ensures that a website is accessible to more people and more types of internet devices, such as a web browser (think Internet Explorer or Firefox), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or a mobile phone. Designing a website to meet web standards also ensures that your website continues to function correctly as technology evolves saving costly re-designs.

When talking to potential web designers ask them their feelings on web standards and whether they work to them.

Understanding Usability

An often overlooked part of building a website is usability. Put plainly, usability is the ease of which a website can be used. You want the visitors to your website to be able to quickly and easily move around your website and complete the tasks they are there for, eg buy your products online or make an enquiry. If a visitor is not able to find what they are looking for they will most likely leave and go elsewhere, causing you to loose a sale. In the offline world you’d make sure your shop door is open and your phone on the hook, online you need to make sure you do the same.

As well as talking to web designers about usability take a moment to go through their site and sites they’ve done for other businesses. Are they easy to use? Can you find what you are looking for? Is it usable?

Knowledge of Search Engines

I’ve talked about search engines and search friendly websites in previous articles and I can’t emphasise enough, again, how important they are to your online presence. With search engines accounting for up to 70% of the visitors to your website it’s vital that you make sure your website is built in a search engine friendly manner from the ground up.

Your web designer needs to understand how search engines, crawl, index and rank pages and take that into account when building your website.

Focuses on Conversions

A pretty website is just that. Pretty. Sure you want your website to look good but more importantly you want it to achieve your online goals. The right developer will understand this and will work with you to develop and execute a strategy that will meet these goals and convert visitors into customers.

Converting a visitor into a customer involves creating a clear, professional easy to use website that talks to your visitors. These days you’ve got about 3 seconds to capture your visitor’s attention. That’s it. In that time they have to work out what your site is about and what’s in it for them. The more complicated your message the more difficult it is for them to work it out – and the easier it is for them to hit the back button.

Make sure your web designer understands the importance of building a website that focuses on conversions. Talk to them about creating Call to Actions (eg a Buy Now button), how they will approach the online ordering process, help you collect leads or achieve any other online goals you have.

Deciding to take the plunge and create an online presence is a big step. In order to do it right and come away with a successful website you need to make sure you choose the right web design business to be a part of your team. The more information you arm yourself with, and the more time you spend talking to potential designers, the better chance you will have of making the right choice for your business. Good luck!