Remember Who “Owns” Your Site

In my previous article “Projecting the Right Image on the Web” I encouraged you to “give away” your website to the users – your customers – for it is they who seek out your site for something they need or want. And so, it is important to give them what appeals to them and is most relevant to them.

Talk TO Them, Not AT Them

Talk to your readers, not at them. Use words and phrases that are eye-catching, direct, clearly stated and, above all, relevant. Your tone of voice should be immediately appropriate to the audience’s relationship with the site. Don’t be cryptic. Don’t assume that you have their undivided attention, because you probably don’t. On the other hand, don’t be overly verbose, either, because that is the surest way to lose their attention. It is not easy to grab and hold someone’s attention online, so you must work diligently to develop the skills needed to accomplish it This is why we have said to “give away” your site to your readers. Find out what they want and give it to them.

Begin immediately with all the essential information. Then follow with further details. This allows the reader to see the point and purpose of a page instantly so that he/she can make a quick decision as to whether or not to read on. Make the opening paragraph on every page the most important and fill it with appropriate keywords and phrases that will ensure optimization of your site.

Keywords & Phrases

Your careful choice of keywords and phrases announces to the search engines what you do. Writing copy based on your keywords and phrases will help optimize the page, A well-optimized page requires a minimum of 250–350 words. But simply peppering your site with keyword phrases, though affording you a higher position in search engines, will lose you as many customers as it attracts, if not done in a readable, attention-holding style. In other words, if your site is ponderous and weighty, readers will abandon it quickly out of disinterest and boredom, regardless of whether or not it has the keywords and phrases for maximum optimization. The trick here, then, is to write keyword-rich copy without compromising sustainability through readability. Accomplishing this task requires knowledge and skill. Here are some suggestions on how to pull this off:

Keyword-rich Copywrite Without Readability Compromise

Attaining this requires some pre-planning.

1. Find out what keywords your customers use when searching for your site. These are the words you’ll want to use to describe your product or service.
2. Use only the most important keyword phrases. Don’t include every keyword phrase on every page. Focus on just one or two on each page.
3. Be specific and concised
4. Use keywords or phrases in links whenever posible
5. Use keyword phrases in headings
6. When you’re done, test for keyword phrase density

Here are some tools you could use to find out what keywords phrase people use to find your site:

1. Google Free Keyword Tool
2. SEO Book Keyword Research Tool (free)
3. Trellian Free Search Term Suggestion Tool
4. Word Tracker (free 7 day tail or paid version)
5. goRank Keyword Analyzer (free)

Internal Link and Inter-connection

Another helpful technique is to make use of Internal linking between documents. This is to be used contextually and be relevant to the targeted page and phrase or another section on the same web page

Add a Blog to the Mix If Possible

Blogging is an excellent natural way to obtain higher search engine placement, if you can make the time for it and remain consistent and focused on subjects of interest to your readership. Here are some ideas on how to write an effective blog.

All the above have been internally focused. Next, let us move on to the external factors that also contribute to your site SEO, also referred to as Off-page Optimization.

Meta Tags

Meta Tags are information inserted into the “head” area of web pages. They are placed between the “opening” and “closing” HEAD tags. The data they provide cannot be seen by those viewing your pages in browsers. Instead, Meta elements provide information about the webpage, most often to help search engines categorize them correctly. Meta tags, for example, can tell a browser what “character set” to use, the page refresh rates. etc.

Example:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
        <head>
    <meta name="keywords" content=
"Define keywords for some search engines" />
    <meta name="description" content=
"Define a description of your web page" />
            <title>Title</title>
        </head>

For more in-depth infomation on Meta Tags visit this site …
Next, we move on to the Title Tag element.

The Title Tag

Simply put, the title tag element defines the title of the document.

Let’s make one thing clear upfront; the title tag is not actually a meta tag… and the title tag is regarded as one of the most important factors in achieving high search engine rankings. For instance, adjusting only the title tags of your pages may generate quick and appreciable differences in your page rankings. And because the words in the title tag are what appear in the clickable link on the search engine results page (SERP), changing them may result in more clickthroughs if the right title is applied

The title tag is considered to be one of the “big three” in search engine algorithmic weight scail. In importance, it equals that of the text content on a webpage, It is the single most important piece of information the search engines use when deciphering your webpage. For that reason, including your target keyword phrase or phrases in your title is very desirable.

Things to Remember When Creating Your Title Tag

1. All titles should be typed in Title Case (or Proper Case). An excellent resource for learning title case capitalization rules is Writer’s Block – Writing Tips – Capitalization in Titles.
2. For nonfiction or reference websites, titles should be written to clearly indicate what is available on the page.
3. Every page should have a unique title that reflects its content.
   
4. The title should be self-explanatory and clearly communicate the contents of the page to the reader, thereby giving the reader a context.
5. Home page titles should clearly indicate what is available on the page, and for the purpose of web credibility, they should clearly indicate what organization is represented on the page. By this I mean that it would be beneficial for you to include the name of your organization in the title tag of your home page. Failure to do this could significantly lower your Web credibility.

Now that we have dealt somewhat extensively with the various tag element within the head tag, we shall now move on to the body contents, starting with text (copywrite).

Writing for Web and SEO

The phrase “content is king” is only true if the content is relevant and clarifies the subject at hand. When writing for the web, there are 2 primary audiences being addressed — the person reading and the search engine bots or spiders. Catering to both can make writing for the web a bit more of a challenge. Remember this, however: What is good for the searcher is most likely good for the search engines, but what is good for search engines might NOT necessary be good for the searcher or human reader.

So, start with a good understanding of your audience and of what you must do to attract and hold their attention. Then, be absolutely certain that you have an excellent grasp of the subject matter under discussion. Be systematic in your approach, knowing what key phrases and words to use, and be as natural as you can, without overuse of technical jargon that will confuse the “average” reader. And, finally, get right to the point. Choose your words carefully. Make everything as clear and concise as possible. Verbosity is a no-no that will lose your audience very quickly. Simplicity rules!

Separating Structure from Content and Presentation

The structure of a document is how it is organized logically using structural elements. Structural elements are the various HTML syntactic tags that define the structure of the document and, more specifically, define its content type — video or sound — or its logical construct — header (<h1>), paragraph(<p>) or list(<li>).

Example:

<h1>Header text</h1>
<h2>sub-header text</h2>
<p>Body text</p>

The content of a webpage refers to what it says to the user/viewer through text writeup, natural language, images, sounds, movies, animations, etc. The presentation is the manner, color or style by which the content is presented to the viewer. This should be done with the use of CSS (cascading style sheet) using style elements internally or externally. Such practices as separating style from content, minimizing obtrusive JavaScript, and streamlining code allow search engines to more easily spider, index, and rank web pages.

Providing Text Equivalent for Non-text Elements

Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element (ie. via “alt”, “longdesc”, or in element content). This includes: images, graphical representations of text (including symbols), image map regions, animations (ie. animated GIFs), applets and programmatic objects, flash, etc Abiding by this standard would result in the creation of a webpage that works for all, even the visually impaired. Also, it would be made available to those who do not rely on just one type of hardware, platform or browser. Pages should be usable by people without mice, with small screens, low resolution screens, black and white screens, and even with no screens, using only voice or text output.

As we are providing text equivalent, we must also be cognizant of site navigation.

Navigability

It is imperative to design and develop understandable mechanisms and methods for navigating within and between pages.

Make it as easy as possible for human and search engine bots to navigate and crawl your site and all its content.

Avoid the use of JavaScript when building your navigational bar. Instead, use CSS to structure, display and control the look and feel of the navigational bar. Search engines cannot read or access JavaScript or flash, but they can read and access a CSS-based text navigation bar. Text links are very important to search engines…

If using AJAX for rich interface design, make sure to implement properly with text equivalent provided for all non-text elements.

Within the header tag exist other types of tags called Meta Tags. These are not as relevant as they were in the early ’90s, but they can be of value, for if used properly, they may be of some SEO help

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the method or process of enhancing the volume and quality of human traffic to a website from the various search engines via “natural” or “organic” search results for targeted keywords and phrases.

A site that has been optimized becomes search engine friendly and, thus, indexed by the various search engines. Multiple factors must come into play for a website to be made search engine friendly. Below is a list of these factors with the role each plays in the optimization process:

There are two major aspects of SEO: “Internal or On-page Optimization” and “External or Off-page Optimization”.

On-page Optimization refers to techniques that can be used within the pages of a website to maximize its performance in search engines for targeted keywords and phrases. Off-page Optimization refers to techniques that can be employed outside your website to achieve the same result.

Internal or On-page Optimization

1. Coding Standards & Architectural Integrity
2. Meta Data
3. Title Tag Elements
4. Structural Elements
5. Navigation
6. Page Copyright
7. Keywords & Phrases
8. Internal Linking
9. Blogging

External or Off-page Optimization

1. External Linking
2. Directory Submissions
3. Social Bookmarking
4. Press Releases
5. Article Submission
6. Blog Reviews and Promotions
7. RSS Feeds and Backlink
8. Forum and Blog Signatures
9. Public Relationship

On-Page Optimization

Coding Standards & Architectural integrity

Adhering to best practice standards when coding for the web is of great relevance because a well coded site with carefully planned architectural and hierarchical layout will produce a solid foundation upon which to build semantic web structures with high integrity.

DOCTYPE Declaration

Remember to declare the Document Type (DOCTYPE) at the header or beginning of each page. According to W3C standards, each HTML document requires a document type declaration. The “DOCTYPE” begins the HTML document and informs the validator, the user agent and the search engine bots (also known as “spiders”) which version of HTML to use in checking the document’s syntax. This also informs the browsers how to display the webpage.

Example:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
   <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
            lang="en" xml:lang="en">
        <head>
          <title>Title</title>
        </head>

        <body>
          <!-- ... body of document ... -->
        </body>
      </html>

Now, let’s move on to the next must do, which is the hierarchical placement of the various elements and attributes as you code. Make sure to apply Semantic Markup throughout the coding process since it helps define the information hierarchy of your content so that search engines can more accurately understand your message and direct users to your site. To attain this, begin by separating structure from presentation.

Is your website projecting the right image to the right audience?

Let’s assume, to begin, that you are a startup, or, better yet, an established Fortune 500 Company, well known in the brick and mortar world, you’ve been around ‘forever’. The world is your oyster and you are in complete control (so you think).

But suddenly a paradigm shift occurs. A new reality; a whole new world begins to emerge in an unexpected dimension that is encroaching on the world you knew so well. This invading reality is redefining YOUR reality in ways you don’t welcome or understand. Things appear to be slipping away. What to do now? Embrace the changes’ or resist them?

This new invader of your known world is called “The World-wide Web.” Resistance to it would be futile and self-destructive. So you decide, rightly, to embrace it and to make it work for you. But how?

The first thing you need is a web presence, that is, a website. But not just a website, but a dynamic, eye-opening, attention-getting WEBSITE that will grab hold of your targeted audience, keep them there, and end up convincing them that they should buy your product. In short, your website should be your #1 salesperson!

Now What?

In preparation for your project launch, you probably did what most companies do when they have decided to go onto the web. You got your full staff of executive decision makers together and in one or more meetings hashed out the details of what your site should look like, how it should function, how the navigation should work and what technologies should be employed in its creation. Having done all of the above, you feel confident that getting your website online will be a piece of cake. After all, didn’t you and your staff do 90% of the work? Now it’s time to call in a professional web developer to put the finishing touches on YOUR plan. So you call them in and tell THEM exactly what THEY should do.

Wait A While, Something’s Missing

Hold it! I know you’re very excited about your project and anxious to get it up and running, but the sad truth is that at this point you’ve already shot yourself in the foot. And if you’re too enamored of your consensus on the what/how details for the project, you’ll probably do significant damage to it and to your company if you proceed now. How can that be? The fact is, you have left out of the picture the most important ingredient in your recipe for success — those who will actually use the site: your targeted audience. Your targeted audience must be the driving force behind any web project.

Give Up Ownership of the Website

Strange as it may seem; your own individual preferences are largely irrelevant to a successful web project. Yes, you need to communicate your needs and preferences to the design and development team of your project, but you need to then let go of those preferences and place no arbitrary, predetermined value on them. You need to be able to let the needs of your site’s users take precedence over your own. You also need to trust in the experience and talents of the design team to appropriately articulate your brand through the website.

The designer and developer’s individual preferences are also largely irrelevant. But if they are a savvy team, they already know this. A really good design team has the expertise to translate your needs and especially those of your site visitors’ into design, layout and function that will best represent your company and your brand to those who really count: your customer base.

So, rather than approaching a web project from the standpoint of your own preferences because you think you own the site, instead, take the approach that the USERS own the site. Go to work for them. Work to make them happy. Work to make things easy, intuitive and memorable for them. Work to reinforce or enhance their level of confidence in your brand and your company.

Trust Your Designer

In order to be able to effectively represent and communicate for a client online, the designer must be allowed the freedom to be creative. Studies show that, often, the most successful design work comes from projects with the highest degree of client/designer confidence. Trust is worth its weight in gold in any design project. Remember, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”. The task of designing a web page and/or website to work properly for the client’s aims, the client’s purpose, the client’s identity, and especially for the user, is one filled with multiple opportunities for success and, similarly, for grave missteps.

Just as a composer can communicate sadness or joy in music, a painter can communicate confusion on the canvas, an actor can communicate a myriad of emotions without speaking, so too the web designer can through layout, form, color, and design communicate his/her artistry on a web page, provided he/she is given free rien to do so.

You Are Now Ready for the Plunge

With all of the above in mind, you are now ready to take the plunge. A legitimate objective has now taken shape. This objective, or mission statement, describes exactly what you want the website to do in a single clearly articulated sentence.

Time to Strategize

Your strategy will define how you are to achieve the objective you have just developed. When it is finished, the strategy will outline the Who, What, and Why of the website.

The formation of strategy is not one of the most popular aspects of web development, but it should be. Strategy narrows the focus and purpose of a project to make it as effective as possible. Strategy helps contain the scope of work, direct the content creation process, and provide tactical direction to information architects. It also allows designers to truly design rather than merely paint pretty pictures, and it keeps developers focused on the right features. Once the website has launched, the strategy will help market the site through Search Engine Marketing (SEM) , Search Engine Optimization ( SEO), and a host of other enhancement processes.A simple strategy can be adopted to help all ranges and types of websites. Both large and small companies can use strategy to determine how best to educate new users about their products to make purchasing easy. Similarly, non-profits can identify a sub-set of particularly generous contributors to create a section of their website that appeals to this audience. A good web strategy helps to enhance and clarify the whole business goal.

The Results

Finally, it’s time to get specific. We must now measure every new idea against our strategy to see how each fits. Some questions to be answered are: How do the site architecture and navigation support the focus of the site? How does the design appeal to the target audience? Will the design funnel users onto the path laid out in the site strategy?

Strategy brings focus to the project and serves as a framework for all the components that comprise a website: copywriting, design, development and marketing.