10.23.06 - Les Kollegian Shares Client Web FAQs:
Foreword-Thinking Web Strategies for 2006 and Beyond
By now, the old motto "If you build it, they will come" is LONG GONE in terms of creating Web sites. As the dawning of the dubbed "Internet 2.0" approaches, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing, (SEM), Google Adwords and similar pay-per-click strategies are becoming a main focus of companies targeting customers and bringing eyeballs to their sites. These are all very important strategies to attract visitors, and it is important to implement one or more of these marketing combinations to ensure you are being seen by the search engine crawlers. However, what happens when a visitor finally reaches your site is even more important. Here are some frequent questions that I have been asked, and frankly, these are questions you should be asking yourself when reviewing and updating your current site.
How Much Information Should I Put on My Home Page?
You have less than seven seconds to grab a reader's attention on your Web site. Your Web site exists to solve a visitor's problem...quickly. Most clients I work with have difficulty describing what they do. They want to write long, descriptive paragraphs about all of their products and services on the home page. That's when the "elevator speech" comes in handy. I recommend you write one to two sentences (a very brief description) describing to the user EXACTLY what you do. If your company is relevant to their needs, this alone should grab their attention and increase click-thru to secondary pages. Speak directly to your target market. Using a colloquial style of writing (unless you are speaking to rocket scientists) is the best way to deliver a message driving site click-thru.
Should I have a Site Introduction?
NO. When it comes to Web sites, paying special attention to the visual layout and images is important in attracting a site visitor's attention. Effective sites take a lot of planning--and a lot of attention to details. Don't get caught up in the minutiae that won't convert site visitors to purchasers of your product or service. Introductions (graphically appealing or not) only slow the user down from solving their task and make them annoyed since you have wasted their time. Always take the user directly to your home page (or page with your company message) and quickly give them options to click thru' to areas within your site based on their potential interest.
How Do I Determine Main Navigation?
Many clients believe that the more buttons or links they have on their home page, the better their site will be. This is not true. The details of how you choose to organize the pages and information on your site will be very significant to your visitors' experiences. Consider things from a visitor's point of view, and organize around your visitors' priorities--not your internal company structure. Think of it as if you were organizing your closet. If you just put your clothes and shoes anywhere, it becomes difficult to find certain items. You can't see your socks hiding under a pair of underwear in between 2 shirts. Thus, you dig and move and search until you find what you need, wasting a lot of time. If you take the time in the beginning to organize neatly, (i.e., hang your shirts, put your socks in a "labeled" drawer, and fold your pants on a shelf) the items become very easy to find. Site owners need to carefully decide site structure and organization. The amount of links (in order of importance) and correct nomenclature are very important to create a simple and usable experience for visitors. For Web usability, "the rule of Five" (i.e., no more than 5 main points of navigation) is always a great guideline when determining main navigation links.
What About Flash? Should I Use It?
Sure. But only if it's functional. Let me explain. Just like a video, flash technology grabs a visitors attention because they notice movement, thus it becomes a focal point of the page. Now that you have their attention...what are you going to do with it? Ineffective uses of flash will just annoy your visitor. The visitors to your site are there for a purpose: to aggregate information about your Company, service, or product. Functional flash provides the movement to grab attention, but keeps it by delivering a message that enables the visitor to click thru' to a secondary page of importance. Most companies know why clients at any given time will visit their site and usually can identify the most important content. For example, Apple Computer will show their latest product launch with a message based on a current marketing push. They are aware that a majority of first-time visitors will be interested in that information, and they provide a way to immediately access it. The other beauty of not having a static graphic on your page is the ability to deliver multiple messages over the course of 2-3 screens. This enables the site owner to drive traffic to multiple areas within the site and track click thru. This is not only a great way to provide valuable information to prospective customers and visitors, but it enables the site owner to track what information is requested most on their site and adapt marketing campaigns to meet customer demand.
How Do I Write My Content? How Much Should I Put on the Site?
My clients often ask me how long it will take to design a site. The first answer is; "It depends on the type of site, functionality, and how many pages will be developed." The second answer is "It depends on how long it takes for you to deliver content."
Single handedly, the only time we ever miss a deadline is due to the fact we have not received content from the site owner. It is true that business owners and employees are always the most knowledgeable about their respective companies. However, it is also true that usually while they are great at talking about it, they are not great about writing it. We recommend a "no fluff" policy when developing content for the Web. That means...only write what is absolutely necessary to get your message across to the site visitor. While this may sound like an easy task, it isn't. More often than not, we tend to write too much and "babble" (I am potentially doing this right now) and not get our point across quickly, thus forcing visitors to lose interest. Remember: we are all short on time and are trying to access information as quickly as possible. Do yourself a favor and hire a professional copywriter. At a minimum, have this person come in at the end of a project and edit what you have written. This will help you focus on the important stuff and create more interest in your product and service. As well, a professional copy writer will be able to write content best suited for your sites SEO strategy, thus hopefully increasing site visits overall (more information on this below).
How Do I Make My Site Sticky Enough to Keep Visitors Coming Back for More?
As a graphic designer, I would love to say that a beautiful looking site will win them over forever. However, if you've ever seen myspace.com, which I am sure most of you have, you recognize that beauty isn't always what keeps them returning for more. The answer is content and interactivity. Obviously, Social Networking Sites (SNS) like MySpace or Linkedin will drive repeat traffic because they allow people to communicate with one another. Since this may not be the focus of your business, you need to develop alternate methods to get users to stick around and come back for more. Well written and abundant content about your business is a great start to a site that is worth visiting, but usually not enough to get them to return. The next step is dynamic content. For example, a home loan site may have mortgage updates on the home page that change daily to show current rates. Or, a sports-related site may show current scores. Content that updates regularly creates site "stickiness" and keeps your site fresh, increasing repeat visits. On my site (http://www.jacobtyler.com), I randomly generate case studies on my home page. Thus, randomly when someone returns to the site, a new image and text appears. While this is a very simple line of code and we only generate 3 different case studies, viewers tend to appreciate the fact that the site is different when they return, and in turn, they click through to other pages to see what else has been updated.
How Can My Site Compete With the Noise of the Other Sites?
With the creation of so many sites now in the hundreds of millions, and the robust search capabilities from companies like Google and Yahoo, Search engine optimization (SEO) has become as important as the site design itself. I don't think there are enough pages to discuss all the possibilities to a successful SEO strategy. Currently, this strategy would include keywords, meta tags, cross linking agreements, etc. However, one of the most important ways to get noticed and push yourself toward the top of the search results page is by simply having relevant, informative content. And a LOT of it. When writing for your Web site, try to think of creating text as someone may type it exactly into "search" input fields on Google or any other site. For example, in our case, we are a national design firm. However, if we want to try to locate business in a specific market, (like San Diego, where our Corporate Headquarters is located) we will try to develop relative and informative content using the keywords as someone may type them in order in a search engine. "Jacob Tyler's San Diego Web design agency creates interactive marketing and creative strategy campaigns for our clients". This sentence is developed to get the crawlers attention around the words "San Diego Web design," as this is what potential customers usually type when searching for potential agencies. Keep in mind, it is not that simple. While those words may be typed often, we have about 50 other companies in our area doing the exact same thing. However, the more it is mentioned within context to the content on your site, the better chances you have of getting noticed above your competition.
While many search engine crawlers search the Web and update frequently, it may take months before you are noticed in the engine and even longer before you rise to the top 10 or 20. Also, don't try to fool the engines with the tricks of the old days (6 years ago) by putting text in the same color as the background of the page or writing the same words over and over. If the spiders figure it out, which they eventually will, your site will be banned from the search engine and never listed.
The Bottom Line
If you want to create an effective Web site, get intimately acquainted with your visitors' mindset. Learn to identify with your visitors' feelings all the way through
from the very beginning of the process to the very end. Understand their specific needs, their concerns, and the benefits that resonate with them. Learn to tell
when they have enough information and when they need more... most importantly, don't waste their time. Focus on details and make every word and image count.
Conclusion
There are literally hundreds of books out there on successful Web site designs, but I wanted to provide you with solid answers to the most frequently asked questions-FAQs
in the Web site world-that I get from my clients consistently. Let me know if this has been helpful, or if I can answer more questions for you; we welcome your feedback. Email me at
les@jacobtyler.com. To check out samples of the strategies I discussed here, visit my Web site portfolio at http://www.jacobtyler.com/client_portfolio.php.
I hope it's sticky enough to keep you coming back for more.
To interview Les Kollegian, contact: Denise@JacobTyler.com
Phone: (630) 845-4694
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