Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be considered a science and there are many people out there that make a “killing” on helping people tweak their Web sites to battle for prime search engine positioning. To me it comes down to common sense…having relevant text and content on your Web page.
However there are a few things that you should know about search engines and how they are working nowadays. Gone are the days of submitting your site to “search engine directories” and loading your sites meta tags with keywords. SitePoint offers up some of the newest trends in a recent article.
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SEO: What’s Hot and What’s Not
Today Webdesigner Depot published a blog entry regarding 10 suggested tools that can help you gauge and improve your Web site’s interface and ease-of-use. While some of them I would not recommend (soliciting your twitter followers for free feedback is equivalent of using the pay-to-use service Feedback Army), there are some great suggestions such as Five Second Test and the Google Web Site Optimizer.
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10 Tools to Improve Your Site’s Usability on a Low Budget
From the “this is obvious but it is nice to see backing research” file, A List Apart has posted a fantastic article highlighting how a viewer’s perception of a Web site is established within 50 milliseconds. This initial perception heavily influences the confidence, trust and usability that visitor will have regarding the product or services offered.
An excerpt from the article states:
Research confirms that users make aesthetic decisions about the overall visual impression of web pages in as little as 50 milliseconds (1/20th of a second). These instant visceral reactions to web pages happen in virtually all users, are consistent over visit length, and strongly influence the user’s sense of trust in the information. In short, users have made fundamental, consistent, and lasting aesthetic decisions about the credibility and authority of sites before major eyetracking events begin.
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Visual Decision Making
Putting the appropriate value on your Web site and being willing to invest in top-notch marketing materials to establish your brand is a must to achieve success. I like to quote the adage “you get what you pay for”. It is understandable that businesses want to achieve the best bang for their buck, but with professional services (carpenters, doctors, mechanics and Web design / development companies), those whose prices are too good to be true usually just that.
Eric Karjaluoto of Ideas on Ideas presents a short story on the failure of one law firm to see the value in having a marketable Web site, and why it makes no sense to spend lavishly on other business features but let your brand suffer.
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Sweatpants Forever?
The blog Mens with Pens has a great post on the possibility of online videos turning away your audience or intended customer. Their reasoning is that if watching a video is the only option to receive content (especially in regards to a tutorial of some sort), then those who are visual learners are going to be at a disadvantage.
I agree with them….not only in regards to tutorial content but all online content. While there is nothing wrong with video as a communication format, when it is used to teach or present an update of some point, I become disengaged. I want the ability to be able to skim through content, skip what I am not interested in (or already know) and get to the good stuff. This is much harder to do with a video player than it is a readable, searchable and “take at your own pace” blog post.
The solution: Present an alternative format in addition to the video (text, PDF or a downloadable transcript of some sort).
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Do Your Videos Shut Out a Third of Your Audience?
This article over at SitePoint gives some great examples of creative and eye-catching copy for Web site introductions. Remember, when a visitor navigates to your Web site, you only have a second or two to maintain their interest. Otherwise, they may quickly lose attention and leave your site.
Our recommendation is to keep your Web site introduction short, to the point and set in large type.
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You Had Me At Hello: 10 Examples Of Website Introductions
Here is a quick and easy-to-read article on how to make a Web site improve your business. The first steps are obvious (getting a Web site up and running), however I like how the author stresses on sticking to your message and not trying to do too much at one time.
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How to Make the Web Work for Your Business in 5 Steps
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PGMag published an article last week broaching the topic of security while using the ever-popular Twitter. Some of the article is common sense for tweeters (such as not posting what you want to be public knowledge), however some very valid points are made especially in regards to the lack of e-mail verification for creating a Twitter account.
Read the full article here:
Oh, You Vulnerable Twit! Why Twitter Needs Security
The New York Times has an interesting analysis on how many prominent businesses are re-branding their products and customer appeal by updating their logos.
Read the full article here:
Warmer, Fuzzier: The Refreshed Logo
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