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Target the Right Audience
Designing for the Web is Different
Frames Can Harm Your Search Engine Rankings
Non-Standard Navigation Can Lose Visitors
Planning for the Future
Digital Brochures
Retention Marketing Will Help Grow Your Business
You want more
than a high number of hits on your site. You want your site to attract
the ideal audience. When you build your site for the right audience,
you build for online communication success. If your site is not
pulling sales, inquiries, or results, then more traffic will not
increase success. To target your ideal visitors, center on one or
two major themes, which appeal to your audience. Use your themes
as key word phrases.
When you are
writing content for your site, start with a key word list. In your
key word list, include words that your customers would use when
searching for your expertise. To optimize your search engine rankings
for several different topics include one theme per page and register
the most important pages. With a consistent theme, you can improve
search engine rankings. Make sure you carry your theme in your site
headlines, your site copy, your metatag descriptions, metatag title
and your metatag key words.
Metatags are
the HTML codes that are viewed by the search engines. Metatag key
words are the words that some search engines will use to define
your site in the search engine's database. When a viewer's search
identifies your Web site as relevant, search engines typically display
your metatag title and metatag description. In your metatag title
give the viewer a compelling reason to select your site. You should
be creative (but avoid too much hype). Some search engines will
not allow marketing or sales messages to appear as titles or descriptions.
Use your title to accurately describe your Web site and you can
increase your qualified traffic.
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Make sure the
person designing your Web site understands the Web. Recently, we
were asked to re-design a Web site built by a direct marketing company.
While the original vendor had strong expertise in designing for
print, they did not understand the Web.
Some of the
basic mistakes made by the original designer included:
- All copy placed in graphic files (no HTML text) on any page.
Graphics allow for great control of font size and type. However,
today most search engines will not index a graphic based Web site.
Search engines must be able to read the text on your site. Our
client has a Web-based business - so search engine placement is
critical.
- Prime real estate wasted. The original designer had placed excessive
white space in the prime navigation spaces. Navigation has developed
some standards - at the top or along the left-hand side. You want
to be creative with your Web site - but not on where you place
your navigation. Don't make your viewers guess what they must
do to move to the next page. Use this prime space very wisely.
- Excessive right to left scrolling. Viewers do not like excessive
right to left scrolling. You should require that your Web designer
design for the standard screen used by your target audience. Moreover,
people today do not bookmark pages, they print out Web pages of
the interest. If your Web site is excessively wide, your viewers
may not be able to print critical information on your site.
Conclusion, hire someone with Web design experience to design
and write copy for your site.
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We received
a call recently from a prospective client with a Web site that was
not getting ranked by the search engines. After reviewing the firm's
site, we determined that the problem was the site's basic structure.
Her site was designed in frames. Many search engine spiders (the
programs that index sites) encounter difficulties with frames. Search
engines send out robots (or spiders) to review the sites for inclusion
in the search engines' databases.
Search engines
look at the site's text to review frequency of words, prominence
of words, etc. Many search engines must see the HTML text on a site
in order to determine the proper index terms. If you develop your
site in frames, the search engines cannot see your text.
What is a frame?
A frame anchors one portion of the text so that the text is always
on the screen. You are looking at a framed site when you see more
than one vertical or horizontal scroll bar. You may feel you must
use frames to properly control a site's layout --- however -- you
can use tables equally effectively. Since tables will not interfere
with the search engines, we highly recommend a table structure.
For example,
novice designers like to use frames in the left column navigation
bar. New designers like to place the main navigation in a frame
so that it remains the same on every page. And, if they need to
change the element, they believe a frame is the only way to make
a global change. An experienced designer knows how to use table
layouts and new HTML editing software to achieve very similar if
not the same results.
So avoid frames especially in the higher levels of your Web site
- where the text must be seen by the search engines.
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In
any magazine, you know where to find the article index and letters
to the editor. Web site navigation has also developed some standards.
If you deviate from the standard, you risk confusing your visitors.
Confused visitors will most likely leave your site rather than try
to puzzle through muddled navigation.
To adopt today's navigation standards, you should create a site
with:
- Primary
navigation across the top (or left-hand side)
-
Secondary navigation (elements under the primary categories) either
at the top (under the primary navigation bar) or left-hand side
- Tertiary
navigation (and other levels, if necessary) under the secondary
elements
- Other
navigational elements (site map, search features, etc.) can be
located just about anywhere on the page
- No
more than eight options on primary or secondary navigation
-
Every item no more than three clicks from the main screen
- Consistent
navigation design throughout the site
- Visual
cues that show viewers where they are or have been within the
site
- A
search feature and a site map (if your site is very deep)
We evaluate competing Web sites for clients. Our staff has discovered
many Web sites with very confusing and constantly changing navigation
structure. A well-known Web design expert also suggests that you
use text labels for all navigation elements. If you use only graphics,
your viewer may not know what is represented by your images. To
build a successful Web presence, make you sure your navigation is
straightforward and consistent throughout.
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A publicity
plan is a great way to establish and work to obtain your public
relations and corporate communications goals. When designing a publicity
plan, there are a number of questions to consider. They include:
What
is your budget?
To successfully publicize your company and your offerings, you must
have money designated for publicity purposes. By designating a specific
dollar amount towards publicity efforts only, you will be able to
better track your efforts. Often this budget may be a subset of
an overall marketing budget.
How does your publicity plan fit into the overall marketing plan
for your company?
To promote your organization, the Communications Department and
the Marketing Department should work together. Although they do
not provide information in the same manner, the ultimate goal is
the same, namely to promote your company, your products, your services
and increase business. By working together, you can obtain economies
of scale and be more effective with your efforts.
What
events do you have planned?
Event marketing has become a popular way to obtain goodwill advertising
while supporting the community. Events to consider include speaking
engagements, seminars, trade shows, corporate sponsorships, special
events and the like.
Do you have the applicable marketing collateral and/or do you
know where to get it?
When performing any communications and/or publicity, you must ensure
you have marketing materials for your audience. To must be able
to meet your audience's requests for information. Often, special
marketing pieces must be developed, tailor-made for each audience.
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Over
the past several years, there has been a dramatic increase in the
amount of information transferred electronically. The advent of
pdf (portable document format) files influenced this trend substantially.
PDF files have numerous advantages over traditional printed marketing
collateral. Increasingly companies are using pdf files and digital
brochures to transmit corporate information via the web.
First
and foremost, digital brochures are immediate. For example, you
have a prospective client on the phone discussing their needs and
your products and services. With a digital brochure, you can e-mail
them information without interrupting the flow of the conversation
and without the added time and hassle of mailing and subsequent
follow-up.
If
your company sells a complex product, a well-designed pdf can make
it easier to explain your product's benefits.
You can also encourage prospects to respond to your message by embedding
links to your Web site or to a request for quote form. You can save
pdf files to mini-CDs and provide your sales staff with an excellent
tool for demonstrating your product's features.
Digital
brochures are cost effective. There are no printing costs, no 4-color
process costs, no set-up fees and no postage expenses. When printed,
these files often look very similar to high-quality 4-color pieces.
You can also easily change content without incurring substantial
charges.
Delivery
is more accurate. Since you are e-mailing the file to a specific
person, there is less chance of returned mail. And, they are portable
across many platforms and operating systems, and usually have small
file sizes. The viewer software is free and is not standard on most
computers.
Market
Wise has produced hundreds of pds for a variety of companies. Whether
a digital brochure, a direct mail campaign, a newsletter, a booklet
or other marketing collateral, pdf format is an excellent option.
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To
grow your business, communication with your target audience is key.
In a time of economic instability, it is critical to communicate
with your customers. Your competitors are bombarding your customers
with offers. To maintain a competitive edge and retain your customers,
you should communicate with them regularly. Use the time between
the initial sale and the reorder to follow-up and ensure your customer
is satisfied. This follow-up, otherwise known as "retention
marketing", includes regular contact with your customers either
via telephone, email, or direct marketing.
An
effective and efficient way to perform "retention marketing"
is to create and implement a communications plan. Communications
plans are often multi-step and involve multi-touches. Whether your
communications plans involves follow-up phone calls, customer surveys
or direct mail campaigns the goal is to make your customer feel
important.
Each
and every day you get one chance to either impress a customer or
turn them away. And, if you turn customers off, your competitor
is standing ready to acquire your lost business. Make sure you put
the customer first. Make sure all members of your staff are professional
and courteous when dealing with customers. And often, most importantly,
listen to your customers. You may want to engage a third party to
interview your customers and gauge their satisfaction levels. Customers
will tell a third-party information that they often will not tell
you.
A carefully thought out and achieved communications plan is good
for your business. Your customers are satisfied, and you
earn referral business.
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