Websites Under Your Control Blog

You built it, they came. Now what?

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:40:00 GMT

You have this professionally-designed website that you can edit yourself, and you have finally achieved that goal of first-page listing on Google for some of your likely search phrases... but do the visitors to your site become customers?

Businesses that fail to "close the deal" will find that even high levels of traffic may not provide the return on their investment that they desired.

There are several way-too-common reasons why otherwise great websites don't generate the business they should. Check your own site, and see if you...

Qualify Yourself
Qualify the Potential Customers
Make it Easy to Buy
Help Them Take the Next Step

Qualify Yourself

Will potential customers want to do business with you? How will you stand out from the many competitors who are also found when someone searches Google for what you offer?

First impressions: Make sure that your website projects a professional appearance and generates trust in visitors. When someone clicks through to your web pages, they should feel they have landed on the site of a reputable business, and the quality of the site should engender confidence.

Provide your visitors with testimonials from past clients. Put snippets of these testimonials where they will be seen even if no one goes to the testimonials page.

Display relevant credentials and licenses, along with memberships in professional business associations.

Include an “About Us” page that describes the history of your company and bios of the owners and the key staff. List the qualifications of team members, and include "personalizing" things like community service and involvement.

Include your physical address and phone number. (If your address is a PO box or mailbox service, you'll have to work harder on other areas to build up the trust factor.)

Include frequent case studies or sample projects in your blog, mixed in with useful information related to your products and services.

Publish a regular newsletter, not full of ads, but with information useful to people who might become your customers.

Qualify the Potential Customers

"Qualifying potential customers" merely means making sure that there is a good match between what you offer, what they need, the location of the service, and the price.

Problem: If it isn't obvious what you offer or where, they are much less likely to ever call you.

Solution: Make it clear what you offer, and where. (Many sites have their location in their title tags, but while this is great for Google, it is usually overlooked by website visitors.)

Pricing: Many businesses do not want their prices on their website, for fear their competitors will see them.

Most people will not contact you for details when there is not at least some indication of pricing on your website.

We have to ask, however, whether the potentially lost "bargain-shopping" customers are as valuable as those who simply move on to the next website where they discover that the services are within their price range.

Given the many options for a provider, most people won't consider the ones who offer no pricing information at all.

Bonus: You won't waste time dealing with customers who won't spend what you ask, if you provide reasonable hints of your pricing on your website.

Make It Easy to Buy

While many service providers can adjust what they offer based on their customers' needs and budgets, many potential customers prefer to purchase packages of services at fixed prices. For the provider and customer alike, such packages remove the headache of having to make numerous decisions about many possible options.

Even if every project will be customized, start with a "standard package" and then adjust as needed.

With pre-bundled packages, the customer can often find exactly what they need on their own without the extra work on both their part and yours. The packaged services are also ideal for online purchase, since the whole bundle can be included as a single product.

Bonus: Don't underestimate the time saved when you don't need to develop a custom package with unique price estimates for each customer. What's your time worth?

Help Them Take the Next Step

Just listing your email address or phone number on your website won't cut it. (But omitting those will pretty much guarantee failure...)

Do you need to "ask for the order" or give a "call to action" when you have already described what you have to offer and how to reach you?

Researchers have found, as reported by Malcolm Gladwell's best seller, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, as much as a 900% increase in follow-through will result for walking the prospect through the next steps...

Make sure that your website includes a message calling on visitors to take action. Many websites forget this simple step and end up losing valuable sales.

Extra Bonus Topic: Make It Easy for Them to Keep Buying

While you are at it, why not boost your recurring revenues by offering your customers something you know they will need every so often? Make it easy for them to get automatic refills, updates, replacements, tune-ups, or whatever else your customers ought to be getting on a repeat basis.

Otherwise, you are abandoning these customers back to the marketplace when they next need what you offer.

Need help putting all this together for your website?

Call us at 866-640-1234, or email us at partners@friscowebsites.com.

Big Hat, No Cattle

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:10:00 GMT

You know the expression? It usually refers to a big talker who can't deliver on his claims.

We sometimes think of that phrase when asked to help someone get their amateurish website pushed to a more prominent position in Google.

For both the braggart and the website, once people get disappointed, they are likely turned off forever.

So even if you can get prime Google placement, if your website isn't up to snuff, well, nice hat!

We strongly advise: first and foremost, make your website appealing to your visitors. Only then give thought to your Google placement.

Why? Do the arithmetic.

Say your website brings in 500 visitors a month, and 5 of them, or 1%, become customers. Say each will spend enough to make you $100. That's $500 profit from your website.

Think about those 495 people who did not buy from you. Just like the 5 who bought from you, these 495 took the time to come to your website because they assumed you offered something they wanted.

What website improvements might convert just 5 out of those 495 interested people into buyers?

Get those 5 more, and the monthly net from your website just jumped from $500 to $1000.

Bonus:

Improve the content, and not only will your conversion rate improve -- the search engines will rate you higher as well! If you missed it, last week we talked about how search engines are almost immune from "tricks" these days, and increasingly look for the quality of your website - so focus on compelling content.

(Need help with your content? We offer a ghostwriting service for our clients. If you're not our client, see if your webmaster or marketing advisor can help.)

Without good content, don't bother with SEO

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:58:00 GMT

There was a time when filling your website’s pages with relevant keywords and incorporating a variety of search engine optimization (SEO) tricks would all but ensure you would rank high in search engine results. There were plenty of SEO tricks back then, and many proved to be highly effective. But, as they say, all good (or maybe not so good) things eventually come to an end.

Search engines make their money by selling ads, and need lots of users in order to sell those ads. It is only natural, then, that search engines continuously improve the methods they use to deliver the best, most relevant search results possible. As it turns out, they are very good at it – and getting even better.

It is no secret that Google adjusts its search algorithms more often than most people take a shower. One of the primary purposes of these tweaks is to seek out and destroy the tactics being used to surreptitiously increase a site’s ranking in search engine results. Consequently, websites filled with pages populated with content created solely with search engines – rather than visitors – in mind are only going to continue their steady fall into oblivion.

This leads to the obvious question: What do we do now? Well, we do what we should have been doing all along. We fill our web pages with high quality content that is well-written, informative, and of interest to our target markets. Search engines will only continue to hone their ability to recognize high quality content, while putting the kibosh on SEO tricksters.

If you populate your website with informative, quality content, it will naturally include words and phrases that are relevant to your topic or to the searches your target audience will perform to find products or services like yours. As long as the site is built properly (see our posts on titles and headlines), this is what it takes to for search engines to prominently display your pages.

(Need help with your content? We offer a ghostwriting service for our clients. If you're not our client, see if your webmaster or marketing advisor can help.)

The days of keyword stuffing have passed, and poor quality content written just to appeal to the search engines will no longer be so easily forgiven. SEO strategies that worked wonders before will now do little to increase your ranking, and their effectiveness will continue to dwindle in the coming months and years.

Providing useful, high quality content that educates your visitors and holds their interest is your best option. Rather than fanatically calculating your keyword density and obsessing over whether “web site” or “website” has more local search juice, simply deliver good, useful content that meets the needs of your target market.

Don't Waste Your Website!

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:10:00 GMT

You finally have a well-designed, professional website that really showcases the capabilities of your business. The business blog on your site is full of interesting, informative material. You are getting a lot of traffic and people are spending time looking around. But all of this isn't generating quite the results you hoped for.

What's missing? It's the follow-up.

After everything you have done to get the website the way you want it, and to get people to visit your site, the last thing you want is for them to leave without some way for you to keep in touch with them.

If they took the time to find and look at your website, they have an interest in what you have to offer — but it's pretty common that people do their research in advance, before they are ready to spend their money.

So even if they decide then and there to do business with you when the time comes, unless they remember your website address, they may never find their way back to you.

The solution? Follow up with them.

Collect their email address, and stay in touch by providing more of what they found interesting on your website, so they remember you.

Of course, most people won't just give you their email address merely because you ask. Offer them something of value in return. Perhaps an email newsletter with important information they need, money-saving coupons, or special offers. All they need to do to receive this money saving information is enter their name and e-mail.

Once a visitor leaves your website, they're gone, often forever. Capturing the visitor's name and email address lets you turn these anonymous visitors into contacts, and then you can follow up to turn those contacts into customers.

When you follow-up, monitor which of your visitors click on which links, and what actions they take on your website, so you can see which visitors are the most likely prospects (and also fine-tune the messages you send).

If you are using our standard Online Business Partner^® service, this is all built in to your service.

Would you trust this business?

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:37:00 GMT

Their website is obviously one of those "quickies" -- using a free or cheap template, and built and on the web in a matter of hours. The business owner grabbed some free clip art, and slapped on a scan of his logo, and his website was ready to go.

And yes, they have a blog, as many businesses do these days. But it is one of those freebies that sits on a different domain than their website, and it doesn't even match their own site. They even use one of those free email accounts, instead of having email via their own business domain!

If their website and blog looks like they slapped it together, what does that say about their business?

Maybe that they don't pay attention to details? Or don't even care?

If their website looks like they put it together as cheaply as possible, what might that say about the work they do?

That they might take any chance possible to cut corners?

Would you trust them?

As the old saying goes: You only get one chance to make a first impression.

Having a professional-looking website can be the first, best way to impress potential customers - or even returning clients - of your professionalism and the quality of your company.

However, most of us don't have experience designing websites to create the best first impression. That means that you may have to turn to a website design expert.

Of course, this doesn't mean that you need to take out a business loan in order to have a professional looking website. You can get a great looking and fully functional website without breaking the bank.

Think you need all the latest Internet bells and whistles on your website? We suggest they are mostly a waste of your money.

But you do need a website that has the following characteristics:

Your website needs to be visually appealing. If your website is hard to read - or is just plain ugly - your visitors will leave quickly. A well-ordered, professional look speaks volumes about your company.
Your website needs well-written, compelling content. You need to give your potential customers a clear and well-defined call to action.
Your website needs to be easy to navigate. If your visitors can't find the information that they want or need quickly and easily, they will leave.
Your website needs to be easily editable. Your site needs to evolve with your business, and if it seems out of date, your visitors will assume you are too.

A poorly designed website will make your potential customers doubt your abilities. On the other hand, a professional-looking, well-designed website will enhance your business's reputation and help to show the value of the goods or services that you are offering.

In today's tough economic climate, everyone is looking for ways to cut their business costs. While there are a lot of areas where you can cut back without causing too much negative impact on your reputation, your online image isn't one of them.

As predicted, Google gets cranky

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:18:00 GMT

We concluded our blog post on July 6 with the caution that "Google can get pretty cranky when you try to trick them" and included a link to a CNN article from a few years ago where it was reported that Google delisted websites owned by the auto manufacturer BMW for attempting to manipulate Google results.

Barely two weeks later, it strikes here in Frisco.

It seems that a perhaps less-than-reputable "search engine optimization" company visited and told a website owner they could hide key words by putting them in white text on a white background, and Google would index the words and thus garner additional search engine results for the extra key words.

Next thing you know, an email from Google shows up...

Sure enough, a Google search revealed no entries at all for the website, which was previously prominent on the first page of numerous Google searches...

The message

Sites built correctly, with meaningful titles, headlines, and content that addresses the visitors' interests will get good results.

If you are doing anything to try and "trick" the search engines, it will backfire.

Think about it: Google didn't get to be a $150 billion business without at least enough smarts to detect such tricks.

Even more signs a website is overdue for an update

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:37:00 GMT

More than 10 pages, but no Search
Built using software not designed for making websites
Most links simply say "click here"
Attachments can't be displayed for users who don't own Microsoft Word
The published email contact doesn't use the business domain name
There is a screen-grab of a MapQuest or Google map on your site
Every title on every page says the same thing
www.yoursite.com and yoursite.com don't result in the same page
Won't display correctly on an iPad or iPhone
Garish colors and irrelevant animation
Customers have to register before they can buy anything
Visitors have to look on a separate page to find out the phone number
It takes 5-6 clicks to reach some pages
Website traffic and analysis isn't readily available to the site owner
The blog is at a different website like yourname.blogwebsite.com
Designed for the business owner, not the customers and prospects
The business doesn't even have a website

15 MORE signs a website is overdue for an update

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:32:00 GMT

Talking characters walking around the screen
Uses fonts not commonly installed on most computers
Online sales send customers' credit card info by email
Links to other sites that no longer work
The site navigation is hidden in ways that people can't see what is offered
Visitors have to use an external service to sign up for the newsletter
Out-of-date information
The site uses "frames" and the site URL never changes
Much of the text on the site is in an image
Web forms ask more questions than are absolutely critical
Built using web design software not even made anymore
It takes more than 3-4 seconds on the home page to figure out what the business does
The site is all or mostly done with Flash
The site was last updated in 2006
Justified text

15 signs a website is overdue for an update

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:41:00 GMT

Designed for 800x600 screens, popular in the late 1990s...
Only the web developer can make changes or add a page to the website.
The title bar for the home page says "Untitled Document"
Built using cheap web page design software not compatible with modern browsers
Visitors can't sign up for a newsletter on the website
A splash page that people have to wait through or click to bypass
Blinking or moving text
Pop up windows
Intro text saying "Welcome to our website"
Music that starts by itself
The "free" software used to make the site function keeps requiring changes and plugins
The kid who built the website can't be located
Has hidden text to try and fool Google
The technical stuff was obviously done by an artist
The graphics stuff was obviously done by a techie

Stay tuned -- more to come!

7 Tips for Telling Your Story on the Web

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:05:00 GMT

30 Seconds -- that's all you have!

Scientific studies and our own server statistics on hundreds of thousands of web page visits agree -- visitors who don't leave the page immediately will spend roughly 30 seconds on a web page, and it doesn't matter all that much if you double or triple the amount of text.

Adult reading speed is about 250 - 300 words a minute, so there is only time for the interested visitor to read about 125 - 150 words on your web page (which, if about average, has around 600 words).

How do readers learn anything when they read only 20% of the words?

By being very selective. They scan down the left side of a page very quickly for topics that catch their attention and spend most of their time in those topics.

The eye tracking chart here, from web usability guru Jakob Nielsen, shows results that have been repeated in numerous studies.

7 Tips for getting your message across in 30 seconds...

Keep it short. If people will only read around 100-150 words, don't write 1500 words.
Stay above the fold. 80% of reader attention is in what they can see without scrolling, on pages too long to fit.
Skip the blah blah. Don't waste valuable space with meaningless filler text.
Use lists and bullet points to focus attention on key points.
Put key words at the beginning since readers scan down the left side to decide where to focus attention.
Use interesting, descriptive headlines, followed by short paragraphs.
Link to other pages with meaningful "anchor text" to both grab the readers' attention with the link itself, and to move longer narratives off the page.

What is "anchor text"? It's the text the reader sees in a link. Your reader (and Google) will pay more attention to a link that is descriptive such as "headlines are crucial for search engines" rather than "click here for more" or http://txzz.com/06.

If you are using our Online Business Partner, just highlight the text you want to use as your anchor text while in the editor, click the link manager, and select the page you want to link.

An old wives' tale that just won't die

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:01:00 GMT

We get asked repeatedly about adding "meta tags" to websites, usually the "keywords" meta tag.

Let's deal with the myth first. Meta tags don't help your search results in Google. Period, stop, done, over and out.

All the major search engines stopped looking at the keyword tag in 1997, when the "adult" website industry started stuffing innocuous but popular search phrases into their website meta tag keywords, to hijack searches.

The only meta tag that Google looks at that we care about today is the description tag.

How is the description tag used? Google will randomly select snippets of text from your web page and display that as the text in their search results.

If you add a description tag, then Google will throw that description into the mix, along with whatever random snippets it finds on your page.

That's all. It won't boost your ranking at all.

According to Google's Matt Cutts, "Even though we sometimes use the description meta tag for the snippets we show, we still don't use the description meta tag in our ranking."

So, meta tag keywords? Don't waste your time.

Meta tag description? As a low-priority task, put some creative and compelling text there, and it will show up once in a while in Google's results.

To add text to the description meta tag (or the keywords tag, if you really want to cover all bases), just click on "Add meta data to Web Page" link in your Online Business Partner page editor.

Then, type the text you want to be occasionally used by Google when it displays your page in search results, and click "Publish". You are done.

(If you're not using our Online Business Partner, check with your webmaster, who will be able to revise your site to add a description tag.)

This won't get you higher up on Google, but it will give you a chance to provide one more bit of compelling text, so when people see it, they won't be able to resist clicking on your link in Google!

(Of course, don't fib. Google can get pretty cranky when you try to trick them!)

Google -- who cares about the rest?

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:19:00 GMT

We get asked occasionally about optimizing for Yahoo, Bing, and others, rather than Google.

As with any expenditure of time and money, you have to decide where to do your spending.

As of today, Google owns the search world, without question. As you can see from the following graph, Google has 85%, Yahoo and Bing split 10%, Baidu (Chinese language search engine) has 3%, and the remaining 2% is divided among thousands of search engines competing for the crumbs... so why even think about anything other than Google? Go where the searchers go!

Source: NetMarketShare

We all scan the headlines... so does Google!

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:05:00 GMT

The purpose of search engine optimization is to get traffic to your pages, but your site must be written and formatted for those who visit.

Your headlines serve both purposes. The visual formatting makes the headlines stand out to your visitors. The designation of some text as a headline (using "heading tags") makes it stand out to Google and other search engines. For both, the headlines make it immediately obvious what topics are covered on your page.

How to make a headline

Headline levels, defined using "heading tags," can be numbered from 1 to 6, with 1 being the most important in terms of indexing.

For best results, place the main topic of your page in "heading 1" tags, and the subtopics in "heading 2" tags. If you care about Google showing the page, use words in the headlines that your visitors are likely to search for. For example, a headline such as About Our Company informs your human visitors what is to follow, but a headline that says you are a company "serving the needs of North Texans needing ambulatory and wheelchair transport" is more informative, and certainly helped Preston Trail Transport to reach the first page of Google. Notice how it tells what they do, and where they do it.

If you use our Online Business Partner^® service, just log in and open your page, click in the relevant text, and click to set the heading in the tool bar. Otherwise, contact your webmaster with your instructions.

The bottom line: Optimize your pages with well-written content that uses important keyword phrasing in the headlines. It is one of the easiest ways to improve your search engine results.