OPTIMISING AND PROMOTING YOUR WEBSITE

Michael Heraghty, Heraghty Internet Consultants

www.heraghty.net

www.mediajunk.com

WHY HAVE A WEBSITE?

Number of People Using the Internet:

1996: 30 Million

2000: 330 Million

2003: 616 Million

2005: 938 Million

2006: 1.04 Billion

InternetUsers

1996

2000

2003

2005

2006

HOW MANY PAGES ON THE WEB?

Number of Pages Indexed by Google:

1996: 24 Million

2000: 1 Billion

2003: 3.3 Billion

2005: 24 Billion

2006: Aiming for 100 Billion

WebPages

1996

2000

2003

2005

2006

VISITORS PER DAY

Q: The typical website gets [?] unique visitors per day?

a) 0 – 10 visitors a day

b) 10 – 50 visitors a day

c) 50 – 200 visitors a day

d) 200 + visitors a day

VISITORS PER DAY

A: The typical website gets:

a) 0 – 10 visitors a day

I’M LONELY !

BEWARE OF JAWS!

EXPECTING VISITORS?

JAWS = Just Another Web Site

Most websites look like one another.

Most people judge websites within one-twentieth of a second - the blink of an eye.

Don’t be Just Another Web Site!

LET YOUR WEBSITE EVOLVE

1. Specify Your Website’s Objectives

2. Optimise for Users (Usability)

3. Optimise for Search Engines (SEO)

4. Measure Your Website’s Performance (Analytics)

5. Repeat Steps 1 – 4

SPECIFY YOUR OBJECTIVES

What do you want the website to achieve?

- direct sales? - generate enquiries?

- provide timely information to customers?- etc.

What do you want website visitors to do?

- become members?- return regularly?- fill out a certain form?- click on advertisements?- etc.

IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Who is Your Website For?

- Those already aware of you?

- People in Ireland only?

- Those searching a certain product or service?

- Those planning to visit a certain destination?

IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Who is Your Website For?

- Your boss?!

USABILITY: THE GOLDEN RULE

THE USABILITY SCALE

GOOD USABILITY POOR USABILITY

HOW USERS SEE WEBSITES

You & Your Web Designers = Your Website Visitors

/

Everyone involved in designing and creating a website inevitably becomes too close to it.

Website developers may actively resist usability suggestions, especially when they are made just before launch!

GET OUTSIDE HELP

Usability testing with one user early in the project is better than testing 50 near the end.

Even a makeshift test with one user will reveal things you wouldn't have known about your site.

TESTING, TESTING

USABILITY REVIEWS

Expert ReviewsCarried out by usability specialists.

Can be an audit of an existing website, or a review of a proposed design.

A Good Usability Audit Will

• Identify potential difficulties for users

• Explain each issue clearly, using screenshots

• Give each issue a severity ranking

• Propose a solution for each issue

Users once “surfed” the web… today, they search the web.

                    

Home PageUser enters search query

Search Results1. AAA.com2. BBB.com3. CCC.com

AAAUser visits Result 1 … and stays

ORUser visits Result 1, quickly leaves, visits Result 2 …

OR … 3, 4, 5 …… OR User refines search query

HOW WE USE THE WEB TODAY

ORGANIC LISTINGS VS. PAY-PER-CLICK

“Organic” Search Results

Paid-ForResults

HOW WE REALLY SEE GOOGLE

Eyeballhotspots

X marksthe clicks

THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION

Q. How do I get to number one in Google?

THE TOUGH ANSWER

Q. How do I get to number one in Google?

A. With great difficulty!

1. Identify Target Keyphrases

2. Include the Keyphrases in the Page

3. Get Quality, Relevant Links to Your Site

OPTIMISING FOR SEARCH ENGINES: THE BASICS

1. Identify Target Keyphrases

- What phrases would potential customers type in?

- What queries have already been conducted?

- How strong is the competition?

KEYPHRASE RESEARCH

MOST POPULAR QUERY TYPES

1-word phrases 19%

2-word phrases 33%

3-word phrases 26%

4-word phrases 13%

5-word phrases 6%

6-word phrases 2%

7-word phrases 1%

2. Include Keyphrases in Page Text

KEYWORD OPTIMISATION

• Once in the Page Title

• Once in a Heading on the page

• Once in Regular Text on the page

Ensure keywords blend in – write for users, not

search engines!

3. Get Links to the Site

- Get links to many pages – not just the homepage

- Get links from reputable sites with similar themes to

yours

- Link exchanges are good but one-way links are better

LINK STRATEGY

AVOID SEARCH ENGINE SPAM

• Hidden or Invisible Text

• Keyword Stuffing (in Alt Tags, Below Footer, etc.)

• Bounce Pages or other Cloaking Techniques

• Plagiarised Content

• Links from Poor-Quality Sites

• Links from Sites with Unrelated Content

OTHER PROMOTION TECHNIQUES

• Offer a useful free tool or service • get a quotation online• download the free industry report we’ve written• useful timetables• free fonts• etc.

• Include a link to your site at the bottom of your

emails

• Include your URL in all stationery, printed

advertising and other traditional media

• Create an industry-related weblog and update

regularly

• Create an online/email newsletter and update

semi-regularly

• Viral Marketing (games, jokes, video clips, etc.)

MEASURE YOUR WEBSITE’S PERFORMANCE

Install Google Analytics (free) and review once a week.