I was up in Santa Ana a few months ago and found myself out of a meeting early. So I gave my friend Kurt Miller over at Advanstar a call to see how things were going. He invited me to stop by... So I did. After catching up with Kurt, he gave a quick tour around the office and introduced me to everyone. Some of whom I already knew from my years at Pro Comp Suspension. I was introduced to Mike Imlay, editor for Off-Road Business. One thing led to another in our conversation about the Off-Road After-Market and its relationship to print design and website design. Next thing I know he's suggesting I might write a short article for a section in the magazine, "Business Basics". I was a little apprehensive but with a little encouragement from Mike, I agreed to give it a try. The article as it was printed in the magazine appears below.
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Optimizing your website for SEARCH ENGINES
A great-looking Website is important to your online success and should never be underestimated. But looks aren't everything: you want potential customers to encounter your Website through Internet search engines. Simply raising your Website's ranking to the first page of search results in Google, Yahoo, and MSN alone can yield an incredible amount of visitors to view your products or services on a daily basis. Jupiter Research states that 82 percent of online shoppers know exactly what they want when they log onto the Internet, and almost half of online shoppers use search engines to find vendors. Research indicates that the majority of searches end within the first two pages of results, so prominent placement on major search engines is critically important.
DESIGN STRATEGY
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has become a buzzword with many Web developers who, unfortunately, define the term as adding simple doorways, meta data or other technical offerings that, in reality, bring little return on the investment (ROI). Thankfully, however, a select few Web design companies are now taking a more strategic approach, which begins with understanding your company and then designing a site with these and other factors in mind. A good design firm will determine your exact needs by closely examining your business, industry and competition. The SEO isn't "added" into your site, but rather becomes a natural, developed part of the "speech" and design that helps position your Website as an authority in your targeted keyword areas. The bottom line is if you're working with Web designers who fail to grasp and/or "speak the basics" outlined here, you may be working with the wrong people. Here are some terms you'll find useful in building your site:
1.Web Standards.
Delving into this topic could be an article in itself. Basically, in the words of the Web Standards Project, "The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), along with other groups and standards bodies, has established technologies for creating and interpreting Web-based content. These technologies, which we call ‘Web standards,' are carefully designed to deliver the greatest benefits to the greatest number of Web users while ensuring the long-term viability of any document published on the Web." (Sources: WebStandards.org and W3.org.)
2. Search Engine Engineering (SEE).
This is actually the next generation methodology of developing Websites for search engines. Often, "Web experts" try to sell businesses on SEO, which merely takes the client's ready-made copy and adds some meta data or a few keywords. By contrast, SEE emphasizes designing and developing Websites from the ground up to perform well on search engines. Its purpose is to follow the latest algorithms, site structure, targeting of The Long Tail and other necessary steps to succeed. (What's "The Long Tail?" Google it!)
3. Keyword Engineering.
Working in conjunction with your marketing team, a list of keywords important to marketing your products and services is developed. Through a process of analyzing your Website traffic, industry terminology and consumer search behavior, you can develop a definitive keyword list appropriate to your company's existing marketing strategy. Proper engineering seeks to define the actual language that prospects use to search for solutions in your market sector. Final keyword recommendations are based on market demand for keywords as well as the probability of your company ranking well within the search terms.
4. Competitive Analysis.
Truly effective search optimization will include a comprehensive competitive analysis for given keywords and phrases across your top competitors and top search engines. Analyzing competitive strategies, including source codes, link strategies and copy, will help your company surpass competitor efforts.
SUMMING IT UP
Successful SEO design promotes top ranking for your Website on Internet searches. This results in increased visits from self-qualified prospects who seek what your company has to offer. The more people who visit your Website, the more profits your company will see every month. Understanding and paying close attention to the above design strategies will result in an effective design for your off-road business site. Success and a good ROI will naturally follow.
