Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [42]
Now, through the eyes, needs, and psychology of your user, view the website. You may find that the music file that plays automatically, which was meant to set the mood, now shatters the concentration of the older user, and the controls are not only hard to find but too small for someone who does not handle the mouse with great dexterity.
The key for this test is to look at your website and empathize with those who have never seen or experienced your website. The ideas you or your company utilized to communicate information may not be effective with this visitor. Second to an actual user test, the persona walk-through is one of the most effective means of discovery on your website.
Review and Hands-On
Start with simple searches for your company’s website. Check the title and description that appear on the search engine results page. Ensure that the information is correct and optimal for persuading people to click on your result.
Sign up for the webmaster tools on the major search engines, such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. Click the tabs, and learn how the information presented in the reports can assist you in troubleshooting and improving your website. If you need, open this book to the index pages to find the relevant information to explain specific reports or functions in the available tools.
Download and print the checklists at www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/full-checklist, www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-WCAG20-20081211/, and www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/, and identify any issues that would prevent users from fully accessing the content on your website. Don’t worry about completing any tasks that might seem complicated or use unfamiliar terminology. Just start with what you know and understand. The more you read in this book, the more those tasks will become clear and have more purpose in the big picture.
Set up a walk-through on your website. It doesn’t have to be a large-scale production. The easiest method is to simply provide a person with a task to complete on your website. Then listen. The feedback you receive and the problems they encounter will provide some of the best feedback for site improvement.
Chapter 5
Week 2: Understand Basic SEO
A basic understanding of search engines and search engine optimization is necessary to achieve visibility online. To compete now and in the future, online marketers need a good understanding of how search engines rank, relate, recall, and determine relevance. Even more critical is the understanding of how consumers think, speak, read, and decide, because that knowledge can be used in any media and beyond search. This chapter will remove the shroud of mystery that surrounds search engines and what they look for on a web page. After learning about the factors that search engines use to develop relevance and how they “see” your web pages, you can employ strategies that make sense to you, the searcher, and your customers.
Chapter Contents
Monday: Distinguish Bad Information from Good Advice
Tuesday: Optimize On-Page Factors
Wednesday: Optimize Content Structure for SEO
Thursday: Explore the Power of Off-Page Ranking Factors
Friday: See SEO in Practice
Monday: Distinguish Bad Information from Good Advice
Anyone who has managed a website or run a small business knows how hard it can be to get good marketing advice. Everyone from the high-priced consultant to the IT guy can give you advice on how to get ahead online. The typical advice is a mixture of half-truths, technical voodoo, and seemingly irrelevant instructions about filling pages with keywords. Unfortunately, the search engine optimization industry suffers from a multiple personality disorder; you’ll rarely get the same tactical advice from any two practitioners. It can leave someone so