Website-ROI-Guy.com

What is your most pressing issue, obstacle or concern regarding creating your effective web presence?

One of my coaching clients counsels others of effective website development, social meda and online marketing.  I am subscribed to her email list.  She recently sent out an email to her followers asking:"What is your most pressing issue, obstacle or concern regarding creating your effective web presence?"

I'll be interested in the responses.  But I thought I would share the answers I've gotten from our customers:

"Speaking from experience, our customers are most challenged by developing the content for their site, especially page content that is benefit rich and has clear calls to action.

But the key that is sorely lacking on most websites is a plan.  Most websites fail because the owner fails to set specific measureable goals and create a plan to achieve them."

If you have a website that needs to be fixed, or you are building one from the ground up, you should develop a plan that lists your objectives and then create tactics and strategies to achieve them.  That's easier said than done, but if you do it, you'll be ahead of at least 90% of other sites, including your direct competitors.

Developing site content that immediately defines you and engages your visitor will lead to conversion of the goals you set when you began your plan.

You'll need to monitor your success and adjust accordingly, but you'll be better off.

These two tips are part of my "5 Biggest Mistakes Most People Make With Their Website" tutorial, a free course delivered by email.

I'd be interested in your feedback on the course, but also your answewrs tothe question, "What is your most pressing issue, obstacle or concern

regarding creating your effective web presence?"

-- Kurt Scholle

Read This Article, Become a Search Engine Guru

I have a friend who recently sold his company but wants to stay involved, probably because of pride, a desire to be engaged and to make a few bucks. Not necessarily in that order.

So he pitched the new owner on doing search engine optimization for several of the acquiring company's websites.

Trouble is, in my opinion, he knows diddle about SEO.

We discussed it a few months ago.  Just talking with him you know he's not even close when it comes to developing a strategy, selecting keywords, optimizing properly, reviewing the results and revising the tactics.  There are no procedures in place.  I don't think he's even using a spreadsheet to track results.

He once asked me what article he could read to become proficient at SEO.  An article?  Seriously?  An article?  I don't know if I was more offended or amused by his query.  That would be like saying the year I spent working at Amling's Flowerland selling trees and bushes qualified me to be a landscape architect.

I told him that I've read at least 4 books on the subject, I have attended seminars related to SEO and PPC over the years, I read several blogs daily.  I've worked on and learned from dozens of sites.  And that all pales in comparison to the experience of our search engine specialist at Web Asylum.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  My friend once told a mutual acquaintance that there wasn't much to search engine optimization, that it's just "throwing some keywords up on a web page."

It's much much more than that and each of the points I'm about to outline would take more than a single article to fully explain. (Maybe an article and a Tweet! heh heh)

1. There are easily a half dozen places on a web page that affect search engine rankings.  They are both ON the page and in the code BEHIND the web page.  Learn what usually needs optimization and develop a strategy to adjust all those areas.
2. Knowing which keywords to optimize for is extremely important.  When we ask customers what keywords and phrases they think people will use to find them, they often list very broad terms that would be difficult to dominate; words like "business", "financial", "eye doctor", "snow" and "builder" are recent examples.  Some of the ones I cited would work better with supporting words, especially if a GEO (geographic location) was added.
3. Understand that different pages should be set up differently.  One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to use the same meta keywords, descriptions and titles on every page of your site. For any number of reasons (a weeks worth of articles, at least) you should concentrate on different keywords for different sections of your site. Even if you optimize for similar products or services, each of those pages should be unique.  But there are obvious differences between a product page and About Us.
4. Search tools can help select proper keywords that your prospects are using.  There are free tools to help, but if you're really serious about optimizing your site, I would encourage you to acquire 1 or more of the paid tools.  Your ROI will be much higher.
5. Linking is an important element of successful website optimization.  Keyword-rich inbound links from authority sites is unbeatable.  But even internal links can help rankings and improve user experience.
6. Continuing your education is also very important if you want to be competitive.  Read books, subscribe to newsletters, attend a conference or two, check out the forums.

Another important thing to keep in mind is to write good content!  Google especially seems to value great content.  It will also help your conversion and ultimately your ROI.

This is all very simplistic.  Like many things, achieving an ROI on your efforts requires an investment of time and resources.  In the case of SEO, it might be a significant investment. 

It might be a better value to have it done for you so you or your staff can concentrate on other things.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my landscape architect job.

-- Kurt Scholle, Website ROI Guy

Mailbag: Flash & Video on Home Page

I had a customer ask recently about adding a video to their Home page, which also features a flash animation.  Here is my response.

We can work on a Home video, if you like, but I really wouldn’t recommend it on a page with Flash.

-It may “fight” with the Flash animation – you’d have a lot going on

-It might not fit on the page along with other page elements, especially if you want to minimize scrolling on Home

-Flash files take some time to load.  Video can be even longer.  We want all pages, especially Home, to load quickly

-Depending on the message, it might be best to tell it in Flash on 3-4 Home Flash slides and then use video to support or explain a service or to simply welcome website visitors.

Videos do not have to run on a page per se.  They can play in a popup.

Consider promoting a video on the Home page, perhaps with an attractive graphic, with a link to an existing interior page or a new one that supports the message in the video.

-- Kurt Scholle

   Website ROI Guy

Just the facts, man!

I recently recieved an email from a guy on LinkedIn, who wanted people to follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

The problem is, "Mike" wasn't specific enough to complete the transaction.  I found his Twitter handle OK, but he suggested that I simply search for "mjones" on Facebook and I'd find him.

Problem is there are 121 people who come up on a Facebook search for "mjones" and 24 who come up for "Mike Jones" or "Michael Jones."

Since I don't know from his LinkedIn email where he lives, I can't narrow it down much further.  (I couldn't reply to his email as it was "noreply.")

I could probably do some more investigating, but why bother.  He should/could have easily provided the facts that would have helped build his network.  I suspect I wasn't the only one who bailed.

He should have posted his specific Facebook address in the email.  Mine is http://profile.to/kurtscholle

On Twitter, I'm http://www.Twitter.com/kurtscholle

Find me on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtschollle

Friend me!

--  Kurt Scholle

Biggest Takeaways from SOBcon - Pt 1

 There were so many great quotes and ideas from SOBcon 2009 that I'll post them as I have time.  I'll have longer posts on some specific subjects drafted, so check back often.  Or sign up to my RSS feed.

One of the biggest aha moments came when Julien Smith & Chris Brogan (l-r in picture) made their presentation on Day 1.  (They have a book coming out later this year that will be a MUST READ.)  They presented 6 ideas on building community and participation in the 21st century.

What I liked most was the idea that most people have ~ 150 people in their network.  They recommended trying to be a part of as many of those 150-person networks as possible.  Be the center of the network.  Be helpful. Share.

You can do that with Facebook, Twitter, trade associations, chambers of commerce - almost any organization.  It's not about selling.  It's about making friends who will know who you are and what you do.  Build an image, the rest will come.

By the way some other takeaways from Chris and Julien:

1. Make your own game.  Not necessary to play by other people's rules. Perez Hilton is an example.  Lead a category. Tim Ferris is an example.  It's about standing out.  There is a system to everything.
2. Be one of us.  Membership has its privelages. Outsiders do not influence insiders.  Insiders forgive each other and forgive often.
3. The web is the ultimate leveraging machine. The web allows you to do something once, like a sales pitch, but works over and over.

There's more!  Read their book.  I will be!

Follow them on Twitter: @ChrisBrogan and @Julien

20 More Unfortunate Domain Names

I blogged last year about some domain names that didn't always present they way they were intended. (EG: www.PenisLand.com instead of www.PenIsland.com)

They're come out with a list of others.  Check it out and share!

-- Kurt

Best of the Website Success Blogs (April 24, 2009)

There is so much good content online.  There is a lot of drek too.  I try and distill the best parts for you from time-to-time in Best of the Website Success Blogs.

(cue the intro music)

Successful websites depend on so many things; design & layout, message, usability, marketing, strategy, metrics, etc.  Today, we have many links to information anyone interested in website ROI should consider.

Right off the bat, check out Today is Kick Ass Friday -- 10 Q's for U  Kick Ass Friday is a regular feature and I think you like other recent posts, especially if you're an owner or manager.

The rest of the links include search engine tips, design tips for webmasters and social media tips for baby boomers from the always fabulous Barbara Rozgonyi.

For the more technical, we'll take a look at robots.txt files, link to some CAPTCHA scripts and introduce you to a cool tool for putting videos in your website.

And, don't forget the 'hits and giggles" section.  Some funny images captured by the Google Streetview team and a funny video on Facebook manners.

Biz Tips Blog:
Animoto is a Super Easy Video Tool
I've seen a demo of this and would have to agree that it should be in every webmaster's toolkit.

Clickz:
Is Your B2B Site a Good Salesperson?

Daily SEO Blog:
30 Web Design SEO Tips for Webmasters

Online Business:
Top 10 Search Engine Optomization (SEO) Tips

Search Engine Journal:
Google Selectively Ignoring Meta Description Tags?

Search Engine Land:
A Deeper Look at Robots.txt

Dream CSS:
10 Free CAPTCHA Scripts and Services for Websites

the Blog Herald:
20 Law-Related Questions Every Blogger Should Know
You may want to bookmark this!

SearchEngineWatch:
No Need to Freak Out Over Google Analytics Suddenly Disappearing

Copyblogger:
The Art of Writing Great Twitter Headlines
You can adapt some of Brian Clark's recommendations to website content too!

Corporate Dollar:
How to Build a Social Media Cockpit With Firefox

Mashable:
The Web in Numbers: The Rise of Social Media
Facebook had doubled to 200 million users in 8 months

Social Networking Websites Review:
2009 Social Networking Websites Product Comparisons
Interesting side-by-side comparisons.

wiredprworks:
10 Social Media Savvy Tips for Baby Boomers

And finally, for hits & giggles:

Facebook Manners and You

Caught on Camera: The Best of Google Street View

What We Learn From Radio Programmers About Website Strategy

Early in my career as a radio programmer, I learned about quintile analysis and its effect on strategy.  I worked for the NBC owned and operated FM radio station in Chicago: Q-101.

Quintile analysis looks at a situation broken down into five parts, 20% pieces of the whole.  In radio, QA studies how the 20% of the audience who does most of the listening compares with the 20% of the audience that does the second-most amount of listening, on down to the 1/5 of the audience who really is not brand loyal and doesn't listen very often.  The 5th quintile usually prefers another station OR they may like your station alot, they just don't listen to the radio much.

It's much easier to get the top 20% or 40% of your audience to do something than it is to get the 1/5 of your audience who listens the least to do something.

It was the first time I considered the differences between segments of audience; their respective needs, loyalties and motivations.  Getting your first quintile to listen 10% more was far more effective than getting the 5th quintile to listen more often. And you're motivating 20% of your audience who listen much longer than any of the other 4 segments, so a 10% improvement of those most brand loyal is worth much more than a 10% improvement in those audiences who are not as dedicated.

It's helpful to analyze you website's audience in a similar way.  Visitors who have bought something from you are more likely to buy from you again than those who have not received products or services.  Consider them your first quintile audience and look for ways to maintain relationships that lead to a followup sale.  That could be links to non-public pages with special offers or premium content.  That also includes websites where "Thankyou for your order" pages also promote an  up sell or cross sell.  If you know what motivated them to do business with you in the first place, it'll be easier to figure out how to 'rinse and repeat.'

Your second quintile audience are those who you've had some interaction with, but not necessarily a sale.  They filled out a form or survey, requested information, attended a teleseminar, signed up for a newsletter, etc.  You know something about their interests and what they've been exposed to.  More importantly, you know SOMETHING about who they are by the contact information they've given.  Use that information to follow up.  Give them an update.  Make them feel like you care.

Web Asylum has a customer that markets industrial products all over the world.  They offer dozens of whitepapers about the market and the products they offer.  We built an application where the sales manager can view what whitepapers have been downloaded by date and where their prospect is in the world and assigns the lead to the appropriate company rep or dealer.

Quintile analysis can be even more effective when you incorporate website analytics!

I'm not saying that 20% of your visitors are all buyers or that 20% would all fit a common description.  But to evaluate your prospects by previous behavior or brand attributes will give you a unique perspective that can be leveraged successfully.

And that will increase your website ROI.

-- Kurt

New Series: Equipping a Social Media Team

I was reading Amber Naslund's blog (@AmberCadabra) today and noticed an icon "Reblog" which is functionality delivered by Zemanta.  Check out her blog for the beginning of a 5 part series on social media which looks very promising.  Then, check out Zemanta.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

I found this fascinating quote today:

I started to write a post about Equipping your Team for Social Media. And it grew and grew and grew until it became clear to me that this was much more digestible as a series.New Series: Equipping a Social Media Team, Apr 2009

You should read the whole article.

Website Makeover Recommendations

I post case studies from time-to-time on this blog.  Hopefully the suggestions are useful to everyone.  If you have questions of concerns about your website please contact me at your convenience.

We usually change the names to protect the guilty.  And this is no exception. "Frank" has a website that sells services and information.  He gets some, but not a lot of traffic, and is not selling much of anything.  The site was built by a graphic designer friend of a friend.  That said, the site is not very attractive.  Different font sizes, styles and colors make it look un-even and disorganized.

There are several misspellings on the Home page and even more on interior pages.

The message on the Home page does not give visitors an instant clue as to what the site is about and how someone would benefit from Frank's services.

There really is no good call to action on the site.  He does have a phone number listed and offers "free estimates."

He claims to be "the biggest and the best" of what he does in his area, but offers no concrete evidence to support those claims.  He has one testimonial on the site on a "Testimonials" page.  Nobody reads testimonials pages, but testimonials are powerful influencers, so I recommend spreading them thruout a website.

The title tags, description tags and keyword tags are all the same on every page.  They should be different for EACH page.  There are some very broad terms that will be difficult to rank highly for and there are too many keywords in his keyword tag, not that the major search engines put much stock in those tags anymore.

He does not rank at all on the 3 keywords he says are his most coveted.  I suggested that he test all his keywords to see how popular they are, how much competition he has for each and recommendations for other keywords and phrases to consider.  There are free keyword discovery tools for this.

He has 3 incoming links to his site and none are authority sites or have much pagerank.  I recommended that he register his site with search engines, especially Yahoo! and Google.

I hate being negative, but I really can't find anything positive to say about this site. I feel like Simon Cowell.

Despite the site being built by a graphic designer, it really needs to be re-done to look halfway attractive, which will help build trust with prospects.  A written plan should be developed that outlines his specific goals and the exact techniques that will be used to achieve them.

He asked if he should be doing pay-per-click. Not until the other issues that affect conversion are addressed.

The bad news is the site fails in so many ways.  The good news is he has many opportunities to fix all the failures.  And as Terry Savage would say, "That's the savage truth."

-- Kurt Scholle