Pilot Fish SEO Blog

A company I consulted with recently was concerned about whether it should renew an online advertising program because it wasn’t able to verify any sales as a result of the ad program.

In evaluating the situation, I noted that the online ad was well designed, with a clear message intended to get the prospect to click through to the website. The ad traffic report provided and Google Analytics showed that the ad was referring prospects to the website. So, what was the problem?

Within 10 seconds of getting to the website, I saw it immediately. There was no clear way to contact the company on the home page. No phone number, no e-mail address. And, not even a physical mailing address so that prospects would know where the company was located.

Furthermore, it took a good bit of hunting through the site before I found a phone number or e-mail address. And, there certainly was no clear call-to-action.

It may be surprising to you, but this situation is not at all uncommon. Businesses spend so much time thinking about what they want to say about themselves, they neglect to include basic information that enables the prospect to take action.

Website users are impatient. They want to come to your home page, get a simple description of what you do and a way to contact you. If your product offering is in line with what they’re looking for, web visitors will click to other pages on your site to get more details, or will contact you directly. If what you offer wasn’t really what they needed, they’ll leave your site. It’s that simple. So, why make it difficult?

Need an evaluation of your web site? Contact John Inama at 877-799-9994 or e-mail john@pilotfishseo.com.

Over the years I’ve spoken to a lot of prospects that are either interested in updating their website, improving overall traffic performance, or just want something new. Most people I talk to aren’t too familiar with how a website is really developed. After all it’s not a primary area of responsibility in their day-to-day tasks within the company.

So how do you really know when you are better off to scrap the site and start over? Well, here are some common reasons when it’s most likely a better decision to scrap the site and start over:

1. The site is more than five years old and hasn’t been maintained on a regular basis. Believe me I get these all the time. In fact, it’s pretty common that some websites haven’t had a single change since the site was initially launched. Now the site has errors, it’s not compatible on a multitude of web browsers, and the screen resolution no longer meets most default display settings found on wide screen monitors. Fixing any of these problems can be major issue and costly to correct. Think of this problem like a seven-year-old car with 150,000 miles on it. The check engine light is on, the transmission slips, and it burns oil. It’s probably better to replace the vehicle with a new one rather than deal with more costly fixes waiting for you around the next corner.
2. The site was developed in tables and frames. Websites are programmed differently from a number of years ago. Technology changes fast on the Internet and new ways are constantly being developed to make sites more efficient for users, browsers, and search engines. Having a site that is up-to-date with the latest code will enable better crawling by search engines, faster loading time for users, and more current, consistent design.
3. My previous developer is out of the picture, and we don’t have all the files. No two websites are developed the same way. How one programmer codes a site oftentimes is much different from the next. That’s why it’s difficult in some cases to just take over where someone else left off. Making edits or performing site maintenance on a poorly programmed site can be difficult. Not having access to all the files in raw form often makes it impossible to edit certain areas of a site.
4. Your main navigation no longer addresses a core area of business. Changing dated navigation is often easier said than done. The way programmers code a site’s navigation is much different from years past. Today they use more efficient code that makes navigation less cumbersome to change in the future. But, ultimately, there’s nothing as simple as “cut and paste” when trying to make changes to the main navigation.
5. The content no longer reflects your business needs. In just about every business things change. Has your business added a significant number of new products or services that aren’t incorporated in your website? Are you showcasing your most desired service or product offering? If not, it’s likely time for that redesign.
6. It just looks outdated and needs an overhaul. Most websites are designed and built into one or more custom templates. Templates define the structure of each page and keep the site looking and feeling consistent from page-to-page. If you no longer like how items are displayed on your site or what’s in a certain area, it’s most likely easier to start over than to overhaul the template.
7. I can’t update my site since I don’t know HTML. With today’s easy-to-use editing tools, there’s no excuse for an outdated website. Content Management Systems (CMS) enable businesses to easily edit their sites without having to know HTML. I hear it all the time: “We just don’t have anyone internal that can make changes to the site.” A CMS eliminates that issue.
8. Your site is built in Flash. As most of us know, Apple devices are popular. Just about everywhere you look someone is using an iPad or iPhone. But, Apple doesn’t support Flash and has previously stated it never will. So if your site is built with Flash navigation or Flash animation, don’t expect it to function on mobile devices the way it does on your PC.
9. Your traffic is decreasing and you can’t remember the last time you received a credible lead. It’s likely that your site has a number of issues that are contributing to your lack of visitors. It might be that your content is not compelling, is outdated, or your site is hard to navigate. We often hear from businesses interested in search engine optimization because site traffic and leads have dropped off. In a lot of cases, once we review the site, we determine that there are many more issues than just a non-optimized site. We usually recommend a redesign prior to SEO in those cases.
10. You’re reading this blog post. Enough said. If you’ve gotten this far in this post, it’s likely you already know your site has enough issues to require a redesign.

So, what is a content management system, anyway? To put it very simply, a CMS is an easy way for website owners to make minor changes to their website on their own.   Once a professional web developer has designed, coded and provided search engine optimization for your website, a CMS enables you to manage simple edits and site maintenance.

Reduction Engineering, a client of ours, wanted just that with their redesign. They wanted a site they could make frequent changes to for the purpose of displaying new content, including products and services, news stories and other pertinent announcements about their company. But, most importantly, they wanted to have access to make these updates on their own.

“Hmmm … , that sounds good, but, what are some of the other benefits of having a CMS,” you ask? Here are just a few:

1. It’s user friendly.
   A CMS is very easy to learn.  Even if you have never edited a website, you will able to use a CMS with very little instruction. And, not only that, you can make these edits without the fear of damaging the structure, or backend coding, of the website. The areas of editing are predetermined and can be password-protected, so only those with permission can gain access.
2. The look and feel of your website will remain intact.
   That’s right. The colors and font sizes and main elements of your site won’t be affected by the changes that you’ve made to your CMS. In other words, you can’t “break” your website. You won’t have to worry about accidentally deleting the main image or discombobulating any of the main elements of your site, because, these are also areas of your website that are predetermined and, you guessed it, password-protected.
3. You can update your site at any time.
   Calling all workaholics …!!! Maybe you’re a night owl and would like to update your website at 3 a.m., or, perhaps you just have an important update that you would like to make, right away, outside of normal business hours. Well, with a CMS, you can make edits to your site day or night, (and, for those who are gluttons for punishment) weekends or holidays, to your heart’s content.

Keep in mind, having a CMS requires upfront planning before your site is designed, built and coded. So, you will want to be sure to discuss this possibility with your web developer before the design process begins. That way, you can be sure your CMS is designed exactly how you want it.

Oh, one more thing, if you decide a CMS is right for your business, please read our blog post, Take the Day Off! I’ll build your sprockets!, for some additional advice on editing your CMS website.

I’ve seen it time and time again. Clients sign their web design contracts and, right away, they are ready to get moving on the project. “Yay, it’s time to get started with the design process! Woo hoo! The new website will be up in no time! Hoooold it! Often, that’s not the case at all. Unfortunately, many clients are not prepared with all of the necessary materials, and quickly find their website design process has come to a screeching halt.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Here are three important pieces of information you should be gathering ahead of time to keep the design process right on schedule:

Photography
Photography is one of the first things your designer will need from you to begin the design, so start gathering your images now. If you’ve never had images of your products, if you’ve recently changed products, or, if the look of your current products has changed, you might want to schedule an appointment with a photographer.  Be sure you’ve hired an experienced photographer who will capture the professional look that your products deserve.  After all, professional-looking photography is the key to having a professional-looking website. Oh, and it’s okay to use stock photography, too. Just have an idea of what types of images you’d like to represent your company and your designer will take it from there.

Marketing Materials
Start collecting your current marketing materials. This includes logos, corporate fonts and colors, and any additional marketing materials (such as letterhead, business cards, brochures, etc.) you’d like to provide, preferably in electronic format. These materials will help your designer create continuity between your existing materials and your new website. Oh, and if there are things you are in the process of reworking, such as your logo, tagline, etc., these elements will be required in completed format.

Ideas – Do your research.
Start looking around at lots of different websites. Look at what your competitors are doing. Start a list of what you like and don’t like about each of these sites. Do you like the colors? The navigation? The overall look and feel? Or, perhaps all of the above? Think about the style you are trying to portray. Are you going for a professional look? Or, perhaps a more relaxed design? Any information you can provide will be very helpful in getting you the design you’re looking for.

So, remember, a web design can only begin once all of the material necessary to build the site is received by your designer.  Being prepared ahead of time will get the process started and keep your website design moving right on schedule.