Interbay Web Design and Hosting

Archive for May, 2010

There are two reasons you should start working on conversion optimization right after you start a new website. The first reason is because it forces you to define the need for each of your pages. This will weed out the week pages and allow you to redefine them so they make sense and have a goal. Once the goal for each page is clearly defined then you can work on the basics. Funnel the visitor towards the goal, either a buy now type action or a form for lead generation, or maybe even a free download. Whatever the goal you need enough content to make the visitor feel they are at the right place and you need them to be able to clearly identify an action that should fulfill their immediate need based on why they visited your site.

That’s basic conversion rate optimization (CRO). Once that’s complete then you can start building traffic either using PPC campaigns or by building natural links to your website. Once you have a reasonable amount of traffic then you can start using your analytics to perform intermediate and advanced CRO. This includes testing button colors, images, layout, objects etc. When you have enough data for analytics to make sense you will be able to test almost every aspect of your pages to squeeze every ounce from every visit.

Good luck, and trust me, the fact that you are thinking CRO puts you ahead of 90% of all small businesses including your competition. Now go get ‘em!

Too funny, some peeps have too much time on their hands but in this case that is a good thing. There are so many SEO wankers out there that someone has to call them out. Just finished reading almost every article this anti TopSEOs and verified SEO site has indexed. It’s crazy how some of these SEO gangsters are trying to take advantage of the less informed small business owners. All of you agencies that pay for SEO badges suck, out loud.

Top 10 signs of an SEO Scam

1. If they guarantee number one position on Google it might be an SEO scam
2. If they sell you a Google local listing it might be and SEO scam
3. If they guarantee hundreds of links in a few days
4. If they try to sell you a blog commenting package
5. If they try to sell you search engine submission services
6. If they claim to have a connection at Google
7. They have a secret network you can join
8. They claim they have recently cracked the Google algo
9. You get an email claiming they tested your site and it needs but they don’t mention what web site
10. You have to install their secret or magic code on your website and it will propel you to the top

That covers a large percentage of the scams, avoid those ten and you will be ahead of the game. Just remember, good SEO is not $49.95 it’s going to take a little more than that or everyone would be #1.

This post is for small business owners that are starting their first website or those that have an older site but have never done any SEO or link building for it. In other words, you have zero traffic.

DO NOT waste your money on a high-dollar, flashy design or re-design unless you have money to burn and plenty left over for search optimization and marketing. If you have a $2500 budget then you can not afford more than $800 on the design. That’s right, $800. You will need at least the other $1700 to get your site found on the net. If you let a web designer take you for $2500 and you have nothing left then you fail! The more competitive your field the more you will need for marketing and search optimization. REAL SEO is not cheap. I’m not saying a crappy site is OK just that you can skip the fancy bells and whistles at first. Build a site that is easy on the eyes but most important, easy to use and has the content your visitors are looking for.

After that it’s time to start optimizing the content and acquiring some quality links. Once you have been doing that for a while and see your traffic numbers rise and conversions happening then and only then can you afford to waste your money on a spiffy design. Personally I would spend my time and money on more content and more optimization, including conversion optimization but that’s just me.

The moral to this story? Buy a Ferrari if you can afford it, that’s called link bait. If you are reading this blog then your ass can’t afford it. If you need a car to find a job and get to work then buy a car that runs good and gets good gas mileage. If you can’t afford the insurance, gas, and tuneups for the Ferrari then it isn’t going to help you much is it? Stop dreaming you wankers, keep the design tight and low budget and then market the hell out of it.