Thursday, June 11, 2009
Every now and then we like to talk about how SEO has limitations. It isn’t everything. You can have the very best optimized site in your niche and still not close any sales. You can achieve No. 1 rankings for a dozen keywords related to your niche and not make any money. A bit worthless that would be, wouldn’t it?
Of course, I’m a big believer in search engine optimization. It’s not much better to have a site that really sells, but can only achieve page 100 rankings. If people can’t find your website, what good is it that it can close sales?
Still, SEO. Important, right? Yes, it is. But it doesn’t solve every problem. Here are some additional things to consider as you plan your new website. It isn’t all about the SEO:
•Sales - Your content has to sell your service. Make sure it does.
•Design - Is your web design attractive? Will people like your site? While design isn’t everything, it does matter. In fact, a poorly designed site could cost you sales.
•Development - Do you need that widget? Will that RSS feed fit in to what we are doing? Not all sites should be strict HTML. In fact, many Web 2.0 features can help you in your SEO efforts as well as in your traffic conversions.
•Social Media Friendly - Is your website social media friendly? It’s hard to ignore the impact of sites like Digg, Facebook, and Twitter. Is your site set up to assist your readers in distributing your content through social media? That’s something you need to consider, not just that your site is set up for social media, but a consideration as to which social media sites it should be set up for.
•Functionality - What is your website designed to do? Is it a lead generation website? A membership site? The functionality should match the function. Make sure you include features in your site that make sense for its purpose.
Search engine optimization can go a long way and you should employ it well. But it does have its limitations. It alone can’t save your site from being irrelevant. Optimization should compliment everything else you do, and vice-versa.
Of course, I’m a big believer in search engine optimization. It’s not much better to have a site that really sells, but can only achieve page 100 rankings. If people can’t find your website, what good is it that it can close sales?
Still, SEO. Important, right? Yes, it is. But it doesn’t solve every problem. Here are some additional things to consider as you plan your new website. It isn’t all about the SEO:
•Sales - Your content has to sell your service. Make sure it does.
•Design - Is your web design attractive? Will people like your site? While design isn’t everything, it does matter. In fact, a poorly designed site could cost you sales.
•Development - Do you need that widget? Will that RSS feed fit in to what we are doing? Not all sites should be strict HTML. In fact, many Web 2.0 features can help you in your SEO efforts as well as in your traffic conversions.
•Social Media Friendly - Is your website social media friendly? It’s hard to ignore the impact of sites like Digg, Facebook, and Twitter. Is your site set up to assist your readers in distributing your content through social media? That’s something you need to consider, not just that your site is set up for social media, but a consideration as to which social media sites it should be set up for.
•Functionality - What is your website designed to do? Is it a lead generation website? A membership site? The functionality should match the function. Make sure you include features in your site that make sense for its purpose.
Search engine optimization can go a long way and you should employ it well. But it does have its limitations. It alone can’t save your site from being irrelevant. Optimization should compliment everything else you do, and vice-versa.
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