Published April 2003

Optimize Web presence
for better marketing results

Whether your Web site is designed to facilitate communications, sales or productivity, there are a few simple things you can do to strengthen its marketing muscle.

If you read my column, you know I’m a measurement freak and that I believe all promotional activities should be tied to ROI (money metrics). A Web site is no different — in fact, it’s one of the easiest marketing tools to measure.

Most businesses have some form of Web presence. Regardless of your e-marketing objective, you need to drive traffic to your site. Once there, you want visitors to kick off their “browsing shoes” and stay awhile — and, ultimately, take some form of action. Here are a few of the basics.

Search engines: Most browsers don’t look past the first page or two of listings; elevating your placement should increase traffic. Following are some optimization tips:

• Be sure your “title” and “meta” tags incorporate the key words and phrases your market would most likely use to search. List the most important words first.
• Avoid the heavy use of Flash on the home page or a “Splash” page (opening page with all Flash and no text). Search engines can’t read Flash productions.
• Search engines favor “text,” so include tip sheets, articles or FAQs within your site that use at least 200 words per page.
• Get as many other sites to link to your domain as possible. Sites that are linked by several other sites often get listing priority.

The best way to find out what “key words” to use is to ask your customers what they would type into a search bar to find companies/products like yours. Also, see where your competitors are listed and document the key words used to find them.

Home: You need to do more than increase your hit count. If you don’t grab a visitor’s attention, they’ll quickly move on to another site. Susan Walker, president of Webnetwork.com, says, “On average, you have only eight to 10 seconds to make your impression.” A strong headline, graphic, photo or light flash treatment (mixed with concise blocks of keyword-rich text) is recommended. And avoid long “scrolling” pages.

Navigation: Once you’ve got the browser’s attention, offer a simple way to traverse your site. If they have to hunt for what they’re looking for, they’ll leave; so don’t cripple your site by making it difficult to peruse.

The most important (consumer relevant) page links should be easy to identify and near the top of your home page. The most common barrier to intuitive navigation is too much clutter. If you want to direct traffic, don’t confuse Web travelers with too many options.

Contact: Make it easy for your visitors to get in touch with you. The opportunity to contact you should be cross-linked on every page. Giving an incentive produces the best results. Offer a free report, tip sheet or product demo — something meaningful to your target market to get them to opt-in (enter their e-mail address).

Finally, have a test group go through your entire site and evaluate it for content clarity, ease of navigation and contact persuasion. And remember that optimizing your site does not replace promoting it.

Andrew Ballard, President of Marketing Solutions Inc. in Edmonds, develops brand leadership strategies for businesses and teaches strategic marketing through Edmonds Community College. He can be reached at 425-672-7218 or by e-mail to andrew@mktg-solutions.net.

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