Reprinted from DM News, July 13, 1998
But, if your site's bombing, what's the problem? Why aren't people visiting it and taking advantage of what you have to offer there?
The answer could be the result of several possibilities. Here are three to consider . . .
1. Your site isn't showing up in the top 20-30 positions of search-engine results.
2. Your site doesn't optimize keywords in strategic positions.
3. Your site's design takes too long to download.
Boost your search engine ratings: The results of an Internet survey conducted by Georgia Tech revealed that 87 percent of Internet users find what they're looking for online by using search engines.
Given this statistic, if your site isn't achieving top search-engine positioning your prospects probably won't find you. Instead, they're visiting someone else's site — that someone else, most likely, is your competition.
Avoid losing online business to your competitors. Overcome this obstacle by familiarizing yourself with the criteria used by leading search engines. Although each one is different from the next, there are ways to optimize your site so your ratings improve.
Be consistent with your keywords: One component of vital importance in improving your search engine positioning is your use of keywords. Many people program keywords into their HTML code (i.e. Meta tags) but fail to maximize those keywords in their sites "title," "headline" and first few paragraphs of copy.
I was surprised when High Country Resorts, Ltd. (http://www.highcountry.com) told me its top keywords. When I went to its site, although the keywords were listed in their Meta tags, they were nowhere to be found in the content of its pages. As a result, High Country wasn't showing up in many of the search engines' results.
After working on its titles, headlines, Meta tags (keywords and description) and more, I resubmitted the site to the leading search engines. Only days after doing so, its site achieved top positioning on several of the leading search engines (such as AltaVista, HotBot, Infoseek, LinkStar, Lycos and Yahoo, to name a few) for several of its keyword phrases.
What makes the difference? Many of the leading search engines are concerned with "relevancy." If "vacation rentals" is in your Meta tag, but isn't in your title, headline, or body copy, the engine gives your site a lower rating. Why? Because the keyword didn't appear relevant.
To be considered relevant, that keyword phrase "vacation rentals" should
be strategically
placed — not just in the Meta tag, but in your page's title, headline,
and first few paragraphs.
Maximize your design: Do you know that the average Web site visit lasts
only six minutes?
According to Omar Ahmad, Webmaster for Netscape Communications that
means if your site's pages take 30 seconds to load you'll get an average
of 12 page views per visit (DM News, May 4, 1998).
Meanwhile, if your site's pages take a minute to load, only six of them can be seen in that same six-minute window of opportunity. Therefore, making the most of your design is extremely important. Review your site. Are your image files too large? Compress them. Do you have too many bells and whistles that aren't really necessary? If so, delete them.
The reasons for a booming site vs. a bombing one could be many. However, starting with a simple review of your content, keywords and design is a good place to start for turning a bombing site into an explosively successful one.
Debra A. Jason is principal of The Write Direction (formerly based in in Boulder, CO and now on Kauai, HI), which specializes in direct marketing communications and web marketing consulting. The company's Web site address is http://www.writedirection.com.©Copyright 1998 Debra Jason dba The Write Direction. All rights reserved. PO Box 608, Hanalei, HI 96714
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