Here is a wonderful article from Website Magazine on steps to increase your search engine marketing results.
http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/pages/step-by-step-search-site-structure.aspx
Just found the following article. I think it covers most of the basics… but there are even more. Take a glimpse if you’re just starting to worry about this sort of thing.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990530.html
There are many misconceptions about what being on the Web means to the success of a business. Every function of a business supports every other, from sales to customer service to accounting and beyond, and a Web presence is no different. Let’s explore three of our favorite myths that stand in the way of online success.
Myth #1
If I build it, they will come.
There are businesses that view being on the Web as akin to hanging an OPEN sign out front. The idea is that people will happen upon my business, make note of where it is and what it is called, and remember where to find me. That may work, if your business is a lemonade stand. Savvy businesses know that search engine optimization is critical to being found.
Myth #2
I can do it myself.
Many internet service providers make lots of money by offering Do-It-Yourself website software. Lured by the low up-front cost, many smaller businesses lose multiple sales cycles while trying to learn website design. After you buy the base level of service, you discover that kind of important things like web analytics or email capabilities that are only available at the higher “deluxe” and “platinum” levels.
Myth #3
My graphic designer can do it.
Lots of businesses think buying a website is the same as hiring a graphic design firm to design a brochure. True, a beautiful website is really exciting, but what lies beneath the pretty face? Can you make a sale on the site? What kind of data does the back end collect? Can you track who has visited, where they came from and where they went? The best websites have an armature of functionality designed to support the mission of the site, wrapped in a beautiful skin.
Almost everyone has a website these days – or two or three. Unfortunately, people don’t realize that traditional marketing rules still apply. If you advertise on a billboard, you want that billboard to be on the interstate between California and Vegas. You want it to impress people and you want it to attrack eyes. You’ve got to know the basics before you spend your money – or you’re likely to never see a return on your investment. At PIXRITE, we like to suggest three things to help ensure your billboard is effective.
Step 1: Be Desireable
Have you ever found a website to be less than what you were really hoping for? I don’t love it when I do a search on a topic that I really want to find some valuable information on… and the first 30 listings take me to garbage websites with useless link farms and endless loops of clicking and clicking. Have these user-friendly and useful websites not done their homework on how to get optimized for search engines? Online, we have about 3 seconds to convince someone to listen to us. Isn’t it worth the research to figure out who is most likely to return, who needs our info on a daily basis, what colors those people like, how much time they have to spend, and what time of the day are they stumbling upon our valuable propositions? Does your website communicate the value people expect to find? Even more importantly, do you have any idea what those expectations are?
Step 2: Be Available
We, as people, like to depend on constants. We like to know the sun will rise. We like to know our batteries are fully charged. We want the light to be green before we hit the intersection. Nothing is different when we sit down in front of a computer. When we find the information we are looking for, we want more! We want to know someone is sitting in front of their computer (somewhere in the world), who speaks our language, knows our needs and can help us figure out the next steps. More than that, we want accessability to that quality whenever we’re ready for it. If you’ve gone cheap on your hosting or you’ve forgotten to post listings in local directories or maybe your chat agent decided to take an extra smoke break, your customers can figure it out, almost instantly, and just from your home page. We’re not saying you need to site by the phone and wait for that phone call – but we can certainly help you to improve your consistency and deliver that message throughout your brand and your online presence.
Step 3: Love Your Customer
Usability is so often sacrificed for very stupid reasons. Once you have a fish on the hook, do you let it hang out there, break out another pole and throw your line for another? We try to discourage that. Sometimes people go hungry just because they can’t find the honey and nut version of the staple they need to survive. We like to tell our customers that anyone who comes through their door/online portal is an opportunity. Clicks are certainly not cheap these days. If someone is spending more than that 3 seconds on your home page – you need to keep them there. How do you keep someones interest? Show them the love! Give them some incentive to take your offer. Make your site so enticing that they find themselves lost before they realize they’ve clicked fourteen times. Trust is built slowly – so it will be your job to convince your customer they can get everything they need with “just one more click”. And when they click, GIVE IT TO THEM.
Red Laser is pretty cool stuff. Just scan a barcode and click the price you want to pay. It still leaves a lot to be desired, but we think it’s about half way to our Awesome Apps List. Now they just need to make it a payment gateway with hooks to our PayPal accounts.
A PIXRITE blog! It’s about time, isn’t it? Well, pixrite.com version 221.290 has just gone live. I wanted to publicly express all of my gratitude to those of you (you know who you are) who have helped create it. We’re excited to launch and have some fantastic clients backing us up as we “get out there”.
I also wanted to let everyone officially know that PIXRITE is no longer a one-man team. We are growing fast and many are involved – and we’re looking for high-energy creative wizards who want to work for the best Web company ever created.
It’s also time to let all of our competition know they can stop calling us for work. We’re glad the market has become so competitive and we have more eyes on us now than ever in the past… but we’re going to eat it up while we can and give ourselves the opportunity to finally make a “bigger” name.