Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
A Balancing Act: Website Designs Fit for Search Engines & Users
Friday, August 20, 2010 by Bryan Anderson
Every small business comes to a point in their growth where they
must consider an online path. For some, this may come sooner than
later, but the growth of internet users has pushed more small
business ventures into the digital realm. Unfortunately, not all
small business owners understand the process of e-commerce and
website development. Underneath the complicated Flash websites or
the ad-infested landing pages, there needs to be a focus on
getting found and getting repeat visits.
Search-engines help small business sites get
found. Creating a website doesn't entitle you to a barrage
of immediate visitors (unless you're a well-established physical
brand). For the most part, you'll need to market your site, usually
in tandem with your physical marketing efforts. People are now
using the internet as another source of contact, which means at any
time they could interact with your product or service offerings.
The world is currently going through a broad "Search Era," in which
search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo are answering users'
questions and offering them to the nearest answer. In order to get
your small business plugged into these search results, a marketing
effort including Search Engine Optimization (commonly abbreviated
as SEO) is beneficial.
SEO can be a misunderstood term, as some pessimists find SEO specialists as "people who game the search
engines to get top positions." While there exists ethical and
unethical executions, finding an SEO strategy that focuses on
building organic results with appeal to both the search engine AND
the end user can radically boost your website's traffic and
popularity.
Positive user experiences help small business sites get
credibility. Getting online can be a lucrative venture.
While establishing an SEO strategy is an important part of any web
enterprise, the user must understand the benefit of your site and
leave with a positive experience if you expect to see them return
or spread the word (through social media). First, take into account
the purpose behind establishing a web component: Are you looking to
sell your products and services directly? Are you looking to expand
your target market? Are you using it to support your physical
location? Every small business concentrates on a unique aspect of
internet usability and yours will be no different.
One aspect of a website that can easily make or break any page
is navigation. As a user, is the information easy to access? Does
the website cut to the point for any prospective customers or
clients? Preparing for a positive user experience will not only
help your business but also your brand's image. Any company with an
easy yet effective website interface will get praise from its users
and word of mouth will help build even more traffic.
A combination of search-engine friendly design and
user-focused design helps small business sites succeed.
Getting found and getting repeat visits is the key to a fruitful
website strategy. There are millions upon millions of indexed web
pages and search engines like Google don't put yours on an
automatic pedestal. Building an online presence through SEO and
other marketing efforts will greatly boost your face-time with
potential consumers.
Once your target market discovers you, give them a reason to
return and talk about you. Provide a seamless website navigation
interface as well as incentive to return. Keeping a genuine online
reputation will only help build a strong small business website
that neither search engines nor users will ignore.
Until next time -
Matthew Hymel
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support &
Consulting
Rochester
IT Support & Consulting
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