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software such as Brad Callen's Keyword Elite.Regardless of what process
you favor, you must choose your keywords very carefully.
You
must check the competition for your chosen keywords or phrase. You must
check the number of searches made each month for your keyword
You
must also check the keyword density of your page to see if it will
register in the search engines. You may have to adjust or fine-tune
your keyword density at a later date.
Make sure you place
your keyword in the title of your page. Place it in the first Headline
on the page and many marketers also place their keyword or phrase in
the url. For example: www.yourdomain.com/keyword.html. This will help the search engines and surfers to find your page quicker.
2. Simple Design
Keep
it simple. You must keep your webpage simple and direct. Keep it
professional. Make sure it is readable and clear to all your visitors.
Do a spell check. Do a grammar check. You may also want to check how
your webpage looks in all types of browsers. (www.anybrowser.com) Better safe than sorry.
Keep
your visitors in mind at all times when designing your webpage. Keep it
on topic, keep it related to your keywords. Most marketing studies show
that's it's best not to confuse your visitors with too many options. If
you're selling a product or products, limit the number on each page to
one product if you can.
If you have a comparison page, limit
the number to three or four. Studies also show that if you present too
many options or products, the conversion rate goes down, not up. Keep
all your products related. If you have a page on laptops, don't start
discussing the benefits of owning a SUV.
Keep your sentences
short and the number of words on a page down to 200 to 300. Many sites
break up longer articles into multi-pages, this will be of some
inconvenience for your visitors but you will have more room for
advertising, your call.
3. Optimized
Let's face it,
the average webpage will get most of its traffic from the search
engines, mainly Google, although MSN and Yahoo are also worth
considering. Optimize your page for Google. Use a simple hierarchy,
keep your pages no more than three clicks away from the main page.
Linking all your pages to your index page is a good practice, always do
this. The search engines will find your page faster if it is linked
directly from the main index page of your site.
Using
blogging software/structure that comes with such free blogging software
as Wordpress will optimize your pages for you. Blogging systems have a
linking hierarchy (categories, archives, etc.) that are very search
engine friendly. It's almost impossible not to optimize your pages if
you're using a blogging system. Plus, you have an RSS feed that will
syndicate your content and place it into the search engines very
quickly.
Check factors such as Mega Tags, title description and content. Use a robots text file for the search engine robots.
If
you're new to building webpages, you may want to check out Google's
Webpage Creator, you can create your pages and have it hosted free by
Google and they will be indexed immediately in Google. Big Plus! http://www.pages.google.com.
4. Easy Navigation
A
great webpage will have easy and simple navigation. Link your page to
and from your main index page if you can. Make sure you link to it from
your sitemap page. Many webmasters put all the main links on their site
at the top or the bottom of all their webpages, so that a visitor can
freely move around and find what they're looking for. Keep your
visitors' comfort level in mind at all times.
Double check to
see all links on your webpage work! You may be surprised how many don't
work, especially if you link out to other sites. The search engines
don't like broken links, neither will your visitors.
Also
double check to see if all images on your page display properly.
Nothing will bring down the quality of your page than images that don't
load.
5. Fresh Content
A great webpage will always
have fresh content. Make sure you update your webpage often. Our
world's technology changes rapidly, make sure your material is current
and still revelant.
Remember, 9 times out of 10, the only
reason a visitor is on your page is for information. Make sure you
deliver. Make sure that information is recent and accurate. Besides,
there is nothing like fresh content to keep your visitors interested
and coming back for more.
6. Bookmarkable
A great
webpage will always be bookmarkable. Your visitor will want to bookmark
your page and return to it for more information. Make sure you make it
easy for your visitor to bookmark your page. Use a bookmark script.
Make sure you have a favicon, this is a small logo you place on your
site and it will be automatically picked up and displayed in your
visitor's bookmarks, drawing attention to your page. Consider a
bookmark and favicon like bread crumbs, all leading the visitor back to
your page.
7. Cool
Every great webpage should have a
WOW factor! Try to make your page stand out from the crowd. Try to make
it unique, try to make it cool. Just remember, a simple professional
webpage with valuable information is always cool. And remember there is
nothing like a little good 'word of mouth' to get some traffic drawing
PR for your page. Great buzz about your webpage is worth its worth in
gold.
So the next time you're designing a webpage, go all out
and try to create your webpage with all of the characteristics listed
above. Start with your keywords, keep it simple, proof-read and test
for coding errors, create good navigation and optimize for the search
engines, make sure you provide valuable fresh content and information.
Last but not least, try your hardest to make your webpage memorable and
bookmarkable. Make it a professional webpage that will be superior to
the majority of other pages on the web.
Aim high and you will reap the rewards.
Copyright 2006 Titus Hoskins
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