Change bulleted lists to narrative paragraphs

A common technique people use to make sure they have everything they do listed on a page is to simply use a bulleted list of services, products, or equipment. It would seem like a good idea because it make sure that you have the keywords you need on the page, but it can backfire. A technique that has been labeled “keyword stuffing” was created to try to increase relevancy of pages so they would appear higher in search engines. It worked for awhile, but the smart people at companies like Google saw how it was being abused and figured out how to offset that trick in their algorithms. At its worst, it can get a site dropped from the index altogether, effectively make a whole site invisible from a search perspective.

A better choice is to take the time to turn the bulleted list into narrative paragraphs. Describe in friendlier and more conversational terms the services you provide. For example, “Our recent addition of a Cosmotron 2000 has allowed us to perform stamping and cutting of eight times as many hojarines an hour, often allowing us to turn around an order in a single day instead of a week.”

When describing equipment or products, link the names of the equipment to the manufacturer’s site’s pages, as this, too, will increase the calculated relevancy of your page in a natural way.

Repeat your keywords in your content

The best thing you can do to help your site get found online is to repeat your keywords in your actual content. If you want your site to be found when you’re talking about fundraising campaigns, you should make sure you use words like “fundraising,” “fundraiser,” and “raising money” in your content. Each keyword should be in the content three to five times. When those keywords are used as links to other relevant pages, that helps, too.

Try typing in a keyword you care about and visiting the first couple of sites that come up in your favorite search engine. Then look at how many times that keyword shows up on the page and where. It’s probably shown even more often than you’d guess.

Include at least 200 words of relevant content on the page

Part of search engine indexing is context. It’s not enough to have your keywords on the page, floating in some box or on a bulleted list. The context of the words in relation to each other matters. That means that search engines need more than just a couple of lines of text to figure out what you’re really saying. It seems that pages with at least two hundred words get better results when indexed. You’ll need that much just to make sure you repeat your keywords a few times anyway.

Articles should be 500-800 words long

Articles relevant to your audience and including your keywords will drive up your ranks in the search engines. It also provides material of interest to people, which is, after all, the primary reason to have a website: to get people learning more about your business and remaining engaged.

The length of your articles is important. Too short and it’s not enough to engage the visitor – he might read it, but it isn’t enough to become memorable. Too long, and he won’t finish. Reading online is done in fairly short bursts. Keep your articles between 500 and 800 words in length to balance engagement and attention.

Flash usually doesn’t work well with search

Flash-based content usually doesn’t get indexed. The text in a Flash movie isn’t visible to a search engine, so the site developed in Flash has to have additional work done to get the text to be repeated in a manner search engines will actually pick up. Few Flash-based sites do this well, or even at all.

A great way to see if your Flash-based site is likely to get indexed is to visit seo-browser.com and type in the URL for your site. That will let you see exactly what your site looks like to a search engine. More often than not, a Flash-based site looks like a nearly blank page.

Conclusion

Try these five techniques and your site should be well on its way to a better search engine presence.

Check it out.

First, drop this code into includes/theme-functions.php just before the ?> that ends the PHP statements:

Now that you’ve done that, on a page used as a slider, instead of the HTML mentioned in the theme documentation, use a shortcode, which you can place whether you’re in visual view or HTML view.

By default, use this:

That’s not very interesting, though, because the URL is simple “#” and the button’s label is “Label”. It’s good enough, though, if you’re just fleshing out the look of the site.

For a single button, use this:

That will create a button that will go the page with the slug “try” (that is, like http://www.example.com/try) and the button will have Try Now on it.

For multiple buttons, it gets slightly more complicated, but is still easier than the HTML. Here’s how you put two:

The shortcode uses the pipe symbol (|) as a delimiter. So the above gets you two buttons. The first goes to /try and is labeled Try It, the second goes to /buy and is labeled Buy Now.

The delimiter specifies that the word “or” will be between the two, correctly formatted and with a space on either side. The word “or” is the default, so I could have left that off, but I included it by way of example. Using delimiter=”and” would put an “and” between the two buttons.

Some limitations: I didn’t put in error checking to make sure your count, URLs, and labels all have the right number. You have to use the same delimiter throughout, so no “this or that and another” constructions. Still, most of the time, you’ll be using only one or two buttons, they’ll use “or”, and an error message would still mean you’d have to edit stuff, so I figured these were acceptable.

I’m using contrast here in a very broad sense, where it means that there are any two attributes of a single thing that are significantly different. Consider some examples, beginning with what we eat. Almost every meal we eat includes two or more foods. There really isn’t any reason beyond getting a wide variety of nutrients not available in a single food for us to prepare multiple foods when we eat. However, even if it covered every element of nutrition you needed, you would be unlikely to feel particular satisfied by eating the same single item with every meal.

Another very basic example is that we tend not to design objects to be of a single color. My laptop, on which I’m typing this now, has a number of buttons that when they are in the “on” position light up with a blue glow. The blue contrasts with the black of the plastic and is therefore pleasing.

Not every example is so trivial, though. While it may not have such a firm grip on its market as it once did, Monster was remarkable in the job listing website business because of the contrast between the generally serious matter of browsing through jobs and the more whimsical nature of cartoon monsters adorning the pages. Similarly, “Amazon” (at least to me) conjures up images of a rain forest where the only inhabitants have little if anything in the way of a written language, which contrasts heavily with the concept of an online bookstore. I’ve noticed Elizabeth regularly browsing a make-up site called “Beauty Whore.” Whatever you might feel about the name itself, it is certainly striking and memorable.

Even the name I picked for my online alter-ego, Dark Tortoise, was picked in part because of the contrast between “dark” and “tortoise.” If asked to name a bunch of things that are dark, especially if given the “sinister” definition of the word, it’s unlikely that “tortoise” would show up on your list anywhere in the top thousand.

I’ve been talking to my realtor friend, Ben, about ideas for a real estate website. Most such sites are, in my opinion, largely forgettable. They also tend to highlight the realtor, leaving the houses listed for sale as pretty much a set of photos and some basic attributes, like number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Buying a home, though, is largely an emotional decision with the house itself at the center of that decision. Thinking about contrast and that emotional factor suggests new ideas of how to present homes in an appealing, remarkable, and memorable way.

For example, we could present the homes almost as though they were people themselves so that the website visitor has the opportunity to be introduced to the homes and find one with a pleasing personality. We could include things like video testimonials about the houses given by either the developer or architect for new houses or the previous owners for resales. The presentation could even be made to look much like a typical (but well-designed) customized profile page on social networking sites like MySpace or FaceBook. The contrast between an inanimate object and the anthropomorphizing of that object would be unusual and notable.

Contrast, while not the only tool for creating distinction, seems a critical one. How could you apply new contrast to make something in your life more interesting, either to yourself or others as appropriate?

I was talking with a wedding photographer recently that was trying to figure out the right call to action to use for a series of Google AdWords ad campaigns. My suggestion was to offer something that might be useful to a bride in exchange for an email address. The photographer could prepare a short PDF on the subject of how to pose during the photography session to get the best results.

The photographer was thinking about an offer of a free “parents’ book” with the purchase of a wedding photography package.

That’s too much, too early. Think about it for a moment: the bride clicks on an ad and sees an offer that makes an assumption that she will hire the photographer for the wedding and after the event, when photos are being prepared, the photographer will make up an extra book for her parents.

Aren’t we kind of jumping ahead in this relationship?

I suggested thinking about it like dating. When the person clicking on your ad first comes to your site, you only just met after a nominal introduction that suggests there might be some potential there. Do you ask for a date by suggesting you’ll cook dinner for her on your anniversary?

That’s what I asked the photographer. Her response: “Creepy.”

Don’t be creepy. Make your call to action one that fits the state of the relationship as it stands. There will be plenty of time to cook her dinner later.

Here’s a hypothetical.  You’re a business owner who has created and sells the world’s most amazing pen.  It never clogs, its ink is visible in three light spectrums and it comes in a one-of-a-kind color: celestial.  Well, congratulations; your website probably doesn’t need any kind of focus or direction because your product is one-of-a-kind, and you sell it by the gazillions.

Now, let’s try reality.  You’re an action coach who provides motivational and organizational mentoring to your clients.  You provide amazing service with a personal attention to your clients’ lives that is seldom seen.  But, the reality is, you’re competing with many other action coaches all vying for the same market share.  So, you decide to make a website to help build your business.  What’s the first step?

Believe it or not, the first step is perhaps the easiest, although many people overlook or struggle with this.  It’s just as simple as answering this questions:  “if a person makes it to my website, what do I want them to do there?”  A few common answers to this question are:

1. I want them to sign up for a newsletter.
2. They should buy something from my website this instant!
3. They need to know more about my essential service; have them call me!
4. I want their email address so I can get back in touch with them.

I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard the, “I just want them to stop by, look, then leave” answer.  But time and time again I see a website that serves as a brochure, but doesn’t entice, direct or otherwise encourage a person to DO something.

So, what do you do now that you have the answer to my simple question?  The next steps vary, but there are a few things to keep in mind when you implement it. Here are a few examples for obtaining an email address:

First, your answer, or call to action, should be one of the most prominently displayed items on your website.

If you want your client to send you their email, put it front and center!  Pick a spot at the top of the page, or prominently displayed on the sides, but for the love of all things virtual, don’t place it at the bottom of your website.  Also, keep in mind that your prospects are either very busy, or very lazy, but assume they are one or the other.  Do NOT give them complicated forms or questionnaires to complete.  Make it simple and to the point.  Remember, if your call to action is to get their email address, then ask for it without requiring a bunch of extra “stuff.”  Filling out an online form ranks up there with speaking repeat-a-english with a virtual phone customer service representative.  People want to talk to people, not give their life’s story to a form.

Second, if you’re asking for an email address, promise your client it’s safe.

I know that I’ve personally used about 10 different email addresses to “register” for a site just to get in, or sign up for something.  I have no idea what these sites use my email for, nor am I inclined to give them permission to use it as they see fit.  If you want a bona fide client email address, promise them it will be kept safe, won’t be sold, or used to market to (unless that’s a reason for asking for it) and tell them what the email will be used for.  The more assurances you give your prospect that you have their best interests at heart, the more likely they will be to give you their information.

Lastly, consider encouragement to get an email address.

These days the internet abounds with forms, questionnaires, and there’s a pervasive, give-me-all-your-personal-information attitude.  I can’t speak for everyone, but that has definitely affected the way I distribute my contact information.  Now, I adhere to the, ‘only if I absolutely must’ attitude.  So, if you want an email address, consider offering something for it.  Using the business coach example we used earlier, perhaps a summary of the top ten reasons why people don’t succeed and a synopsis of how to avoid them.  Or, if you’re in the position to do so, a free pass to a seminar to talk about your services.  Whatever you decide to use, consider it from the point of view of your prospective clients.  If you were in their shoes, would you give your email address for what was (or wasn’t) offered?

The first step to designing a website should be the most important in the entire design process.  Determine the purpose for your website, and implement a clear, concise, and obvious call to action.  Keep it simple, ensure your prospects’ information is safe, and offer something of value to accomplish your goal.  Doing this will increase the likelihood that a prospect will contact you for your service, especially if your competition’s website is a mere brochure!  And by the way, email me when you create the pen that doesn’t clog.

For those that haven’t read the book, it lays out a method of what they call “principled negotiation.” This is an alternative to the classic “positional negotiation” that’s little more than starting at two extremes and haggling to some center point with little regard for what makes sense. They also point out that positional negotiation can also be less adverserial, although possibly just as destructive, when one or both negotiators are falling over each other to make concessions in the interests of protecting the relationship, such as when a boyfriend “gives in” to his girlfriend, despite what he really wants.

The authors cover four basic aspects to the method then relate how to use the method even if others in the negotiation aren’t. As with Difficult Conversations, they include plenty of examples and one of the impressive aspects is that those examples range from a husband and a wife figuring out a floor plan for a custom home to the Camp David Accords.

Like many of the best books in the self-improvement and business categories, much of what’s in the book will be familiar. (”I suggest that the only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little further down our particular path than we have gone ourselves.” – E M Forster)

We’ve all negotiated with others many, many times and had varying levels of success. The successful negotiations often included inadvertent or instinctive reliance on some aspects of these methods. But the complete method described in Getting to Yes brings it all together, explaining why some negotiations have failed and how others could have gone better.

In just the last few days, I’ve already had several opportunities to start practicing the techniques from figuring out what to have for dinner to improving the possibilities for two deals that my company is seeking to make with other companies – one as a vendor, one as a customer. As such, I can’t help but pile on the bandwagon and recommend this book as what ought to be required reading. If you haven’t read it, you need to, and not just for work. If you have kids, you need to get them to read it, too, as I think it will be one of those things that prepares them for adulthood more than anything they will learn in school.

We deliver all the sites for our clients using Subversion. Part of making that work is that we move the custom content from it’s usually location in wp-content to a separate folder outside the regular WordPress structure. In particular, this means we have a folder structure like this:

It works quite well, since we don’t actually use the wp-content folder and when we need to roll out changes to a lot of sites, we just issue Subversion switch commands to the Wordpress folder and all the content folders remain unaffected.

We’ve found that several of the WooThemes, though, have hard-coded the wp-content folder in them. Just a single handy example is Busy Bee, line 172 of the includes/admin-custom.php file:

We’ve fixed this by replacing it with this:

Similarly, we’ve replaced references to the content folder URL, like on line 173 of that same file:

with this:

We included the uploads folder in this case so that the woo_custom folder would appear in a subfolder of uploads rather than as a peer of that folder. The reason there is that we also use Subversion to periodically back up and retain revision history on our clients’ uploads folder.

The ability to use this alternate install path structure was introduced in WordPress v2.6.

We’re defining the two constants referenced above in the wp-config.php file, which we moved up one folder from the core install for the same reasons described above.

It would be really great if WooThemes referenced the content folder and content URL using these constants, which can also be conditionally defined in the WooThemes core system as described in the above article on wordpress.org. We wouldn’t need to go through and “fix” the themes for our clients as we build out their sites, but it wouldn’t require any additional effort on the part of WooThemes users who are using the traditional installation paths.

I interviewed social media strategist Terri Holley of Creative Blog Solutions about the ever-growing presence of social networking websites and how they relate to businesses.

Why should businesses choose to use social networking websites?

For businesses that want to grow and become profitable, social networking is an excellent way to generate more leads, retain existing clients, and create additional streams of revenue.  By leveraging blogging, interactive media, and other social channels, businesses can reach more people in their target market and deepen relationships with prospects, clients and constituents.  A vehicle for word-of-mouth marketing, social networking enables business enthusiasts and customer evangelists to spread news and opinions via their social channels.  Social networking also has the potential to drive a massive amount of traffic back to a business site and create a large number of repeat visitors.  And unlike other forms of marketing, social media has a very low barrier of entry and it is something anyone can master.  Most social technologies can be leveraged in-house with a little training and knowledge.

What are the pros and cons?

I really have a hard time coming up with reasons why businesses should not jump into the social media space while prospects and customers are having conversations about their brand, products, and services with or without them.  The smartest thing seems to be becoming an integral part of the conversation.  The pros include being viewed as a business that cares, influencing the tone and flow of the conversation, and enjoying an honest and open dialogue with those who can make or break your business.  With tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and Yelp, consumers can quickly control how the public perceives a business and its products and services.  Whether the perception is positive or negative, having a presence in the social media space allows a business to be a contributing member of an online community.

Is it beneficial to have a profile on more than one social networking website?  Why or why not?

I think it is important to make a judicious selection of social media channels, the most important factors being the social media profile of your target market and the ways in which your prospects and customers engage with social technologies.  For example, with the 18-25 age group still dominating Facebook, a fan page on this site may not be the best strategy for reaching those who are 65 and older.   If you set up a blog, will your target market know how to leave a comment or navigate the site?  Will your target audience understand Twitter?  These are all important factors to consider.  On the other hand, some believe that signing up for the most popular social networks might prevent someone else from being mistaken for your business and might protect a profile that you may use later.

How much does social networking contribute to business growth and sales?

It is well known that the growth and sales of a business are directly proportional to its relational capital.   Social networking and other forms of social media can help a business build relationships.  I view social networking as a perception-builder as opposed to a direct money maker.  My belief is that the perceptions a business creates and the relationships it builds today will lead to a healthy, profitable, and sustainable business tomorrow.

What does an active presence on social networking websites say about a business?  How do clients or prospective clients view this?

An active presence on social media channels is very important.   The recent Cone Business in Social Media Study revealed that 93% of Americans expect companies to have a presence on social media sites.  The study also revealed that about 60% of Americans interact with companies using social media, one in four interact more than once per week, and 56% feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they interact via social media.  This shows that Americans are welcoming the consumer/business interaction in the social media space.

What kind of commitment does the introduction and maintenance of profiles on social networking websites require for a business?

Like any other form of marketing, time, manpower, and other resources are needed to begin and sustain an effective social media marketing campaign.  The great news is that innovative technologies are emerging every day to make the process of social media marketing much more manageable and efficient.  Moreover, businesses that are successful with integrating social media marketing into business practices are now discovering ways in which social networking can save time and resources.

How can businesses that use social networking websites set themselves apart?

Creativity, relevancy, and personality rule in the social media space.  Businesses that leverage their authentic voice will not only set themselves part, they will be viewed as a breath of fresh air to consumers who are becoming numb to traditional marketing.  I also believe that businesses that step into “Web 3.0” or focus on optimizing the customer experience will be the real winners in the social media space.

So, the age-old quandary with sales is this: how do you promote sales and secure new business without alienating the clientele?  In days past there were very few methods to promote sales.  You could hire a salesperson and pray he was persuasive and non-affronting.  You could pay for an advertisement and hope to hit the target audience and convey a convincing argument.  But no tool has ever existed that provides the kind of influence that a website does.  It’s an advertising, networking and selling tool that works for you, even when you’re not working.  It has the ability to promote your sales and secure new business without alienating the clientele.

Ensuring that a website does all three of the aforementioned processes is the real trick.    So many times we forget the sheer power that a well-designed website can have.  Having a website these days is almost an after-thought; simply an affirmation of a business’s legitimacy.  But a well-designed website?  A well-designed website based on a call to action can make the difference between a new client and a lost client.  So which do you want?  It seems like an insultingly simple question with an obvious answer, but have you asked the hard questions lately?

Is your business growing because of your website, or is it simply “there”?  How can you tell if you’re earning business because of your website?  What’s your return of investment on your website?  Do you consider your website an investment?  Do you have the time to even bother redesigning your website?  If you’re unsure about the answers to these questions, then join me weekly as I discuss developing effective websites from a sales perspective, and explain in simple terminology how to make a website that ultimately increases your sales.

In the meantime, what questions do you have about using websites as a sales tool?  Do you believe that a website can bring you business?