Importance of Web Design and SEO Combined

I’ve seen it many times now, a great idea, an outstanding web site and wham, nothing. Why? Because they broke one or both of the 2 golden rules for a successful web site. And the illusion put up a web site and you will make a million dollars. Nothing is more false.

GOLDEN RULE ONE. Just like a traditional store you have to market and bring in traffic. To put up a site and wait to be found is suicide. This is a solid truth whether the shop is along side a real highway or the Internet super highway. Know your market, know your competition. Seek out a web designer who has marketing experience and works closely with an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) specialist. Not one of these “organic” people but a true specialist. They will provide the info and experience you will need to develop a good web marketing plan. Do this first!

GOLDEN RULE TWO. Ok, this is the second big mistake. It is also the most costly to fix or is in the end, fatal. Choosing a web designer. This rule is so important to success that I’m going to cap it: CHOOSE A WEB DESIGN, SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION TEAM! We are all tempted to save money but this is truly a “penny wise pound foolish” situation. If you go to anything less, if you go to ‘someone who does it on the side’ or a “graphic designer” who will do a site, or any number of “dream weaver developers “(as we call them) your idea failed the moment you handed over your deposit.

There is so much more to a professional and competitive site than a cute design and a few key words. So much has to be done both on and off page and during the launch that you want a company that has more than graphic design abilities. You need a company with combined marketing skills and proven e-commerce experience. Site development and SEO will probably be one of the largest upfront expenses in the project. But it will be money spent wisely and in the end, much less expensive then doing it over again. Your company image, web site, marketing all have to blend and work together, see rule one!

They chose poorly

The Yellow Dinosaur

Traveling down the road a few weeks back I noticed the now familiar line of yellow bags lining the road. Later that day I caught 3 random remarks in different places. All were negative. All along the lines of litter, useless, and saving trees hence this article.
You have to ask yourself, in this communication age, an age of Google and cell phones do we really need the yellow page phone books? This only leads to the next logical question, in this time of global warming and green awareness, do they not get it or do they not care? Since all the major publishers are moving hard to build their web programs you can only assume they don’t care. That, and they do not understand market delineation, there are just too many of them for any one to be of value.
For example, at our office we get 8. We are in a small county, less then 200k and we get 8 phone books, 2 from Yellow Book, 2 from Verizon, 3 from Bellsouth and now a new one littering the road, PDC. Guys, how many do we need?
Now don’t get me totally wrong, I still believe we need hard copies of phone lists but as an advertising vehicle, their main reason for being, yellow books have outlived their time.
The environmental damage goes beyond the trees. It includes everything from first cutting, the chemicals used in processing and printing and the staggering amount of petroleum products used in production and transport. Who pays this bill, we do. Who pays the clean up bill for the books rotting along side the road and in landfills, we do.
The phone book as we have known it has become obsolete. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, it’s just technical evolution. What is sad is their failure to adapt. Some call it revolution but either way, evolution or revolution there is only one survivor.

Pick a web designer

In today’s world a business without a properly designed website is at a huge disadvantage. And just not any site will do, but one created with usability and SEO in mind. To work well a site needs to be designed properly, logically and cleanly. If it’s not then all your online marketing / PR / advertising and social media promotions to sell the site will just be wasted.
So much depends on the site design it is important to choose the right designer. So, here are a few tips to help you make the right choice.
1) Check out some of the other sites the designer has created. All creative designers have a unique style to them and certain elements common to .coms they develop.
2) Talk with the designer, tell him/her what your needs are. A good designer will be completely honest with you and be happy to tell you exactly his/her capabilities. The sign of a great designer is one that will ask what your current .com is, talk to you about your company and its goals and really get to know you. This is above and beyond, and what separates the good from the great.
3) Don’t separate the design and coding of your .com. You want one person or company conceptualizing, designing and implementing your .com. Splitting this is never a good idea and you will never get as good a product as you will if everything is done with one person.
4) Do separate the web design and the external marketing. Everybody can’t do everything. You want a designer who works closely with an SEO specialist. A proper web design starts with SEO and design from the very beginning.
Having the proper design is just the first step. It also takes a solid commitment to get your site a decent amount of steady traffic. And remember, once you start, it is an ongoing process from both your designer and SEO team for a time after the site is launched to build and maintain results.
When the website is created properly from step one, it will be something that you can build upon. You will have a valuable piece of virtual real estate.