Everybody who owns a website wants it to be more popular. From the web design team at the New York Times right down to the small retailer trying to expand into ecommerce, popularity is the key to success. Reading and working with popular websites every day can sometimes feel like living in a bubble where everybody has good search engine rankings and sites are all beautiful so it's nice sometimes to look at how normal websites can improve their popularity.
Invest in a good design : while people like Ling might think design isn't everything it is one of the key aspects a site can use to build their visitors trust so you need to get it right.
Learn about usabilty : having the best designed website in the world is useless if normal people can't use it. Sit behind some of your non internet savvy relatives and friends and watch them navigate your site and make purchases from your store. If they struggle with things you need to improve your usabilty.
Create a useful website : I know this might sound simple but having a website isn't just a way to tell people about your company. If you really want to become popular make sure your website is actually going to be helpful to the people who arrive there. If every visitor who was pleased by your site gave you a link or told one of their friends your traffic would increase to Facebook levels in months.
Keep it up to date : if your company can't be bothered to keep your website updated at least once a year then I probably won't want to use it. Broken links, outdated news and copyright notices from 2003 are not going to turn me on.
Be topical : just because you are a retailer it doesn't mean you can ignore the latest news in your niche. Having a company blog might be a bit beyond most businesses but you should at least have a news section to publish company information and responses to popular stories.
Manage your reputation : responding to your readers/customers comments is key to establishing your company as one that cares about what people say about you. You could also use the criticism to make your website better.
Learn about the internet : this might sound simple to some people but trying to explain to a middle aged company directory why they need to worry about buzz marketing is hard enough without them asking questions about what links are and what blogs do. Knowing how ideas spread through forums and blogs is essential for webmasters to understand online marketing.
Be controversial : having a boring corporate site isn't always the best way to become popular. Sometimes you need to upset 95% of the world just to get the attention of the other 5%. After all, having 5% of the population loving your site isn't a bad goal to have.
Be interesting : sometimes a website can break every rule in the book and still succeed. The one characteristic these sites have is they are interesting. So much content on the web is boring and repeated that having an interesting site is probably the best way to get noticed.
Learn about Google : ever wondered why some websites rank highly on Google while some languish on page 4? It's because one of the owners understands how Google works. Spend a few days reading the official guidelines and making sure your site follows all the normal optimisation rules and you might be surprised how much of a difference it can make.
by: on Nov 26, 2008 03:50:11 AM
Whatever you have written is right. No matter how good is the website design, if the person is not able to use your website, then it is of no use. It is necessary that the website is helpful to the person who arrives at the website. So whoever wants his or her website to be popular must follow the advice given by you in your post. http://www.digitalmarketingspecialists.com
by: on Nov 19, 2008 03:38:06 AM
Your tips are very nice. I totally agree with you about what you said about nevigation of a site. I think every webdesigner should build website thinking about a computer illetearte persons. If they can nevigate the site successfully, there the success of a webmaster lies and regardign seo, I can say that study is the main thing. More you study..more you will get knowledge. Knoledge is the KING! http://www.searchengineoptimisationworks.com.au
by: on Oct 02, 2008 07:39:59 AM
Always looking for ways to improve my the twisted sisterhood.com site, and you provided a mitt full of HELPFUL tips. Read alot out there that was for teck people, but this was one of the first that put it in laymen terms.
Recommended vendors for:
Find an Internet Marketing Consultant
Copyright © 2010 topseos.com. All Rights Reserved.
No reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
