Top Tips - Improve your website - Add Content

The number one most important thing you can do to improve your website is add content. Content is King, and the key to driving traffic to your site.

Your content needs to be page specific. Each page should have very detailed information regarding that page title. If your page title is Manchester Web Design, then you content needs to contain those terms and be relevant to your business or product.

Don’t just copy this term over and over again, that will get you banned from the search engines. Instead, construct reasonable sentences that will make sense to your reader. Utilize things like bullets, most users won’t read this content you are writing, but they will read the bullets or other call to action items on your page.

Write a reasonable amount of content that will attract your prospect. Your prospective customer will find your site because Google, Yahoo, and MSN will crawl your site and index all the content, making it available as a search result.

The more content you have on a relevant topic, the more likely you are to be found.

If you think you need help writing the content for your website or that your current website is not attracting the number of visitors you would like, give us a ring and we can have a chat about improving the amount of business you get via your website.

Telephone: 01625 821072
Email: michelle@yourwebstar.co.uk

SEO - Free Tips and Tools to increase your traffic

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of improving a website potential in order to gain more organic non-paid traffic from the major search engines.

So what SEO tips can we offer? Check each one of these points and you will notice a real improvement in your organic traffic?

Well the most important one, the one that every website owner should always bear in mind, is to always show visitors and search engines the same information. When you optimise your website you should make changes to benefit visitors which will also help search engines understand your pages.

Indexing

One of the most important SEO tips is getting that first, all-important link from the right place so every page on your site gets into the main search engines index quickly. Regularly review how Google are indexing your site and what they have to say about it.

Content Building

You need to get the right keywords into your text without making your copy sound awkward. Keyword rich copy that gives your visitors the information they require is a priority. Never use the age old SEO tricks of hiding keywords and stuffing them into your code and make sure that each page of your site uses relevant title tags that have the right keywords. Content is King!

Coding

Simplify your code and make it more search engine friendly by removing javascript and placing it in files on the server. Google need to see what your visitors see and what they see will always be useful to your customers. You can use a handy Meta Tags and Keyword Analyzer to check your keyword Density and make sure your Meta Tags are in the correct format and length. The links are below.

Link building

The more links there are to your site the better your rankings will be. The more relevant the page linking to you the better. Check your Link Popularity using our Link Popularity Check Tool to keep up with your progress. With Google and other key search engines very concerned about sites using links to trick them, you need must have quality links from good sites.

Updating your Website

Without doubt the most effective way or raising your site through the rankings and gaining top organic search engine positions. Keeping your content fresh, topical and relevant will only ever help you on the quest for more traffic. It's a high priority but one that often gets overlooked and will have a detrimental effect on the best website.

Free Tools

Keyword Density Checker - http://www.webconfs.com/keyword-density-checker.php
Domain Backlink Checker - http://www.iwebtool.com/backlink_checker
Website Sitemap Generator - http://www.xml-sitemaps.com
Meta Keyword Tool - https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Link Popularity Tool - http://www.submitexpress.com/linkpop/

Why blog for business?

From a business perspective there are several potential reasons to blog. But, as always, it depends on what you want. Blogs are no different from channels like video, print, audio, presentations and so on. They all deliver results - but of varying kind. The kind you can expect from blogs is mainly about stronger relations with important target groups.

Become the Expert

Position yourself and your company as the thought leader of your business. Get ahead of your competition and let people know what you are selling, why you are different and more importantly why they should buy from you.

Customer Relationships

In a forum where your main objective not is to sell, you'll have a more personal relationship between you and your customers. Blogs are a fast way to join the customers' discussions, provide tips and insights or receive feedback.

Media Relations

It's every PR-consultants dream to create a channel where media regularly check what you have to say, instead of media just being passive - sometimes indifferent - recipients of press releases.

Internal Collaboration

Use blogs as a workspace where project members keep each other updated without wasting time writing reports or searching the Outlook inbox.

Knowledge Management

Blogs works in two ways. First of all, they're an easy way for the readers to find information and resources they want or need. That's obvious and could be used internally in many organizations. Second, blogs are a kind of "university light" for the blogger. Blogging is on-the-job learning.
RecruitmentIf you establish your company as a thought leader, people in your business will pay attention. They'll read and discuss what you have to say. Chances are good they will see you as an attractive employer.

Test ideas or products

A blog is informal. It's part of a conversation where people (often) can comment, and the blog can provide you with a measure of value. Publish an idea and see if it generates interest. Does anyone link to you? What do they say?

Rank high in search engines

Well, this has nothing to do with relations. But Google and other search engines rewards sites that are updated often, that link to other sites and most importantly, that has many inbound links. Start a blog at your regular site and your ranking will boost.

If you'd like to talk about having a blog for your business contact us today. Telephone\\ 01625 821072 or email \\ michelle@yourwebstar.co.uk

Bing - a rival for google?

It's reported that Microsoft will spend $80 million to get us to try its new search engine, to be called "Bing." Could that possibly work?

Think about it!

Google is more than just a habit. Google has our IDs, customizes our searches, searches our desktops and our email and delivers neatly integrated Maps, reviews, and video searches. It works. There is every reason to stay and no reason to leave. But $80 million buys enough impressions to get people to try something new.

But here are the facts:

Bing overtook Yahoo! as the number two search engine in the United States and worldwide on Thursday, June 4th.

Google had a commanding lead in the U.S. search engine market on Thursday with 71.47%. Yahoo! moved into third place with 10.22% while Microsoft’s Bing was able to grab 16.28%.
Though Microsoft’s Bing moved into the number two spot globally as well on Thursday it did so by a very narrow margin. Bing had 5.62% of the market compared to Yahoo! which had 5.13%. worldwide. Google dominated with a global market share of 87.62%.

The only way to see what will happen, try it out and review on twitter. You can bet that Microsoft will be tweeting for all their worth in the next few weeks.

http://www.bing.com

Your Web Star Video

Mums in Control

Your Web Star have started writing for a local magazine called Mums In Control. We're really excited as this is our first foray into print!

Launched as a printed magazine in January 2008, MiC is the very first magazine specifically aimed at working mums and ‘mumpreneurs’ and because it's produced by working mums, we know exactly what features will tick the right boxes. Add to this the local element which provides inspirational stories about women in East Cheshire and features on local businesses, coupled with the relevance of local advertising and you have the winning MiC formula!

We're making our debut in the Summer edition due out any day. Watch this space meanwhile you can catch up with Mums in Control on their website and read the last few editions which are packed with interesting articles and local issues for both mums and business women in Cheshire.

Link to Mums in Control: http://local.mumsincontrol.co.uk/SK9/about-us.asp

Are you a Zebra?

A herd of zebras all look the same when they are running as a herd. Zebras that don’t ‘run with the herd’ get noticed first. If you want to get noticed by your potential customers you need to run ‘outside the pack’.

Getting noticed increases your chance of making a sale. Do you need to get noticed?

Now is the time to look at your business and try to make it look different on at least one significant criterion – the internet.

Most websites as they are commonly presented are failing to deliver. Is yours?

If you need to get noticed give us a ring.

We make websites better. It’s what we do.

Think you need a new website?

Here's 10 ways of knowing for sure if you need a redesign.

From time to time every website needs to be redesigned in order to keep its content and appearance up to date. Does your website show any of the top 10 signs below?
Easy questions along the way to find out if it’s time to redesign.


1. You built it yourself…or your friend/relative/dog built it

DIY websites always look like DIY websites and they never perform when it comes to optimisation and search engine results which after all is what really matters. What I can do for you costs less in comparison to what it will cost you if you don’t see me and go ahead on your own.
Remember: If your website looks unprofessional - your company looks unprofessional.

Q. How much value is your website bringing to your business? How are you measuring that?
Q. How do your customers react to your website?
Q. Do you know how your customers react to your website or are you assuming they think it’s great. Q. If you had to score your website out of 10 what score would you give it?

2. You aren't getting the results you want

The first clue that you need a new web site is that you are not getting the results you want, but do you know the results you want? Have you defined your objectives from your website? Have you set targets and measured the results?.

People are coming to your site but not opting in. Your conversion rate is minimal between visitors to your site and sales or enquiries. Not a good sign of success. You may need a new design, stronger keywords, and new sales pages-- pretty much everything in order to get the results you deserve. A new web site lets you start again and get it right this time.

Q. Is your web site getting the conversion rate you want?
Q. Are you attracting the number of visitors to your site that you need to be successful?
Q. Do you know the number of visitors that visit your site?
Q. How have you successfully used your website to increase business?


3. Your site hasn't been updated since it was built

Just like your business evolves over time, so does what's expected from a company's website. Depending on the nature of their business, proactive companies will typically update the content on their website every few weeks and have a complete redesign every 2-3 years.

Old news is no news the worst websites are those with information that is out of date and this reflects so badly on a business. Your website should look fresh and appealing, and promote an image of success and stability in order to attract and retain visitors on a daily basis. Plus updating your website gives you a great opportunity to let your customers know that you have new information on it and ask them to have a look.

Q. How does updating your site regularly help your search engine rankings?
Q. Do you update your website regularly with news, events, new products?
Q. Can you update your website regularly and keep it fresh and appealing?
Q. What is the one thing you would change if you could?


4. Your website doesn't have a clear and consistent navigation structure

Your website's pages should be easy to move through from one to the next. You should have a menu in a consistent location across all of your pages. Remember, you look at your website all the time so are familiar with where things are, but a visitor to your website will give you 10 seconds (if you're lucky) to show them what they're looking for and if they don't see the link they need or the menu options they have - they'll be heading for the back button and on to your competitor's website.
Q. Why use tabbed navigation?
Q. Have you asked people to use your website and give you some honest feedback?
Q. Would you like a professional, honest critique on how you can make your website better?
Q. You have 10 seconds to make an impression – don’t waste a second of that time.

5. Your website only works in Internet Explorer

It's amazing how many web designers still don't take other web browsers into consideration when developing a website. There was a time when the vast majority of website users used Internet Explorer as their web browser, but those days have gone.

The most popular web browser is Mozilla Firefox, which has over 50% of the market share. (Source: W3Schools) This means that if your website doesn't work or display correctly in Firefox, the chances are that every other visitor to your website can't access it. The simple reasons why a website may not work in Firefox and other web browsers is poor or outdated coding, which may have been the accepted way of designing at the time but has no become outdated, non-compliant and doesn't meet 2009 standards. Learn more about the importance of a standards compliant website on our links.

If you'd like to check your website, you can

download Firefox and give it a try. It's free and most people don't go back! Alternatively contact us to check it for you.

6. Your images look pixelated and take ages to load

Website visitors hate waiting for web pages to load, and one of the main elements which affect loading times are images. If the images on your website s-l-o-w-l-y scroll into view, the chances are people haven't waited for them and gone elsewhere before they've even looked at your other content.
Pixelated means that they have been resized badly and the images are not clear and sharp.

7. Your website uses frames
The use of frames was once common around the internet but these days the flaws they have regarding search engines, accessibility and usability have led to knowledgeable web developers avoiding them. We can check if you website uses frames and is restricting traffic and users to your website.

8. Poor choice of colour scheme, element & structure
Colour selection is an major step in the design process that is often overlooked – if not altogether ignored. Selecting colours based on personal preference or just out of habit is far from the desired approach. Every colour and colour combination has a distinct set of meanings. There is great power in the way colours are used and what colours are used alongside them.

Elements come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and styles. Trendy approaches to pure necessity, each one has a purpose. Rounded corners, Icons, Badges, Tags, Gradients – the trick is knowing when to use them and when to lose them to enhance a design. Functional or decorative all the elements of a design must be unified by an overall aesthetic.

Structure in web design is essential, by looking at an assortment of structures we are quickly reminded of our infinite options. Modules, Horizontal Scrolling, Zoom In, Three Buckets – methods that produce extraordinary websites that make sense and have a reason. Simple options that can make a big difference.

Q. Do you know colour’s potential impact on your website?
Q. What difference does it make between rounded or straight corners?
Q. Why use Horizonal Scrolling?

9. You have any of the following

If you have any of these on your website this tells people that you have not updated your website for years. The message this gives to people reflects on your business.

Intrusive flashing images,
Animations
Automatic pop-up windows
Visible hit counter telling your visitors they are the 43rd visitor since 1999
Background music

10. Checklist

1. Low traffic visiting the site/don’t know how many visitors my site has.
2. Poor results in sales/enquiries.
3. Can’t update with new content.
4. Navigation is unclear and difficult to use.
5. Doesn’t work in Firefox
6. Poor image quality
7. Uses frames
8. need advice about colour schemes, elements and structures.
9. Still using animations rather than flash.
10. You would like a critique.

Ring us today and get some free advice. What have you got to lose.
We make websites better. It’s what we do.

Contact Your Web Star today