Google Says Content Must Change, and Must Change Regularly

I hate to say “I told you so,” so I won’t. But I will remind you: Content is King.

Google and it’s ever-changing ways. How do we keep up?
I will tell you how, ninja style. Stay ahead of the game and a step behind “The Google”.

(The Google: An important and demanding, yet, very valuable search engine on the Internet that controls a large majority of the traffic to your site, or lack there of – “The Google Knows Best”).

I know it’s frustrating when you think you’re ahead in your SEO tactics, then The Google throws another curveball. Entreprenuear.com headlines this change with: “New Google Search Update Could Spell More Trouble for Business Websites”. Now do we have your attention?

Google Demands Content Updates, standard SEO does not cut it

The Google reminds us once again that content means everything. With the ever-changing SEO guidelines that google seems to spit out every other quarter, it challenges businesses to stay on their toes. Then there’s the debate on whether Google penalizes those websites that don’t update their content on a consistent basis or not. On the web-waves now it’s either

* Update your content regularly because Google only favors fresh, updated content

OR

* Unless your constantly covering current and recent events, regular content updates are not necessary.

Search Engine Watch points out that many webmasters/publishers struggle with creating new and engaging content as regulary as Google demands it.  Search Engine Watch also warns  to remember, though, that quality, evergreen content can hold its value for years; keep the topic and immediacy of searches in mind when creating new content.

One thing we also need to keep in mind when battling The Google is that your product, in the end, is bought by the consumer – a human being, not a search engine. Yes, you must attract those google web crawlers to your site by keywords and relevant content, but those sneaky crawlers are smarter than you think. If it’s stuffed with keywords and not readable by a real person, they will know and it will find you, then shut you down.

This new update is basically a newsflash screaming “FRESH content is FAVORED”, but it’s only actually detrimental to those businesses that are challenged to to produce timely content, specifically referring to

* recent events
* hot topics
* recurring events
* topics with frequently updated information

So keep this in mind when updating your content, Google is taking a stab at another tool that in the end is geared towards giving the end-user the most accurate result for their search, google recognizes when the topic and immediacy of the search matters most.

SearchEnginewatch.com says  “If you don’t update your business website very often, you may want to rethink your online strategy.” That’s a pretty bold statement, stating that this change is expected to affect as much as 35 percent of all searches on Google.

Create a Blog

This is key.
This is actually your golden ticket to get google’s spider to crawl on your web. Blogs are constantly changing, so link it with a wordpress site and it’s automatically embedded in your site and therefore counts as content management. UPDATE your blog — it’s a win win, you’re with the times and Google likes you.

* Unique
* High-quality
* Relevent
* Useful
* Helpful
* Informative
* Current
* Create content with value that your audience can’t help but want to seek it out
* Make “sharing” your content/blog/article easy

Add to this content. Maintain this content. And continue to nourish to this blog!

Visitors trust sites when they can go to it and recognize that the site is useful and established, and of course up-to-date.
Blogs are effective in the sense that a lot of common businesses have no other way to produce new and fresh content that can be frequently updated. Just keep your posts short and informative on a specific topic, this could be news about your business, a new product, a new employee, anything new for that matter.

The SEO updates with meta tags and keywords is just NOT enough anymore says google, content content content.

May I remind you – CONTENT IS KING!

Now, don’t try and rush into developing new content, Google is smarter than you think. Trust us, we’re the professionals. Those google spies will catch you and significantly devalue your ranking if they find:

* copied content
* spun articles
* fabrications
* keyword stuffed content

Now back to driving traffic to your site, back to SEO tips. Staying up to date on these search engine trends can be exhausting, (you heard it here first)  it’s frustrating to figure out when Google is going to change it’s mind again or if THIS time, the rules are here to stay.

A lot of copywriters these days not only are content writers, but SEO specialists as well. (Hi, remember me?)

What I mean by this- is a new term hitting the “web waves” called a content strategist. I won’t bother filling this blog with technical terms on what a “content strategist” is by dictionary definition; BUT, I will do my best to clearly explain why you need one. 

It’s one thing to know how to write, it’s another thing to know how to write in a marketable way that makes people want to take action.

I like to call a content strategist a “word ninja”. I will defend your site against spam, skillfully and effectively promote your business, slash pages of useless stuff (if necessary), and use my special powers (SEO skills) to lure your target audience to your site. A word ninja rises above enemy lines (competition) proving to visitors of your site they came to the right place to find what they were looking for. And maybe I’ll throw a few ninja stars in there to boost the traffic too. Ninja stars = shurikens = what I call your social media outlets.

CONTENT IS KING: My ultimate goal with every client is to make them MONEY. Money can’t come if awareness is absent. How do you make your company known? By drawing people to your website and keeping them there. I know a bunch of SEO (search engine optimization) tricks to tell the web crawlers that your site is the one that viewer is looking for. (The Word Ninja’s Mission)

You would be surprised how important it is that the right words come across in the right way when compiling the content for your site.  If it’s not done right, your business could suffer. This is why hiring a copywriter could very well mean the difference between success and failure. Word ninja’s often work alone on their mission, but they train (prep/brainstorm) with other ninjas (web designers<– I like to call them web wizards) all working together toward same goal – ultimate success of assigned mission.

Some businesses don’t realize that you can’t simply create a website and think that’s good enough. Just because you’re on the World Wide Web doesn’t mean that your potential customers are going to find you. A copywriter ensures they will.  We know the right words to use and how to use them with an advantage to your business in a very marketable way. We drive traffic to your site through back links, social media, keywords, and… content, content, content. Did I mention CONTENT? Ninja style.

Personally, I like to really get to know the company inside and out. I want to know all about you, why you’re doing what you do, where you’re from, who is your client base, how big is your staff, what do you want from your website, what do your clients want from you? No matter what kind of industry I am working with, language is a key element. Words are what drive interest in any business, and ultimately words are what drive people to your site.  We work closely with the clients and pick out– sometimes the smallest thing you may mention– and turn it into an entire marketing campaign, maybe even a slogan or logo.

Hopefully you get the idea of why it is important for you and your business to focus on content. Keep up to date with blogs for continued advice and links to tools that will help your business and drive sales to your website.

Til next time………..
NiNjA exiT —-

]]> http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2011/09/content-is-king-hire-a-word-ninja/feed/ 0 http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2010/08/the-importance-of-your-sites-homepage/ http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2010/08/the-importance-of-your-sites-homepage/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:37:02 +0000 Jim Thomas http://keywebconcepts.com/blog/?p=635 Regardless of your website’s function (e-commerce, organizational, non-profit, etc.), the home page is like a storefront window. It is a peek inside of your website. And if it is not appealing or intriguing, then chances are it is the only thing your users will see because they will likely move on very quickly.

I have written this post more towards the design community, those who do what we do; however there are some very important points made here that will apply even if you are only a website owner. So I encourage you to read on and enjoy!

Picture yourself walking down the street in a busy city full of shops and boutiques, all of which are vying for your business. Unless you are a regular customer, you are basing your opinion of a store almost exclusively on its outward appearance. Questions run through your mind: what does this store sell? What can this store offer me? Does it seem reputable? Are they a chain or local seller? Should I go in? The storefront window is the only chance you have to make an educated guess as to whether the store is worth your time.

The world may be new to the Internet, but it isn’t new to business. The Internet acts as a virtual street, with millions of companies and organizations all vying for your business. Like that window, a home page is a website’s only chance to show visitors what there is to offer. A website visitor, like a shopper looking in a window, makes a decision within a very short amount of time whether a website will be any benefit to them.

So if you wouldn’t fill your storefront window with huge advertisements, erroneous announcements, irrelevant news, and anything else not pertaining to your store’s purpose, then why would you do do that to your website?

Stand On One Foot, Touch Your Nose, and Rub Your Belly

That isn’t required to build a website, but it is similiar to the difficult balancing act you must accomplish on the home page of a website. You have everybody to please and no room to do it.

In general, there are a handful of tasks all home pages must accomplish and that designers must be mindful of:

1. Establish an identity – logo and slogan
2. Make a good first impression – this is the key to keeping visitors
3. Provide visual and verbal clues to reveal the site’s underlying content and encourage deeper browsing – teases, recent articles, featured items, etc.
4. Provide a clear navigation
5. A place for site-wide search
6. Fresh content to attract return visitors
7. Supply both new and return visitors with desired content – each visitor is looking for different types of information
8. Provide multiple entry points – aside from the navigation, give users different ways of accessing the site’s content

Always Welcome New Guests

Priority should always be given to new visitors. Quite simply put, without new visitors, you will never have any return visitors.

Give them an obvious starting point that will answer these questions:

• What is this?
• Who are you?
• What do you do, sell or make?
• Why are you better than the rest?

Give Return Users Everything They Need and Nothing They Don’t

Return users know who the company/organization is, what they do, and they are obviously pleased with the organization. This is where the balancing act becomes complicated. Return users do not want to be confronted with any pop-ups or large blocks of information they already know. And they want a quick and easy way to get to the tools or information they need most.

An effective way to accomplish this is, if the website requires any sort of login, to give account holders a different layout, with different options than new users.

Logged Out

Logged In

It is unnecessary for certain types of websites to require a login; therefore that option will not work in all cases. If no login is required, try giving a majority of priority real estate (areas “above the fold” or above the 600px mark) to new users and then give the remainder to return visitors. This is based on the idea that return users will have a higher tolerance for scrolling and more familiarity with where items are. However, never place high frequency items “below the fold.” Below are two examples of an ideal balance for return and new visitors.

Answer These Questions Before It Goes On The Home Page

Only certain content should appear on the home page, so use these questions to help assess the importance and need of an element. The answers to these questions should help put a potential element in perspective:

• Will this element be frequently used?
• Who will this element help – new visitors, return visitors, or both?
• Will this element confuse or frustrate new visitors? return visitors? or both?
• Is this element consistent with the website’s purpose?
• Could this element be placed on a secondary page will equal success?

Control Your Visitors

Internet users are certainly unpredictable; however with an effective visual hierarchy and calls-to-action, you can control the actions of most visitors.

Calls-to-Action

Subscribe to Our Newsletter today to stay up to date with us! That is an example of an effective call-to-action. You were given a task to complete, that if in the right context, would have enticed you to take an action and made you aware of a feature or service.

A good call-to-action compels people to act with an appealing offer. “Click here” or “Learn more” are the most common calls-to-actions. However they aren’t very effective in encouraging a user to actually click as they provide no insight into what benefit the user will receive. A major goal of any home page is to encourage users to explore what the site has to offer. There is no better way to accomplish this goal than to simply state the task you would like the user to perform, calling them to make an action.

Graphics can also be used as calls-to-action when combined with the verbal message. Users respond more actively to graphic calls-to-action, even if it as simple as an arrow or other symbol pointing to the action.

Setting The Visual Hierarchy

Design 101 will tell you that giving everything equal weight on a web page will lead to clutter and confusion. Using contrast of size, color and shape will establish a visual hierarchy, or the order in which a user will encounter each element on a website. The goal is to allow the user’s eye to travel throughout the design without getting stuck on any one part.

On paper, determine the hierarchy of elements based on relevancy before you begin designing. Then place the elements within your design, giving the most emphasis to the most important element and so on. Below is an example showing the order in which the content is read by the user. Notice how there is a nice flow to elements 1-3 and that they are in order of importance.

Above All, Make Your Purpose Absolutely Clear

If the intention of a website is not made clear within seconds of viewing, you have set up your visitors for failure. They may not leave right away because they may misinterpret the intention of the website, which will ultimately lead them to search for information that does not exist.

It is easy to lose sight of your website’s purpose without even realizing it. Refer to the principals laid out here, and you should be well on your way to attracting and keeping your user’s attention.

Mike Shelton
Web Designer at Key Web Concepts

This post will be the first of a series of posts on usability and user experience. Today we will focus on the basics to get a solid foundation for building more usable websites.

Usability vs. User Experience

Be sure not to confuse usability with user-experience which, while related, encompasses a whole different set of considerations. Usability is about the ability to use something. Can the user find what they need without trouble or errors? Can they use the object for its intended purpose without question or confusion? Is the purpose clear? These are all questions raised when evaluating usability.

On the other hand, user experience is all about emotions. How does the user feel while using the item? Does the object give the user a sense of happiness? Does the user feel more important or superior by using the item?

User experience is an exciting topic that I will touch on in the future, but we will focus on usability first because without a high level of usability, a great user experience is not possible. A product which is hard to use will always yield a poor user experience.

So to get things started on our mission to make people happy, we will focus on mastering usability.

The Importance of Usability

Whether you knew it or not, you are quite familiar with usability. In fact, we are all usability experts in our own right because we know what we like and do not like. Quite simply, if a product is not straightforward in its purpose and if we can’t figure out how to use it within 2-5 seconds, there is a high percentage chance that we will not purchase the product.

Websites are no different.  In fact, our usability gauges are set even lower when it comes to viewing and using websites. If a website user cannot figure out their way around your website in less than 3 seconds, they will likely become confused, disoriented and ultimately leave your website.

So if usability is such an important part of your website, how do you ensure that your site is user friendly? I thought you’d never ask! Let’s take a look at the basics to ensure that you make your website users happy and keep them happy.

The Essentials to Usability

1. Always remember: “Make it easy”
   Above all, you must always keep in mind the goal of usability: Make it easy. Frustration and confusion are the worst things for a website user to experience while using your website. These traits will almost always result in the user leaving your website and you missing out on a potential opportunity for new business. Make it easy. People like to feel like they know what they are doing; it makes them happy (yes, that’s an user-experience benefit of usability).
2. Get to know your user
   If you are trying to please someone, it makes sense to learn everything you can about them. Knowing your user’s demographic will allow you to set goals and priorities for your website. For example, if your demographic is primarily 45-70 years old, you shouldn’t assume your users will be internet savvy. That information could help you decide the types of features to include or to avoid.
3. Don’t abandon the expected
   Do not get me wrong on this one, you should always reach for new and better way of doing things; however, you can alienate users by doing too much. There are certain nuances that are expected when browsing a website that you are best off sticking to unless you truly think your users will appreciate it (in most cases that is doubtful). For example, most internet users expect a logo or some form of recognizable branding to be prominently placed at the very top of the page and a navigation to be very near to that. Also, many users know that the logo should have a link to the home page on it. These are all things your user expects (but there are many more). If you do not abide by the unwritten laws of the web, users will be annoyed. Certainly shoot for the moon to wow your users but always evaluate the costs of abandoning the expected.
4. Don’t make people think
   This one is borrowed from Steve Krug, one of the foremost experts on website usability. His number one rule for website usability is “don’t make me think.” In fact, he has a book entitled “Don’t Make Me Think.” He means just that:  do not make your users think by giving them too many options or by not defining a clear hierarchy of importance. Krug points out that website users do not read. They scan at best. Everyone is in a hurry on the internet and any extra step you give a user slows them down and gives them one more reason to leave your website. If you are fascinated or even just mildly interested in usability, be sure to read Krug’s book.
5. Remember content is king
   Flashy graphics and illustrations are like energy drinks: they work great first at first, but without natural energy, you will crash later. Great graphics are good, but they should always be secondary to your content and should only aid in guiding the user’s understanding of your content. Well written content is essential, and to be well written it must be written for the web only because the web is unlike any other media. As I mentioned earlier, website users are in a hurry and want to absorb as much information in as little time as possible. Short paragraphs, descriptive headlines and sub-headlines, and highlighted key points are all great ways to give the user every they need to know very quickly. So keep the graphics subdued and the content to the point.

Effective web usability is a detailed and sometimes complex issue which some large corporations pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to get right. Unless you are a multi-million dollar company, you can’t afford to spend that kind of money for detailed usability analysis. However, there are some ways to get it right without breaking the bank. Start with the basics listed in this article to get started.  When I revisit this subject in the coming months, I will talk about user testing on the cheap and other cost-effective methods for ensuring usability.

Mike Shelton
Web Designer at Key Web Concepts