Small business owners, or business owners in general, all need good company websites. But for that website to do any good, it needs to be accessible to people and to websites such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. That’s not an easy task for non-computer nor techy people.
In all honesty, it’s not that hard of a job, though it seems daunting at first. We can break it into two parts:
- People – What makes a person want that internet site?
- Search engines – What makes an engine, Like Google, choose a website?
The first part, comes down to keywords. Have you ever run a Search on google and it comes up with the most random websites because that had a particular word or phrase in common? It’s not even in the title sometimes, just somewhere in the article or anywhere on the web page. That’s the key to keywords and phrases: a mix of common and specific phrases. The title should be a simple overview of the content. A title that is too specific will be passed over in a general search. Meta tags are about on the substance of the web page; the part people will read to get information.
Software engines are completely unbiased. They don’t choose based on the nicety of your website. It is entirely based on how well your data fits the keywords entered by the searcher.
People, on the other hand, are not. They are influenced not only by the words on your website but also the overall look of your site. Aesthetics are critical, including color, shapes, designs, simplicity versus complexity, etc. Split second judgments are made in the minds of the seekers based on the look of your website alone. Consider the seriousness of your business when choosing color and design. A professional look avoids pastels and swirls, going more for solid looking colors and designs. An easy-going café, on the other hand, would want their website to feel relaxing and quaint. Turquoise, pale pinks and yellow, nothing bright or too thick, nothing blocky, more whirling and relaxing.
Words are the second thing that the searcher will see. They want information, but not a ton of reading. You should give an overview and several smaller descriptions of your goods and services. Anything too lengthy and the searchers will lose interest, too short and they will be left needing more information. Be short and concise, don’t use too flowery of language, and make sure to leave contact information if they have any questions.
One last final review: keywords, color, and design, and short and concise descriptions. Keep the reader’s interest without leaving them wanting, make sure that split second decision is in your favor, and before all else, make sure your website is coming up in the site results. It can never hurt to run a Google search yourself and find out how hard or easy it is to find your website.
