Does your website make you sick? We can help with that.
Good, Better, Best. Improving Your Existing Website
The internet is ever evolving and, frankly, it can be a little overwhelming to keep up with everything. Am I right?!?
They say a year in the internet business is like a dog year… equivalent to seven years in a regular person’s life. In other words, it’s evolving fast and faster.
—Vinton Cerf, recognized as one of the fathers of the Internet.
Or how about this for cutting to the quick…
Nobody will advertise an event that took place last month, or products that have long been discontinued. Yet, the Internet is littered with such relics. Business owners who’ll never allow chipped paint, dirty carpets and musty smells at their physical location nevertheless neglect their websites. They forget that in this day and age many of their clients will look at the website before they see the storefront. And you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
— (Lubina, Graphic Design Forum Blog, May 26, 2007…and still as true and relevant today)
Okay, Okay…You Get it. Time to Update Your Website
The most important element of a website is not the design. It is not the slideshow or the contact form with the auto-responder. The most important element of a website is the copy, made up of the written words that explain, define and elaborate on your business’ unique offering to the world. However, if the website is cluttered or difficult to use, potential customers will click away from your site (or perhaps never even arrive) and you will lose an opportunity to connect with them.
Websites are a continuous work-in-progress and should be scheduled for regular review and updating as a part of the business cycle. Users expect the information on a website to be the most up-to-date and get frustrated with businesses that leave out-dated information on their site.
CarricDesign can update existing sites and will provide a written quote before starting the work.
The ‘Be’s’
Using best practices for websites, CarricDesign can help tailor the content on your website and re-work the design for a better user experience.
By partnering with a web development specialist on your online business plan, you will have a team member who knows which trends should be phased out of your website and which are the current ‘must-haves’ versus ‘nice-to-haves’. You will no longer have to wonder ‘Should I have a Facebook page?’, because you will know who to ask. As your business changes and develops, CarricDesign will help you to understand which website strategies can be put to use to increase your bottom line.
One of the most common questions asked is about how to rank well in search engine results. Being found through search engines queries is an important aspect of having a website.
Search engines use highly specialized algorithms to assign value to websites. The algorithms are constantly being tweaked and updated, which is one reason why websites change their placement on the search engine results page over time. No webmaster, regardless of skill or knowledge, can guarantee a top-ranking placement, but there are guidelines that, when followed, can improve where a site will land on the results page.
Rather than being one BIG thing, good SEO practice is a lot of little things that add up to having your website displayed in the search result pages for relevant keywords and keyword phrases.
CarricDesign can help you apply best practices for SEO that will give your site the best ranking possible and can show you how to use available tools to track changes over time. If your business offers a unique service or product or if you are an authority or the best at what you do, search engines WANT to tell people about you. We can help you put your best foot forward.
Read more about what search engine optimization can mean for your website »
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of making websites play nicely with search engines. (Read more about SEO)
When you understand that search engines are competing for users and that they win that competition when people return to use their search engine, you can understand that if you want a search engine to show your website in their result pages, you have to structure the page in such a way that they can parse your content.
If you have a service or product that people want, then search engines really do want to display your website in their results. They are trying for a best match to the user’s search question (a.k.a. ‘query’).
What to do about SEO
In short, if what you are doing on your website is good for people, it is good for search engines.
You still need to make sure that search engines can read the content.
For example, did you know that search bots can’t ‘see’ images? They can only read the alt text that you assign to describe the image.
Having your site audited for best practices with regards to SEO can be the first step towards getting the online engagement that translates into more business for you!
Give us a call. Send us an email.
Put us to work for you.
CarricDesign is adept at working within the framework of existing websites — from making occasional updates to re-working the written code in order to increase visibility with your clients.
If it is time to have another look at what your website is doing for your business, let us come alongside you to provide valuable insight into current best practices on the internet and a plan of action for improvement.
Give us a call. Send us an email.
Put us to work for you.
Find out if we’re a good fit
Say hello and ask your questions. Let us know what you need and let’s talk about working together.