"It's
all about marketing," Michael explains
(exclaims is probably a better word, ML is pretty
passionate about this stuff), "and marketing
is all about envisioning an effective
strategy." While most people involved in
business understand the concept, surprisingly few
actually take the time to implement and follow a
marketing strategy in relation to their websites.
"Website
owners have to prioritize their messages and make
their websites easier to use. It's a matter of
measuring the importance of different parts of
their marketing strategy and their
websites."
Michael suggests
that over 95% of companies he has worked with use
opportunistic marketing tactics with separate
strategies being employed out of sync with each
other. A simple example would be the Yellow Pages
ad that does not mention the website URL or a
printed brochure that does not include an email
address in the contact information. A more
complex example can be found by looking at most
business websites.
"When a
business owner gets a website for their business,
they often expect the designer to know how to
market their new website." said Michael.
"That's just ludicrous. Website designers
already have a difficult and mentally demanding
job. Expecting them to be proficient marketers is
like expecting your architect to act as your real
estate agent."
Michael
deconstructs websites, pulling them apart to find
or add the little things specific to a business
website designers often can't customize for. His
work could be described as user-outcome
optimization.
He has a good
point. Search engine marketing is becoming much
more complicated. The web is rapidly adopting a
more professional attitude as it grows into the
global mainstream marketplace. As this maturing
takes place, two factors should drive website
owners and webmasters towards a more professional
view of their online marketing strategies.
The first factor is the increased analytic
abilities of the major search engines. As
previously mentioned, Google is taking stöck of
a number of user-sensitive factors surrounding
documents in its index. In March 2005, Google
filed a patent titled, Information retrieval based
on historical data. The patent application outlines the historic
record Google keeps on every document and file in
its index. One of the items mentioned covers user
behaviours touching on the following points:
• how much
time an average user spends examining a document,
• the entry and exit paths of users,
• if users store reference to the document
in bookmarks,
• how users access the document (via search
engine, typing URL, link from other document, or
bookmarks),
• an evaluation of search traffïc driven by
Google and related keywords the document was
found under
Each of those points should lead webmasters to
think about how visitors use their site. Website
marketing is not necessarily about search engine
placements. It is about using your website as a
marketing tool. In the context of website
marketing, usability is about moving visitors
from the entry point to the goal line and off
again to another compellingly relevant website
experience.
The second factor
is the evolving needs of website users and their
increased analytic abilities. The Web is almost
second nature to most of its users. People are
experienced in the environment and, at least in
the case of work-related web use, know what they
want. As it stands today, there are a lot of
websites that no longer live up to user
expectations because those expectations have
moved beyond the design of those websites.
Usability is a
component in smart and informed website marketing
simply because it implies making the website
experience simpler and clearer for visitors.
Strategically moving a site visitor from the
entry point to the information or salës point
(goal lines) is common sense. It is also
providing the visitors exactly what they want.
Google placing
more weïght on user behaviours makes sense. User
behaviour is a logical extension of the
democratic concept of PageRank in that the users'
collective judgment is incorporated into that of
the webmasters who coded incoming links.
Webmasters of sites supporting AdWords
advertising are already super-charged, stoked
about Google providing detailed data that can
help drive traffïc.
All good marketing
strategies are goal orientated and center around
a clear vision. As time goes on, it can get
pretty complicated, especially when clarity and
ease of use are the ultimate design goal.
Objective planning might involve rethinking the
design of your website but moving into the near
future, rethinking the design of your website
might just become essential.
About The Author
Jim Hedger is a writer, speaker and search engine
marketing expert based in Victoria BC. Jim writes
and edits full-time for StepForth and is also an
editor for the Internet Search Engine Database.
He has worked as an SEO for over 5 years and
welcomes the opportunïty to share his experience
through interviews, articles and speaking
engagements. He can be reached at jimhedger@stepforth.com.
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