This morning Gomez spoke to a packed house about “Designing for Humans”. He began my giving a little history on himself, which included many laughs – not an easy task at 8:00 a.m. Here are my key takeaways from Martin’s talk about users and design.

Convention

Gomez explains that often times the best way to do something is the way it’s always been done. Users are creatures of habit – they will almost mindlessly complete tasks with little thought, so don’t confuse them by unnecessarily changing the design of your product. Gomez gives the example of a Ferrari. Very few of us have ever driven a Ferrari, but if we were given the keys and told to get in and drive, we would enter the car through the front left door with the keys naturally in our right hand – because to us, that is the way we have always done it. Don’t try to innovate if innovation isn’t necessary. If you can’t make users ignore the old way of thinking, you are wasting your time.

User Centered Design

When designing a product, keep the user in mind. Ask yourself, “How is somebody going to use this thing? What can go wrong?” As users, we take many great design features for granted. Most of us only notice design flaws instead of the features that can make a product great.

Simplicity

Less options mean less thinking – which in turn leads to more enjoyment by the user. Gomez gives the example of an over complicated remote control. As a user, I want to be able to change the channel, volume, etc. without having to look away from the TV and stare at the remote. Simple is good. “Most remotes ask a lot from the user” Gomez states “when all I want to do is watch C.S.I.”

On the contrary, Gomez gives an example of classic interface design that was implemented to actually complicate usability - the QWERTY keyboard. It was designed to make users type slower in order to not jam type-writers. Well, it looks like we’ve adapted to this design. Imagine you bought a laptop today and all of the keys were in alphabetical order? No thanks.

Innovation

Never force innovation – and don’t claim you are doing it unless you actually are. The new “innovative” design must be so intuitive that the user immediately forgets about the convention. Example A) the iPod. When it was first launched is looked like a “bar of soap” (according to Gomez). But it’s functionality and intimate user experience made everyone forget about every other MP3 player on the market.

Satisficing

Satisficing is the satisfaction that a user gets from solution that is just adequate enough. Often times users won’t look for the optimal solution, but one that merely suffices. Users do this all the time on websites. They arrive and their eyes (and the mouse) perform the ‘F’ formation – they scan the top of the site, and as they go down their eyes cease to wander all the way to the right. This is where we often satisfice on a website – we find an option that is adequate.

With design, specifically web design, it is all about lowering stress – make something that looks difficult or stressful very easy. It’s like walking across a plank of wood on flat ground as opposed to that same wood between two pillars. Eliminate the stress, make it easier to do.

Gomez explains three simple things that the user wants:

1. Don’t waste my time
2. Don’t make me think
3. Show me what to do

You have a very limited time to get your message across, so if you ignore the three items above, you will lose the customer – and they will go somewhere else.

In closing, Gomez stresses “Don’t reinvent the wheel unless you are sure that you’ve got a better wheel.”

Thanks to everyone who came as well as the organizers for making this another very successful Social Media Breakfast. Stay tuned for the next Social Media Breakfast Ottawa, in early July!

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Social Media Breakfast Ottawa 23 Recap: Martin Gomez is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

You hired a hot young web designer to rebuild your website and give your company a whiz-bang Internet presence. The site has it all – links galore, a flashy logo, is search engine friendly, it even has a blog section. But nothing has changed – sales, leads, marketing numbers, etc. are still the same as before.

Hmm, perhaps its time to really look at your website and read between the lines. Really read your website content. What are you saying to your visitors? How are you saying it? I’m guessing your super duper web designer whipped up some new website content for you as well. Maybe this designer took all of your printed marketing collateral and literally dumped it into your website…

So now you have a cool looking website with an over abundance of heavy boring text. Text that reads really well on printed brochures but doesn’t work when your visitors are reading it through a computer screen. This is the cold hard reality that many business owners like you are facing.

Your new website looks good. But it just doesn’t read well. The words on the screen are the secret to a strong and effective website. When it is done well, copywriting for the web draws visitors in. It takes them to the information they’re looking for, helps them answer their questions, leads them to contact you, and in the end generates sales for you.

What is Good Copywriting?

But this is only done with GOOD website copywriting. Good website copywriting is not the same as good print copywriting. The medium is different and so too is the message. It is important to remember that people are coming to your site to learn about your product / service / experience and ultimately how you can help them. If the content doesn’t grab the reader or the reader can’t quickly find what he needs, the reader is gone. Before you know it, this reader has left your site disappointed and does a Google Search again and more than likely ending up at your competitor’s website.

Think about what you like when you visit a website:

• Clear and clean design
• Grammatically correct and spell-checked writing
• Bold headlines and titles that capture your eyes and draw you into what you want
• Links that make sense and take you to the next level of information

Sounds simple right? It is, but the type of writing that does this is very different from traditional marketing and sales content. When you hand a potential customer a brochure of data sheet, the person will most likely read it from top to bottom, left to right. There are no real distractions. We are trained from a young age on how to read in this traditional method. We are used to writing and reading long paragraphs and dense writing.

But with the Internet, this is not the case. Studies have shown that people reading websites aren’t so much reading as they are scanning. Their eyes fly all over the page – drawn to a link, then maybe a list, then to the a photo, etc. Our eyeballs are quickly scanning looking for answers and in mere seconds making a judgment on the usefulness of your website.

So what does this mean for you? To keep visitors at your new snazzy website, you need to give them clear, concise content and do it fast. A website with strong copywriting can generate more traffic, more visitors, and even more sales. That old mantra “don’t judge a book by its cover” doesn’t hold true in the Internet age. First impressions are all you’ve got when you’re competing with literally millions of websites.

To do this, you need a professional copywriter to give you text that is:

• Straightforward
• Facts-based
• Concise and clear
• Engaging

Why Copywriting Needs to be Different

Okay, go look at your website. Give it a read. A really good read. I’m guessing you’re thinking to yourself, “well, my content does this. I can find the information I need, it makes sense to me. I’m not really sure what the problem is.” So you’re still not convinced that it’s the content that is the problem. Well, think about these key differentiators between the Internet-based information delivery and traditional business delivery methods:

• Reading from a piece of paper, allows light to bounce off the paper. When you read from a computer screen, the light is not redirected and is much harsher – making the reading more tiring and taxing. As a result when reading your website content, visitors need to work harder and tend to read more slowly than when reading your printed hard-copy brochures. Because of this, the content needs to be updated to allow readers to quickly read it and not fatigue.
• When we’re reading a brochure, we’re holding it in our hands, we’re focused on it. We have it in front of us. Not the case with reading online – a lot of time is spent finding the website material we want to read. If we tracked our time, we’d be surprised to discover that we often spend more time looking for information than actually reading it. So by the time we find the material, we’re a bit frustrated and bored – so you need to quickly grab me and keep me on your website.
• You may visit a website looking for a specific answer, you don’t stick around to read all the pages, click on all the links, etc. People don’t do this with printed material, they tend to sit down and read it from start to finish – so you can get away with burying the real nugget of information half-way down the page. Not so with your website – the key information needs to be at the top of the page and draw the user in.
• You cannot control how a user ends up at your website. A visitor might arrive from an external link, a search engine results page (SERP), or even by mistake. Because you don’t know how a user ends up at your site, you can’t control where they land – so you can’t control that first message they receive. Hence, your entire website must have clear, concise, and focused content.

The Do’s of Copywriting

Phew, tired yet? I know it is a lot of information to digest, let alone read in one sitting. Imagine if you were reading this same content in a book – you’d be flying along, flipping the pages and getting through it quickly. But I’m guessing that at this point, you’re about ready to move on – you’re kind of bored, a little tired, and you have this strange need to check your email and Twitter feed… So I’ll wrap this up with a few key points to think about when writing your website copy:

• Make it clear and concise
• Use short sentences and paragraphs
• Don’t assume the content is read from top-to-bottom
• Use headings, titles, and lists to make your content easy to scan
• Always focus on the needs of your visitors
• Write for and to your reader

Convinced? Perfect – the next step is to take an honest look at your website copy and for each page, ask yourself it meets the above. If not, time to hire a professional copywriter who can get your website working for you.

Vicki Thomas is an experienced freelance copywriter, journalist and technical writer. Vicki combines her professional writing experience with a passion for all things web to give you the clear and precise copywriting that makes your business stand out. As a freelance journalist, Vicki writes for a number of cycling-related magazines. Additionally, Vicki writes for private corporate clients looking for well-crafted messages that will grab your attention. For a glimpse into Vicki’s cycling life, visit her blog. To contact Vicki, email her at vickith@yahoo.com or visit her on LinkedIn.

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Copywriting for the Web Is Not Copywriting for Print is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

So…why another site?

Yes we are guilty of redesigning our website; likely more often than most businesses. If you are counting, this is our fourth. In our defense, the Search (and Social Media) industry continues to evolve so we need to as well. And… improving visibility on the web and optimizing for search is what we do.

New Website Launch: September 1, 2009

This web redesign project has been in the works over the entire summer. We wanted to have a stronger visual design, paired with a more functional and user-friendly site that is also easy to maintain. It was important for us as a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Company to retain our site visibility and top rankings in the search engines. While this greatly increased our workload, it’s an investment that we felt we had to make.

Three key changes:

1. New Learning Centre
Education is at the core of WebFuel. There is now an entire learning section of the website that includes: Search and Social Media Glossary, SEO Education Blog – titled Search Engine Visibility: Simplified and features the Search Engine Visibility Education Series (onsite training and workshops).

2. Integration of Social Media
At WebFuel, we have rebranded ourselves as a Search and Social Media Company. This has been built into the new visual design. Yes – we have gone social! This includes a modification to our Blog that now allows for comments. You can also interact with WebFuel via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

3. Improved Search Visibility
Getting found in a search is what we do. The primary goal for this overhaul was to move to a CMS (Content Management System) platform that was more search friendly. WordPress (by default) is a search engine friendly platform – and optimization for search can be implemented quicker and easier with this web solution than most (if not all) CMS.

“The redesigned website will allow WebFuel to continue to get found in a search and make a better impression with web visitors as it is often the first point of contact with our business.” said founder Helen Faber.

What is the key to a successful web relaunch from an SEO perspective?

If you care about search, you must have a website visibility and search engine rankings retention plan in place (especially if your domain name and URL structure changes). This is too often overlooked. As a result, for most new websites, a drop in rankings occurs after its launch.

What are our site visitors saying?

“I love it! It’s professional, it’s social, it’s user friendly.” These are the types of reactions we are receiving from our site visitors.

Check it out for yourself > WebFuel.

WebFuel Launches New Website is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

Before
If your marketing goal is to get found in a search, the ideal time to bring in a SEO is before you even select your web development company and platform. Not all companies are created equally – and neither are their solutions. Some web designers lack the understanding or expertise to build a site that is compatible with Search Engines. The end result can be a pretty site – that nobody can find!

SEO: Before, During or After?

During
While (ideally) a search engine optimizer should be involved prior to the website development stage, there are still a number items that can be addressed. A SEO professional can consult on your site’s template layout, structure and content issues. In most cases, these can be resolved prior to site launch.

After
Not the most ideal situation. But often a common situation. At this stage (post launch), the process generally begins with a SEO website audit with recommendations for improvement. This often involves website redesign to a certain extent. In the worst case scenario, the client faces scrapping the current website – and having an entirely new site built.

Unfortunately search engine optimization is often still an afterthought. Typically, optimizing for search engines only becomes a priority after a business discovers that it cannot get found in a Google search for its key services or products. It likely goes without saying, but hiring a Search Engine Optimization Specialist before site construction, would have been more cost–efficient.

And… on a side note, ensure that you have a web analytics program, such as Google Analytics, to track your organic traffic from search engines. This is important to understand how successful you are at getting this free traffic from the major engines.

During
While (ideally) a search engine optimizer should be involved prior to the website development stage, there are still a number items that can be addressed. A SEO professional can consult on your site’s template layout, structure and content issues. In most cases, these can be resolved prior to site launch.

After
Not the most ideal situation. But often a common situation. At this stage (post launch), the process generally begins with a SEO website audit with recommendations for improvement. This often involves website redesign to a certain extent. In the worst case scenario, the client faces scrapping the current website – and having an entirely new site built.

Unfortunately search engine optimization is often still an afterthought. Typically, optimizing for search engines only becomes a priority after a business discovers that it cannot get found in a Google search for its key services or products. It likely goes without saying, but hiring a Search Engine Optimization Specialist before site construction, would have been more cost–efficient.

And… on a side note, ensure that you have a web analytics program, such as Google Analytics, to track your organic traffic from search engines. This is important to understand how successful you are at getting this free traffic from the major engines.

Stay Connected with WebFuel!

SEO: Before, During or After? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

What is a bounce rate?
A bounce rate is a web analytics term that indicates the percentage of site visitors that leave a landing page, in this case the home page, without navigating to any other pages on your site. In other words, these are single-page visits in which the web visitor left your site from the entrance page.

When is a bounce rate considered too high?
Generally a bounce rate over 35% is cause for concern whereas more than 50% is an indicator that you have issues that needs to be addressed. For ecommerce sites, the acceptable percentage is even lower.

gabouncerate.jpg
Google Analytics: Dashboard Report > Overall Bounce Rate

Note: In Google Analytics, or in your web analytics program, ensure that you drill down into the reports to get the data for this specific page.

Since all websites are not created equally, the reasons for bounce rates will differ widely. Reasons can include:

Wrong design
Likely the most common reason for an immediate departure is due to website design issues. Sites that are visually unappealing, lack credibility and/or have annoying features (i.e. flash intros, repetitive music, slow loading time) can experience higher exit rates than those without these design flaws.

Wrong site
Another reason for new site visitors to leave after just viewing a single web page is when it is the not the right site. For example, you may not be the only company with “your name” on the Internet. There are actually several businesses called “WebFuel” – in many countries. This is even a larger issue for those companies using acronyms which are very competitive terms on the web. Visitors going to your site in error will result in increased bounce rates.

Wrong landing page
Lack of relevancy between what the web searcher is looking for and the page that was served up. For example, your Google AdWords campaign sends all the paid search traffic to your home page rather than a specific landing page related to the keywords and ad. Irrelevant pages result in high click-aways (leaves the site).

Searcher success
Web visitors are information hunters. Exiting via the home page can be high if what the visitor is searching for is found on this entrance page. For example, it may be as simple as a phone number – so there is no need to visit any other pages. This however may be difficult to determine (unless you move this information to the contact page and the high exit rate drops).

Blogs
A high bounce rate on a blog site is typical if the posts are published on that page. Web visitors simply read the latest entry and leave. If your percentage of returning visitors is high, you have visitor loyalty. This scenario is actually not a red flag.

How high is your bounce rate – and should you be concerned?

Why is my home page bounce rate so high? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

Here is the WebFuel Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Checklist:

1. Domain Name Ownership
Review your domain name registration and ensure that it does not expire. This is likely the most important item on the checklist. No rights to use your domain name equals no live website. Just imagine what that would do to your search engine visibility. While you are checking your domain status, register the other extensions (.ca, .com, .org, .net) if available. This is known as Google insurance.

2. Reliable Hosting
It likely goes without saying, but a site that is down due to hosting issues does not help your Internet visibility. Ensure that you have engaged a reliable company to provide you with hosting services. There is software (some free) that can track uptime as well as alert you if your site goes down. Being live 24/7 is a must.

3. Crawl & Index Friendly
Making certain that your site stays live is the foundation of the SEO process. The next step is to ensure that your website design, including the navigation system, is spiderable so that search engines can crawl and index your web pages. Do a check. Test using Google and the other major search engines.

4. Robots.txt
Review and update your robots.txt file. This is usually the most overlooked item on the checklist. The robots.txt file tells search engine crawlers what content you do not want crawled.  Not everything in your site should be found in a search.

5. Search Engine Submissions
If you haven’t already done so, submit your XML sitemap to Google. You can do this via your Google Webmaster Tools account. While there is no need to submit to the major search engines (they find you), you should take this opportunity to review what industry-related engines exist (always new ones). And… of course, submit your URL.

6. Content Review
Yes – content is still King. After all, this is what generates the possibility of appearing in search results. Content review should include checking for content starved pages, outdated information, as well as building new content pages – if required. Copywriting revisions should also include adding keywords and addressing internal lingo (not what people search for).

7. Social Media
Now think beyond just your website and explore Social Media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. Even if they are currently not a good fit for your particular business, create a company profile (just in case). Once again, this is also known as Google insurance.

8. Online Reputation
Don’t just control your company profile beyond your site. Manage your reputation on the Internet as well. To get started, simply Google your company name, brand, key people  etc… and review the search results. Again, there is lots of software available to track what is being said on the web – some are fee-based and others are free (Google Alerts). And… of course you can hire a company that specializes in monitoring and keeping your online reputation clean.

9. Web Analytics
Review your filters, goals and conversions to ensure that they are in place as well as your system to analyze the data. If you don’t have a program installed to track your web visitors, put this on the top of your “to do” list. Google Analytics is a powerful tool – and it is free!

10. SEO Site Audit
If you haven’t already done so, budget for a search engine optimization (SEO) site audit. In a nutshell, an audit lets you know what is working, what is not – and how to proceed. It also gives you a baseline to track your search findability over time. This is likely the best investment you can make when it comes to the web.

The predication for the web is continued strong growth in 2009. Ensure that this is the year that your online visibility is managed and improved.

SEO Checklist: Top Ten for 2009 is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

Beauty:

You need to be more than just a pretty face on the web. Content (keywords) drive search engines. Search is a powerful tool to help you get found – and attract prospective clients. A website that cannot easily get crawled and indexed by search engines will hurt your rankings in search results. And… people search. They are actively looking for your products and/or services. When you don’t exist in a search engine results page (SERP), you can bet that your competition will be found.

Beast:

And… ranking high because your site has been built only for search engines (no Flash, no photos and lots of optimized content), will get you noticed. But you need more than that. Research has shown that web visitors give your site up to seven seconds before they decide to explore further – or move on. Ugly sites often lack credibility, and get high bounce rates. So do sites that are not user friendly (just check the exit rate for your home page and your other entry pages).

Bottom line: The approach to web design should not be to build for web visitors only (beauty). Nor should it be to build for just search engines (beast).

The ideal website is, first and foremost, always built for web visitors as they are your target audience (they buy, join, sign up – for example). Within this framework, you also build for search whereby the technology used (or not used like Flash) and layout is designed so that your site is search engine friendly. And… the content, of course, is optimized based on how people search for you. After all, it is engines that send you these qualified visitors.

Is your website like Beauty or the Beast? Or is it a winning combination of Beauty and the Beast?

SEO vs Aesthetics? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

All website are not created equal.  Some are optimized for search engines – and others are not. While it is true that building a SEF website costs more, it is something you cannot forego. Each time your business is not found in a search – you can bet your competition’s site is.
What are the ingredients of a search engine friendly site?

1. Can be crawled
First and foremost, if your website cannot be crawled by search engine spiders, it will not be indexed. What does this mean? You will not get found in a search.

2. Unique title tags
So the search engines can crawl your site (past your home page to sub pages). Now it needs to index your website. Avoid using the exact same title on every page of your site. The website title, as well as the page titles, tells search engines what information can be found on that web document. It is the most important tag on the page.

3. Meta description tags
Along the same lines, a unique description for each web page on your site provides additional information for search engines that allows for proper indexing.

4. Unique URLs
Yes, believe it or not, there are unfriendly site designs that display the exact same web address on each and every page of their site. Once again, proper indexing will not occur.

5. Alt tags
Last but not least, search engines only read text (the kind that can be copied and pasted in a document). They cannot view images, video and Flash (in some cases). It is important to use alt “text” in your website code so that they can be included in their indexing of your web page.

This, of course, is not a complete list. But these are some of the major and common barriers that search engines encounter.

Bottom line – A website should always be built for the web visitor (they are, after all, your prospects). But don’t stop there. Sites should also be designed for search engines. When they can find you and understand your information, they can direct web searchers to your website.

Is your website search engine friendly? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

What is a splash page?

A splash page is a web page that is an introductory page (also known as a pre-home page). Splash pages typically either display a large graphic or a Flash animation. You need to click this page to “enter” the site or you are redirected after a Flash demo is completed.

In general, both site visitors and search engines do not like splash pages. Their reasons however differ.

From a site visitor’s perspective:

1. Site access delay
Web visitors are impatient. A splash page slows down the process of finding what they are searching for (an additional click). From a usability perspective, anything that hinders easy access to your website is generally a bad idea.

2. Software issues
Flash splash pages require special software in order to view. If the plug-in is not installed in your web browser, it can affect how the page downloads – and in some cases access to the website. Again, why use a strategy that can frustrate your web audience?

3. Negative impact on site traffic
Some recent studies show that the splash page exit rate can be as high as 71%. When site visitors leave before actually entering the website, this can also have a huge impact on your website traffic.

From a search engine’s perspective:

1. Hiding from spiders
Often splash pages turn away spiders just like their site visitors. Without direct access to the URL structure search engines find it difficult to crawl and index a site. Lack of a proper linking structure to internal web pages (usually only one link that goes to one page) hinders these pages from getting indexed. This will of course hurt your potential search engine ranking.

2. Keywords issues
Home page has content – splash pages do not. Typically, their only visible body text is “enter”, “skip intro” and the footer information. Since appearing in a search engine results page (SERP) depends on keywords that web searches types into a query box, the words would need to be “skip intro” to show up – and of course the search results would be high, buried and completely irrelevant.

3. Negative impact search engine ranking
When spiders do not have links to crawl, there is no text to index, then search engines cannot provide you with value. Like the web visitors, their bail out rate will be high.

Caution: Splash pages can hinder sites from getting found on the web, reduce search engine visibility, cause user frustration – and decrease website performance. Why use them?

!

Why avoid a splash page? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

There are three common myths and misconceptions that hinder businesses from getting found on the Internet.

1. Build it and they will come
Just because you have a web presence does not mean you will get found. Sure, if a web user has your web address or a referring site sends them your way – you can get found. But, what if you are targeting new clients? Simply having a website does not translate into getting found in a web search.

2. I rank number one in Google
There is no doubt that having the top position in a natural listing of a search engine results page (SERP) is ideal. But, for what keyword or phrase? If it is for your business name or personal name (maybe you are a real estate agent) that is good. But what if you are targeting new prospects? They will be using search engines to find your product or service (not searching for your name).

3) Not thinking beyond one’s own web presence
So… you have a site that can get crawled and indexed by Google and the other major and specialty search engines. Again, this is ideal. But what are prospective customers finding out about you or your company via the web? Many web searchers go beyond your website. They check what else is published on the Internet in forums, customer reviews and news articles (just to name a few).

So… ensure that you have a web presence and “copy” that is search engine optimized. You will get found in a web search for targeted keywords. And don’t stop there – manage your business and personal online reputation!

Are you getting found on the web – really? And in a good way?

Can you get found on the web? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel