Ignition - Ways to make your website work harder

4 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR WEBSITE WORK HARDER

Presented by

Andy Chemney

Managing Director, Ignition CBS Ltd

HOW SEARCH ENGINES WORK

Google is thinking…..

Which sites are most RELEVANT to the search query?

• Meta title tag of page/site• Meta description tag of page/site• Content on the page • How frequently the site is updated• Age of domain• Volume of links to page/site• Quality of links to page/site• Keywords are now irrelevant!

WHAT DOES GOOGLE USE TO DECIDE ON RELEVANCE?

TITLE TAGDESCRIPTION TAG

TITLE TAG

TITLE TAG - SUMMARY

• Most important to Google - first thing it reads• Title tag “summarises” what that page is about (not the site!!) – this allows Google to

put you in the right part of the library• Google displays its results using the content of the title tag• Tip: Create your Title Tag by composing a sentence that contains your keywords and

key phrases - max 70 characters• Tip: Create a different Title Tag for each page depending on the content

DESCRIPTION TAG HELPS CLARIFY MOTIVATION

“My car’s been stolen, what

should I do?”

“I want to prevent car theft”

DESCRIPTION TAG SUMMARY

• Describes the content of the page accurately and succinctly• Serves as a short text “advert” to click on your results in the search results –

Google Instant may increase importance of this• Tip: Character limit is 160• Tip: Write it like and advert - compelling and informative.

THE IMPORTANCE OF INBOUND LINKS

LINKERATI

FINDING YOUR LINKERATI

CHECK YOUR (AND YOUR COMPETITORS!) LINKS

IMPROVE YOUR LANDING PAGES

EYE-TRACKING STUDY SUMMARY

• Ads in the top and left portions of a page will receive the most eye fixation• Ads placed next to the best content are seen more often • Bigger images get more attention• Clean, clear faces in images attract more eye fixation• Use real people in photos if you can - using models doesn’t fool us• Fancy formatting and fonts are ignored• Headings draw the eye • Initial eye movement focuses on the upper left corner of the page• Large blocks of text are avoided• Lists hold reader attention longer• One-column formats perform better in eye-fixation than multi-column formats• People generally scan lower portions of the page

EYETRACKING STUDY SUMMARY

• Readers ignore banners• Shorter paragraphs perform better than long ones• Show numbers as numerals• Text ads were viewed mostly intently of all types tested• Text attracts attention before graphics • Type size influences viewing behavior • Users initially look at the top left and upper portion of the page before moving

down and to the right• Users only look at a sub headline if it interests them• Users spend a lot of time looking at buttons and menus• White space is good.

THE POWER OF DIRECTIONAL CUES

“THE FOLD” ISN’T THAT IMPORTANT

CONTENT IS KING

• Write good descriptive content in sensible chunks • Display expertise• Solve buyer problems• Try and sensibly repeat your key words or phrases in the body text • As well as your website, publish your content more widely…

WHERE DO I PUBLISH?

MAKE YOUR SITE EASIER TO CHOOSE

MAKE YOUR SITE EASIER TO CHOOSE

4 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR SITE WORK HARDER

1. Essential: ensure your title & description tags are correct 2. Essential: focus on building relevant in-bound links3. Desirable: test and improve your landing pages4. Desirable: add some element of 3rd party approval.

ANY QUESTIONS?

Next free seminar : Oct 31st – Internet Marketing Refresher.

Book your place at our website www.ignitioncbs.co.uk

or see us at our stand after the presentations.