New York Web Design Company Offers Some Insight
Monday, August 18th, 2008
So what makes a New York Web design company different from others? Competition! Take a look at how many there are out there! Whether it’s in the city or anywhere near or far, a company looking for top quality Web design in the New York area can be faced with hundreds of choices in an area of just a few city blocks!
Just picture Google search results, but instead of clicking links you are entering hundreds of Web design studios, lofts and offices of every conceivable size, type and style imaginable. And just as if you searched through Google, if you don’t see what you like, it’s on to the next one and then the next and so on.
But, with the competition comes a competitive edge that is critical in a struggling economy. Of course we all want to look good on the Internet, but when you’re competing with your real live neighbors in addition to those online; you have to step it up a notch.
That said; here are some inside tips from a successful New York Web design company. We will focus specifically on Website usability, which has the unique distinction of being both the most important and principal consideration yet which is generally least considered.
To begin with, most visitors do not actually read a Web page initially; they scan it. They want to see if there is something worth actually reading before committing to it. So you need to grab their attention and keep it at least long enough to get them to the next grabber. Here’s how to do it…
1.) Use your most important keywords as the anchor text (that’s the text comprising the hypelinked words) in your links throughout your page’s content. This is a biggie! Want to see how big?
2.) Keep your functional areas consistent throughout your site, especially the navigation links (top navigation, sidebars, etc.) search boxes, login areas, and anything else that requires interaction. The more comfortable a visitor feels using the site, the more likely they are to stay for a while and venture deeper.
3.) Always add a link back to your homepage via your company logo. Sure it’s seems logical, though it’s often regarded as old fashioned. If you have ever gotten turned around on a big site you probably know how comforting it is that there is a quick way back to the homepage. Also, a breadcrumb trail is useful if your website’s page structure is very deep. Any way to let your visitor quickly return from where they started is important.
4.) Place a search field in a convenient location. But make sure it searches ONLY within your own site. “Search The Web” features practically beg your visitors to leave your site.
Secondly, keep in mind that search engines will also be looking at your site. Making it pretty is not enough. It needs to attract the search engine as much as live visitors if you ever expect those live visitors to find it in the first place. This is known as search engine optimization, or SEO. It’s more complicated today than in years past but still quite doable. Here are three “must do” tasks for you to complete if you want your site on top of Google.
1.) Use your most important keywords as the anchor text (that’s the text comprising the hypelinked words) in your links throughout your page’s content. This is a biggie! Want to see how big?
Go to Google and run a search for “Click Here” (no quotes.) Now try to pay special attention to two things… First, there are more than 1.6 billion other (competing) pages. Second, the number 1 match is a link to an Adobe Acrobat Reader download page.
Ready for a surprise? The term Click Here is not anywhere on the page text or META tags. The page is number one, out of 1.6 Billion pages, because thousands of Web pages supplying a link to Acrobat “Click Here” as their anchor text of choice. Amazing, isn’t it? This is the best news every for your site! This is like a magic bullet that works every single time. And it’s so easy. This leads us to our next tip
2.) If SEO is a priority, dedicate a separate page to each of your main keywords and link the anchor text from each page to the page that has that keyword as its topic. So if you have a site dealing with citrus fruit you should make ?oranges? the anchor text on the homepage link that leads to the page specifically about oranges.
Industry Insider Tip: If you are a Web designer for hire, adding search engine optimization to your resume is a nice way to get a lot more reward for your efforts. There are a number of good SEO products out there that can help you get professional results with almost no learning curve and a low upfront investment. For example, you can have the exact same tool that eBay relies on for $250, at http://www.iBusinessPR0M0TER.com.
3.) Keep pertinent anchor text at the top of your mind when requesting inbound links from other sites. This is the yardstick by which Google measure’s site quality.
This is how you can build your brand using your own words. Getting visitors there is only half the battle, keeping them is a whole different ballgame. Now, similar to tip number 2, you want to request specific keywords be used in the anchor text leading to your pages from other sites. And be sure to request each link to the most appropriate page. Just linking to the homepage doesn’t cut it anymore.
And be warned, a lot of Website design professionals will sign up for reciprocal linking services to get quick inbound links. But I advise against it. It’s a quick and dirty way to get inbound links and it is likely to hurt you. Google hates it and it’s so easy for them to track, because it is simply an inbound link and an outbound link that match.
If you are in need of quality links but don’t have time to setup link partnerships yourself, you may want to try a service that facilitates “3 way linking” like the one at http://www.3WayLinker.com.
It’s so simple that it’s brilliant. Imagine that ?Site A” links to ?Site B” then ?Site B” links to ?Site “C”. Finally ?Site C” links to ?Site A”. Using this method each is a true one way link.
That’s it for the time being. Best of luck!
