FEATURED ARTICLE
There are some simple things you can do to help boost your traffic, and we've covered many of them here in past issues.
But just because you are doing all the right things doesn't mean you're avoiding doing all the wrong ones. Think of it like driving a car; you may have your hands at 10 and 2, your cell phone may be off and stored in your briefcase, and you may be checking your mirrors every 15 seconds, but unless you are careful to not cross the center line, the rest of it doesn't mean much.
So we've put together four things that you should avoid doing with your website and email communication. This is also a great conversation to have with your coworkers to see what things turn them off when they are surfing the web. You can likely make your own personal additions to the list that are tailored to your specific internet interactions.
1) Don't force users to sign in for everything.
Users should be able to access much of your web content and products without having to sign in first. Likewise, they should be able to leave blog feedback without having to register. Many people just want to check some piece of information, see what colors a particular item is available in, or add their reply to a conversation. Requiring them to complete a registration will likely turn off a good portion of your customers and cut down on how long they are staying on your site. Of course, because of the nature of our industry, you do have to keep some information and products behind a wall of security that will require login, but those users will understand your security helps to protect them too (if not, you should be making sure they know the steps you take to keep their uniform program protected).
2) Don't use universal URLs or meta-tags.
I ran across a site last week that had an auto-page creator where every page of the website had the same URL. There were no subdirectories or URLs that would take you directly to a specific inside page of the site. That means if a customer wants to send something specific to a friend, they can't just pass along a URL link. Every page of your website should have its own unique URL.
Likewise, your pages should have meta-tags filled in. Meta-tags are one of the major things search engines look at when they are scanning the internet for sites related to search terms. The more your metadata and page content match what is searched for, the higher up your site appears in the search results. Not using custom meta-tags for each page means you are betting all your chips on one set of meta-tags. Unless every page of your site contains the same information (and it better not), each page needs custom meta-tags.
3) Don't go networking nuts.
I know, there are dozens if not hundreds of social networking sites out there. And they all have their own custom little icon that you can put on your website. But limit yourself to four at the absolute most. This will make you take a hard look at which ones are most important and well known, and it will cap the amount of time you spend trying to maintain each of your separate accounts on each social network. Facebook and Twitter are the two most popular, but there are lots of others (Digg, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Delicious, etc.). On the flip side, if you aren't using at least one of these, why not?
4) Don't think your website is ever "done."
The absolute best characteristic of the internet as a whole is how dynamic it is. It is something that was barely a blip on the radar 15 years ago, so it's changing and finding its place. As such, your website should be changing and updating too. In the short term, you should consider having a portion of your site where you feature updates, articles, press releases, and/or interactive discussions that gets added to at least every week. Long-term, you probably need to consider a redesign or refresh every two to four years. This doesn't mean you need to scrap the whole site and start new every time, but it does you're your site should look current and let your customers know you are constantly improving your business.
