With the rapid growth of smartphone and tablet sales, many retailers have begun to create mobile commerce sites in hopes to acquire a larger client base. But what most retailers don’t understand is that it’s not just about creating the mobile commerce site; you must optimize it in a way that’s user-friendly when accessed through search engines or popular shopping apps. Foot Locker is a good example of how this is done correctly and efficiently.

When shoppers are using their mobile device to browse the web, they are most likely clicking a link on one of the popular mobile apps from Facebook, Twitter, or Google or through a web search. They are then redirected to a page designed to be accessed from a laptop computer or desktop, not with the viewing capabilities of the small screen our mobile devices offer us. This inevitably will kill your conversion rate. As a retailer, you must account for all the mobile social users that are clicking links created for a desktop search. It is vital that you understand a lot of your customers are now coming to you on a smartphone through Google, Facebook, and Twitter apps that connect to content with desktop page URLs, not mobile URLs.

So how exactly should we be optimizing our mobile commerce sites?

Brian Klais, founder and president of mobile commerce consulting and technology from Pure Oxygen Labs LLC, says, “To build a mobile commerce site on the m-dot domain structure (for example, m.Retailer.com). When alle-commerce site www-dot web pages are in perfect alignment with all mobile m-dot pages, it becomes easier for a retailer to redirect a consumer from an e-commerce page to an m-commerce page, regardless of where the consumer is clicking from.” By doing so, this will lead to those high conversion rates every retailer hopes for.

Amazon is a great example of how redesigning ones layout to be more tablet friendly will improve your conversion rate. They recently changed their interface to a simpler and less cluttered look, with larger buttons that are easy for tablet users to tap (as opposed to the standard links or smaller buttons). The biggest improvement, as stated by the web design firm Alexander Interactive, is a fly-out window that appears when user taps ‘Shop By Department.’ The bold text in this menu is praised for its clarity on both PC monitors and tablets.

Now we ask, when will you be making the change to have your site more mobile-friendly?

People are starting to comment on these new snippets that have recently appeared throughout Google result pages and are wondering; is it just another Google test or is it permanent? Google’s new snippet layout is not a test. Google came out with the new format about week ago in order to create a more efficient way of display listings for pages. The new snippets are an accumulation of extracted list data from pages that contain listings of whatever content is available on that page. When I searched “NFL Preseason” on Google, it came up with this snippet format:

So instead of showing two lines of text, Google is now displaying the structure of the page. There is a maximum of three bullets that actually show up from a pages listing information, but the snippet also displays the approximate number of items or rows of information available on the page. The first line of text, which usually contains the meta description, still remains. This new format also has the ability to boost click-through and page real estate. Although Google is still experimenting with different designs, their ultimate hope is that these snippets will help to better mirror the content in their search results so the user can easily find the most relevant search results.

For more information visit:

StateofSearch.com

Embarking on a custom website design or redesign project is not to be taken lightly. Both the monetary and time commitments are large. Yet once completed, the impact of a new website design can last for years! The following six steps will help you select the right partner, identify the website goals and track the progress of the design/redesign so that your website is built correctly the first time!

STEP 1: Pick a Partner, Not Just an Agency.

Picking a website development company is never an easy task. The first step in setting yourself up for success is to pick a partner and not just an agency. A partner will have your strategic goals in mind while developing your website and not just the end product. Look for a partner who:

-  Can provide you with examples of live websites they completed (Experience in your specific industry is not necessary, but can be beneficial)

-  Will market your website post development. (A) Partners who have incentive for post-production work are generally more inclined to take the extra steps to keep your business. (B)  Partners without specific Search Engine Optimization or Pay Per Click Advertising experience may not be aware of subtle techniques which will need to be updated for the marketing of your site.

-  Website Development is never over. Even once the finished product is live, keep in mind that tweaks and updates are needed. Having a partner who you trust and who knows the back end system of the site will ease and expedite updates.

-  Ask for references!  When speaking with the references (yes, you should actually call them!), ask them about the process:
How were their interactions with the agency?
How flexible was the agency?
Did the agency propose solutions and suggestions (usability, plug-ins, etc)?
Did the agency develop the site on their own staging/development server?
Did the agency meet timelines?

STEP 2: Identify Your Website’s Goals.

Many of my clients have turned to me and said, “I want a website that wins awards”. While an award winning website is a great ego-stroke, there are no studies relating website awards won and increased conversions. If you cannot identify a goal/conversion metric for your website, consult with your partner. If they cannot help you, pick another partner!

Be sure not to cram all of the information and calls to action above the fold! Your site should have a clean and logically organized design that doesn’t try to be all things to all people. Use your real-estate wisely and never be afraid to test!

Understand what your client’s are looking for – If you are not sure how your customers are currently using your website or even the makeup of your target audience, Pew Internet has some good Data Tools which can help you identify your target audience and design a site which meets your client’s needs while increasing conversions.

STEP 3: Set a Timeline and Major Milestones.

Pick a partner who clearly lays out timelines, steps and major milestones. There are many tasks being complete which you cannot see (Ex: Server set-up). Major milestones should be in place so you can track the development progress. The agency you choose should have a process in place that they follow. Our process includes:

-  Functional Specifications Document (FSD)

-  Site Architecture

-  Design and Usability

-  Development, QA, and Launch

-  Continuous Optimization

Understand what your partner’s process is and why! It is okay to request modifications to the process or to ask for details on what is included within a process, but understand that you cannot build the highway and then decide if the road goes in the direction you want.

STEP 4: Identify Needed Assets

This may be the first production step within the website development. Your partner should give you a list of items they will need to develop the site. Have you provided their team with everything they will need upfront to complete the website? Putting all required asset information within one email/file will keep everything organized and clean.

Note: If you need to remove an agency/disgruntled former employee/ a-wall developer’s access, save the time and do so first.

STEP 5: Be Flexible

Similar to any building project, issues will arise; it’s inevitable. Often it is your very own request (usually outside of the original project scope) which cause these hiccups. Be firm, yet flexible with your partner. If your partner says “let me look into that” or “I know of a platform that will perform what you are requesting”, be sure to ask the question, “How will this impact our completion date”?  If you do not ask, they may not tell you.

STEP 6: TEST TEST TEST!

Every company will tell you that they Quality Assurance test your site, but is that time built into the project timeline? What steps are they taking to test the site? Many often over-looked tests include:

Has your analytics account/software been installed correctly?

Do the forms on your site function correctly?
-  Emailing correctly (Format, subject and addresses)?
-  Sending out from your server and not just theirs?
-  Required fields accepting correct data?

Are you, the client, able to make updates to the site easily?
-  Add a page?
-  Delete a page?
-  Add text to a page?

Can you process test transactions on your website?
-  Can you reverse a transaction?

Is your site compatible in all browsers?
-  Though only used by 4.4% of the population . IE6 has limitations which prevent some of the amazing functions your site has been built with to work. Agencies may charge you more if this requirement is not tested prior to launch.

If you follow the above suggestions to pick the right web development partner, you will have a successful, converting website that you can both be proud of.

Simply deleting extra data fields on your website can potentially save you millions, as shown in the article “Expedia on How One Extra Data Field Can Cost $12 M“. Expedia utilizes SAS® predictive analytics, which helps them understand their customer base statistically, based on web traffic and user behavior. They realized from studying this data, they they needed to eliminate ambiguous data on their online form  that was misguiding their customers away from their product.

Expedia realized customers were inputting their bank name in the optional ‘Company’ field and proceeded to enter their bank address instead of their home address in the subsequent field. This was preventing the credit card verification process and consequently driving customers away. By simply removing one misguiding data field, an immediate improvement was noticed resulting in a $12 million profit per year.

We can all learn from this example.  It is essential that the direction on your website is efficient for the average online user. Remember that people do not want to spend extraneous time on a website if they don’t need to.   The information you provide on online forms  must be straightforward and free of misunderstandings. Analytics can only obtain so much information about online users. One way to completely understand your website users’ behavior  is to  physically observe them navigating the website and note their confusions.

According to SAS analytics (http://www.sas.com/success/expedia.html), Expedia applies their resources in three ways: inventory selection optimization, website design and fraud reduction. Each facet of SAS analytics observes data in order to learn and optimize on previous customer behavior. These data collections ultimately prevent issues like credit card fraud and help interpret data that will be useful to a specific customer.

Although the primary purpose of using analytics is not eliminating problems such as these, it has proven to be useful in removing glitches to optimize a website’s performance. Analytics only provides statistical information which is why it is crucial to understand your customer in order to make your website as efficient as possible. Who knows, maybe removing a couple of optional fields on your website’s  online form could result in similar benefits.

Information Architecture Optimization involves the global navigation of your website. It will be helpful for users and search engines. Basically, it is a way to get the keywords you want to rank high for within the link text. The users experience should always come first before the search engines – so, you don’t want to cram a bunch of keywords on the buttons at the top of your website, because it might confuse users, it may not fit within the space you have, and could disrupt the look and feel of your website.

For example, most people have very general terms like “about us”  “contact us” and “customer support” as their navigation pages. With information architecture, you would make these more specific and keyword focused, so if we were to implement in our about us page, we could say:

“About Us – We are an internet marketing firm in San Diego”

The ways around actually displaying all of those words on the page, but still having them there, is by using one of four different strategies listed below:

Code Order

Within the code of the website, you can rearrange the order so that the first thing listed is the content of the page, then the side bar navigation, and then the header information.  This way, your website will be more optimized so that the links with the keywords are prioritized.

CSS Status Tip

The CSS Status tip is what appears in the bottom left hand corner of your screen. If you use this technique, your keyword rich sentence will show up at the bottom of the page when someone hovers over one of the buttons in the navigation.

CSS Tool Tip

This strategy is most commonly used and would display the longer keyword phrase right at the same place you are scrolling over. So, it will appear as a text balloon right next to the link.

Image Based Navigation

This way you would use images as the actual buttons and add alternative or ALT text to these images as the keyword phrase you want to use.

All in all, information architecture optimization is a more advanced technique, but if you are willing to put the effort into it, it will make a big difference. Have any questions? Let us know!

We discuss usability and conversion optimization frequently, but there is one simple piece of the puzzle that can get overlooked.  Website speed and performance!

Users are becoming more and more impatient as they surf the web.  Now the majority of people really only focus on the first few results in Google so companies spend a lot of time, energy, and money performing search engine optimization and running paid search ads.  Once the user lands on your page, you have about eight seconds to capture their attention or they are gone.  But before you even worry about your design, layout, and call to action you should consider your site’s speed and performance.  If you page does not load within a few seconds, that user will leave and go to the next search result…and will likely never come back.

If your company’s website is slow, the first thing you need to do is determine what is slowing it down.  It may be due to a number of factors such as image file size or general architecture.  Here are a few simple steps for getting started.  You will first need to load the following on your computer:

• Mozilla Firefox web browser
• Firebug (getfirebug.com)
• Page Speed (code.google.com/speed/page-speed)

Once this is set up, open Firefox and go to Tools and choose Firebug.  Open Firebug and choose page speed.  This will give you a list of factors involved in site speed and make recommendations for improvement.

Here are some things to consider for website development for your business to ensure proper structure, speed, and performance:

• Use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and combine them into one file
• Streamline the CSS by eliminating unused styles
• If you are running on a blogging platform like WordPress install a caching plug-in
• Always trim down image size and resolution when possible
• Avoid flash based site when possible – combine HTML and Flash and limit the amount of flash on each page
• Use a dedicated server if possible or make sure you are using a high quality host provider

The Basics of a Website – Part 1

For most non-webtechies, the “behind the scenes” setup of a website is often very confusing.  There are two very specific things that need to be setup before you can launch a website (after website design and development) and that is the Domain Registration (www.yourname.com) and the Web Hosting – which is a server where the files of your website are stored and your email is setup.

Domain Registration

Finding a good name is very difficult these days.  Nearly all the short acronyms are already taken and in most cases, your own name is possibly already registered.  Using one of the domain registration websites, you can search for a domain name and if your choice is taken, most sites will give you suggestions for names that closely match your search.  Try to avoid using dashes in your domain name if at all possible. 

It is always strongly recommended that you register your own domain name(s).  There are a quite a few options available, just search for “domain registration” the cost is around $7.50 to $15 per year, and you can get discounts for registering multiple years at a time.  It doesn’t matter where you register your domain, but do not let a web developer tell you they have to register for you – this is absolutely not true!  They are only trying to control you and possibly your domain if your site is a success.

Web Hosting

Once you’re finished registering your domain, then you are free to shop around for web-hosting.   Some of the domain registration sites also offer hosting.  In most cases, this is the ideal setup.  This way, you only have one contact for all your support needs.   However, before you setup hosting, make sure you contact your web developer to ensure that the hosting company is acceptable.  The difference in cost is nearly insignificant, until you start adding layers of security (SSL) which are recommended for any online purchasing websites or eCommerce that accept credit card payments. 

For a web developer, there are certain tools that will make the development of your website proceed smoothly.  Example, is if the host offers a cPanel or Plesk interface (a user friendly control panel for development).  But most importantly, your developer will be able to check to see what software your host supports in order to build your website.  Some of these include MySQL and PHP (which are both very critical tools for Content Management Systems like WordPress or Joomla).

The type of server you choose for hosting can make a big difference in the way your website can be built.  Linux is the preferred server for most custom web developers, however, larger corporations and those with more interest of high-tech security chose to go with a Windows server.   In most cases, a Linux server will provide you with a safe and secure website hosting environment.

It’s always best to check with your website development company before you purchase a Hosting solution.  

Next: Changing your Domain Registration and /or Web Hosting provider.

Website design and development can be a frustrating process for both the designer and the client because it is a creative process and there are usually several people involved on both sides providing feedback and guidance.  Everyone has a different opinion on what looks good and what will properly reflect the company’s brand image.

To avoid obstacles and communication issues throughout the website design process, it is better to spend more time on discovery and the initial planning.  Here are seven tips to help ensure the end result is a success for both the client and the designer  Internet marketing company.

ONE:  Gain an Intimate Understanding of Their Business

This seems obvious but this step is often rushed.  To truly provide value and show your client that your care about their business, you need to learn about their business model, revenue streams, financial goals, corporate culture, and future vision.

TWO:  Know the Competition

It is important as the designer to understand who your client’s competitors are.  Find out who their offline and online competition is.  There may be a difference in who they are competing with in the search engine results and who they truly consider their competitor.  You should know both sides and find out what their competition is doing right as well as where they are falling short. 

THREE:  Understand Their Design Goals

During the discovery process it is often helpful to provide the client with a questionnaire such as a “needs analysis” or “design questionnaire” so you can extract as much information as possible such as color pallet ideas, websites they like and don’t like, desired functionality, and basic conversion goals.  For example, is the purpose of the site to simply inform, or will it be meant to generate new business, or both?

FOUR:  Get a List of Website They Like

One of the best ways to get behind the “design” eye of your client is to have them provide you a list of three to five websites they like.  Make sure they provide you with details about why they like the designs and any aspects about the sites they do not like. 

FIVE:  Understand Budget Ranges

This can be a sensitive discussion early on because the client will not want to give up any negotiating power by simply answering your question, “What is your Budget?”  However, quite often the client does not have a sound understanding of how their vision for their new website will translate into design and development time…and money!  That is why the discovery process is so important.  Whether you are a freelance designer or a full scale Internet marketing company, the process should be the same.  The budget will immediately help you communicate to the client what is possible and what is not. 

SIX:  Understand Functionality and Optimization Goals

This part is very important.  Many times a designer may not be the individual actually developing the website.  This can be problematic of the designer has more of a graphic design background and a limited understanding of the development process.  Sometimes great designs don’t translate well on the web or may not be feasibly from a development perspective depending on the functionality needs of the client.  Make sure you communicate with the development team so they understand how you plan to lay things out.  All designers these days should also have at least a basic understanding of search engine optimization.  It is frustrating for a client when they spend a lot of time and money having a great website designed only to find out month later that it has to be rebuilt for SEO purposes. 

SEVEN:  Functional Specifications

The result of the discovery process should be a very detailed FSD (functional specifications document) that both the website designer/developer and the client sign off on.  This ensures that there is a blueprint to consult when there is confusion about what is or is not “in scope”.  This is the MOST important part of the project and should not be rushed.  The FSD should include details on design, functionality, timeline, budget, and all supporting details and documentation gathered during the discovery phase.  A good FSD will include the wire frames and maybe even some initial design mocks.  Make sure the FSD is in line with the contract and that deliverables are detailed.  Because website design is a creative process, the client will think of things along the way that they did not initially communicate during discovery.  Depending on how simple or complex these requests are, you can make a judgment call whether to include the additional requests or possible provide the client with an additional quote based on estimates hours.

You just can’t by with an “old school” website anymore.  And yes, your company/brand will be judged on the appearance of your website.  You also can’t get by anymore by just having a site that serves the purpose of being your “online business card”.  Every company, no matter what industry, no matter what size, should have a website with clear goals.  Conversion goals that is.

Conversion optimization takes all aspects of your website into consideration starting with your core business objectives.  These need to be clearly defined and your website should be designed (or redesigned) to support these goals.  You should also have a solid understanding of your analytics so you can set some benchmarks:

• Where does our traffic come from?
• What are our bounce rates?
• How long do people stay and what pages do they go to, leave from?
• Do visitors convert?

What happens in 8 seconds.  A “bounce” is defined as a user who comes to your site and leaves in under 8 seconds.  Therefore a bounce rate is the ratio of people who leave in under 8 seconds VS those that stay.  Anything under 50% is pretty good.  Conversion goals are different for every website but examples are capturing information like name, address, phone; a sale; a download; a phone call…you get the idea.  So let’s take a look at the various elements that need to be considered when building a website that converts.

THE INITIAL HOOK

You must have a clear call to action, or a few key action points.  E-commerce sites usually have promotions and offer things like FREE shipping.  Everybody likes and deal and wants to be incentivized.  If your goal is to get a user to download your whitepaper, tell them why its valuable and give them some incentive for doing so. 

DESIGN

Once you have defined your goals, the site needs to be designed so that the call to action is prominent and focused on encouraging the user to act.  Using larger fonts, bold colors, simple but compelling design concepts, less content, and plenty of open space usually fall under the best practices category.  It is usually recommended to use separate landing pages with clear calls to action to support online and offline marketing efforts.

Notice the example below has a very clear purpose (sorry the picture is kind of small).  This page is designed to bring people back to the site, capture their information, and offers an incentive to do so.

SITE FUNCTIONALITY

This is very important because the more user friendly your site is the better your consversion rates will be.  Seems pretty obvious but can take a lot of focus to get it right for any specific site.  Many times bounce rates and lack of conversions are simply due to poor functionalty, poor design, and a “sales cycle” that is just too long.  Streamline the process, only capture the information you need, and keep the steps simple and fast. 

You can use technology and custom tools to enhance the experience and go beyond your competition.  Just remember, it all starts with defining clear goals first and then developing a plan.

Most people probably assume some level of optimization goes into website development but usually this is not the case.  Most often, SEO, if performed at all, comes much later when the stakeholders ask the marketing team why their site doesn’t show up for certain keywords.  Search engine optimization is not normally involved in the web development process, though it definitely should be.  Behind the scenes, unless there is a process in place, it can be difficult to weave SEO into the website development project plan. 

So where does it fit in and why is it so important to perform SEO during website development?

The truth is that this is not news to SEO’s or most website developers but making it work is a different story.  The answer to the question above is that SEO should fit into almost every aspect of you website development project plan.  It should be part of the functional specifications document and outlined every step of the way.  Ideally, there should be an SEO on the development team or at least consulting with the lead engineers and project managers.

This is important because by not integrating SEO into the whole development process, you can end up spending more money and time later on, trying to get it right.  When you are talking about rolling out an existing site to a new platform, this is crucial.  If the current site has rankings and even some of the smallest steps are missed, you could disappear from the SERPs (which ultimatley will cost you revenue and more costs related to fixing the issues).

Steps to consider when including SEO in the developement process:

• What are the goals of the website and how will certain keyword rankings support those goals?
• What is the defined keyword strategy and how will it be applied to title and meta descriptions?
• How will the important pages monetize and what are the necessary calls to action?

We must consider how SEO will affect the development process from day one.  SEO should be considered during the follow steps (but not limited to):

• Discovery period – to define the goals, functionality, site map, content needed, etc.
• Functional specifications and project plan – to define HOW and WHERE SEO will play a role in each step
• Site map and wire frames – to ensure site architecture and layout abides by SEO guidelines
• Design – to ensure the proper balance of design, functionality, and SEO friendliness
• QA – SEOs should be a part of the QA especially when performing a redevelopment and rolling out a new site (i.e. 301 redirects)
• Hard launch – to ensure the site is properly submitted to the search engines and is being properly indexed

So what is the takeaway?  SEO is always important ans should be a part of the process (but not because I say so).  Make sure the firm building your new website understands SEO and will build for optimization.  A site will never rank well without the basics of SEO architecture, and that starts in development.