SEO Malpractice
SEO malpractice is everywhere. Since more than 96% of all web sites have never even been read by anyone other than the owner of the site, millions, if not billions of dollars are wasted every single year on web design and development. That same money might as well be flushed down the toilet. With the rapidly growing number of so-called website design experts, amateurs-turned-expert are everywhere. Perhaps it’s the ease of entry into the field. Pick up a book or two on Amazon and you may think you know all you need to know. Unfortunately, that’s how most web developers got their start. While web development doesn’t require an 8-year academic degree from Harvard, it does require lot and experience to do it right. And all of you who have paid for websites that have failed to perform, you have been the guinea pigs for the web masters in training. Essentially, you paid them to learn how to do it. That’s so backwards. The web masters should have been paying for their education but instead, they were paid by you to get their education. And the real cost to you was probably far greater than just the money you paid the novice web master. When you stop to consider the years of lost business and the loss of market share and the cost of regaining market share it’s a staggering number. If 5 years ago your competitor found a competent designer and you wound up with a novice, your competition has likely been growing each year while your online sales have been flat. They now have a 5-year jump on you in SEO, not to mention a larger loyal customer base.
So you may have saved a couple hundred or even a few thousand dollars by using the cheap guy, but what did it cost you in the long run? Now you’re gun shy, and rightfully so. You’re afraid to hire another guy to fix it or even re-do the whole site because it’s hard to know if Mr. New Web Guy knows his stuff or not. After all, you trusted the last guy and thought that he sounded like he knew his stuff. He sure knew a lot more than you did so you fell for it.
As the adage goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” You’re not about to let that happen again. But considering that 96% of websites pretty much suck, how can you find the small number of web developers who know their stuff?
Over the next few days and weeks, we’ll be developing a series of blog posts designed to help you avoid SEO malpractice, so you can find the right developers who know their stuff. So stay tuned. I hop you enjoy.
Chadd Bryant
3 Keys to Online Success
When the IBCC first gathered to consider the question of the fundamental elements that have to be included in a website in order for it to be a successful site, we started the discussion with things like “a seamless shopping cart.” But a lot of sites are very successful even without a shopping cart. There are no hard and fast rules that say that you have to sell something through your site in order for it to be successful. So perhaps the better question to ask is, “How do you define a successful site?”
That’s a question that leads to many answers. For some, the site just conveys a message. Take a political website. Their main goal is to get people to vote for their issue. Other sites may sell advertising so their goal is to get as much traffic through their site as possible. Other sites may sell products and need to have a sales process that leads the customer through a shopping cart, ultimately ending in a transaction. Other sites may be interested in generating leads. B2B operations are often more concerned with generating leads, educating them and building a relationship, rather than selling them a product right now.
So back to the question of what makes a successful site…
Once you realize that success can be determined in many ways, the answer you’re looking for must be one that’s broad and covers all types of goals. So the IBCC determined that in order to meet the needs of most any type of site, the three keys to online success are as follows:
- Get people to the site
- Get them to stay at the site
- Get them to come back again and again
Accomplish these three simple tasks and virtually any site will be successful, no matter what the ultimate goal is. The 3-step formula works for e-commerce, education, B2B and more. You name it.
I know, there are people out there that love to play the Devil’s advocate and they’re saying, “But if you sell someone your product on the first visit, then they don’t need to come back.” Or maybe some of you are thinking, “If they click on an ad on the site right away, then they don’t need to stay at the site.” True, but think of the difference in the level of success if you accomplish all three goals as opposed to just one or two.
If you sell someone your product on the first visit and they never come back, didn’t you lose out on future money? Studies have shown that the life time value of a customer is far greater than the first transaction. Get them to come back again and sell them more and more and more. That’s the key to online success when operating an e-commerce site. Or get them to come back again and again to click on your ads, if you’re just selling advertising.
Until next time.
Chadd Bryant
