John S. Wolfe

Just when you thought it was an accomplishment to actually launch a website … along come the pros with reminders of what you missed.

The July 13 meeting of AZIMA – the Arizona Interactive Marketing Association – featured two panels of Internet marketing consultants offering their suggestions for a commercial site and a non-profit site.

Each panel featured three individuals, who looked at site usability, search-engine fundamentals and links to social media marketing.

Panel 1: From left, Jack Smith of Social Latte, Sheila Kloefkorn of KEO Marketing, and Chris Sietsema of Teach to Fish Digital

The first site was www.giftideas.com. The first panel actually looked at a prototype for the company’s next website.

Usability, by Chris Sietsema of Teach to Fish Digital:

• First, you need to ask what the site visitor is asking: What is this site about? What can I do here? How is this different from other sites? What does the website want me to do?
• With such a broad scope of “gift ideas,” it might easier to select a niche to emphasize.
• The site’s graphic only reaches halfway across the page; it looks broken so extend it across the entire header.
• Visitors take in information in different ways, so mix words with images.
• Test vertical and horizontal layouts to gauge effectiveness.
• Employ software that shows links under the cursor as the user “hovers” over it, so as to not require a click.
• Consider creating recommendations for users. “I searched garden hoses and there were no products,” he said. “That could be a spot for recommendations.”
• Use breadcrumb navigation to give users a way to keep track of the pages they visit.

Search engine optimization, by Sheila Kloefkorn, president of KEOMarketing.com:

• How do search engines see your site? she asked.
• Keywords are crucial. Instead of simply “gift ideas,” it’s important to “tag” each page – for example, women’s products or men’s products – so that there is unique content on each page. “Use file names to identify the best gift ideas in search,” she said. “Optimize ‘gift ideas’ – for women, for girls, for boys, etc.”
• When constructing the site, be sure to use complete terms for links. For example, for gift ideas, don’t just use a link for “men’s.” “Men’s gift ideas” will allow the page to come up in searches. (Such tag lines are used effectively by Red Envelope, another gift site. Gifts.com pitches its gifts selected by “experts.”)
• Meta descriptions need to be optimized. This involves a 150-word description for the site that includes a call to action.
• Meta descriptions need to be repeated on every page. “70 to 80 percent of your traffic will come in on an inside page, not the home page,” she said.
• Visit Google’s AdWords and use the Keyword tool to determine what words users are using in searches, then incorporate those words on your website. For example, searchers may use “gifts for men” most frequently.
• Your search results will improve if you can increase the number of incoming links to your site. “That’s 70 percent of the battle,” Kloefkorn said.
• Use analytics to determine what people want, based on what they click.
• WordPress sites are a challenge for e-commerce enterprises.
• Consider adding a blog, as that will get Google’s attention.
• Get in the Google Directory.
• Use press releases and announcements to get the site to show up in Google News searches.

Social media links, by Jack Smith, online marketing barista for The Social Latte:

• Identify what social media tools to use to market the business and put the logo links “above the fold” on the front page.
• Consider enhancing the look of the link with a bit of flair – a ribbon around the Facebook “F,” for example – to be unique.
• If you want people to “like” you on Facebook or follow you on Twitter, you need to give them a reason to.
• Create a blog to have conversations with customers.
• What makes you unique? For a gift site, look at ways to help or entertain customers. Offer unique wrapping ideas or creative ways to give gifts. Alert users to gift ideas, for holidays and bizarre events like “Blueberry Month.”
• Get users to share their stories, which will provide additional content to your site.
• Create customized landing pages on Facebook (not just the “wall”) for specific events or times of year.
• Introduce a newsletter.
• Consider including a Twitter feed on the site that follows specific hashtags, like #flowers.
• Can you hold contests, like stories behind gift-giving or video reactions to gifts?
• Have a “listening” strategy; engage people, hear what they are saying in social media about gifts, and what they are looking for.

AZIMA has a new meeting place: the Scottsdale Hilton. The group’s next events will be Aug. 10, Sept. 14 and Oct. 12.

NEXT: The second AZIMA panel assesses the effectiveness of a non-profit site.