Advertising and Marketing

Fundamental Flaw of Web Design Firms

Posted in Web Design, by Angie
http://www.expertsem.com/2007/12/04/fundamental-flaw-of-web-design-firms/#more-61

Are you thinking of redesigning your website? Or do you currently not have a website (*gasp*) but realize the importance and would like to develop one? With some million websites out there and approximately 1.08 billion people world-wide on the Internet (according to the Computer Industry Almanac, and that was in 2005, so it is most definitely much higher now), establishing an online presence is a no-brainer in today's economy. But competition is fierce and Internet users are finicky. If your site isn't easy to navigate or doesn't have the certain finesse to set it apart from the millions of others, users will quickly abandon your site and take their business elsewhere.

So what's a company to do? You're at an important juncture right now—you've resigned to the fact that you either need an entirely original website or a redesign of your existing site. Now you're faced with potentially one of the most important decisions of your company's life: Which web design firm to hire?

I'm not going to lie to you. This is not an easy task. There are nearly as many web design firms and freelancers out there as websites. So how do you choose? What could possibly make them different? I assure you, there is one gravely important element to web design that can severely affect your business; however, it is one that many established web design firms overlook. And that would be search engine optimization-friendly designs.

How can experienced, professional web designers ignore this important element, you ask? I wonder the same thing, my friend. Maybe it's because they are focused on creating an aesthetically appealing site. Oddly enough, as noted in one of my past blogs, "Appalling Appeal," it's common knowledge that ugly websites perform better than flashy ones. Whether it's because they're easier to navigate or because they have a higher trust factor due to a less sales-y appearance, bare-bones websites are often the more popular option for many internet users (just look at Google, Craigslist or IMDb—these ugly ducklings don't aspire to be swans).

The most plausible reasoning that professional web designers don't implement SEO strategies at the onslaught of design projects is because they just don't know enough about it. And it's not their fault—SEO is a medium that is constantly changing due to updated search engine algorithms and penalties for unethical strategies.

That, too, may be a contention among web designers—they don't know the difference between white hat SEO (ethical strategies that are rewarded by search engines) and black hat SEO (conniving tricks that are seen as dubious and thus penalized by search engines, often leading to banishment from search engine results pages all together).

Black Hat SEO vs. White Hat SEO

Before you determine the decision is too daunting and denounce your web design deal, consider this: many agencies that are very familiar with SEO offer website design services. These companies employ talented, experienced web designers and knowledgeable (ethical!) SEO experts. They develop your websites to include SEO-friendly elements right from the get-go—the most logical choice for any new website.

Here's a brief overview of how it works—like any good web designer, the SEO-savvy firm discusses your goals and determines your needs/wants in regards to look and feel. They then research your industry—analyzing the competition and gleaning important competitive points—and pull keywords from your PPC management campaign, if you have one. Then, drawing on your current marketing theme from other advertising channels, they choose a few relevant, high-volume search terms to incorporate into your new website. These terms and phrases are not only appropriate for your business, they also receive a significant number of searches each day. The keywords are placed in prime sections of your new website prior to launch, instead of going back to a live site and messing with code, which could potentially lead to a broken or inaccessible site for a period of time.

True SEO programs require continuous monitoring and months of extensive link development after launch to ensure that that your site stays at the top of the search listings; however, the basic strategies that SEO-savvy web designers incorporate into your site are the foundation on which you can build a successful SEO campaign, should you have the time and resources. And if not, these SEO-astute web designers can either continue efforts after launch or refer you to an SEO agency that can.

By using a web design firm that knows SEO, you will avoid the headache of having to double back and make changes to a site that you just paid (probably a lot) to have designed. Plus, SEO strategies create a better user experience for you visitors. Don't get caught up in the hype that SEO is just a sneaky way for businesses to get free advertising and exposure—proper implementation of SEO strategies will make your customers happy. And, ultimately, isn't that what we're all trying to do here?



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