Effective and user friendly web design is one of the most important aspects of creating a website that will draw in visitors and keep them coming back for more. Unfortunately the old saying of “build it and they will come” does not ring true for your website in the competitive online environment of today.

SEO or Search Engine Optimization must be employed to do exactly what it says, optimize your website to be easily crawl-able and indexed by the Search Engines. That sounds pretty darn easy, right?

There are hundreds of elements to take into consideration when optimizing a website for the Search Engines, some of which take patience and constant hard work to implement. Fortunately there are quite a few elements that can be implemented while your website is still being designed to give it a great chance to achieve the results that you envision.

1. Tables belong in the dining room, not in your code

The use of tables is outdated and defunct for good reason. Cascading style sheets (CSS) is the way to go and here are a few reasons why:

• Faster page load time
• Makes your website more accessible to both users and crawlers.
• Helps maintain visual consistency throughout your website.
• More efficient and less expensive redesigns and layout changes
• Better Search engine results

2.  URL’s and Folder Structure are an extremely important element

Keep your URL’s short and keyword rich, but don’t use the same keyword throughout. If you are able to create the URL’s in such a way as to include popular search phrases, you will have won half the battle right there. Organize your site with the use of folders where needed and use an industry based keyword or phrase for each folder.

3. Include fields for Meta Data on every page

Learn how to do keyword research and create unique and descriptive pieces of content for each individual page that include the keywords or phrases that you want to target for each page.

4. Add Heading Tags (H1 – H6) to all pages of your site

Each page of your site must have one, and only one, H1 tag that include your targeted keyword or phrase. Depending on the content of each page you should make use of H2-H6 heading tags to structure your content logically.

5. Flash design looks great and adds an element of interaction, but…

Unfortunately Search engine crawlers don’t like flash very much. I’m not saying stay away from flash design entirely, but use it sparingly. Use text within your flash design and add URL’s to other pages of your site within the Flash files.

6. The size and number of images

Keep the number of images on your site to an acceptable limit and optimize your images for faster loading time and add height and width attributes to all images.

7. Include Image Alt Tags

Image alt tags are not only used by crawlers to be able to read the images on your site, but also by visitors who are unable to see the images and use audio screen readers to ‘view’ what the image is about. Every image on your site must include a descriptive alt tag. Name your image files accurately and not with nonsense names such as “img00123”.

8.  Don’t use image based text in your navigation

CSS based navigation will allow you to keep that fancy and modern look while making it easy for search engines to effectively crawl and read the text.

9.  Anchor Text

Use keyword rich anchor text that effectively describes the page that you are linking to. Do not use “Read more” or “Click Here”, as every link adds to your ranking power for the used anchor.

10.  Create a sitemap for your site, both in text and xml form

Many users will use your HTML sitemap to navigate the site effectively and Search engine crawlers will use the XML sitemap to find all the pages of your site.

11. Externalize, minify, and combine all JavaScript and CSS

This will assist in page load time and will have an effect on Search Engine rankings.

12.  Ensure that all pages are static

Your site’s pages must not be generated through search or make use of Item ID’s. If you must use search generated dynamic pages on your site, try to create a static version of these pages.

13.  Content is the lifeblood of the online environment.

The Search engines have one main goal, and that is to provide users with accurate and useful information according to their search queries. Ensure that all of your pages have a fair amount of content. A good average would be anything between 350-550 words, depending on the page.

14.  Internal Linking Structure

Internal linking of your pages throughout the site is a must and a clear linking structure must be created beforehand. These contextual links throughout your site serve multiple purposes, such as:

• Text links within your content can drive your site traffic to the money pages where conversion is achieved.
• Each textual link also contributes to the ranking of the page that is being linked to and should use targeted keywords.
• A good internal linking structure allows you to sculpt the ranking power of certain pages that you feel are important.

15. Make sure your site passes W3C & CSS Validation before launch.

If you want to be a successful online marketer there are certain skills that you need to acquire. Onsite SEO is a very good way of getting your online marketing campaign off to a good start, but this should not be the only element to master. Onsite SEO alone won’t get you very far at all.

But what if you work for an Online Marketing company and you have a designer, coder, copywriter, PPC expert and Social Media marketer on hand. Does this mean you should only limit yourself to one element of the online marketing process?

The truth is, in order to be a successful online marketer you can’t focus on one skill only, you need to develop and nurture all the necessary skills.

Web Design

All of us aren’t web designers, but you need to know what works on a website and what does not. What works for your product review site or blog and what works for your ecommerce site is definitely not the same thing. However, there are certain elements that need to be incorporated into every website design:

• Effective use of Conversion elements
• Ease of navigation
• Web Optimized Imagery
• Thoughtful and effective user interface
• Effective display of your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

Having the knowledge of what works in web design can go a long way in distinguishing your site from all the ‘noise’ out there.

Content Creation

All your online marketing efforts rely on content. SEO, PPC, Social Media etc. Just writing for the sake of adding more content to your site or blog is useless. Creativity and originality is the key when creating content for your site. No one wants to read the same old story just with a different angle or a little extra icing on top. In this day and age where the latest information and breaking news are available in real time as it happens, you need to be the first to get the attention of the world in a unique and engaging way. A good idea is to stay up-to-date with all current news, events and developments in your field or industry. Use social media, RSS Feeds and Google Alerts to do so.

PPC

Setting up a PPC campaign is probably one of the quickest and easiest things you can do, but just setting up your PPC campaign and writing a few one liner ads won’t necessarily bring you those clicks and more importantly the conversions.

• Keywords – In depth analysis and research must be done to ensure that you use the correct keywords. Remember that long tail keywords are used by searchers that have already done their research and are ready to buy.
• Product/Service Specific landing pages – Point your ads to the page where the browser can find exactly what you are advertising in you ads.
• Budget bids – If your bid is too high you might run out of money after only a few clicks. If your bid is too low, your ad won’t be displayed.
• Your site – you can spend all the money you have on your PPC campaign, but if your site does not instill a sense of quality and trust in the user, you won’t get anywhere
• Know when to stop – PPC is extremely effective in generating traffic and sales when your site is still new and does not yet have any organic rankings in the Search Engines.

SEO

A recent user poll done by TopRankBlog, shows that SEO is still seen by many as the most valuable online marketing strategy to be used. SEO in itself is a multi faceted strategy that includes Onsite SEO and Offsite SEO or link acquisition. Onsite SEO is quick and easy. It’s getting the votes in the form of links or references to your site that is the backbreaker.

It used to be that building some unnatural links from blog comments, forums, directories and other “free for all” link sources would do quite a bit in getting your search engine rankings up there. With Google’s update of their ranking algorithm named “Google Caffeine”, the value of link sources have been re-evaluated big time. The most valuable link sources are those that are moderated like news publications and high authority editorial sites or authoritative industry blogs.

Research shows that Google’s new algorithm definitely devalues certain types of links. Links from comments, blog rolls, links pages, and footer links just to name a few, mean very little for your site.

Using your brilliant content, industry tools and resources to create something that people want to link to (link bait) is the way to go.

Social media

Social Media can play a huge roll in your online marketing campaign if you use it right. Social Media is NOT quick and easy to get into. It involves a lot of research and work on your part. If utilized effectively, your social media campaign can boost your site traffic to incredible heights.

A recently launched viral video campaign by Old Spice, crippled YouTube with the amount of traffic it generated.  Be creative and unique with your Social Media campaigns and you will reap the rewards.

As you can see Online Marketing consists of many elements that need to be utilized and catered to your specific needs. Online marketing is not a quick fix that will generate huge amounts of traffic straight away; it takes time, effort and oodles of creativity.

The rest of 2010 promises to be a big one in the history of South Africa and the world! Not only have we successfully hosted the 2010 Soccer World Cup, but with advances in online business in South Africa, this year could and should be a year of enormous growth for our economy and for each and every individual.

Let’s take a look how you can drive your online business to new heights in 2010.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The importance of good SEO has become apparent throughout the last decade and will continue to have an enormous influence on your online success in 2010 and beyond. The good news is that good SEO will continue to be cost-effective to small business but are sure to become more expensive as the market gets more competitive. It is therefore essential that you make room for SEO in your online advertising budget in 2010.

2. Twitter Marketing

Twitter has taken off big time in 2009 and will continue to be a huge entity in 2010. The importance of Twitter Marketing lies in the fact that average business can capitalise on Twitter for top exposure as it is a viable marketing channel. There is also some speculation that Twitter will implement some form of paid advertising model, much like Facebook is offering at the moment.

3. Facebook Marketing

Facebook has become part of 29% of Internet users’ daily web activity. As a business owner advertising on the net, it is imperative for you to realize the benefit of Facebook marketing. This year will see more and more people joining this phenomenon and Facebook’s paid advertising offering will continue to give businesses the opportunity to advertise to a targeting market.

4. Mobile Marketing

Using mobile phones as a medium for advertising has endless possibilities in South Africa. The challenge in 2010 is not only to make your site visible to those accessing the Internet via their cell phones but also to use SMS message to communicate you services of products.

5. Bing

Although some believe that Bing, Microsoft answer to Google, will not reach its full potential in 2010 it is definitely worth implementing into your SEO campaign.

6. Video Marketing

With the promise of faster and cheaper Internet coming to South Africa, more and more local business owner will look to video marketing to advertise their product and service and to increase their conversion rate.

7. Pay-Per-Click Ads

As discuss before, sites like Facebook and possibly Twitter, will offer a good alternative to Google Ads but 2010 will continue to be a popular advertising strategy. Bing is also likely to start offering PPC ads which will offer just another way to increase your Internet exposure.

8. Online Business Networking

Connecting with other business owners and industry leaders on the Web became an effective way to build business contacts and leads in 2009. Prepare to take this to the next level as more and more social media sites are looking to cater for online business networking. Some believe that 2010 will see face-to-face networking opportunities within online business networks , and face-to-face networks will begin to integrate online networking more effectively into their programs.

9. Top Content

You don’t need a crystal ball to figure out that content will continue to be king in 2010. You can guarantee that the marketing of you good content will be just as significant as the quality of your content.

10. Innovative Design

Staying ahead of the curve in 2010 is extremely important for any successful online business. No matter how good your content is or how high you are ranking in the search engines, the appeal of your site as well as its functionality will contribute a great deal to your conversion rate.

Thus far I’ve been going on about why going online is the route to take these days. Making the decision is but the start and you need some insight on how this process happens and where to kick off, so let’s get going.

Unfortunately most business owners have no idea what makes a successful and effective business website that brings feet through the doors of your business, virtually speaking of course, and making the sales. The only difference is that online, each visitor is highly susceptible and much more likely to buy.

What are your Goals?

What is your goal for your website?  Getting leads and generating an income through effective conversion most probably. If this is what you require, then your website should be designed to accomplish the following:

* Get as many searchers as possible to click through to your site for whatever they’re looking for in the Search Engines. (Search Engine friendly design)

* Provide the shoppers with the info that they need to make an educated decision on which product they will buy in the end.

* Calls to Action! There are way too many online businesses out there that do not entice and encourage the browser to load that product in the cart and take it to the checkout. Also for businesses that provide a service, browsers have to search were to inquire or get a quote. You need those calls to action!

* Now you need to keep new customers coming and existing ones returning. Market your business through great resources, like reviews, articles and tips. Social Media Marketing can be extremely effective if you have some of the best info and resources to link to.

Know your Market

Who will you target online, students, young adults, business men? All of these targets will have to be approached differently for effective marketing, lead generation and sales.

Your physical design of the site must be catered for the market that you target, for example, students and younger people will need hip and happening funky design that is more complex and open for exploration. Business men will probably want to be able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily to facilitate information sharing.

Your site content will also need to be targeted according to what the market wants. Give them information and great resources to be able to assist in the decision making process of buying or signing up for the product or service that you offer.

DIY or Using the Professionals

Some may feel that they can save money by designing and creating their own business website. This may be true if you are up to date with the latest techniques, search engine friendly design, professional web structuring and oodles of other elements that determine the efficacy of your website. The bottom line is that most of us do not have the necessary knowledge and experience to take on such an important project and unfortunately unprofessional websites contribute to 50% of all low converting websites.

Taking this into account, may I suggest consulting with the people in the know? You may have to spend a bit more initially, but the rewards and returns will be much higher in the long run.

If it’s stale and outdated, no one wants to use it – Google included.

A good website will provide it’s users with all the most up to date and fresh information out there. Keeping your website and the resources within the site up to date takes work. Show me one successful business out there that doesn’t put time and effort in keeping with the times and updating their clients along the way.

Keep those clients coming back by adding something unique to your site like adding real time inquiry or consultation features. Don’t just say that you provide the best service in the industry, do it!

Monitor your Business

Use website tracking software to see what visitors and customers are doing on your site. This will help you to identify possible areas for improvement. Why are potential customers leaving your site without buying or inquiring? Do you have sufficient calls to action? Are you targeting the best pages for entry into your site from the search engines for a specific search phrase or keyword? What route are browsers taking to find what they are looking for on your site?

All of these and countless other elements determine how effective your site is in converting mere browsers to buyers.

Hopefully this has helped you to understand how you CAN be the best out there and what is needed to get the sales and income that you desire. We will keep on providing you with the  answers to many of the online business questions you may have.