1. Size matters. When designing a web site remember that bigger isn't always better. You need to consider the people that will be accessing your site. Keep in mind that the majority of the people that will be visiting your site will be using dial-up internet access. Studies show that the average internet user will not wait longer than about 30 seconds for a site to load. Why is this important? If your site takes longer than 30 seconds to load, even if you have the greatest product in the world on that site, most people won't wait longer than 30 seconds for it. So how do you make your site load faster? First, you need to look at the amount of graphics on your site. Try to use smaller images if possible without harming the overall look of the site. After choosing the graphics you need, save them in the JPEG or GIF format. This will allow you to compress your graphics into a considerably smaller file. Keep compressing your images until you begin to notice a degradation of the image. Using these formats can easily cut download times in half.
2. Know your search engines. Since over 80% of all internet users rely on search engines to find what they are looking for- you must know how they work in order to make sure your page gets listed properly. A search engine is basically a program that tracks links, scanning the pages it finds and cataloging them in a huge database. The search engine can not read images, only basic HTML text. If you want to get your site listed you must use as much plain text that relates to your company or service as you can. Oh yeah... the tiny text that you see at the bottom of some pages that just keeps repeating the same key words over and over- don't do it! Search engines don't like that. If the text is not in a legible size and in a color that is readable the search engines will likely ban you from their list. It's not worth it! Use a lot of relative textual content and you'll do fine on the search engines.
3. Meta what?. Research shows that if your site is not listed in the top 10 search engine results you are going to get significantly less (if any) visitors. The key to getting those visitors is using a lot of relative text and proper use of the meta tags. Meta tags are little descriptions buried in the html programming that tells the search engines what your site is about. This helps the search engine programs better scan your site and catalogue it. If your site was selling office furniture, for example, a good key work list might be: office furniture, furniture, office supplies, chairs, desks. When using the key word meta tags it is important that you don't use the same word more than three times. This will ultimately hurt your search engine results. In your description section try to best describe your site in as little words as possible. Using the office furniture example again, a good description might be: Dave�s office furniture. Selling quality discounted office furniture for over 30 years. Using too many words will also hrt your results.
4. Consider your audience. Know who you are marketing to. The elderly may need larger print. The younger audiences may need more color. This step is important, especially when you consider that there is estimated to be over a billion pages on the internet. Your site needs to stand out. Your customers know that your competitor is just a click away.
5. If you are not sure- get help. This is too big of an opportunity to take a chance. A good web site can literally mean the difference between a company making it big and a company not making it at all. Why spend $500 on a tiny yellow page ad with a very limited number of potential customers when, for about that price, you can access a global marketplace with millions of potential customers.
I hope this month�s Web Tip was helpful. Most of these tips were taken, with permission, from the TargetedSolution.com web site. If you need some help with your site or want to purchase a pre-designed site or even have a custom site designed for you this is a good place to get it done. They have several other tips that may get featured in another month�s article.
