The Basic Idea – Give the people what they want.

All search engines have the same goal: just give people what they are looking for. It sounds simple enough, but when the competition is tight quick decisions need to be made on the part of the search algorithm.

Our Advice:
Search Engines can change their algorithms on the fly, so what works today may not work tomorrow. They are constantly hunting down sketchy SEO tactics and cutting out the worst offenders.

Here are the 5 main areas we focus on when trying to build a quality site’s reputation and improve search result ranking.

Total Traffic

A sites’ overall traffic is a great indicator of quality. Facebook, for instance, has billions of regular users. Same with many major national brands.

Our Advice:
Trying to directly compete for an audience using the same exact keywords as a national brand is a stretch. In this case, find your niche and provide the best results. Your rank will grow from there.

From the viewpoint of search engines Traffic = Quality. So even though the traffic may not all visit the same page, getting traffic to your site either by sharing on social media, adding links to email adverts, or using an on-site client portal can help improve your reputation compared to others.

Time on Page

This parameter refers to how long a user stays on a page. What a search engine cares about is: how long a user stays on a page after using a specific set of keywords.

This provides feedback as to the quality of the content on the page. Better content, a more engaged user and a better answer to the search. This adds up and several variations of search keywords and user types helps to paint a clear picture of the quality answer your site provides.

Bounce Rate

Bounce rate is the frequency that users visit and quickly leave a site. This comes back to time on page, if you spend more than 30 seconds on a page, there is a good chance the user found something they were looking for. If it’s only a matter of a few seconds, then the page probably didn’t match the search terms or it was too difficult to navigate. This looks like a giant NOPE for search engines when it comes to particular set of search terms.

Our Advice:
Lose as many annoying pop ups, oppressive ads or padding content that can destract from a particular topic. Quickly tell the reader what they are looking at. Then give details to keep them reading.

Keywords

Keywords are pretty straight forward, of course, a search engine is also saying, “humm, here’s what I think this individual means by this,” not just based on one search, but search and browsing history.

It’s really not just words either it’s actually keyphrases in today’s terms. This is especially influenced by voice-activated searches such as using Siri or Google Home. It is far more common to actually type questions such as “what is the best” or “how do I” versus just “hamburger restaurant” or “change a tire.”

There are also suggested searches, those little tips that show up as soon as you start typing that influence what a user actually selects.

Any way you look at it, the final keywords come down to knowing your audience. You may have the answers, but if you are not using the same terms as your audience they will have a hard time finding you and maybe understanding your answer. Research, ask questions and learn to speak their language.

Site Quality

The last element we are going to discuss has several points involved all affecting a user’s experience and interaction with your site. Search engines want to help users stay safe and enjoy their service so these add up and can totally break a 5/5 rating.

• Site Speed
• Reference Links
• User Experience
• Secure Connection (SSL)
• Device Optimization

In Brief:

Site Speed – When do we want it? Now! If it’s slow to load, a user will have a poorer experience, especially on slow connections.

Reference Links – Do other quality websites also refer to this one? Yes..perfect! If no, please refer to poor quality site.

Our Advice:
Monitor your site links, if a poor quality site links to your page. Disapprove the connection.

User Experience – Easy to navigate and ADA friendly. No intrusive pop-ups demanding you sign up, share the content, buy the product…yea I lost you a while ago. Just don’t.

Secure Connection – PCI compliance requires an encrypted connection when passing credit card information to a processor. But it also shows any information you enter in contact forms is protected and browsers do prefer sites using a secure or https:// connection. Makes the search engines feel a little better.

Device Optimization – Does it respond on different screen sizes? If the answer is no, about 60% of internet traffic will pass by a site, because it matters in SEO.

What is a Website Security Certificate?

Also, called an SSL, this works to encrypt data which is transferred from your website to another location. For example, credit card payments must be processed over a secure connection, to ensure no one can intercept confidential information.

How do you know if you have an SSL?

There are a few ways to tell. The easiest is in your url, just look for an https:// at the beginning (See the Image Below). If you don’t see this, it is possible your site is not secure.

If you have an e-commerce platform, such as BigCommerce, the platform will usually provide a shared SSL to allow your customers to have a secure checkout, however, it is still beneficial to purchase your own certificate. Shoppers often look for the https://, shared SSL’s are only there to secure critical checkout pages. This means your site may appear insecure.

When is an SSL required?

If you accept information on your website, which is confidential beyond a standard contact form, adding an SSL is suggested. This means employment applications, credit card payments, donation forms, background checks, etc. The SSL will protect your customer’s information from attackers, who may intercept the information as it is transmitted.

SSL’s and SEO

Security Certificates are also recognized by search engines. This means adding an SSL to your website can improve your search ranking.

A Few Last Notes

If you process payments through a third party provider, such as Paypal, customers are redirected off of your site to send credit card information, which means their information will be secured. However, it will still protect any information accepted through your contact form.

Stay safe out there!

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We are currently offering SSL certificate and installation for $150, this is a 1-year certificate. Contact us to schedule an update for your website!

We work with a wide range of clients. These include non-profit, e-commerce and small business. One of the main issues our clients face is choosing whether they will manage their own website, we will manage the site for them or a combination of both.

Let’s Be Honest

If you are a small business owner you are busy! Time is one of the main deciding factors in whether you will be able to dedicate yourself to generating new and interesting content to go on your website. Prepare to dedicate several hours of time to maintaining your website and internet marketing weekly.

Quality is another issue. You want to represent the quality of your product through the quality of your marketing materials, this includes your website. You can take the image, post it and share it as many times as you like, but if the advertising doesn’t match the product or branding, you are going to get nowhere.

We, at App Studios, have been working on website design and development for years. This is nothing we can teach in one or two training sessions. If you choose to manage your website, our goal is to help make that as easy as possible. This includes setting up page templates, training you to break up content, add images and blogging. But you need to ask yourself, how well can I manage this information on my own? Because we build with open source CMS (content management systems) there are many existing resources to help the self managing business owner and you can find great success doing so. And don’t forget, we don’t developed and abandon, we are here to answer your questions!

What We Have Found

The Self Manager

If you can quickly generate content, have a familiarity with social media and the skills and independence to do research, understand quality layouts and how to market to your customer, then we encourage to take on management of your own website.

The Hands Off Manager

What we see is that business owners often plan to manage their website, without understanding what is involved and can be quickly overwhelmed. You can successfully manage your own website, but know it is a commitment. However, if technology does not come easily to you and you barely have time pick up lunch, then it is probably best someone manages your website and social media or you. Often times we will conference with our clients weekly about their needs and manage their marketing accordingly. They never need to touch it.

The Minimal Support Manager

If you can create and manage content, but need peripheral support with adding page layouts or managing information from your website a limited support budget may be in order. This can also include SEO consulting and new marketing ideas. Even secondary services such as email marketing and graphics for social media.

But what about the expense?

Yes, there will be an additional expense, but a website is a tool to build your business. It needs to bring the customers to you and a well managed website can do just that. Giving you more customers and more profit with less work. It is our goal to make you as successful as possible and any combination of management options may be right for you. Sometimes you have to get started to find out. Just remember your commitment = your success.

Have questions? Contact us for more information on our website development packages and maintenance options.