Chibilicious

photo credit: Dan Zen

I found a short post about this issue in a forum discussing which is more important in search engine optimization, meta tags or the body area.

This is my position in the issue.

A lot of SEO afficionados take a lot of time researching and strategizing for meta tags. Doing this properly brings a better focus for the webmaster on the what content to work on in his site. If the webmaster of a “weight loss” service is required by an SEO expert to work on keywords such as “weight loss story”, “weight loss testimonials”, or “weight loss evidence”, the webmaster will have to come up with content that could integrate those keywords in the site. In the navigation, in the content, in the callouts, etc. The keywords must be found everywhere in order to generate the traffic needed to get into the first page results of the search engines.

Bottom line is, it’s in the BODY wherein most of the work gets done. I deem the META TAGS to serve as a focal point for the webmaster of the site. Yes, getting started with initial meta tags to work on is a trying part for the SEO worker. It’s not that easy to strategize against millions of sites and keywords taken up by competitors though getting INTO FOCUS is the key to get into a niche, which could turn into traffic and hopefully, into profit.

I once taken this project of getting a good domain name for a Client. (I can’t tell you what Client I had since it is confidential company matters).

Using WEB CEO and checking out search results in Google, Yahoo and MSN, I checked out from each search engine the top 5 results for the 10+ initial meta keywords used by the Client in his site. That is checking out a total of 50+ sites in one sitting, studying what they did in their websites to garner first page results in search engines (especially google), trying to understand the way the site is constructed, observing how the alts, the titles, how the keywords were propagated in the content, etc. With the necessary data I got and recommendations (domain name plus suggested content strategies) I gave, the Client approved 1 out of 3 domain names I suggested and as my boss said, is very happy about it.

Basically, both are important parts of web development. Just remember these things:

META TAGS = Focal points
BODY = actual inputs

Removing one will lead to a worse time of getting things done for well SEO driven site. Remember, it is important to get into real focus trying to find the real keywords and a lot of hard work to get the right content. Doing everything right will get the work done great.

Your website is the hub of your online business; it is the virtual representation of your company whether your company exists physically or not. When you are doing business online, people cannot see you physically like how they could if they were dealing with an offline company. Hence, people do judge you by your covers. This is where a good design comes in.

Imagine if you are running an offline company. Would you allow your salespersons to be dressed in shabby or casual clothes when they are dealing with your customers? By making your staff wear professionally, you are telling your customers that you do care about quality. This works simply because first impressions matter.

Similarly, the same case is with your website. If your website is put together shabbily and looks like a 5 minute “quick fix”, you are literally shouting to your visitors that you are not professional and you do not care for quality.

On the opposite, if you have a totally professional looking website layout, you are giving your visitors the perception that you have given meticulous attention to every detail and you care about professionalism. You are organised, focused and you really mean business.

On the other hand, you should also have anything related to your company well designed. From business cards to letterheads to promotional brochures, every little bit matters. This is because as you grow your business, these items become the face of your business. Once again, think of the “salesperson dressed shabbily” anology, and you will get my point.

Website templates are very affordable and they save you a lot of effort and time when you want to create a new layout for your website. However, a lot of people make mistakes in the process of choosing and using a web template and end up with something that was unlike the image they had in mind. Here are some guidelines to help you avoid those mistakes.

The first obvious mistake you should be aware of is using a template that is very popular. If many people use the same template, your website will not appear unique at all and your credibility as a solid, different website will be tarnished. In other words, you will appear generic just like your next-door neighbours.

To whole point of using a web template is to save time and effort. You just change the title and appropriate details and you’re done. The biggest mistake one makes is to customize the template beyond recognisation. While that may be good in the sense that you’re creating a unique graphic, you’re defying the very purpose of using a web template — saving time and effort.

However, on the opposite side, if a template you purchase is suitable but some changes must be made to suit your site’s theme, then you will have to take some time to make the changes. For example, you can find a very nice template that suits your hobby site except the original designer has put an image of stamps in the header. You can find images of garden plants and spades to replace the stamps for your gardening hobby site. However, do only make the necessary changes and don’t redesign the whole template.

In some circumstances, some people simply make the wrong choice of templates. This is a very subjective issue but you have to be careful in selecting templates to suit your audience. Do not choose templates just because they are pretty, choose them because they serve your purpose.

Convincing your prospects to purchase from you is a hard job, but have you ever thought that you’re making the process twice as difficult for both parties if your prospects are convinced but don’t know how to buy from you? No matter how good you are at convincing your prospects, they won’t buy if they find the process cumbersome.

First, you will want to check that people can find your order form easily and hassle-free. You can write a clear, concise paragraph to direct your prospects to your order form so that you can minimize the chances of them getting lost. You can also reduce the chances of losing prospects by putting a prominent link to your order page from every other page on your site.

Also, do you offer multiple payment options? Some people may feel comfortable paying via Paypal, some may only want to pay with their credit card and others might want to send a cheque. The more options you offer, the better your chances of covering your prospects’ desired payment method. After all, it wouldn’t make any sense to sell hard to a prospect only to find that they won’t be able to pay you when they want to.

On the other hand, you will want to prove that you are a credible merchant. Is your order form secured using encryption technology? You would want to look into SSL for this. You can also offer a money back guarantee so that people will feel confident about buying from you. How about after sales support? Who do they contact when they have problems after purchasing?

Alternatively, you can add customer testimonials, your contact information, address, and so on to boost your prospects’ confidence. Make them feel safe about buying something from you, a total stranger to them on the other end of the Internet.

As a conclusion, it would be very pitiful if you sold hard and sold well to a prospect and something goes wrong when he or she is ready to pay. Eliminate any chances of that to maximize your profits!