- Have a clear site objective, and be unambiguous about :
- How it adds value to you
- How it adds value to your “target” web browsers.
- Determine where your “visitors” are coming from
- Determine where they land
- Make sure the landing pages have the beginning of a trail that leads further into the process you have set out to achieve.
- Track how long they stay, and where they go, both on the site and into links you may provide
- Establish performance measures
- Continuously improve by experimenting and tracking outcomes.
- This is a creative process before it is a mechanical one, so don’t just leave it to the techos.
- In this connected world, site optimisation is also a window into your business, so make sure the visitors you get are the ones you want, and they like what they see. There is no point attracting those to whom you can add no value.
There are lots of web site optimisation tools around, including the free ones from Google which do a pretty good job, and there are many people around who will promise you the world by next Sunday. However, the tools are best used in selectively, conjunction with the situation. Remember the old saying, “to a hammer, every problem is a nail”
To optimise a site is a process of continuous improvement, starting with the objective of the site. One that is dedicated to sales will be subtly different to one that is there to spread an idea, or point of view. So, a simple process:
