Creating a new website can sometimes be intimidating and you may not be sure exactly where to start. With this week’s blog post in our Back to Basics series, we will talk about a few key components we take when it comes to launching a brand new website.

• Choose a Domain: Businesses want to avoid using .net or .org as users are typically going to type .com first; if the other extensions are available, you can register those as well, but it is important to keep in mind, if you do not have .com registered you could be losing potential clients. It is important for your domain name should be short and easy for users to remember.
• Choose a Hosting Company: It is important to find a hosting company with reliable up-time and quick response time if a problem on your website arises. With over 15 years of experience, our programmers have found that LiquidWeb offers the best plans and support perfect for every one! Advanced Digital, Inc. offers premium hosting services, contact us for more information.
• Build Your Website: Our programmers recommend using a content management system, such as WordPress, to build your website. With an extensive list of themes available and plug-ins to make your website function just the way you want it, very little HTML knowledge is needed when creating pages and blog posts.
  • Photography: Using stock photography is a great resource when building your website. However, if you’re selling products, you want to be sure to use have professional photos taken and edited. For additional learning, check out our article on the Do’s and Don’ts of Images for a few of our favorite resources.
  • Contact Form: Users should be able to contact you very quickly without struggling to find your information. Be sure to have a specific contact page, with a form, your phone number a map of your location, etc.
  • Search Engine Optimization: It is important that all of your website’s pages are optimized with titles, descriptions and link titles.
  • Responsive: With potential customers browsing on their mobile devices, you want to make sure your website is built so all information is available to them.
  • Launch: That’s right! Once your website is built and ready to go it is time to finally hit that launch button! Changing settings on your domain can result in propagation time of 24-48 hours.
• Add Google Analytics and Monitor Performance with Web Master Tools: Keep an eye on the number of visitors your website, bounce rate, keywords users are using to find your page in search results, set up goals and more! This is one step you don’t want to miss.

Once your website has been launched, you’re ready to start working on your search engine optimization! If you’re looking for a custom designed website, our team has over 15 years of experience in design and programming.

Search Engine Optimization requires consistent work to help increase your organic rankings on Google, Bing and Yahoo. With the multiple tactics there are a few common mistakes you could be making if you’re doing your own search engine optimization.

Duplicate Titles or Descriptions – Titles and descriptions inform users, and search engines, about a specific page on your website. Title tags are 60 characters and are found across the top of your browser tab, as well as the first line on your organic search result. It is important that when creating titles that the main topic be at the beginning. The character limit of a description is longer, but still needs to be clear, concise and grab the attention of users as people will likely base which website they opt to select from for their search query based on your descriptions.

Avoiding Keyword Research Tools – This brainstorming session will give you an idea of what you should be focusing on for your website. Failure to spend time researching will likely result in your organic search results not performing as they should in relation to your direct competitors due to lack of effective keyword usage. A few of our favorite keyword research tools include Moz, Google AdWords and Google Analytics. For additional learning, check out our article on keyword research.

Not Optimizing Images and Links – Bots are unable to visually your image, but by using descriptive alt tags, you’re informing search engines what your image is and what it is about; the content surrounding the image also helps bots. A link’s title tag should inform what the page you’re linking to is about.

Keyword Stuffing – 15 years ago, adding keywords you wanted to rank for all of your website, links, images, etc., shot your organic ranking to the top of the results. Now, that falls under black hat SEO tactics and search engines can remove you from the results all together as a penalty. Your website’s content should be organic, relevant and unique to your business.

Non-Descriptive Links – Much like the image and link optimization, it is important for the link text to be descriptive of the page it is leading to. Avoid using terms such as “Click here” or “Learn more” and rather use the term you are referring to in relation to what you are linking to, i.e. “flower arrangements”.

By consistently adding relevant content, link building, evaluating and maintaining your website you could be on your way to an increase in your organic rankings in a legitimate way.

Have you ever finished a conversation with your search engine optimization analyst and were left with your head spinning a little bit by some of the terms they’ve used? It’s understandable, the search engine optimization process can be confusing if you’re not constantly involved in the process. Here are a few of our commonly used terms when we discuss SEO with our clients:

• Algorithm – Google’s algorithm calculations give you a specific result on the search result page. By using different items, such as your frequently visited page, location, etc., Google is able to give you what it thinks you’re looking for.
• Black Hat – Techniques that go against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, which include: keyword stuffing, paying for links, automatically generating content, hidden text, etc. Using these practices could result in your website not appearing in organic listings.
• Blog – This section of your website is updated most frequently, including information such as: latest news, tips in your industry, etc. The content is written more conversational than the remaining pages of your website.
• Bounce rate – This measurement is how long users are staying on your website before navigating elsewhere. If people are coming to your website and leaving quickly, this could affect your organic search result ranking because the algorithm will think users are not finding what they need on your website.
• Crawler – A bot scans your website automatically to discover additional pages, images, etc.
• Directory – The directories are much like an old phone book. They’ll list your business name, phone number, address and website. Some directories, such as Yelp or Google+, will also allow users to provide testimonials on your business.
• Duplicate Content – The content of your website should be unique to your business. If you have the same content across multiple domains, search engines will think you’re using black hat tactics to rank your business.
• Organic Ranking – By creating relevant content, link building and other SEO tactics, search engines will list your website in the results located below the paid ads or local map listings.
• Sitemap – A page or document listing all of the pages of your website that provides the user or GoogleBot with information on your website’s structure.

The Advanced Digital team values communication with clients and are always open to answering their questions. The list above is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to SEO terminology. Are there any SEO terms that you’ve wondered about? Let us know in the comments below.

The easiest way to help communicate a message on your website is through images. Whether the images are infographics, stock photos, photos of your services or products, etc., chances are users are skimming the content of your pages and paying more attention to photos. With this in mind, there are a few things that should be taken into consideration when adding photos to your website.

Image Don’t

– Don’t use images found in google search – Avoid the $1,000 (or more) fines by not using photos you find in a Google search and instead use resources specifically for reusing photos. Even if you’re using Google’s image search with the option to reuse selected, you could still find yourself in hot water. Rather, use one of our favorite resources: Dreamstime.com, Shutterstock.com, Freeimages.com and Pexels.com.

– Don’t forget to add images to your sitemap – Adding an image sitemap increases the optimization of your website, although there is not a guarantee all photos will be indexed.

– Avoid using low quality photos – In addition to your website looking professional by using high quality photos, you also increase the potential of social shares. If you’re using low quality photos, your website could see a spike in the bounce rate which ultimately effects your SEO. It is important to remember the quality of photos is more important than the quantity.

Image Do’s

– Use images relating to the content – Photos say a thousand words and you want to make sure the ones you’re using on the pages of your website are supportive to the written content.

– Appropriately sized images to improve page load-time – Your website should load within 3-5 seconds, depending on the device, and images that are too large can increase the load time. Tip: When saving photos in Photoshop use the option, “Save for Web” where you can adjust the quality of the photo. If you don’t have Photoshop, Pixlr.com is a free online photo editing resource.

– Use descriptive alt tags – Search engines are unable to see the images on your pages, but by using descriptive alt tags you’re able to communicate what the image is about. Keep in mind, you should avoid stuffing the alt tag with keywords as this could negatively effect your SEO.

By using free image resources found across the web, you are on your way to increasing the optimization of your website. For further reading, check out our blog post on Visual Presentation from our three part blog series on the importance of first impressions.