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Published by: Judy Cobb 01-15-2013  |  POSTED IN: Traffic Tuesdays

Words Blog 11: Appearance - A New Year Check Up

 
The New Year is a good time to assure that your website continues to provide you with the visibility and results that you need for your business. Trends move quickly on the Internet. Current events, new technologies, new websites and other factors can quickly change web search patterns; this can reduce the number of times web searches return the link to your site.
 
In the dynamic Internet environment, it is important to maintain your website's competitive advantage in producing "hits" via Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and in keeping visitors on your website once they land there.  
 
Last week's blog discussed how to assess the content of your website. At a minimum, this assessment should occur on three levels:
 
1.    Content
2.    Appearance
3.    Results  
 
This week will provide you with tips for looking at your website's appearance with a fresh eye.
 
As you go to your website's home page, look at the general impression a visitor gets when he or she arrives on your website. A new visitor allows about 10 seconds to decide whether or not a website has the information that he or she is looking for.
 
A good web page is well laid out and makes a positive impression immediately. All the elements on the page are balanced, without any one being obtrusive or dominating the page. It uses colors effectively, has limited text, positions graphics and photos in key locations and generally creates an inviting image.
 
With all the bells and whistles that can appear on a website, it is easy to go overboard and have too much going on. The use of animations, videos and other visual effects should be integrated into the whole look and feel of the page, without detracting from the main message.
 
Look at the text. Are the links into your website clearly visible and easy to read? More important, do the links include terminology that visitor is looking for? The research that was necessary to optimize your website for web searches identifies the key search terms that people are using to locate businesses in your industry. Those terms should be easy to spot and lead into the website.
 
Be wary of large blocks of text. A paragraph that looks fine in a Word document can look long and daunting when it appears on a website. Keep paragraphs short and use lists to make the information more accessible. Lists also add a visual element to the text that provides variety from blobs of text.
 
Be careful to keep lists short. Research has demonstrated that people can only handle seven plus-or-minus two items in a list (5 to 9 items) before they begin to tune it out.
 
A well-designed web page will draw the eye into the page. This means that visual elements will appear in logical places, without begin scattered around. If images have not been carefully sized and placed, they can create an impression of disorder.
 
When we become very familiar with something, most of us reach a point where we see what we expect to see, rather than what's there. This can certainly be true about your website. It's always a good idea to have other people look at your website and give you feedback. A fresh eye will often see issues that you may have missed.
 
Next week's blog in this series will discuss ways to evaluate the results you are getting from your website.
 
You can help us assure that every blog post in this series provides you with tangible suggestions and ideas for building or improving your website. Please share your ideas, comments, questions and suggestions with us. Feel free to leave comments below or to email Judy at [email protected].
 
Judy Cobb is an independent writer and business writing coach whose clients have included Parsons Engineering, Mattel Toys, The Los Angeles Times and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She has specialized in developing training materials for instructor-led courses as well as interactive online courses and websites. She holds advanced degrees from Columbia University and Stanford as well as an MBA from UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management.
Thanks for reading. Jason.
P.S. Don't forget to subscribe below to this blog.
 
About Jason Ciment
Formerly an attorney and CPA, Jason has been working online since 1997. His columns on affiliate marketing can still be found on www.Clickz.com and his book on search engine optimization can be found at www.seotimetable.com.

This blog is published 4x per week and covers website design and SEO tips as well as a wide range of tips and advice for working and living online more efficiently and enjoyably.
 

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