Some of the people I speak to in new business meetings want SEO and web marketing on their existing website – they don’t want to go to the extent of building a new website.
Sometimes, this is very doable and we work together to do what we can. But, sometimes, I get really pissed off when I get under the bonnet (so to speak) and see what they have paid good money for. This also tends to result in me turning down the project.
One website I saw last week when doing a small workshop – a voluntary website at that – was built in a way where none of the page content was visible to a search engine. Never seen anything like it. This was paid for from a very small pot of money and the woman was crestfallen to say the least.
It makes me wonder if the packaging of web consultancy I have at the moment will work. It’s in early stages yet as to the exact service offering I will offer but I do think it will – albeit temporarily as web build and web marketing moves forward.
Anyway, my point. A solid web marketing strategy needs not only a good web design and great content, it needs a quality build to work with. The programming code itself, semantic mark-up and the actual structure of the pages are an essential base with which to work with.
But, why is it that there are some web programmers that don’t see the necessity to understand even the basics of SEO?
When many people buying websites not necessarily knowing the difference between a good one and a bad one (it is after all a complex product) I can’t tell you how angry I get seeing some of the websites they end up with. It’s basics… yet it still gets overlooked.
Perhaps they are too busy admiring the shape of their code.
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Hi Craig, thanks for this. One question – is there a happy medium betwen design and good SEO? My site is design wise average, but built entirely to be search engine friendly with an excellent CMS that enables search engines to read every word. No flash, no fancy bits, its all about visibility. I don’t think I can even change the font of my site, all text is just basic (think this is to do with SEO!)
I’d like my design to be improved, but not if it would compromise visibility.
Hi Natasha, absolutely. In fact, design is essential to drive the traffic once it lands. With a competent web designer who understands how content needs to be displayed, you can actually use design to your advantage.
At the end of the day it’s all about a happy medium. SEO may well bring in traffic but if you do not have a focussed, goal oriented design interface, it’s all for nothing.