What If A Client Doesn’t Like Link Building?

What if you have a client who wants SEO but simply does not want you to do any link building even though, over and over and over, you’ve told this sweet client that link building is a key component of doing well online? I’m not talking about the outright purchasing of links here either. I’m talking about any effort at building links. Yes, these clients exist, and I know because I’ve dealt with them.

There are many reasons why some clients feel that link building is a scary proposition. Most notable is the belief that any sort of link building will get you banned by Google, but there are also worries about the lack of control over who links to a site and fear of having their name on sites with which they do not wish to be associated. Then you have your clients who believe that there’s no way to build links without purchasing them. Whatever the rationale, the fact remains that links are very, very important. Therefore, what options do you have when faced with this type of situation? Let’s talk about three big ones that will hopefully make sense to even the most reluctant clients.

Good, Relevant Content

Even though people get tired of hearing it, content really is the only thing that matters on your site when it comes right down to it. You can build links like mad, you can throw loads of cash at paid ads, but if your content isn’t good, no one’s going to stay on your site/come back again/link to it. Unless they think it’s bad enough that they’d like to show the rest of the world what not to do when they’re in a particularly funny mood. Having good content does not mean that you should repeat your keywords every few sentences, nor does it mean that you need to channel Tolstoy. Good content does contain your keywords, but in a way that actually makes sense to your users. If you have good content, you’re going to get links, period.

Better Internal Linking

I’m not talking about the use of nofollow for PageRank sculpting, I’m talking about simply changing the way your site links to its pages. The benefit of better internal linking is that it helps you determine which are your most important pages, which is good for users and good for search engines. Controlling internal links is simply a good usability practice, as wildly tossing out internal links can easily confuse your users. Confused users might not be so quick to find your site link-worthy, as you can imagine.

Even the most skittish client shouldn’t object to enhancing the user experience, right? There is usually no need to have each page on a site link to 100 other internal pages. Sitemaps were created for a reason, so use them.

Use of Social Media

Go ahead and post a link on Twitter, Digg and Reddit a story, Stumble it, etc. Your goal here is get people to read the site’s content and, if they so choose, they can link to it all on their own. If the content is good, and it should be if you’re throwing it out there for everyone, then you can expect that links will, indeed, fall into place. Social media is not as easy to conquer as it seems, though, so keep that in mind, as you cannot simply expect to post a link to a site on Facebook and have the world rushing to link to it. This takes a lot of patience, and it’s easy to overdo, so be cautious but still make use of your networks.

It’s our job to educate our clients, of course, but it’s also our job to figure out the right approach in doing so. Some people are visual learners, others can just hear you say it and they understand it. Some people have had bad experiences that color how they view current marketing practices. It’s very important to understand this when you’re making your case, as you can’t expect to simply tell a client that he or she needs links and have your opinion accepted. If you take the time to investigate alternative methods of improving visibility (and usability) and you’re willing to be flexible, however, you probably won’t hear too many complaints when your clients start getting results.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the author, and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

via What If A Client Doesn’t Like Link Building?.

5 Startup Tips From the Father of Gmail and FriendFeed

Andrew Warner is an Internet entrepreneur and the founder of Mixergy. He interviews successful people to learn how they did it.

I asked Paul Buchheit for advice on launching startups because he fathered two of this decade’s most successful online products: Gmail and FriendFeed. As part of his work on Gmail, he also developed the first prototype of AdSense, Google’s ad program. And he’s known as the engineer who suggested Google’s now famous motto: “Don’t be evil.”

Here’s some of what he had to say (also, see the video below):

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1. Launch a scaled-back version

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You can find a simple, scaled-down way of launching anything. “Tesla [the financially struggling electric car startup] spent a lot of money making these cars, but there are people making electric cars in their garages. So it’s always possible to do a scaled-back version of what you have in mind.”

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2. Notice sluggish competitors

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When he considered building Gmail, he looked at Yahoo! Mail, the leading Web-based email provider and noticed that “they were actively making their products worse. Which I think is a really good indicator of an opportunity. Yahoo! decreased their [email storage capacity] from 6 megabytes to 4 megabytes.”

The free email providers at the time “were trying to push you into their paid accounts. And in general, people had a low opinion of Web mail because they thought it couldn’t be good.”

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3. You don’t need virality if your product is good

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“I think the best kind of virality,” he said, “is a product that people like so much that they just want to tell people about it.”

“Think about Google search itself. Where’s the virality? There is none. But people just love the product, so they tell their friends, and somehow it just grew to where it is now, with some huge share of the market.”

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4. Follow your passion

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Instead of setting goals, he said, “I have a different approach. I look to see what things I enjoy doing and just try to figure out how to spend my time doing things that I enjoy.”

“I like writing code. I like building product. I like making things that people like.”

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5. Sometimes you have to go off on your own

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“Inside of a big company like Google,” he said, “you can do just about anything and a million people will show up just because the Google name is attached. That’s kind of like cheating. What you make doesn’t have to be good.”

“Consequently, of course, Google has to be careful that you’re not just releasing random things. That means that there tends to be a lot more process to prevent you from doing those random things. Because that would harm their brand over time.”

5 Startup Tips From the Father of Gmail and FriendFeed.

Total Search Marketing

It’s been a long held concept that natural search, aka SEO, is a top internet marketing tactic for acquiring better conversions, leads, and ROI. Now, eConsultancy has collected data and documented a study in the U.K. showing that natural search is the best tactic for generating online leads, concluding it is greatly underused despite the fact that it outperforms nearly all other types of online marketing.

Survey says: Natural search generates more online leads

1. Natural search (79%) is the most frequently used online marketing tactic for lead generation, followed by email marketing in-house lists (75%) and paid search (71%).

2. Over half (52%) of company respondents said natural search was “very effective.” Just under half (48%) said paid search was very effective.

While online lead generation is becoming more important for many businesses, only a little over half of the company respondents in this survey felt their company wasn’t exploiting this type of marketing as effectively as it could be, illustrating that online lead generation delivers results but could be utilized better.

Paid search advertising gets more of the budget

The report found a greater proportion of online lead generation budgets are allocated to paid search advertising despite the fact that natural search is perceived as providing the best value for the money. Companies haven’t invested in natural search over and above other internet marketing tactics because it requires more effort, but don’t make that mistake in your search marketing efforts.

As an-house search marketing manager, you need to make sure you are doing “total search marketing” by taking advantage of all search marketing tactics. And don’t forget the superior benefits of natural search when allocating budget. Below is a review of all areas of search that need to be covered for maximum ROI.

Total search engine marketing

To truly understand the role of search marketing, your in-house team must be knowledgeable in a wide spectrum of search services, including organic natural search, paid search advertising, paid inclusion, international search, local search, vertical search, social search, mobile search, blended search and search personalization. We’ll elaborate on the first five in Part 1, and finish up with the last five in Part 2. Below are the activities your in-house team can engage in to reach your audience via the internet.

Natural search: The methodology for driving traffic through organic natural search optimization requires a wide-range of best practices surrounding all aspects of web site development including server configuration, site architecture, page construction, type of content, target personas, link profile and internal linking structure. This involves multi-disciplinary teams with experts in technical services, user experience, creative direction and search marketing expertise. Natural search is the bedrock and cornerstone to all search marketing functionality (discussion for another article).

Paid search advertising: The practice of driving paid search traffic has become increasingly more difficult with respect to the number of keywords being managed, landing page optimization/testing and Google’s Quality Score. It has been proven now, bid-wars are a useless strategy, and positions 1 through 10 paid are on equal ground when measuring ROI. The most sophisticated in-house paid search teams are working is silos without the benefit of networking and exchange of new information in managing their account/s. Those who have gone outside for advice are seriously impressed with the results.

Paid inclusion: This may also include comparison shopping engines, re-targeting programs or CPM related search engine ad buys. Google recently announced Ad Planner to help media planners mix display and search, a close relative to paid inclusion. Although paid inclusion has very limited application for most companies, it remains effective for some situations involving large databases.

International search: Highly specialized area requiring global experience beyond translation services. There are only a handful of people who have nailed this area down, so it will be very important to network with all of your contacts and consider multiple options before embarking outside of the US in search marketing and optimization.

Local search: There have been significant areas of improvement in Local Search strategy and tactics over the past 12 months. Again, this is an area requiring ‘experience in Local Search’ if you want to avoid all the mistakes and capture all the quick-wins.

The takeaway is that search marketing is no longer just having a proficiency in paid search and natural search is no longer just an on-page and off-page tactic that emphasizes keywords or press releases and linking. Paid and natural search require multi-disciplinary teamwork focused on your specific business goals and integrated within your entire media mix.

5 Ways to Keep Abreast of What’s Happening in Your Niche

While learning about things outside your niche is always encouraged too, you should always be on the look out for new strategies and trends that pertain to yours. This will be incredibly beneficial to you for staying competitive. Your thoughts?.

Following are a few tools you should be using to do just that.

1. StumbleUpon

StumbeUpon is an incredible social tool, and you should use that aspect of it, but my favorite thing about it is the search feature. This is not like searching Google or Yahoo looking for relevant results pertaining to a specific query. Searching with StumbleUpon’s search tool is a fantastic way to find new resources, articles, and tools related to a topic.

Because of the social aspect of StumbleUpon, you are going to get good results because others have already gave them the thumbs up. So not only are you finding things that other people who are interested in a given niche have enjoyed, you are quite possibly finding new ideas that can help your own business.

2. Blog Search

Technorati or BlogPulse or other blog search engines are great places to find more sources you should be keeping up with when it comes to views about your niche. The more blogs you are able to read, the more insight you are likely to come away with and ultimately use to your gain.

Check them out often, because new blogs are created and submitted everyday. Your new favorite blog could be created tomorrow.

3. News Search Sites

These may not be the places you want to go to find regular sites to keep up with (although they could), but they are great places to search for keywords related to your niche and find current relevant news articles.

Visiting sites like Google News and Yahoo News should be part of your daily routine to stay as up to date as possible on what is going on in your niche. These sites index new articles constantly.

4. Feed Reader

Using feed readers is in your best interest. All of the aforementioned blogs and news sites you would like to read on a regular basis all come right to you in one place as they are updated.

There is really no more convenient way to get up to the minute news and articles about the things you are interested in. You can organize them, bookmark posts to read later, and skim through headlines with the greatest of ease. The feed reader is one of the greatest time savers that I know of. There are plenty out there to choose from. I use Google Reader, which is even more convenient to someone that already has a Google account.

5. Online Communities

When I say online communities, I’m referring to both social networks and forums (which are really the original social networks as far as I’m concerned). Not only are they great places to network, you can simply read what others are talking about and get a feel for current trends and concerns regarding your niche.

You can help others or receive help from them. Best of all, you can stay “in the know”.

When you have downtime, try these things if you aren’t already. They are good ways to help you achieve and maintain some level of expert status in your field. At the very least, it’s more productive than playing solitaire.

Places to leave your stamp offline?

Obviously you can purchase advertising space in newspapers, magazines, radio, television, etc. But lets face it, paying for ad space can get pricey, so let’s look at a few cheaper ways to brand your business away from the computer, because shockingly, some people still don’t spend their entire day on the Internet.

Stickers

Giving your customers free bonus items such as stickers upon purchases, is an excellent way to get your brand out there in the physical world. Making the sticker-design appealing to the customer will increase the chances that they will actually use it somewhere, and wherever they stick it, your brand will be there.

This is a great opportunity to advertise your website to people that would ordinarily probably not find you online on their own. It can be just as effective for brick and mortar businesses as well, but even you guys should have websites, so I’d worry about that first if you haven’t already.

Flyers

Similar to stickers, flyers can provide a good advertising solution. However, they lack the longevity that a sticker can provide. Flyers can be torn down much easier than a sticker. You have to put them up yourself if you want them posted somewhere. If you just give them away to customers, they will most likely end up in the trash.

That said, posting them on bulletin boards, telephone poles, etc, can still attract some attention as long as they are up, and it shouldn’t be too expensive to print some up. If you already have a printer, it will cost you next to nothing. I would suggest again, including your web address or instructions on how to find you online.

Bulletin Boards

Bulletin boards are good places to post a variety of marketing materials. Not only can you post flyers, but you can post business cards, stickers (without sticking them, leaving opportunity for someone else to take them and stick them somewhere else), etc.

Lots of places have bulleting boards. The first ones that come to mind are libraries and supermarkets, but if you pay attention while you’re out and about, I bet you’ll find plenty of them.

A Live Person

You can have an employee (or yourself) stand alongside the road and do some physical promotion. I’ve seen other businesses use this approach. Often times, they will be wearing funny costumes and holding signs. While this may not be the best way to keep your dignity, sometimes business is about making sacrifices (besides, if you’re in a costume, nobody will recognize you anyway).

This can be an effective method particularly for brick and mortar business owners who have a store they can have somebody in front of or near, but I don’t see why someone running a strictly online business couldn’t go somewhere out in public and use the same strategy.

Attire

Another way to get some branding out of a live person that is a little less demeaning is letting them wear clothing with your brand on it. If you don’t want to give away t-shirts to you customers, you could at least consider giving them to your employees. Whether you require them to wear a uniform or not, a t-shirt is a t-shirt, and they may even wear them out in public on their days off. At that point, you’re not only getting free advertising, you’re getting some work from your staff off the clock!

I hate to drive a point into the ground, but again, include your web address!

Auto

Many businesses will pay ordinary people to feature advertising on their vehicles. This is something you could look into if you’re willing to put up the dough, but it would be cheaper to do it yourself.

This is another time when you are making a sacrifice, but you basically have a choice. Are you more concerned about your automobile’s appearance or having another way to attract customers? Just think about  how many people are going to see it on any given day while you are driving – to work, to the mall, to school, etc, etc, etc.

14 things you can learn from the Google story

1. Connections – human, computer, biology – are everything. Life = networks.
2. Never compromise your ideals because someone said it’s impossible, stupid, or a waste of time.
3. Do focus on changing the world, don’t focus on the money. If you provide value, the money will come.
4. Have a healthy disregard for the impossible. If someone hasn’t done it yet, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
5. Money is a problem, not a solution. Money cannot solve your problems, but your solutions can solve the money problem.
6. Value creativity, not money. View creativity as your company’s true bottom-line, or your company will stop growing and die.
7. Go against the grain. Don’t believe in other people’s visions for you, believe in your own.
8. Speed is more important than looking good. A shiny, beautiful car isn’t impressive when it gets overtaken by an old jalopy; the same applies to software.
9. Organic growth is best. Only grow as fast as you need to, don’t waste money on advertising a product you won’t want your mom to use.
10. Focus on users above all else, e.g. don’t do something that might annoy your users just to make more money, they won’t forget.
11. Never betray users’ trust, or anyone else’s.
12. Spend 20% of your time on blue-sky ideas without worrying about how they will make a profit. If it might change the world for the better, it needs to be done, even if it can’t make money.
13. Don’t make enemies of your competitors to stay driven. Be driven by your own values and mission.
14. Beat your own path through the wilderness.

Five myths about entrepreneurs

Many myths have arisen about entrepreneurs. These ideas are the result of a lack of research and understanding. As many researchers in the field have noted, the study of entrepreneurship is still emerging, and thus “folklore” will tend to prevail until it is dispelled with contemporary research findings.

Here are the five most notable myths:

Myth 1: Entrepreneurs are doers, not thinkers

Although it is true entrepreneurs tend toward action, they are also thinkers. Indeed, they are often very methodical people who plan their moves carefully. The emphasis today on the creation of clear and complete business plans is an indication that “thinking” entrepreneurs are as important as “doing” entrepreneurs.

Myth 2: Entrepreneurs are born, not made

The idea that the characteristics of entrepreneurs cannot be taught or learned, that they are innate traits one must be born with, has long been prevalent. These traits include aggressiveness, initiative, drive, a willingness to take risks, analytical ability, and skill in human relations.

Today, however, the recognition of entrepreneurship as a discipline is helping to dispel this myth. Like all disciplines, entrepreneurship has models, processes, and case studies that allow the topic to be studied and the knowledge to be acquired.

We are all born with different traits, however, no special trait exists that will make you an entrepreneur.

Myth 3: All entrepreneurs need is money

It is true that a venture needs capital to survive; it is also true that a large number of business failures occur because of a lack of adequate financing. Yet having money is not the only bulwark against failure.

Failure due to lack of proper financing often is an indicator of other problems: managerial incompetence, lack of financial understanding, poor investments, poor planning, and the like.

Many successful entrepreneurs have overcome the lack of money while establishing their ventures. To those entrepreneurs, money is a resource but never an end in itself.

If money was the sole answer then every professional athlete and every “rock star” would be an entrepreneur. Unfortunately they squander their money and never use it to develop an entrepreneurial venture because that is not where their passion lies.

Myth 4: All entrepreneurs need is luck

Being at “the right place at the right time” is always an advantage. But “luck happens when preparation meets opportunity” is an equally appropriate adage.

Prepared entrepreneurs who seize the opportunity when it arises often seem “lucky.”

They are, in fact, simply better prepared to deal with situations and turn them into successes. What appears to be luck really is preparation, determination, desire, passion, knowledge, and innovativeness. Remember you truly make your own luck.

Myth 5: Entrepreneurs are extreme risk takers or gamblers

The concept of risk is a major element in the entrepreneurial process. However, the public’s perception of the risk most entrepreneurs assume is distorted.

Although it may appear that an entrepreneur is “gambling” on a wild chance, the fact is the entrepreneur is usually working on a moderate or “calculated” risk. Most successful entrepreneurs work hard through planning and preparation to minimize the risk involved in order to better control the destiny of their vision.

Google denies staff ‘brain drain’

Google has denied there is a brain drain of talent at the firm following the departure of its communications boss to social network Facebook.

Elliot Schrage’s departure as head of global communications and public affairs is the latest in a string of senior Google staff to have quit.

Google spokesman Matt Furman said: “Elliot was a valued member of the Google team and we wish him well.”

He added: “We have a deep management pool at Google.”

The Mountain View company says it gets 1,300 resumes every day. That adds up to nearly a half a million a year from people who want to come and work at the Googleplex HQ, famed for its free gourmet lunches and on site massages.

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg clearly sees its latest recruit as something of a coup, telling staff in an email: “Hey everyone. I am writing to you from India to share the really good news that Elliot Schrage will be joining our management team.”

“This is a really important role for us and one that we’ve been trying to find the right person for a while.”

“Elliot’s role will be critical to helping us scale based on our culture that values transparency, openness and honest internal communications.”

Exodus

In the last few months those that have jumped ship to Facebook from Google include leading executives such as Sheryl Sandberg, who is now the network’s chief operating officer, following time as vice president of global sales at Google.

Other hires from Google to Facebook include Ben Ling who is now director of platform product marketing and Ethan Beard, a former director of social media and now director of business development.

Gideon Yu was previously the chief financial officer (CFO) at YouTube who left shortly after Google acquired it in 2006 and has moved to Facebook to become its CFO.

Facebook has even managed to poach a Google executive chef, Josef Desimone.

A host of other senior engineers and managers have also left in recent months. Some have gone on to start up their own companies or join other early stage ventures such as Zillow, FriendFeed, Twitter and Xobni.

Such defections are being seen by some recruiters in a partially negative light.

John Pulsipher, president of Silicon Valley recruitment firm Wollborg/Michelson, told BBC News: “It does of course not look very good for Google.”

He added: “But for a start up company it’s great. They are always going to be attracted to the big names that helped take a start up like Google to the top.

“They are seen as stars given where they came from. They are like artists who have had a hit song and are also expected to have a hit song the next time out.”

The Google of yesterday

So why has Google lost something of its cachet among the technorati workforce?

Some commentators have noted that it is no longer the firm it once was.

Far from being a search engine firm with idealistic goals to ‘do no evil’, it has morphed into a behemoth that rivals other large tech companies.

It now has 16,800 employees worldwide. And the opportunities to strike it rich have diminished. Google’s stock option package is not as tempting as it once was now that shares are trading close to $600.

Perhaps more importantly for some, Google no longer has that “anything goes” approach that most start ups possess.

Senior engineer Justin Rosenstein sent an e-mail to friends describing his new Facebook employer as “the Google of yesterday, the Microsoft of long ago”.

He wrote: “That company where large numbers of stunningly brilliant people congregate and feed off each other’s genius. That company that’s doing with 60 engineers what teams of 600 can’t pull off.”

Another ex-Googler Chris Sacca, who was head of special initiatives, wrote in an email: “In a start up it’s easy and it’s encouraged for folks to wear multiple hats. As a company gets bigger, inevitably, it begins to organise itself vertically and employees are pushed to specialise.”

Mr Pulsipher says getting in on the ground floor with Facebook makes good economic sense if the share option package is sound but he believes it’s wrong for ex employees to put down the company that helped make them a desirable hire for someone else.

“That’s a mistake. The reason they got the job at Facebook in the first place is because of the chances they got at Google and the talent they worked with. People are not an island unto themselves.”

He added: “Facebook is hot just now but everybody knows that hot can get cold.”

Google denies staff ‘brain drain’

Keywords and Content

These things are perhaps more important to the Small Business than even the larger enterprises. Where the big boys tend to already have that brand recognition, people will search specifically for their sites, but for the small business, SEO tactics are ever so important for getting found.

SEO Copywriting

When it comes to copywriting for SEO purposes, you don’t want to overdo the content. Cramming it too full of keywords can actually hurt you.

Content that is too obviously laced with keywords for keywords’ sake can be a major turn-off for a customer, and it will be hard for them to take your site seriously.

People really buy based on their emotions and decision-making. “People don’t buy with the reality, but with a fantasy.”

Tapping into those emotions is going to be a little difficult if you are to fixated on keyword cramming.

Before you look into keywords, ask yourself, “What does my product/service really offer?”

List your benefit statements. Think emotional benefits. Need ideas? Watch infomercials!

Keyphrase Research

When conducting keyphrase or keyword research, think of ways to get into your customer’s head.

It’s about reaching people at all phases of the buying cycle.

This includes the awareness, research, and purchasing phases.

• Awareness – general overarching keyphrases
• Research – reviews, blog posts, brand/features comparison
• Purchase – make/model search

Pages suggestions that you could write for your site include:

• Designer/Manufacturer info pages
• General, “how-to” info (how to choose furniture, how to buy digital camera, etc.)
• Articles
• Blog posts
• Newsletters

Happy Writing!

7 Questions to Ask When Planning a Website Redesign

As a site owner or Webmaster, at one time or another you will consider redesigning your website. Maybe it’s because you are bored, maybe it’s because your site is old and out of date, maybe it’s because users are having difficulty finding what they are looking for on your website. Whatever the reason is, at some point in your online career, you will be looking towards a website redesign of your site.

Website redesign needs to be addressed with caution. It’s not one of those things that you can just jump into and expect everything to take care of itself. If you are going to follow through with a site redesign planning is a must. Prior to planning there are a series of questions that you should ask yourself. Hence the purpose of this post.

7 Questions to Ask When Planning A Website Redesign

While there are a number of questions that you need to address, here are a few “must ask” questions when planning out your site redesign.

1. Why do I need a redesign? It may seem simple enough, but what are threasons that you are even considering redesigning your site? Take a pen and piece of paper and write down five reasons as to why you need to redesign your site. If three or more of the reasons deal with usability, that might be a strong indication that a site redesign is probably a good idea.

2. What are my goals for the site? You would be surprised at the number of site owners who have difficulty in answering this question. What is the reason for your site’s existence? Is it to provide information? Is it e-commerce based? Is to act as a portal to other websites? Prior to planning a website redesign, you’ll want to establish clear goals for your site.

3. Do I have the proper resources needed to complete the site redesign? Depending on the type of site that you have and what the goals for your site are, a website redesign may require a great deal of time, money and resources to complete.

4. How much time will it take to complete a site redesign? Planning a proper website redesign takes time in itself. A site redesign is something that you do not want to rush. You must dot all of the “i’s” and cross all of the “t’s” if you want to have a successful redesign. If you are coming up to your peak sales season, you’re probably not going to want to launch a new site that may confuse buyers. On the other hand , once you’ve completed your research and have factored in everything that needs to be addressed with your redesign, you will have a better idea of the ideal timing for the launch of your new site.

5. How will a site redesign affect my search engine rankings? Anytime you redesign your website, you run the risk of having your search engine rankings plummet. Improper use of redirects, failure to include content that is currently ranking over to the new site can have a dramatic impact on your search engine rankings. Not all companies have the sponsored budget to “buy” rankings in the search engines. Loss of organic rankings can be extremely difficult to get back. You should weigh the options of losing existing rankings through a new site redesign vs. keeping the same site and adding new features to it vs. creating a micro site to support your main site. Consider items such as site architecture, URL structure, page optimization, linking inventories and site interlinking. Drastic changes to any of these items will have an impact on your search engine rankings.

6. Ask yourself, what’s good about your existing site? What areas need improvement? Many times, Webmasters and designers have it in their heads that their site needs to be flashy and needs to feature all of the latest web design trends. Well the fact of the matter is, these sites traditionally do poorly in the search engine rankings and more importantly do not provide the best user experience. How many times have you become frustrated with a flashy homepage that makes use of Flash with a large number of images that takes forever to load the page? After the page loads, you have no idea about how to find the information that you were looking for in the first place. Or the page just takes forever to load…. Your old site may have had perfectly good navigation and now the user cannot even find a link to your sitemap. Prior to planning your redeign, jot down the positive points about your site and identify the areas that need improvement.

7. How will my visitors react to a new site? This is probably one of the most important questions that you can ask prior to planning a website redesign. Website usability should be one of the key areas of focus as you plan your redesign. Take the time to find out what your audience appreciate about the existing site. Ask them what their experience was like. Leading up to your website redesign, provide a feedback mechanism to allow your site users to comment about their site experience. Test your proposed site and test again. Planing your site redesign right the first time will save you from having to do another one in a matter on months. You site should be designed for a strong user experience that will help you achieve the goals that you have set out for your site.

Taking your time to plan out the redesign will save you time, money and resources in the long run. Asking yourself these seven questions prior to planning your website redesign will only make your redesign all that much better.