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10 Common Website Mistakes and How to Fix Them (HubSpot.com)

Posted by Henri Leik on July 12, 2010 — Leave a Comment

10 Common Website Mistakes and How to Fix Them.

Fri, Jun 25, 2010 by Haris Krijestorac, www.hubspot.com

[...]

1. Page Title Longer than 70 Characters

A page title is the text shown at the top of your browser window.

HTML title tag

It is also the title of a page as shown in Google search results.

page title hubspot blog

Page titles tell visitors what a page is about. Search engines and browsers may cut off your page title if it is too long. In most cases, it is good to keep your page title below 70 characters long.

From a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) perspective, it is good to keep your page titles concise. If your page title is too long, it will dilute the importance of each term in the title. This might prevent you from ranking well on any of the words in your page title.

Website Fix #1:
 Come up with a concise but keyword-rich description of your page that is under 70 characters long. Make that your page title.

2. Meta Description Longer than 150 Characters

Meta descriptions are important for drawing in visitors from search. The meta description is the text under a page title in search results. Like page titles, meta descriptions will get cut off and replaced by “…” if they are too long.

html meta tag

Website Fix #2:
Come up with a meta description of your page that adds detail to your page title, but remains under 150 characters long.

3. Page Title not Targeting Realistic Keywords

A key factor in search engine ranking is how closely the title of a page matches the user’s search terms.

Phantom EFX’s home page title (pictured below) illustrates the two common mistakes in targeting realistic keywords.

HTML page title resized 600

First, their page title is written too much like an advertisement. Users are not likely to search for the “#1″ casino game publisher. Avoid unnecessary descriptive words like this, because users don’t actually search for them.

Additionally, their company name should not be the start of their page title. The first few words in a page title are the most influential in search engine results. Your want people that don’t know about your brand to be able to find you, so using more genreal industry keywords is important.

Website Fix #3:
Think about (or look at using analytics) the words that users might searching to find you. Adjust your page title to remain readable, but match these words more closely.

4. Page Keywords Are All the Same

Each page on your website is a new opportunity to get found online. You don’t want to waste all these opportunities by reusing the same page titles or internal page keywords.

Website Fix #4:
Diversify your keywords. Think what each page has to offer uniquely, and target keywords based on that.

5. Domain Name Set to Expire Soon

Search engines favor websites that are not set to expire for a long time. Having your domain name registered for the next few years shows committment, and means your website is less likely to be spammy.

Website Fix #5:
Renew your ownership of your domain for $10-$20 per year for a good SEO boost.
[...]

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8 B2B Website Optimization Mistakes You Are Probably Making (HubSpot.com)

Posted by Henri Leik on March 26, 2010 — Leave a Comment

8 B2B Website Optimization Mistakes You Are Probably Making.

Wed, Mar 24, 2010 by Mike Volpe,  www.hubspot.com

[...]
From all of our experience, here are the mistakes people most commonly make in website optimization.

  1. No Keywords in the Home Page Title – The page title is a phrase that appears in the top bar of your browser window, and is part of each page on the web. It is one of the first things that search engines look at to determine what your web page is about. Even though we have been offering website optimization webinars since 2007, some people still need a little help here. Your page title should contain some keywords that describe your business in a generic way. Some really common mistakes we see are homepage titles that are “Home” or “Welcome” or “Company Name” – make sure you are not making that mistake and use some keywords.


  2. Optimizing for the Same Keywords on Many Pages – Each page of your website is a unique opportunity to optimize for a unique keyword phrase. So if your home page is optimized for “internet marketing” your product page should be optimized for “internet marketing software” and other pages for phrases like “marketing webinars”. Many people reuse the same keyword phrase over and over on many pages of their site, which is usually a waste of effort.


  3. No Social Media Links – The web is a social place, and people using the web want to be social, so website optimization now also means using social media. Your company should have a presence someplace in social media, and on some pages of your website you should have a way to connect with your company on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SlideShare or more. Gathering social media friends and followers is similar to gathering email opt-ins, since you can contact these social media connections in the future. Adding to your social following also helps you rank higher in some search results and will help you be successful in spreading your content far and wide around the web.


  4. No Call to Action on Homepage – Typically, the homepage of your website gets the most traffic out of all of your web pages. For this reason, it is critical to have a strong and compelling call to action on your website homepage that will attract the attention of your visitors and get them to convert into leads. Never have the opportunity to become a lead be more than one click away from your homepage.
    [...]

Read the full article at www.hubspot.com

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What Worked for B2B Marketers Last Year? (HubSpot.com)

Posted by Henri Leik on March 7, 2010 — Leave a Comment

What Worked for B2B Marketers Last Year?

February 17, 2010 by Rick Burnes  www.hubspot.com

Of all the things you did as a B2B marketer last year, what worked best?

HubSpot recently surveyed 231 B2B marketers and asked exactly that question. The results, released this week in the 2010 State of Inbound Marketing Report, are summarized in the word cloud below.

marketing worked

So that’s what worked.

What didn’t?

The word cloud below summarizes those projects.

Read the full article at www.hubspot.com

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A Call to Action for the Marketing Services Industry (HubSpot.com)

Posted by Henri Leik on March 7, 2010 — Leave a Comment

A Call to Action for the Marketing Services Industry (Part I).

February 16, 2010 by Pete Caputa  www.hubspot.com

Fail ImageThe marketing services industry is broken.

There are of thousands of marketing firms trying to position their firm as unique and better, but the results they produce for clients are rarely better or unique.

Companies are lost trying to figure out whether to start with a Web designer, SEO company, PR firm or branding expert. These different flavors of firms are competing for the same shrinking budget dollars, instead of cooperating to ensure client success.

During a time when the Internet and software have made it easier and easier for marketing to impact sales and revenue growth, agencies are failing to predict and deliver a measurable ROI.

Even now as the traditional ways of marketing and advertising are dying a rapid death, marketing and ad agencies are still trying to adapt the old methods, terminology and approaches to a much more promising and more natural inbound marketing world; a world where buyers naturally find sellers and sellers simply make it easier for buyers to find them and buy from them.

It’s time for a rebirth of this industry. There will be firms that lead us in this renaissance. There will be agencies who lead us in this revolution. We believe that these will be the truths they hold self-evident:

Digital natives are empowered.

An agency can learn the “digital world,” but chances are they’ve just adapted their old offerings to the web. If your agency hasn’t hired smart, young people and paired them with open minded senior “people” people, you’re not going to really transform your agency as fast as the market is. They should be digital natives. Even most of my friends who are in their mid-thirties are not really young enough to be called digital natives. Don’t try to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

New approaches are practiced before preached.

If your agency suffers from the cobbler’s children’s shoes scenario (where your website hasn’t been updated in 3 years, you don’t have an active blog and your Twitter account has 3 updates), drop everything. You should take the cash flow hit, work on your own business for awhile, and upgrade your experience and skills. You should be ashamed of yourself for experimenting primarily on your clients’ dimes. Prove that this stuff works or partner with someone who knows how to make it work and follow their advice. Then, get back to selling and servicing. [...]

Read the full article at www.hubspot.com

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Free Link-Building Directories to Jumpstart Your Search Engine Ranking (HubSpot.com)

Posted by Henri Leik on March 7, 2010 — Leave a Comment

Free Link-Building Directories to Jumpstart Your Search Engine Ranking.

February 11, 2010 by Rebecca Churt  www.hubspot.com

Links are the top metric by which search engines determine who you are and what you are about, and ultimately how you are ranked in search results.  In other words, links are your website’s life line. A great way to jumpstart your link-building efforts to get that online vote of trust is to submit your business to directories, which is a great way to get your small business website on the map.

Wondering how to get more inbound links to your website, and where to start?

Here’s a list of top link-building directories, which are all FREE resources to help you get started.

Blog Directories:

DoFollowBlogs.com
PlaceBlogger.com
Bloglines.com
Blogsearch.Google.com
Technorati.com
Blogged.com
BlogCatalog.com
Blogmarks.net
MyBlogLog.com
Zimbio.com

Search Engine Local Business Listings:

Yahoo.com, Google.com and Bing.com Local
Getlisted.org (to double check if you’ve been listed) [...]

Read the full article at www.hubspot.com


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What Buyers Want from Your Website (HubSpot.com)

Posted by Henri Leik on March 7, 2010 — Leave a Comment

Chart of the Week: What Buyers Want from Your Website.

February 10, 2010 by Jeanne Hopkins  www.hubspot.com

What Buyers Want

We all know our website is a key part of our marketing and lead generation strategy. But when prospects visit your site, what are they looking for? What do they want to see, and what do they consider most important? To find out, RainToday surveyed more than 200 buyers of B2B services — in companies of all sizes — to rate the importance of various elements of a service provider’s website.

The top 4 elements should come as no surprise:

  • Service descriptions (87%)
  • Description of industries served (78%)
  • Success stories / case studies (73%)
  • Professional website design and presentation (69%)

These elements are the core of most firms’ websites. If something is amiss here, it will raise major questions with buyers from the get-go. Getting these elements in place is just the price of entering the game.

However, if you want to win clients, don’t overlook the remaining six elements. Even podcasts and audio content, at the bottom of the list, were rated by 40% of decision makers as being “extremely” or “very important” when deciding to make initial contact with a service provider.

Whatever marketing you are doing, the first stop for most buyers is a visit to your website. It can either draw them in further with online resources and content, podcasts, videos, and news, or it can say the same thing as your competitors’ sites, providing a laundry list of services and a nice look, but neither helping nor hurting your chances to start or enhance a relationship. [...]

Read the full article at www.hubspot.com

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Active Business Blogs Draw 7 Times More Search Traffic (HubSpot.com)

Posted by Henri Leik on February 2, 2010 — Leave a Comment

Active Business Blogs Draw 6.9 Times More Organic Search Traffic Than Non-Bloggers.

February 01, 2010 by Lily Zhu  www.hubspot.com

Is it true that blogging results in more website visitors?

An earlier HubSpot study shows that small businesses that blog get 55% more website visitors. While the article provides a well-supported analysis of the power of blogging, harnessing that power is not as easy as it seems.

Does setting up a blog alone result in more site traffic?

A follow-up study shows that the mere act of blogging does not guarantee more site traffic. Anyone can set up a blog and leave it idle as initial excitements fade. Businesses that actively manage their blogs, however, fare much better than those without blogs.

A study of 2,168 HubSpot customers shows that businesses that published at least 5 blog articles in the last 7 days draw 6.9 times more organic search traffic and 1.12 times more referral traffic than those who don’t blog at all.

The chart conveys a clear message — active blogs are associated with and likely have an impact on site traffic. This finding coincides with common sense: out of large chunks of business-relevant content (1 post per weekday), blog readers will likely find something engaging and proceed to learn more about a company.[...]

Read the full article at www.hubspot.com

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How we ‘really’ use the Web

Posted by Henri Leik on January 20, 2010 — Leave a Comment

Steve Krug is the author of Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, he spent 20+ years as a usability consultant for clients like Apple, Bloomberg.com, Lexus.com, NPR, the International Monetary Fund, and others.

I post here an excerpt from the 2nd chapter of Steve’s book Don’t Make Me Think!:

How we ‘really’ use the Web

[...]When we’re creating sites, we act as though people are going to pore over each page, reading our finely crafted text, figuring out how we’ve organized things, and weighing their options before deciding which link to click.

What they actually do most of the time (if we’re lucky) is glance at each new page, scan some of the text, and click on the first link that catches their interest or vaguely resembles the thing they’re looking for. There are usually large parts of the page that they don’t even look at.

We’re thinking “great literature” (or at least “product brochure”), while the user’s reality is much closer to “billboard going by at 60 miles an hour.”

What we design for vs. The reality

This simplistic view is much closer to reality than most of us imagine.

If you want to design effective Web pages, though, you have to learn to live with three facts about real-world Web use:

• We don’t read pages. We scan them.
• We don’t make optimal choices.
We satisfice.
• We don’t figure out how things work.
 We muddle through.

Why do we scan?

We’re usually in a hurry. Much of our Web use is motivated by the desire to save time. As a result, Web users tend to act like sharks: they have to keep moving, or they’ll die. We just don’t have the time to read any more than necessary. [...] 

Read the full chapter at www.sensible.com

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