For the Love of All Things Social Part 2: Triple “W” What?

Janel T. Downes
Jul 25, 2017 · 4 min read

All around we see website addresses, hear them or even use them, but how much do we really know about searching the internet.

Now, this is a little pet peeve of mine – it literally “crawls my skin”, when people repeat “www.” or “triple ‘w’ dot” before web addresses, most times after saying that they are giving you a website address. I have recently learned that there are reasons where this may be needed, such as preparing the listener for the actual information. This was necessary when internet addresses were first introduced, but not as much now due to the fact that much of the time, you can just start typing, the search engine almost seems to read your mind and offers you what you need.

Over the years, the use of SEO has appeared to make the constant repetition of those letters somewhat unnecessary (at least for me), especially if the website owner has taken steps to make sure that their page or pages can be found by looking up certain key words. I am sure that you are asking yourself now is, “What is this SEO she is writing about?” That is the same thing I said when I kept hearing it on a regular basis. My sage younger brothers and colleagues soon set me straight (after asking for the 300th time, LOL!).

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, which means to make changes to your website so that it is easier for search engines like Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla, etc., to understand your content, as well as accessing links from other websites. Another term which is used in conjunction with SEO is SERP (search engine results page). This is the page where multiple options based on your search parameters show up and you choose the one that looks more like what you want.

Oftentimes, there may be hits on your pages which are not followed up for reasons like: your product/service description in the web search fits what the visitor is looking for, but that item is not yours, rather an advertisement which happens to be on your page; there may be too little information given for the product/service, e.g. price, function, colour or availability; or something no information at all, but there are ways to make search results for your website more purposeful. Here are some tips which may prove to be helpful along the way.

Tip #1
Have an attractive landing page – Ask persons whose opinion you trust that will tell you the truth and not just what you want to hear the following questions:
- Does this page make you want to take another look?
- What did you identify /connect with?
- Does it invite you to keep browsing?
- Is the language easy to understand?

Tip #2
Make the user experience more comfortable – Do not overwhelm your page with copious amounts of text. When I go to a new website, I get into kiddie mode; more pictures, less text please. Use graphics or pictures as links to articles on your landing or destination page. This helps to cut down on the clutter and make it more of an appealing, clean space. Multiple landing pages or pages on the same website that can be accessed by using different methods and links, e.g. setting up different access points through: a QR code in an advertisement which is tied to the main webpage; using a photo gallery or slider with key photographs included and hyperlinked to the respective page; or a hyperlinked phrase in a blog article taking you to another article or section of the website.

Tip #3
Make it fun and easy to navigate – Be unique, be engaging, be different in a way that is relevant to your industry. Think about the impact that you would like your page to have. My colleague wrote an article on the importance of content to your relevance on line.

Tip #4
Keep it fresh! – Update your page and related blogs regularly to satisfy regular visitor traffic. A relevant topic that can easily apply to the average person will continue to draw them to your page.

Tip #5
Have a clear message and purpose for the site – Ask yourself:
- Is it purely informational?
- Is it interactive?
- Will visitors be able to create users?
- Will you host video on the site?
- Will you require visitors to give sensitive information, like credit card details and social security information?

Tip #6
Use terms that anyone can understand – If your site has too much technical language, then it will prove difficult for some people who are not familiar with the wording/terminologies. This is why I am writing a series of blog articles on technology-related terms… I am one of those people. LOL!

Tip #7
The most important thing you will need to take into account is that, although not everyone knows what the technical language that you are familiar with may mean, you can teach them by trying to produce content which would appeal to the ordinary person and define the technical terms whenever you need to use them.

Now, feel free to go ahead and consult the oracle (your favourite search engine).

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