Master Your Website: Cutting-Edge Strategies to Beat the Competition

Presented by:Joe Zarrett, President & Founding PartnerVerndale

It‘s Been a Long 12 Years...

VERNDAE

Old vs. NewThe Evolution of your Website

Old

Web

Site

.Co

m Static or Proprietary Content Mgmt.

Islands of Information

Limited Re-Use and Scale

New

Web

Site

.Co

m Platform Technologies

Component Based

Extensible

Achieve Form and Function

Tip #1: Pursue a Hub and Spoke ModelThe Big Ball of Clay

Old YourWebSite.Com

Content Hub

(CMS)

Mobile and Portable

Multilingual and

Microsites

CRM/Back Office

Analytics & Reporting

Email Marketing /Marketing Automation

Social Media Environments

Tip #2: Measure EverythingLather, Rinse, Repeat

The web provides a closed loop environment for marketing !

•Google Analytics is free but does need to be configured to provide optimal benefit

•With optimization it is possible to track email marketing campaigns, PPC campaigns and even offline campaigns through to conversion/exit.

•Apply the lather, rinse, and repeat principle for improving performance over time.

Search Terms and Keywords

Page Views and Popularity

Referral Source

Conversion

What to Monitor?

Development Lifecycle

1

Planning & Discovery

2

Design & Prototyping

3

Development

4

Delivery & Closing

5

Measurement , Anaylsis, Optimization

1

2

3

4

5

Planning & Discovery

Tip #3: Build with PurposePlan now or Plan Later

Your Business, Your Customers, Your Competitors.

This process begins with an analysis of your competitive environment and existing marketing and technology infrastructure.

Review baseline data and establish the criteria for evaluating your success.

Hold every decision up to the 3 pillars of any web project – Time, Cost, Scope.

Plan but be flexible. The web can create new opportunities if you listen to your customers.

Identify User Roles/Types

Identify & Review Competitors

Identify Data Sources

Develop Personas

Create Information Architecture

Findings & Deliverables

1

2

3

4

5

Wed Design &

Development

Tip #4: Effective Design ConvertsApply the Husband Principle

Design & Prototyping

The most effective design often considers utility as much as visual-appeal.

Assuming Hub & Spoke standard and measurement principles are attained, your design should evolve over time to optimize for conversion.

Enforce Standards. Pay attention to user habits. Your website might not be where most people see your content. Consider mobile, iPad, social media channels and plan accordingly.

Last but not least, if it’s not working, you can always trade it in for a new & improved model.

Consistent, Intuitive Architecture

Clear Calls to Action

Enforce Design and Brand Standards across web assets

Tips for Effective Design

1

2

3

4

5

Development

Tip #5: Live or Die by the SwordHow to Manage Risk and Build for Scale

Development

Don’t get hung up on the right technology ‘stack’.

Implementation quality is always the most important factor for a successful project.

Strive for ‘Elegant Code’

Component Based

Loosely Coupled – limited regression issue

Extensible

Taxonomy – the power or correlated content

Limited # of Page Templates

Limited Structured Content

Broken Workflow

Duplicate Content & Content Entry

Evidence of a Bad CMS build?

1

2

3

4

5

Delivery & Closing

Tip #6: Hosting & Code MattersAt least Google thinks so...

Delivery & Hosting

Don’t underestimate the importance of page load time.

Good code and good infrastructure can improve your search engine ranking.

Good code and hosting practices support improved SEO, accessibility and cross-browser and cross-platform functionality.

Don’t lose Page Rank value. 301 vs. 302 and 404 –what does it all mean?

Google Webmaster Tools

Yahoo!’s Yslow

Tools for Improving Site Performance

1

2

3

4

5

Bonus Slides

Tip #7: Make the Most of Social MediaBountiful Garden or Pile of Dirt?

Put your content where the people are. How to leverage this channel.

•With the right combination of automation tools and social media connectors, the content distribution process can be streamlined.

•The winning no-fuss content distribution formula:

•Publish Blog Content

•Distribute to social media outlets

•Consolidate and push via email marketing.

Social Oomph

Tweetie

LinkedIn Twitter Integration

Social Media Automation Tools

Tip #8: Make the Most of Search Engine OptimizationMake your presence known.

Consider the SEO impact across all your web marketing activities.

•Good SEO is only achieved after developing an effective strategy and implementing the correct measurement standards.

•Pay careful attention to new site launches.

•Don’t underestimate the value of referral links

Q&A

Verndale – www.verndale.com

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