There are lots of different website statistic packages available for webmasters to use to monitor the use of their websites. But do you know what you are measuring?
There are many different ways of measuring people’s use of your website including pageviews, visitors and unique visitors. Some people only care about showing the biggest numbers to their visitors so will show a visitor count based on pageviews, but is that really how you should measure your traffic?
You shouldn’t use a stats package to show off to others on the internet – it should be used to understand your own visitors. Google Analytics is free to everyone and offers an excellent analysis of your site. Not only that, you can choose to exclude IP addresses. I would always suggest blocking your own IP address to make sure you don’t get artificially inflated figures.
Learning to use Google Analytics to your advantage can take time as there is a lot of information to take in. You need to take time to understand what the different metrics are telling you.
For example, if you have a page that has a high bounce rate*, you can deduce that either the user found what they required on that page so didn’t need to visit any more pages, or more likely the page didn’t answer their query so they just left the site.
It is then down to you to analyse your page and decide if the content is wrong, the keywords you are targeting are wrong etc.
You need to be aware that Analytics will not tell you what to do – only what is happening!
If you only use one stats package, I would suggest using Google Analytics. If you need help analysing the results, there are lots of web professionals out there who use this package everyday. All new websites that are built by SpiderServe incorporate a Google Analytics account.
*Bounce rate – people enter the website on that page and then leave without navigating away from that one page.
I agree that Flash websites can look amazing – but you need to understand what creating a website in flash means for you.
Maintenance
If you have paid a designer to create your whole site in Flash, you are going to need them to make any change, however minor that may be. Not only can this end up being expensive, the changes may not be particularly quick.
You should keep in mind that Flash is a complicated technology. You should consider if it is the right technology for your website. An (X)HTML website incorporating Flash is far more acceptable to search engine spiders, and I agree that Flash has it’s place. For example, you could use Flash for an online presentation that is more of an extra to the website.
Search Engine Spiders can’t find it!
There has been a lot of talk over the last few years about how search engine spiders have improved their ability to read Flash files. However, while this is true, Flash still presents indexing problems, and so a website built entirely in Flash, will be likely to experience SEO problems.
As the purpose of your website is to attract visitors, the lack of spidering will restrict your search engine optimisation efforts. The current mantra of SEO’s is that “content is king”. If the spiders cannot access your content because it is locked inside a Flash file, you are not realising the true potential of your website.
Do you really need Flash?
I have many bugbears with websites created entirely from Flash – even with just landing pages that have the ‘skip intro’ button as part of the flash. There are still a lot of people who don’t have flash installed, and the lack of non-flash navigation can be particularly frustrating.
I tend to find that Flash sites have been created by brilliant designers who lack the understanding of how poor implementation of the technology can create a frustrating website for it’s users.
My own opinion of Flash is that it should be used sparingly and mainly for things that are not important to show up in the search engines. I love a lot of Flash websites, but I look at them from the point of view of the user and the search engines, and I advise my clients accordingly.
Ultimately, the decision of whether to use Flash, and how much, is up to you. If you’re site is essentially a sales or lead generation site, I would advise staying away from Flash as it can slow a user’s progress through your website, and as such, may end up costing you clients.
If you have a website that is about you and your abilities, for example, a graphic designer, then Flash has it’s place.
A lot of people seem to get confused about what domain extension they should have for their website. Let’s face it, most non-webbie people seem to refer to all websites as .com – “try domain.com” someone will tell you. “Maybe it’s .uk – I can’t remember”.
When I buy a domain and I am serious about the longenvity of it, I will buy both the .com and .co.uk domains, and will redirect one to the other. This means that even if someone typed in mydomain.com, it would automatically forward to mydomain.co.uk. Those of us who work withing the internet industry, will generally know that if a .com doesn’t work, replace it with .co.uk or even .net and you will probably find the site you are looking for. Most people using the internet do not have the knowledge that we do, so the domain issue can be a problem.
So which extension should you redirect all other extentions to? Should you have a .com or a .co.uk extension?
Although the .com extension was originally created for the USA, it is now seen as a global domain. If you are targeting the UK as your main customer base, then use the .co.uk domain. It will reinforce to the search engines, the fact that you are targeting the UK market. If you are going to be a global company, then use the .com.
There is one final thing to consider. The combination of your web host location and your domain can have an impact on your search engine optimisation. If you use a non-UK web host and you use a .com domain, you may experience trouble in ranking for Google.co.uk as there is no immediate signal to the search engines that you are targeting the UK market.
In Summary, you should use your country specific extension when targeting your local market, and also when you are using non-uk hosting.
Most people I talk to think that getting to the fabled number 1 position in Google leads to untold wealth!
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case!
The web is a vastly different place to the one that existed 10 years ago, when all the big online brands made their name – there was very little competition.
Of course, if you get your site to number 1 in Google, then you have the chance to dramatically increase your sales, but it will not happen if your site is not to your customer’s tastes.
Creating a website that converts visitors to customers needs to be designed and developed with your customers in mind, while also being technically correct to please those pesky search engine spiders.
If you are serious about your website, the days of throwing up a site that your friend’s son has built for £20 are gone. There is more to a website than any one aspect – a good website that works will encompass good design, good development and a good user experience which will automatically help with your SEO process.
As a web developer, I get frustrated with Internet Explorer – every version has different bugs that affect the way the brower renders a website. It is something that the average person doesn’t think about because we try to make sure that websites look the same on all browsers.
It is made all the more frustrating because people don’t upgrade their browsers when new versions come out. I still get hits to various websites from people using Internet Explorer 5!
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting that people upgrade just to make my life easier. There is a far more sinister reason to ensure you keep your browser – whichever browser it is – up to date.
I am aiming this at Microsft’s Internet Explorer because of the many security issues they regularly have, but it applies to all browsers.
Software development is not all about adding fancy new features, it is also about identifying existing problems. Companies do not offer unlimited support on outdated products as they want to concetrate on improving the most recent browser.
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 5 was the first browser I every used back in 1999. Support continued for this version up until 2004 when Microsoft switched all support over to it’s newest browser, Internet Explorer 6. So, there are still people using a browser that has not had any security updated since 2004 – and they could be doing their internet banking online whilst giving away all of their details.
This is an extreme example, but general internet users are unaware of the security implications of not using the most up to date version of a browser, and are not aware that if they are using an old browser version, it may no longer be supported by the manufacturer and so could be at risk while surfing the internet.
The easiest way to make sure you are doing your utmost to stay secure online is make sure that you are using the most up to date version of your browser of choice.
When a company sorts out it’s own web hosting without understanding what they are purchasing, the choice can lead to problems when building the site, and can sometimes even hamper your search engine optimisation efforts.
Shared Windows servers are likely to lack a considerable amount of flexability, while Linux based servers can offer almost complete flexability. But there is much more to consider than that.
The cheapest hosts are usually based in the USA, and again, the location of the server can have an impact on your search engine result positions (SERPs). If you are targeting the UK market, you need to rank well for Google.co.uk rather than Google.com. If your domain has a .com extension and it is hosted in the USA, Google is likely to see the website as an American website and so will not rank the site in Google.co.uk. There is a way to let Google know what geographic area you are targeting, but why complicate things?
In addition, servers in the UK hosted by a UK company, are covered by UK laws. If your business requires a constant online presence, for example you have an online shop, you need to be sure that your site stays online. If you are dealing with a UK company, it is easier to find out about any problems that may be occurring.
Cheap hosts will also only offer a very basic service. To someone who doesn’t know what they need, it can seem like a good deal – until you start asking for services you didn’t know you needed. I have come across hosts that charge for each mysql database you require – and the charge £50 per database per year. If you have an ecommerce website, you will require a mysql database, and suddenly that £2 a month has drastically increased. If you expect a large amount of traffic, the bandwidth allowance is important – in the UK it tends to be the bandwith allowance that pushes the hosting cost up.
Many developers have their own favourite hosts, but most know who to steer clear of. Choosing the wrong host can result in a poorly performing website, and is likely to cost you more in the long run.
Some important things to consider when choosing your web host:
- Server technology you require – PHP, ASP, ASP.net, PERL etc
- Bandwidth allowance
- Databases
- Server location
- Flexability
- Email accounts
You wouldn’t buy a pension without consulting a professional, so why not consult a web professional before deciding on your server? At worst, you will get some different options, and at best, you will save time and money!
As a web developer, I often get people asking me to build a website and their explanation of what they want – “I want a copy of www.domain.com please”. I tend to stay away from these kind of clients, as if my client doesn’t know what they want, then I have no hope of developing a site that they will be happy with.
I have tried this once before and got my fingers severely burnt.
When I start a database driven site, I look at the full spec of the site and the database structure is decided from what the requirements of the specifications are. Telling your developer three months down the line that actually you want to be able to import data in a set structure, or providing a feed to another site that was never previously mentioned, will only serve to frustrate your developer and is likely to push the cost up, as fixes will have to be found to provide the new functionality. It will strain your client/developer relationship.
On a personal level, I also think it is good for a website owner to think about what they want their own website to do – creating a clone of someone else’s website may not provide everything you want – and a lot of what you don’t want. Besides, surfers don’t want to see replicas of the same website all over the internet – be different!
Asking a web developer to create a site that does what you want it to do requires a specification list to be drawn up. Without it you may as well ask an insurance company for a quote without providing the details of the driver and the car. A properly drawn up spec list means a developer is more likely to be able to provide a realistic quote for the work, so you are less likely to incur extra costs.
So in summary, providing your developer with a spec list means that you know what you want the finished project to be able to do, and will help to build a relationship with your developer that is built on respect.
Hosting is a real bug-bear of mine. I grew up before the advent of Microsoft, and my introduction to computers was our junior school’s one and only BBC computer, along with out Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum and my friend’s Atari! When we got our very first PC running Windows 3.1, we used Lotus instead of Office!
Microsoft changed computing and made it accessible to everyone. For that I thank them.
However, because it’s a well known name, people who don’t understand hosting will go out and buy Windows hosting because they have heard if it. While there is a need for Windows hosting, most people that are looking to host a simple website only need the less expensive Linux alternative, whether that is Ubuntu, RedHat or any other version.
The ONLY time you need a Windows server is to host sites written in ASP or ASP.NET.
Windows servers offer less flexibility to the user and requires much more upkeep due to the constant flow of security patches that need to be installed, hence you pay more.
Like Domain names, you should consult your web professional to ensure that you have the right hosting to help you achieve your goals. Just because you have heard of one server option i.e. Windows, is not a valid reason to choose it as your hosting platform.
I find that a lot of people don’t give due consideration to their domain name yet a little careful planning could boost your online presence.
It has long been known that using important keywords in your domain name can add some weight to your search engine optimisation process. However, due to spamming over recent years, the importance has diminished, but there is still some worth in having a keyword rich domain.
A word of caution though – before going out and buying keyword1-keyword2-keyword3-keyword4.com, you should try and keep the number of dashes to a maximum of 2. Lots of dashes in a domain name flags up the related website as a possible spammy site.
However, if you have a big brand already, you may get people entering your company name directly into the address box and append .com or .co.uk to it, so in that case you may be better choosing to have your company name as your domain name.
I find a good combination is to buy your company name and have it redirected to a more search engine friendly domain that includes your company name. That way you are helping to build your brand, but are also using a big keyword i.e. www.companyname-keyword1.co.uk.
However, before you all ruch out and buy new domains incorporating your brand and your major keyword, if you have a long held domain name, I would not advise changing your domain as it can have an effect on your search engine listings.
Within the last week an argument has raged about the existence of search engine optimisers and whether they are scammers or a legitimate profession.
The argument started out as a blogger decided to make a rather wild statement accusing anyone calling themselves a search engine optimisation specialist, a scammer.
The post was really quite immature in the way it was written, but the gist of it was that if website developers did their jobs properly, then search engine optimisers wouldn’t be needed. This is actually true. If every website was built following the basic principles of web design then the search engine optimisation industry wouldn’t need to exist. But not every website has been built by a professional web developer – some small business owners build their own site, and unfortunately, not all developers understand how to make a website SEO friendly.
The very fact that there are websites out there in the big wide world web that have basic errors that the website owners don’t know about means that there is a very real need for search engine optimisers – legitimate ones anyway!