Every
web designer under the sun talks about search engine optimization
(SEO), but it amazes me to see how often basic principles are ignored.
I'm in-between jobs right now, which means I'm spending a lot of time
looking at potential employers' websites. I've decided to start a
series of posts on
myths and realities that will talk about designing for maximum visibility.
I'm not going to focus on any of the underhanded tricks to fool
search engines into listing an inappropriate page. Google hates this
kind of tactic and so do I. You get visits for having good content.
Good search rankings are based on good content and the best way to
boost your content is to present your page in a way that lets both
humans and search engines find the content they want. Part one is on
website analysis and tracking.
Don't
assume that your website is easy to navigate. One of the neatest things
about the web is that we have instant feedback on use. With just a
little tracking we can see what pages people are looking at, how
they're finding our site and what they're doing once they're here.
Javascript Trackers:
My most advanced sites are currently using four different tracking
methods. Most utilize javascript "bugs," tiny snippets of code that
send individual results to an advanced software tracking system. I put
the code inside a Moveable Type "Modules Template" which is
automatically imported to all pages. Installing a new system is as easy
as cutting-and-pasting the javascript into the Template and rebuilding
the site.
AXS Visitors Tracking System
This software installs on your server but don't let that scare you: this is one of the easiest installations I've ever seen. AXS gives
you great charts of usage: you can narrow it specific pages on your
site, or even particular search engines or search phrases.
There's also a option to view the lastest traffic by visitor. I love
watching this! You can see how individuals are using the site and where
they're navigating. I've been able to identify different types of
visitors this way and understand the complexity of the audience.
It doesn't seem like AXS is not being developed anymore. The latest stable version came out over two years go, which is a shame.
HitTail
This service watches search-engine links and makes recommendations for new keywords. I wrote about this service yesterday in Blogging for the Long Tail.
Reeferss.com
This is a simple simple bit of software. Like every other tracking
system it keeps track of referrers: search engines and websites that
bring traffic to your site. But unlike the others that's all it does.
Why care then? It provides a real-time RSS feed
of these visitors. I bring the feed into my "Netvibes" page (a
customized start page, see below) and scan the results multiple times a
day.
Google Analytics
The internet's gatekeeper bought the Urchin analytics company in April
2005 and relaunched the product as Google Analytics shortly thereafter.
This is becoming an essential tracker. It's free and it's powerful,
though I haven't been as impressed by it as others have. See its Wiki page for more.
Internet Trackers:
It's easy to find out what people are saying about you online.
Technorati
This service tracks blogs but you don't need to have a blog to use it,
for Technorati will tell you where blogs are linking. Give it your URLs
(or those of your competitors!) and you'll know whenever a blogger puts
in a link to you. You can also give it keywords and find out when a
blog uses them.
Google Blog Search
Google can also let you follow blog references or keyword mentions on
the blogs. Google will also track beyond blogs of course. Type
"site:www.yourdomain.com" into the main Google search page and you'll
see who's linking to your site (or to the competition). There are lots
of other services that track blogs and mentions--Sphere, Bloglines, etc.
They all have different strengths so try them and see what you think.
Feedburner
The best RSS massager has always focused on ways to track your RSS feed.
They've recently introduced page tracking software too. It looks great
but I just installed it this week. I still have to see if it's as good
as Feedburner's other offerings.
Keeping on top of this flow of data:
It's easy to get overwhelmed by all of this information. Most of the tracking services provide RSS feeds (See The Wonders of RSS Feeds
for an intro). I use Netvibes, a customized start page, to pull these
all together into a single page that I can scan every morning. Here's a
screenshot of part of my Netvibes tracking page--the full page currently
shows fourteen tracking feeds on one screen:
So why is tracking important to SEO?
With tracking you find out what people are looking for on the
internet. This helps you create pages and services that people will
want to find. You might be surprised to see what they're already
finding on your site. Some examples:
- Analyzing one site, I noticed that few pages I thought were obscure
were bringing in high Google traffic. I looked at these pages again and
realized they did a good job of describing the company's mission. I
consequently redesigned the site homepage to feature them and I made sure that those pages contained direct links to its most important services.
- When I started work for another client I looked at their site and
suspected that they're most important articles were not being
seen--visitors had to click through about four times to get to them. Six
months of tracking confirmed my hunch and gave me the hard data to
convince the executive director that we made some small modifications
to the design. Having this strong content linked right off the homepage
helped bring in Google traffic.
The Tract Association is venerable Quaker publisher dating back to the early part of the Nineteenth Century. They had a website but wanted a new one built with a content management system that would allow for easier editing. The new site is built in WordPress. Befitting the organization's ethos, the site is relatively plain but there's a lot going on underneath the surface.
