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Have you ever tried to read a newspaper on the
Internet? It just isn't the same and statistics show
that people still prefer to read things on paper than
on the Internet. Articles meant for print don't
translate well to the Web, and the rules that apply to
writing content for the Internet are different than
those for print. What may work well in a leaflet might
not necessarily work well on your Web site.
How the Internet differs: Text on a monitor is harder to read. Most computer monitors have a resolution of 96 dpi (dots per inch). Compare that with a printout from a laser printer that has a resolution of 600 dpi, or a magazine page that can be upwards of 2400 dpi, and it's easy to understand why the text on a computer places a strain on the eyes. This causes people to skim read more, jump around the page and take in less information. You need to bear this in mind and make sure that you convey your most important messages quickly and succinctly. Words can be linked to other pages and Web objects The closest thing you're going to get to a link in a newspaper is when a story is split into two sections and you're told the story is continued on page 5. But when it comes to the Web, words and images can be linked to other web pages, photos and even videos or sounds. How you should write:
Use fewer words Because of the strain placed on readers when reading on a computer screen, you can't expect them to read a 5,000 word article. Research has shown that most readers tend to scan an article before reading. Sections of text longer than 800 words will likely turn off your audience and result in people not wanting to read what you have to say. You should condense your writing to include only the most important information. Writing successfully for the Web requires you to present only the necessary content and leave the rest out. Use headings and lists Since people tend to scan Web articles as opposed to reading them from the first word to the final word, you should make it easy for them to find what they're looking for by using headings, bold type, and lists. A list of headings included at the top of an article that link to sections further down the article make it easy for people to see what the article contains and jump to the section they want to read. Use plenty of links Linking to other sections and objects in your Web sites should be used effectively so that people can be guided intuitively to the information they need. Since linking is the primary advantage of a Web site over printed material, it should be used early and often. With your article as a starting point, your reader should be able to find more information about any and all topics discussed in the article. The best thing about links is that the user can choose which ones to follow and which ones to ignore. That allows you to refer to more information about a subject with having to include all of the information within the main article. Write with the search engines in mind Writing Web site content is a balancing act between providing interesting content and including the right keyphrases that will help you get ranked high in the search engines (see the search engine tips section of this newsletter). Make sure you include your selected keyphases in the text but not at the expense of readability. |
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Staff from InSynch Business Services Ltd. recently
had an action packed day visiting clients and
undertaking team building events as part of a “team
away day”.
The first visit was to Crackpots, an innovative new business that provides customers with the opportunity to self-design and paint crockery items. Staff members pulled names out of a hat and were given the difficult task of painting a mug that represented that person’s personality. This was highly entertaining and an excellent way to glean information on other people’s habits, likes and dislikes. After lunch, it was time for physical activity and the group of 9 were split into two, one group being sent for an hour’s quad biking and the other for a laser shooting competition. The two groups then swapped places. Both activities were held at Beiciau MADIAN Quads in Pencader (www.madianqu ads.co.uk) and much fun was had by all. The day finished with a liqueur tasting and informal team building session, the liqueurs being provided by Lysh Liqueurs, a mid Wales company that specialises in the production of home made damson gin and sloe and almond gin liqueurs. “It was an excellent way for staff to see client businesses from another viewpoint and also a good way for the staff to get to know each other. We run a team of 9 advisers who live all over the country, communicating mainly over an Intranet and through eMail, therefore the day provided an opportunity for everyone to get to know each other face-to-face”, said Anna Prytherch, Managing Director at InSynch. |
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Every month we are bringing you 2 of our top ten
search engine tips that will help you get more traffic
from the search engines.
The top ten are: 1. Choose the right keyphrases 2. Optimise every page on your Web site 3. Optimise your Page Titles and other Meta Tags 4. Optimise your Page Content 5. Undertake a reciprocal links campaign 6. Use keywords in hyperlinks, filenames and image text 7. Make sure your site is search engine friendly 8. Do not spam the Search Engines 9. Update your site regularly 10. Buy the right domain names and use them to your advantage In August we covered how to choose the right keyphrases for your Web site and how you should optimise every Web page on your site. This month we are covering tips 3 and 4. 3. Optimise your Page Title and other Meta Tags Meta Tags are hidden sections of Web site code within your Web site. There are many different Meta Tags but the main ones you should be concerned with are the Title, Keyword and Description Tags. In the early days of search engines, these tags were the main sections that search engines used to decide where to rank you in their results pages. Some Web developers still see Meta Tags as the only requirement for optimising a Web page for the search engines. These days, the keyword and description tags are largely ignored by most search engines and there are many other factors to take into consideration that we will cover in this and future newsletters. However, Title tags are still widely used by search engines and are the most important tag. All of the major search engines have 100s of different algorithms that compute where your Web page should be listed for different keyword searches. Putting your keywords within the Title description (the blue bar you will see at the top of your screen) of your pages is one of the most important search engine optimisation techniques and will help your Web site climb through the rankings and allow your visitors to remember exactly what your page is all about when they save it to their "favourites". In addition, the Title tag is nearly always used in the search engine result listings, and a good Title tag that sets out clearly what your Web site offers will help encourage the right kind of visitor. You should aim to put your most important keyword/keyphrase in once, at the front of the Title tag, and it should contain no more than eight words. You should of course tailor your Title tag on each individual page within your site to reflect the focus of that page. The other two tags, keyword and description, are less important but should still be included on every page. Some search engines and directories will not index Web sites that do not use these Meta Tags. The Keyword tag can be used to give the search engine or directory an indication of the site’s content. It should include your chosen keyphrases, separated by commas, in order of importance, and should be no longer than 20 words. The Description tag is often used in the search engine results as a description of your Web site. It is therefore your chance to sell your Web site to potential visitors. Your Meta Description tag should contain around 25 words/200 charactors and include your most important keyphrases, at the beginning of the tag. 4. Optimise your page content
It is sometimes very difficult to write content for your Web site. Not only do you need put the information that you want the visitor to see in front of them in an easy-to-read style, you also have to keep in mind the keywords or keyphrases that your page is targeting so that you can rank better within search engines. You should aim to repeat your important keyphrases 3 to 10 times with the body text of your Web site, ideally at the beginning of the first sentence of the page and then repeated towards the top of the text. This is because search engines use ‘prominence’ as a factor when deciding where Web pages rank in their results for a particular keyphase. In logical terms, a search engine will see Web pages that have the keyphrase towards the top of the page as more relevant that those that include them towards the bottom. Even the number of words on a page is important. In theory, a page with several words on it is more useful to someone than a page with 100 words on it. All search engines work slightly differently, but a good target to aim for is 500-600 words on a page. The home page of a Web site is always the most important when it comes to search engine optimisation. This is for two reasons. Firstly, because search engines always see home pages (i.e. index.htm) as more important. Secondly, for a page to rank well in the search engines, it needs to be optimised well for a particular keyphrase and also have many other quality Web sites linking to it. Other Web sites will nearly always link to your home page and therefore it is important that this page is also well optimised in order to gain the best results. |
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Do you have a burning question about IT, Web sites
or
any other area of business? We are starting a new
section in next month's newsletter where we will
provide expert advice on questions raised by our
readers.
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Dont forget to join one of the 10,000 businesses in Wales who have had a free Opportunity Wales eCommerce review! Click here to request yours!
Sincerely,
Eddy and Anna
InSynch Business Services Ltd
phone:
01654 703777
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