Beyond Search Engine Optimisation

A company can develop a presence on the Internet in at least seven ways. The company can use the Internet to do research, provide information, run discussion forums, provide training, carry on on-line buying and selling (i.e., e-commerce), provide on-line auctioning or exchanging, and even deliver “bits” to customers.

The company’s web page must be appealing, relevant, and current if it is to attract repeat visits. Companies should consider using the state-of-the-art graphics, sound and video.

The company must view its web page critically and ask a number of questions.

• Why would someone want to surf to our site?
• If I view the site using the equipment my customers use,
• Does the site load quickly? Or
• Is a customer likely to leave while they are waiting for graphics to load?
• What is interesting about our page?
• Why would someone want to return to our page?
• Why would someone want to advertise on our page?

Good Usability:

• Allow users to control their experience.
• Do not place excessive text inside images.
• Keep a consistent site design.
• Have clear navigation.
• Use alternative text tags with images.
• Use standards where applicable.
• Keep file sizes small.
• Have search or a link to site level search on every page. On smaller sites a link to a sitemap will work better than site level search.