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Designing enterprise Web sites for search engine visibility has been a major thread of this column since I started writing for MediaPost several years ago (side note: I will hit my 100th column in a few months).  URL structures, redirection plans, dealing with process obstacles, and putting research up front have all been topics I’ve previously covered.  Today I am going to build on a column that I wrote almost a year ago, entitled “How Search Fits Into The Redesign Process.” To start, a list of major considerations for designing an enterprise Web site for greater search visibility is provided below. (Please read that column for more info on each of the following points):

I was recently going through a discovery process with a Fortune 500 executive who was guiding his company’s Web site redesign, and I inquired directly about the search aspects of the project. His response: “Search is not relevant to this process.” Contrary to what he was saying, search was in fact critical to the overall process; he was just clearly unaware of his company’s campaign history and investment in the search channel. In light of this response, seemingly old and worn advice is worth another spin or two around the block, especially if it will help convey the natural search value of a legacy Web presence.

In enterprise marketing, it is not a question of whether your company’s site is going to be redesigned or not, it is simply a question of when. Most companies do some kind of major redesign or tweak every two years, and if they haven’t just relaunched, they are planning for the next one. So the “when” is most often “now,” no matter where you are in the process. The important thing to remember here is that search should be a key consideration at every stage of the process, whether it is selecting a provider, setting requirements, producing comps, coding or site deployment.

So how do you fit natural search into the process? Here are a few ideas to start:

Use site language and messaging that is consistent with the user’s perception of your product or service.
For the most part, search engines are still very literal, and truly effective semantic intelligence still lies far ahead. Position content and language that reflects the way users search, in order to rank for those terms. The path to understanding this language is through linguistic and keyword research, and also by studying and knowing your target. Language and keywords impact and guide information architecture and content strategies, among other aspects.

Read your log files (and/or review analytics reports).
If you want to know what you stand to lose in a site redesign, take a look at what you are currently gaining in terms of traffic, visibility, revenue, and conversions. Are there any particular Holy Grail terms like “travel,” “shopping,” or “banking” that may be giving you a lot of traffic? See a section of a site that is referring a ton of long-tail terms? You will likely find some areas that are worth preserving.

Ensure that RIAs are both crawlable and indexable by search engines.
Rich Internet technologies that are implemented without search engines in mind can instantly render a once-thriving natural search program into total obscurity. Flash and Ajax are key tools in the design and development toolbox, but considerations must be made for search upfront.

Avoid the creation of URL canonicalization issues.
When you change phone numbers, the phone company will leave a recorded message telling the new number to the person who called your old number. This is the effect a 301 permanent redirect has on a search engine — it applies the old URL and backlinks to the new URL; the search engine is happy, and your site is happy. A canonicalization problem occurs when 302 redirects are pointed to permanently moved pages. I have seen instances where clients have gone through four or five redesigns using 302s, and a string of six-to-eight redirects points to a single page, each with its own set of inbound links. This basically makes it difficult for engines to determine the “real URL” to show in results and apply backlinks to. How do you fix it? See the next point.

Set up a redirection plan.
In just about every redesign project, at least some content is removed, and URLs go away. Help the engines and your users by using a 301 redirect to point them to the most similar page on your site, or the site map, home page, or custom 404 page. Spend the time to map out which URLs are going away, and where they should be pointed. And don’t sit on the plan —do it on the day or evening that a site is pushed out of production.

Don’t remove content that supports coveted rankings without assessing risks first.
One mistake I see frequently is when content is removed from a site, with no replacement content to support the valuable rankings and visibility it has previously created. Before axing existing site content, determine how difficult it would be to re-attain the ranking, the ranking’s importance in terms of traffic and revenue, or if it is your CEO’s favorite pet ranking. Then create a plan for bridging new content, or leaving it alone.

Include search as both a business and technical requirement before planning has even started.
If search is not a consideration and priority early on, then it will be 10 times harder and more expensive to try to re-engineer at the end of or after the project.

Ensure that there is a voice for search within the Web site team structure.
Having a search specialist as part of the Web design team (and implementing their recommendations) will do a lot to ensure a healthy transition in the redesign and relaunch process, in addition to the potential for growth. The list above is useless without some subjective strategy behind it. Get experienced search optimization help that is fit to your company’s unique situation, needs and goals, and make it an integral part of the redesign process.

These are just a few considerations to get you started. Feel free to add your own thoughts and considerations for redesign at the Search Insider blog.

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Rob Garner is strategy director for digital marketing company iCrossing and writes for Great Finds, the iCrossing blog. Contact him via email at rob.garner@icrossing.com,and follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robgarner.

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Designing Web Sites For Search Visibility

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Every business owner has this thought, “I know I need to be marketing my website–but how?” And then you keep hearing about article marketing, how it’s a great and simple (and cost effective!) way to bring exposure to your website, build links, increase traffic and bolster search engine ranking.

After hearing the dozenth colleague recommend it, you decide to take the plunge yourself.

Now what? What do you do, where do you start, what should you write? How do you really ‘get into’ article marketing?

A legion of questions jumps into your brain stopping you dead in your tracks.

Whenever we start a new endeavour, there’s a bit of trepidation, but if you can take a few practical steps going in the right direction that feeling of nervousness and confusion will start to fade away.

Whenever a newbie article marketer asks me how to get started, I give them these 3 simple steps:

1) Write an article.

Duh, right? You probably already figured that part out, but before you start writing keep these guidelines in mind:

*Write on your area of expertise. If you happen to sell products at your site, please don’t write specifically about the product you sell. To do that would make the article appear sales oriented, and with article marketing the articles are always educational. Write as if you were a teacher trying to help a newcomer understand your niche.

*Do you have already content that you can re-purpose into an article?

If you have a blog or helpful articles on your website, you may be able to save a little time by using the original content as a launching pad for a new article.

The idea is to *teach* your reader something, so you can look through your previous blog posts, find some that are of the “how to” variety (posts that teach folks how to do things) and then use that post as an outline for an article.

Please note: it isn’t advisable to use content from you blog or website verbatim in an article–re-work the content so that the post or articles on your website remain unique.

*Keep your articles between 450–1500 words, but ideally try to shoot for 700-800 word articles. The first parameter are word limits that most publishers will accept. The 700-800 word articles are ones that are most attractive to ezine editors because they fit nicely in most newsletters.

*After you’ve written your article, be sure to proofread it thoroughly–remember that once you submit this article it will be published on websites over which you have no control, so you want to be sure your article is free of typos and grammatical errors.

2) Find a publisher.

There are 3 main publishing avenues for article marketers–article directories, ezine editors, and announcement lists.

For your first article you may just want to do a Google search for “article directories” and choose one to submit to. You will need to register at the directory, filling out a “new author” form, and then do the various steps to activate your account.

3) Submit your article.

*Be sure that your article is in text format only before trying to copy and paste it into the online form. By having your article in text only format, it helps your article appear with the correct line spacing and formatting. If you do paste your article directly from Word (which is not text only), you may need to fiddle with the article for a while until the formatting is correct.

*Choose the appropriate category for your article. The category is determined by the topic of your article–this is one reason why it’s extremely important to write articles on the topic of your website.

*Spend time crafting a strong resource box. Wtih article marketing the resource box is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The author bio that includes a link to your website makes it possible for traffic to flow from your article to your site. That’s what you’re going for, isn’t it? More traffic!

For the most effective resource box, be sure to include these 4 items:

Your full name. A little bio info and a few of your credentials. A reason to click through to your website. A link to your website.

That wasn’t hard, was it?

They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step–this is your single step.

As you get used to submitting articles, you’ll be ready to learn more advanced techniques, but for now these basics will serve you nicely. As a beginner, the idea is simply to get comfortable with the writing and submitting process–do these 3 simple steps and you’re on your way to becoming an expert!

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Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources

Article Marketing: 3 Simple Steps for Getting Started

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As Twitter continues to grow in popularity at an alarming rate and new users are starting to come on board, it can be hard to figure out where to get started with Twitter. While it is a communication medium like email for example, it is used in an entirely different way. Twitter is more sociable and fun rather than practical and actually understanding the main concepts and principles of Twitter can take a little while.

So in this article I’d like to try and give you a beginners guide to Twitter and in doing so to give you a basic guide to what Twitter is and what Twitter does so you can more easily get involved.

In essence, Twitter is a micro-blogging service. Every Twitter user has their own little tiny “blog” that they can add messages to of up to 140 characters in length. They can also send messages of the same maximum length to other Twitter users and these messages will then appear on their recipients blog. Each of these little messages is known as a tweet.

As well as adding tweets to your blog, sending them to other people or even reading other peoples Twitter blogs, you can also “follow” any Twitter user of your choice. When you “follow” someone, their tweets then start to appear on your Twitter page. In this way you can keep up to date with what all your friends, family and business contacts are doing in one place. By simply following all your contacts and keeping an eye on your Twitter page you can see live what everyone you know is up to.

When Twitter first launched, you interacted with the service using the Twitter website but now you can interact in virtually any way possible. As examples you can access your Twitter feed live from a variety of desktop applications so you don’t have to be logged into the Twitter website. You can also send and receive tweets via text (sms) message directly on your cell phone.

Twitter is part of a movement known as “life streaming” where part of the aim is to simply reveal your actions and thoughts live as you go about your day. Initially this meant that people would add such interesting messages as “Just eating some cereal” or “Paying for gas”. These days such messages are understandably frowned upon though the more interesting tweets are welcomed.

This is a good way of not just staying in contact with people, but also learning about other people in quite a deep way. If you know what movie they’ve just watched or what they’re doing on the weekend you feel more of a part of their life. Twitter is as much about conversations and communication as just sending a practical email to someone.

The general advice for a new Twitter user would be to simply try it out and see if you like it. Some people love it, others loath it and you won’t know until you try it. Just sign up for a free account, find your friends and “follow” them, then get involved with the conversation. When they tweet, tweet back.

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Richard Adams – For plenty more information on using Twitter for fun or profit please visit Life Streaming News

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Twitter For Beginners