How to Improve Site Performance? Audit, for Business’ Sake!

Nothing but quality products, 24/7 customer support, a lovely website, excellent service overall. Discriminating customers demand for the best, and that’s what your business is all about. So now you wonder, after doing everything right, how come business is not picking up? Frustrating, I know.

Basically, what you need is to reach out to more people than the usual. Make your online presence solid and felt. That said, have you checked your site lately? Start checking!

“A lovely website” needs to show brains and brawn, too, otherwise, you lose prospective customers. Perhaps, it’s time to hire a web content writer to help you.

Basic Auditing How-to

I got this image from the well-known Search Engine Watch that incidentally has written a more extensive article on this topic as well

Site checking or auditing is essential. For a website to be an effective tool in your business, keeping it should involve critical analyses, content strategy and the right people to make it work. If you already have a writer in your stable, then good. Make sure she knows or learns how to audit sites as well.

Writers mainly take care of the articles, but the misconception is that’s the only skill expected of them. A skilled one helps take care of things beyond the articles. In the web business, content means a lot of things aside from textual information.

For a start, in auditing, you need to know how your site is faring in the online world. What is its domain authority and page authority? How many backlinks and by whom? On what pages do search engines list it when a search is done, if it gets listed at all? And so on.

Next, find out its existing page status problems and technical issues. Those maybe getting in the way of good user experience, therefore, visitors leave.

Then there’s the matter of whether keywords, optimizations, web designs and layout work or not. An SEO content writer with ample knowledge of web development and design would be a prize to find.

All of the factors mentioned, your auditor needs in order to identify and analyze problem areas and consequently fix them.

To be able to do this, she has to have enough know-how, especially in using helpful software and platforms like Google Analytics, OpenSiteExplorer, SEMrush, WhiteSpark, and ScreamingFrog. She has to be able to interpret what the results mean.

But the more critical part is the analyzing, the precursor to crafting solutions.

Questions to Consider for Review

Of course, you or your current employees can do this, provided you have the time and necessary skills. You can start reviewing the contents, design and layout of your site based on some of the questions I have gathered.

Contents

1. Are the business names and logo/brand visible and clear? Where are they?

2. Is there a header image?

3. Where are the Name-Address-Phone (NAP) details in the site? Do they include emails and toll-free numbers?

4. Is there a Google map at the Contact Us page? How about at the footer?

5. Is there a working contact form in all the pages?

6. Is there a navigation menu at the top? Does the top menu have dropdowns? Is there a navigation menu at the bottom?

7. Are there pages specifically for Home, About Us / Firm Overview, Blog (if any), News, Resources, and FAQs at the navigation menu?

8. Are there pages for the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy? Are there links leading to them?

9. Are there sidebars? Does your site need them?

10. Are the images and videos posted in the site relevant and clear?

11. Are there visible social media logos around the site?

12. Do all the links redirect properly and to the right pages?

13. How many fonts are used in the site?

14. Are accreditation and/or rank seals added?

15. Are there copyright details at the bottom? If yes, are they present in all the pages?

Design Principles

1. Is there precedence (guiding-the-eye)?

   – position (where something in particular is placed), color, contrast, size (does it affect perceived order of relevance), design elements (largely based on what is added to the site and how it affects visitor’s actions)

2. How effective is the spacing?

   – line spacing (affects readability), padding (putting space between text and other elements), white space (for balance, proportion, and contrast)

3. How clear, easy and user-friendly is the navigation feature?

4. Are there breadcrumbs in all the pages, sub-headings and a sitemap?

5. How are the texts (typography) looking and working?

   – font choices (do they look good and appropriate for the site, how many used), font sizes (affects readability), spacing, line length (affects readability), color (must make sure the texts can actually be read by anyone), paragraphing (left-alignment is always suggested to avoid gaps)

6. Are things aligned in an orderly and polished manner?

7. How is the design clarity? Are the pixels creating problems?

8. Does everything match (consistency)?

   – sizes, choices, coloring, styles, elements, etcetera

9. Is the site aesthetically pleasing as well as useful?

10. How relevant, clear, appropriate and useful are the pages and contents to the site?

11. Are there unnecessary elements (music, flash, autoplay, etc.) that can be done without?

12. Are the title pages/headings easily understood and logical?

13. How informative is the FAQ page?

14. Are testimonials included in the site? How many? Do they appear real or fake?

15. Is the Call to Action clear?

    – contact forms, online customer service representative, registration feature, email address for questions and feedback, indirect action items like “learn more”

16. Is the site selling something? Does it have an SSL certificate?

17. How mobile-ready is the site?

I have given you initial ideas on how to audit your site. These are culled from research (like a Psdtuts+ article I found very useful) and my own auditing experiences. There are more to find and learn but the further research, I will leave to you. Meanwhile, your auditor must be able to work with your web developers and designers to incorporate changes.

In auditing, it’s not simply knowing what to look for. It takes a lot of common sense, an analytic mind, patience and practical approach—all of which, the writer hopefully has. If your current writer is not cut out for this, find another who is. Hire a web content writer who can.

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NOTE: I’ve been saying this for a year or so already. This was originally a guest blog that got published along with my byline. Unfortunately, the site soon became inaccessible for quite a while. It went back then I found that somebody else took my place as author. I tried every way to reach them and actually sent a message telling them to fix it, to no avail. I just checked last Friday and found the site missing again. So here it is, I thought I’d share here. It’s just fair considering that it was supposed to be a reciprocal thing. No one paid anybody and if the other party is unable to hold its part of the bargain, we have the right to take back what is ours.

Blogging Ethics: Five Ways to Keep it Proper

Call it ‘online journaling,’ ‘weblogging,’ or simply ‘blogging.’ Gone are the days it was called ‘writing in my diary,’ which we kept under lock and key, stacked away where no other person could find it. Nowadays, we write in our own journals for others to find and (gasp!) read.

Blame it on technology. Due to social media, weblogs emerged out of people’s need to be heard and seen, and to return to others the favor. It’s neo-exhibitionism and -voyeurism in a more positive context.

Everyone can now have his own blog. A web content writer like you, however, is not everyone.

Creating Your Brand

Brand awareness is the key to landing projects. You don’t just write and hope what you’ve written is good enough. “Good enough” is not good at all if it fails to capture and keep your intended clients’ attention.

Let them know that if an article is by you, it’s all about originality, credibility and quality—YOUR brand. That will definitely keep them interested in getting you especially when they outsource article writing.

Always keep that in mind when you are blogging. By now, you’ve heard of the famous line “Content is king.” Concentrate on that, make it your blogging mantra.

Meanwhile, a part of building your brand is to make sure you are doing things properly when you blog. This is important as many employers do tend to check how applicants “behave” when they don’t think the employers are looking.

They want to make sure it is really you who have written the samples sent them, if you can be trusted with company information, if you can do more than write content,…The reasons are for them to know and for you to find out, hopefully, not the hard way.

Becoming a good writer isn’t just through writing well. Half of it is practical know-how, common sense and discipline.

Blogging Ethics 101

As a blogger, there are several things you must remember and that are listed below. These are quite important, considering that as a web content writer, writing is your life and, most probably, your bread and butter. You’ll want to look as professional as possible.

1. Post more articles rather than photos and videos of yourself so that clients can have a look-see on your potential as a writer, not as a photographer, filmmaker or party animal. Not to go off-tangent here, be careful with what audio-visuals you choose to share either. Wholesome is the word.

Remember, this is the word to follow when posting stuff in your social media accounts as well. If you’re going to be unwholesome, make sure you keep your account private. Stay hidden from prying eyes.

2. Blogs are often where some share private thoughts and vent their spleen on various angsts. Well, it’s your blog so you can do that, but if you want to be taken seriously, don’t. Treat your blog as your own business, ergo, professionalism and discretion are in order.

Write less about your emotional baggages. In fact, reserve that for a more personal, more private blog.

3. Be trustworthy. Prospective clients, for instance, won’t be impressed by you dishing out dirt and trade secrets of past employers.

4. Never plagiarize. In a comment somewhere, somebody shared “…what you can do is pick up the content from that website and modify its language so that the language that appears on your blog does not match with it. So you get your content as well as escape from plagiarism.” Uh, not really.

Clueless or just plain evil, I don’t know. Changing clothes, however, does not change who you are. So plagiarism is still plagiarism, no matter how you dress it up. Any self-respecting writer will never do this and try to fool himself. If you’re worth your salt, you”ll be a decently working professional. It gives that pop-culture born phrase “Honest to blog!” a whole new meaning.

5. Don’t be a snob. Reply to comments to your posts. If others find time to read what you’ve written and comment, say even a simple “thank you.” That’s being respectful, showing appreciation and a sign of professionalism.

Don’t be afraid to read and comment on others’ posts either, although always make sure you comment wisely. That can widen your network and build up your reputation as a credible writer.

Very easy tips, really, but highly important. So keep to the right and you’ll never go wrong. You can only get better.

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Before anyone reacts violently and say we should blog what we want to blog about, let me say that first, I agree with you (as long as it’s not any kind of discrimination), and second, the target audience for this (though not strictly just for them) are web content writers. This is actually a sort of reblog of Blogging the Ethical Way.

As a guest blogging venture, the deal was the article provider would get exposure but the publisher got exclusive rights to the unique article. However, the publisher’s site has been missing for many months, so to speak, and now it’s Domain For Sale! That’s hardly fair, is it? So until they come back, this stays here.

Learn How to Blog, Dummy

“Many businesses are on the lookout for writers to join their creative teams or to outsource content writing. Whichever route you want to tread as a content writer, freelance or otherwise, you’d like to be The Chosen One, right? But how to do this is another matter.” 

Are you a budding writer? a blogging newbie? Get a blog! How to blog? Fortunately, I’ve whipped out this How to Blog guide just for you.

Special thanks to In2Town for offering to publish my article.

THE WRITING DUMMY’S GUIDE TO BLOGGING

New to blogging? A few tips to help you blog right

 

Feel free to LIKE, Tweet, Pin it, share…Just link to it or to the published article itself. If you have other stuff or tips that we can include in the list, let us know! Leave a comment below 🙂

 

Why Your Business Needs a Writer

“To be found by potential clients, you must want your business to be found—meaning, be visible by having a website, joining social media and, perhaps, advertising online—and make sure to be on top of your game.

The wanting to be found is easy enough. It’s the being on top of the game that takes a whole lot more…”

Why hire a web content writer to write for you? Because content is king! A way to the king is what you need. But how? The Starting Affiliate Business blog has lent me space for a chance to elaborate on why hiring a web content writer could be good for business…

HIRE A WEB CONTENT WRITER: THE WAY TO THE KING

How to have your business and be on top of your game

 

Feel free to LIKE, Tweet, Pin it, share…Just link to it or to the published article itself. If you have other stuff or ideas that we can include in the list, let us know! Leave a comment below 🙂

 

SEO Checklist for 2013

Very nice and informative infographic on SEO!!! Thanks, Chris Jones, for the post. Thanks, Ben Norman, for the great, detailed infographic. Thanks, Cosmotown.com for leading me there  =>

Chris Jones

We all know that the SEO landscape has changed a lot over the last year or two and with Penguin 2.0 on the horizon it may change again.

Many things that we as SEO consultants carried out as recently as last year no longer work and for the inexperienced it can be very confusing as you can be told or read on blogs conflicting stories about what you should be doing to be ranking well and gaining good levels of targeted traffic for your website.

To help make things clearer I came across this excellent infographic from Ben Norman entitled “SEO Checklist for 2013” and here it is:

By Chris Jones

Google

View original post

Business Do: Audit Your Site

“Nothing but quality products, 24/7 customer support, a lovely website, excellent service overall. Discriminating customers demand for the best, and that’s what your business is all about. So now you wonder, after doing everything right, how come business is not picking up?…Site checking or auditing is essential. For a website to be an effective tool in your business, keeping it should involve critical analyses, content strategy and the right people to make it work.”

Check out this article at SEO Wix! To get you somehow get restarted, I have gathered ample site auditing tips through research and my own experience to help you check your business site. Just click those red words below ;p

HOW TO IMPROVE SITE PERFORMANCE? AUDIT, FOR BUSINESS’ SAKE!

You know you’ve got a great business, but it’s performance is somewhat dismal. How to improve it? Site check, please!

 

Feel free to LIKE, Tweet, Pin it, share…Just link to it or to the published article itself. If you have other ideas worth mentioning, let us know! Leave a comment below 🙂

 

Website, Check…Contents…Uh, Check?

“Since information is available right there at the office, content development is done in-house. Your people know the business, they have a clear understanding of what it is about. Who better to write about your business? Therefore, you delegate a content writer for the site right from your own team.

Contents, check. How hard can writing be?”

Why do you need a web content writer for your business? Let me tell you why at DAILY SEO TIP. Glad to be writing for Ann Smarty’s blog. Means I could be doing something right 🙂

LET CONTENTS DO THE TALKING

Okay, you’ve got the foundations of your online home. Will they get you more visitors, though? Maybe it’s actually time to think about contents

 

Feel free to LIKE, Tweet, Pin it, share…Just link to it or to the published article itself. If you have other thoughts to add, let us know! Leave a comment below 🙂

 

Blogging the Ethical Way

Are you a blogging web content writer? Do you know that there are certain dos and don’ts in blogging?

“As a blogger, there are several things you must remember… These are quite important, considering that as a web content writer, writing is your life and, most probably, your bread and butter. You’ll want to look as professional as possible.”

Here is my newest published piece, a blogging web content writer’s brief lesson on the importance of brand awareness and following blogging ethics. Thanks to Techie Boom for publishing 🙂

BLOGGING ETHICS: FIVE WAYS TO KEEP IT PROPER

If you’re a web content writer who loves to blog, you might want to read this

 

Feel free to LIKE, Tweet, Pin it, share…Just link to it or to the published article itself. If you think I have left out more important points, let us know! Leave a comment below 🙂

 

Guest Blogging Articles

Good day or evening to you all!

I’ve been doing more guest blogging lately about content writing and related stuff (blogging, some web development and designing, how to hire web content writers for business and why,…). Loving it!

So far, I’ve been guest blogging through the help of MyBlogGuest, and no, I am not mentioning them just because they asked me to. When I have the time, I’ll find more guest blogging sites and write about other topics. Meanwhile, my own blog is still my priority. That said, I always make sure that I know what I am writing about, based on experience and a lot of research (to make sure I’m right and to get more ideas that I might miss). Sincerely, I want a viewer to see my article, read it, like it and learn something new, even if it’s just one thing.

So far, I have published these: Practical Tips to Hire a Web Content Writer (the first that got published through MBG),  The Five Writers You Don’t Want: Spotting the Bad Apple (seems to be one of my most-read posts), and The Web Content Writer’s Newbie Toolkit.

I have four (4) articles now to be published within the week. Four because I was not able to submit for more than a week and my writeups accumulated. I’ve got basic site auditing tips, a blogging guide for web content writers, brief lessons on brand awareness and blogging ethics, and answers on why businesses should hire web content writers. There’s one more that I’ve just posted and I’m waiting for offers, one specifically giving seven (7) reasons why it is better to hire a web content writer for business.

Will post them one by one once published. Forgive me for the shameless plug ;p

Meanwhile, I am not sure if the website I wrote for before is still there because last week, the site was nowhere to be found. If it’s already gone, I’ll see of I can post my articles from there.

So what have you been up to, guys? ;p

The Newbie Writer’s List of Must-Haves

“Tricks are for posers. Instead, focus on what resources you have and don’t have. Start with the WEB CONTENT WRITER’S NEWBIE TOOLKIT, your list of simple must-haves and could-dos that should help you prepare and hopefully land writing jobs.”

What are these? Here, let me break it down for you at GuestBlogList:

THE WEB CONTENT WRITER’S NEWBIE TOOLKIT

Listed are practical ways for any new web content writer to consider. They are simple and mostly basic, with a few more tips thrown in

Feel free to LIKE, Tweet, Pin it, share…Just link to it or to the published article itself. If you have other stuff that we can include in the list, let us know! Leave a comment below 🙂