Web sites:  10 reasons why your web site may not be generating results

Published 2007

Web sites have become a ‘must have’ for every organisation.  Yet, ‘web schizophrenia’ is an increasingly common corporate ailment as organisations struggle to come to grips with how to integrate all the elements of a good web site - its design, its functionality and its visibility on search engines.

For the marketer, the web is often all about image. The home page must ‘zing’. The use of flash is obligatory. The images must come straight from the advertising campaign. The site must be built by a graphic designer with great creative credentials.

For the company secretary of an ASX listed company, the site is simply a repository where statutory content must be filed and accessible.  And these must be tamper-proof - so he/she thinks the answer is to file everything in PDF format.

For the IT department it is more important that the web site conform to technical specifications with security and integration key issues.  This, in many instances, has led to a culture of IT ‘control’ of the web site within an organisation.

But one point is increasingly overlooked - the site must first be found.  Unless you are a household brand (eg Telstra) or your customers transact business on your site (eg Westpac or Qantas), or you dominate your sector (eg Centrelink) the chances are that you are only attracting those who already have a relationship with you.

Probably 90% of organisations are not in these categories. Most want, and expect, their website to be a mecca for potential customers and other groups important to the growth of their business or influence.

Most are disappointed. They find themselves like a retailer that has revamped its premises, stocked it to the roof and done a great window display. The problem is that it’s in a back street in the suburbs - and no one can find it.

So why do many websites not generate traffic commensurate with the effort that has gone into them?

1. Few remember a web address

The reality is that consumers don’t remember URL’s - only 15% of online Australians go directly to a website by typing in the web address according to independent research undertaken by Galaxy Research for Network PR, publishers of PR Influences.

So the expectation, that once you have created your website people will automatically find you and come and view it, is a fallacy.  Most likely most of those coming to your website will be those who already know you, or have a relationship with you.

2. You don’t realise the importance of being search-engine friendly

Unless you are a Telstra, Qantas or Westpac, with high brand recall, you are relying on being found through search engines - Google, Yahoo etc.

For some websites as much as 85% of their traffic comes as a result of consumers finding them via search engines.

3. The design and imagery of your web site are causing problems

Your site may look great - especially the home page, but a rule of thumb is that the more imagery there is on your site the less likely it is to be found through a search engine.

That’s because search engines primarily read HTML files - and make rankings based on the content they read in these files.

If you concentrate on images over words on your home page (as many sites do) you run the risk of simply not being indexed or ranked by search engines.  Flash files are a key tool for conveying imagery; however search engine robots only read the text on flash files.

The sad fact is, that for too many organisations, the marketer has achieved the look he/she wants, but will the site be found?

4. You haven’t paid enough attention to content.

It all starts with the words!  Search engines promise to deliver people searching for a topic sites that are deemed the most relevant to their enquiry. 

Content is one of the most important factors in achieving this. Generally speaking, a content-rich site will always be ranked higher with a search engine than a site that is graphic-rich.

5. You are not using the right words.

It’s not just volume of content - it’s about using the words that the search engine knows its users are typing in that counts.

Too many marketers write web content from their own perspective. That’s wrong - content should be written around the keywords or key phrases their audiences are using.

Discovering what those keywords should be, and writing the content in a way that makes it ‘search engine friendly’ is part of a process called search engine optimisation.

6. You are not publishing your content correctly

Content that has the best chance of being ranked by a search engine such as Google needs to be published in search-engine friendly HTML code.

The heavy use of flash files (because the web designer wants to create imagery), or  PDF files (because it’s easier to load these files on your website or the company secretary is concerned about security) undermines the intent of having the site found through search engines.  The search robot will see the files, but they will not rank highly.

7. You are not publishing regularly

Most organisations produce a website, and then sit back and wait for the traffic to find it. This is a fundamental error.

You need the search robots to see that new content is constantly being added to the site; and adding new content will enable new search phrases to be incorporated in copy which in turn will be read by the search robot.  This will help in the ranking of your material.

8. You are not linked with the right external parties

Search engine robots also rank a site based on their perceived importance of your site.

The more links you have from other external sites to yours, the more important the search engine robots will perceive your site to be. 

Implementing a links program is a must - but there are rules to follow and some links are more important than others.

9. You have the wrong content management system.

A content management system (CMS) is a program to allow you to publish web pages.

Regrettably, many web sites are all but invisible to search engines because the CMS they are using isn’t designed to interface with search engines.

There are several reasons:

• Many of the CMS programs have been written and developed - for whatever reason - without being search engine compatible.
• This is compounded when web designers and developers put more focus on the look and feel of the site without really considering it from a true marketing perspective ie how is this site going to be found?
• Organisations don’t have enough experience and knowledge to specify who to select and install a CMS; and they often don’t rate search engine compatibility as a priority.

A lot has been written on this topic, but still it still happens.

10. You are not using the right expertise

Creating and running a website needs an amalgam of skills and expertise.

Too often it seems the IT Dept is given responsibility for developing or upgrading the web site. They get told to find a CMS so they focus on issues like document management, database management and web server management. Marketing perhaps is charged with the responsibility for site design and they appoint a designer who is only concerned with site aesthetics.

The end result is that initially both the needs of IT and Marketing are met. But within six months, when the expected traffic doesn’t eventuate questions are asked. Then it’s realised that an important component was missed.

Hopefully by now you appreciate that content and search optimisation are the two most commonly missing skills when web sites are created or revamped.

For most existing websites, providing they are not encumbered with a CMS that simply prevents search engines from getting access, there is a need for a continuous cycle of interdependent activities:

• Identify relevant and frequently used search words and phrases
• Write search engine-friendly web page copy to target these words and phrases
• Publish pages with search engine-friendly HTML code
• Manage a program to build, review and maintain relevant links
• Ensure you have the capability to regularly write and publish new content.

The above tasks fall under the mantle of public relations, because it is PR that has traditionally handled the publishing of corporate magazines and literature as well as writing media releases. So if content is ‘king’ for most websites you need to engage the content experts.

Note: The author of this article is a Sydney based senior independent corporate PR consultant who works exclusively with PR Managers helping them with management of the PR Department or their relationship with their PR agency. In addition he provides specialist corporate PR and communications advice where issues or change are impacting on an organisation. He also blogs regularly on PR and communications topics similar to those in this article.