I realized while writing yesterday’s post that I had gotten ahead of myself. I mentioned several days ago that I always start each company-specific web content project with two questions: 1). What is the overall purpose of the site (or “what, specifically, do you want it to accomplish?”) and 2). What keywords do you want to dominate? I then jumped right into talking about keyword research – and ignored the all-important first question.
Many apologies for putting the cart in front of the horse on that one!
Without knowing your final destination, you will have a very hard time getting there. When establishing (or revamping) your online presence, the very first step should be to define the key objective(s) of the site (i.e., gather leads, provide information, sell products, etc…). Once you know your ultimate goal, you can create a basic “blueprint” or site map to help break it down into manageable and well-organized parts. I prefer a simple 3-tier site structure that goes from general to specific, with the deeper pages (tier 3) being the most specific. I find it helpful to have this basic outline of how the finished site will look nearby before I begin doing keyword research (and DEFINITELY before I create one word of content).
Here is the general process I follow:
Identify Key Goals/Objectives → Develop Site Structure (with Key Goals/Objectives in Mind) → Conduct Keyword Research → Create Content
To illustrate, let’s assume the main goal of your site is to sell more products online. Of course, the approach taken to accomplish this particular goal will depend on a number of factors, including the complexity and sales cycle of the particular products in question. (In general, less expensive (and more “simple”) goods and services tend to have shorter, less complicated sales cycles than more complex and expensive offerings. Naturally, how you market and sell those products will vary greatly, as well). Taking a look at how your company sells its products and/or services in the offline world (if applicable) can give you a lot of insight into how this might work online, as well. In addition to your own products (or services), you will also want to consider factors such as competition, market conditions and untapped opportunities for growth when creating your master site plan.
Monday, I’ll dig a little deeper into this concept and discuss ways to create your site structure/blueprint in order to maximize its potential for long-term organic search results.
Til Next Time,
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