launch your brand: domain names, wordpress as a platform, local search and website redesign revealed

LaunchCamp Boston, 2010

Search in the Website Lifecycle

Examining;– Domain Names– WordPress for Websites– Local SEO– Website Redesign

by Jim Spencer www.jbspartners.com

Hi, I’m Jim.@fairminder

on Twitter for the last 2 years, 10 months, 2 days, 21 hours

Here’s where you’ll find me.

• JBS Partners, since 2002• We are a web design & marketing firm.• Our web (.com) properties include:

–JBS Partners–Blog Wranglers–Web Page Advisor–Tweet Advisor

Why is this worth your time?

• Affirm what you need to know• Common Sense• Simple and Effective

AND…

Free chocolate when you ask questions. ;)

Overview

• Domain Name screw ups to avoid• CMS. WordPress Works for Websites• SEO is GEO. (Local)• Design Process for All: KISS

Choosing Your Domain Name is

The first Step In SEO.

What’s in an URL?

TheRapistFinder.com is Therapist Finder.

PenisLand.com is Pen Island.

WhorePresents.com is Who Represents.

You Registered What?

www.collaborativedivorce.com

www.sfmcdonoughlaw.com

Which one would you choose?

A

B

• Keep it 6 to 12 characters• Three words Maximum• No numbers or dashes• Understandable over a cell

phone• Memorable• .com is King

Domain Naming Tips

Sound legitimate

www.BrooklineFamilyLaw.com

OR

www.ivkdlaw.com

Key Word Rich Domain Tools

• www.MakeWords.com – prefix, suffix, root

• www.BustaName.com – combine keywords

• www.NameBoy.com – primary/secondary

• Bulk Domain Checker

Domain Not Available?

Know your max $$$ before making contact.

Use a broker who is not emotionally invested.

Use an escrow service (this is like real estate!)

Know what you are paying for.

The AfterMarket

Resources for AfterMarket

Moniker.com

Domain Name Registration

• Like registering a car more than buying a car

• Longer registration good idea

Keeping your Domain

• Renew 6 months before expiration• Register for 5-10 years• Like smoke detector batteries, review

regularly and keep up to date.• Buy .org, .net too• Plural, mis or alternate spellings

Retain Account Access

• Registrant – person with photo ID(not organization or co. name)

• Admin – different email address

• Tech - yet another email address

Your Domain name is a

valuable corporate asset.

Ownership

• Make certain: YOU OWN YOUR DOMAINS• Know where your website is Hosted• Know the URL of the registrar• Know the username and passwords• Where do you store Corp. info for a decade?

Choose ONE URL and stick with it

• WWW.BlogWranglers.com resolves to

http://BlogWranglers.com

• http://MPDailyFix.com resolves to WWW. MPDailyFix.com

301 Redirect. www is no longer necessary

Be Happy!Be Happy!

Benefits of your Asset

• Foundation of your web presence• Increases in Value• Build a portfolio with .org .net .us• Key words can bring traffic

Build on a Strong Foundation

WordPress

Built w/ the owner in

mind.

DIY

Over 8k plug-ins

Over 73,500,000 downloads

Drupal

Built w/ the programmer

in mind.

Hire out

Over 3k plug-ins

Over 200, 000 active sites

A Foundation to Build On

• Fundamental components are in place• Specialized functionality added via plugins• Very customizable using design Themes• Word type interface to keep content fresh• Usually simple to upgrade• Content and design are separate

Search Benefits

• The HTML and CSS code is already valid• Search Engines can easily index• Duplicate content issues are handled• Friendly URLs• Allows for alt text and tags• Pingomatic – actively notify search engines

WordPress for a Website?

Take advantage of the content management and publishing

platform of WordPress for websites, even when there is no blog.

Wordpress.org/showcase

http://wordpress.org/showcase/

From Good to Great

• Install and Customize WordPress themes• Apply Custom Design• Configure • Add Content• Optimize

Making Changes

Plugins that Work

• All in One SEO Pack• Google XML Sitemaps• Yet Another Related Posts Plugin - YARPP• Contact Form 7• Subscribe to Comments• Share This• Google Analytics for WordPress• WordPress File Monitor• Akismet

SEO

IS

GLOBAL

GO

L O C A L

SEO Best Practices

• On Page SEOKey Word ResearchMeta DataContent linkingImages

• Local SEO

Key Word Discovery

Google Keyword Tool

Google Trends

Meta Data

• Meta Title• Meta Description• Meta Key Words• Image Alt Title Attribute• Tool Tip• <address>

KWR to sell Red Baseball Hats

• Think in Themes and Parallelism– Page URL– Meta Title– Headline or Page Heading– Content– Sub Headings– Image captions

• Alt title attributes• Tool Tip

Red Baseball Caps

• www.domain.com/baseball-caps/red• Baseball cap, base ball hats, red sox, red hats• “RedSox Release new Red Baseball Cap Style”• Embroidered red baseball caps• Personalized red baseball caps• Papi sporting the latest red baseball cap

– Personalize red baseball cap worn by Papi– New red baseball cap

Meta Titles

Meta Title

Meta Title

Unique Meta Title on every pageUse Keywords to inform, be clear, compel

Internal Linking

• Keyword anchor text not “Click here” • Link to deep “Pillar” or “Evergreen”

content• Minimize # of links on a page (-25)• Link out to helpful, authoritative sites

Image Optimization

• ff-375_xl.jpg or red-baseball-cap.jpg• Include useful caption under the

image• Use descriptive alt attribute text• Consider allowing Google Image

Search in WMT

Local SEO comma formatted

• Company Name and Service,• Street,• Street Address,• City,• Province/State,• Zip code• Country• Use hCard format

Address Code sample

• <div class="lsrfcontent"> <div class="address"> <div class="org"><a class="url" href="http://www.davidmihm.com">David Mihm, Inc.</a></div> <div class="adr"> <div class="street-address">1919 NW Quimby St<Br>Suite 402</div> <span class="locality">Portland</span>, <span class="region">OR</span>&nbsp; <span class="postal-code">97209</span> <div class="tel">(503) 560-2755</div> <div class="email"><a href="mailto:davidmihm@gmail.com">davidmihm@gmail.com</a></div> </div> </div> </div>

Address Sample

LocalSearchRegistration

Fill out Each Section Available

• Consistent use of contact information• Also Include

– Photos– Videos– Service description– Coupons

www.GetListed.com

Top Directories (not just Local)

• Yahoo Directory ($300)• Business.com ($300)• Joe Ant ($40)• Your Industry Directories

Local Citations are NOT Links

• Company name and contact info on a local Charity event website

• Chamber of Commerce member listing

• Local paper or other media citation• All confirm/validate your location

Links and Citations

• Quality .gov and .edu CAN trump .com• Quantity: More quality is better than less• Review Sites: Yelp, Merchant Circle,

CitySearch, Local, Angie’s List• Distance from Centroid

• http://google.com/LBC

Design Iteration Revealed

How we got to the final design

First Mock Up

Third Mock Up

Fifth Mock Up

Seventh Mock Up

Final Design

Factors of Revision

• Use of color• Position• Spacing• Simplicity• Eye Movement• Call to Action

Launch

• Be smart about domain names• WordPress is a CMS king• Optimize your site• Be sure the design supports the

brand

THANKS

This presentation will be available at www.jbspartners.com

www.slideshare.com

I look forward to connecting with you jim@jbspartners.com

781-640-8874@fairminder