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October 22, 2003
Lipstick on that Pig?
Wow. It's open season on site redesigns. What's up?
Theory: Frustration and uncertainty.
On one-hand, we want bells and whistles but can't afford them. On the other, we just want leads. Plain and simple. So as the thinking goes, why not start with the existing web site that has so far accomplished neither?
As a friend mused to me the other day, "we're gonna put a little lipstick on that pig," referring to their existing web site. Doing so would at least be far easier and cheaper than most mission critical web initiatives, like figuring out how to consolidate scattered customer data and extend it to the web.
I understand and respect the dilemma: most organizations just don't have the budgets they once had to take on the more robust web initiatives. So if you are like many others having to make do with a site redesign, then allow me to give you a couple words of advice that could go a long way. And this advice can be applied even when budgets become available.
Redesign Consideration #1: Google Rules
Not "rules" as in "rocks". But "rules" as in dominates. Google is the extraordinarily gorgeous cheerleader or football squad captain (to use heinously outdated stereotypes to make a point) who also happen to be class valedictorians. You can hate them but face it -- the world revolves around them. Pity if you think you can go on a date with them in your present state. You've got two options: be financially loaded or hit the gym.
Google likes two things. First, Google wants your content to be accurate, relevant and current. They measure your relevancy by the number of other relevant sites out there linking to you. Google cares if you're smart and popular. But, in an act of benevolence, Google loves your money too. (That's the second thing.) If you're not willing or able to focus on your content, then you're going to have to pony up through their Google AdWords program.
Redesign Consideration #2: Substance Over Form
I'll take a few arrows for this one, but form is over on the web. That's not to say that sites shouldn't be visually appealing. But too often we see sites redesigned over the same old content. No matter how good or bad you thought the old site looked, it's almost certain that it was your content that didn't give you the results you wanted the first time around. How often do you do a web search, visit a site, and say "Yowch! This looks awful" and then proceed to find exactly what you were looking for on that web site. My point: People will overlook form for substance.
Imagine putting both substance and wonderfully usable form together into a single, informative, and pleasurable experience for your site visitor. Now that's a site redesign strategy!
If you feel as though your web redesign team is obsessing about whether the new site design mockup to "too blue" think again about your content because at the end of the day, that's all that really matters.
Until next month,
Andrew Eklund
CEO
Are You The Duke?
Duke Ellington is arguably the most respected and influential jazz master from the 20th Century. He's respected both as a composer and an instrumentalist. The Duke didn't always have the most reliable musicians to work with. Even though they were masters of their instrumenets, many of his guys were strung out on booze and drugs.
What does this have to do with web marketing? Read on...
A successful internet marketing plan is only as good as it is flexible in its tactics. A sound marketing plan remains focused on overall business goals and objectives while remaining open to which tactics can be utilized to hit those targets. The plan is not the tactics. The tactics can change too readily.
Why is this important to understand? The fourth quarter is almost here. If you're like most businesses, the fourth quarter is spent doing many of the marketing projects that during last year's fourth quarter planning seemed of critical importance. A panic sets in and in order to cross certain items off our "to do" list, we deploy a bunch of tactics. Get email marketing software set up. Check. Buy keyword phrase at Google. Check. Spend ad banner budget. Got it.
Folks, without a plan, these tactics may be sitting in out in the parking lots smokin' doobie. As this hip-shot method relates to web marketing strategies, we need break free of the cycle. But how?
Quit Thinking "Project" - Two years ago, we began a strategic initiative that forced us to rethink our business model. We quit thinking in terms of discrete projects that had clear beginnings and clear endings. Aside from individual web promotions, web marketing and optimization strategies may have clear beginnings but necessarily do not have clear endings.
Take search engine positioning as a good example. A search project may begin with up-front research into your keyword positions, web page architecture, and competitors' positions. Yet, once a search initiative is launched, you've jumped onto a never-ending moving sidewalk. There's no search "project". Keywords need updating. Google changes how they list sites. New pay-per-click programs emerge. Essentially, the search world moves and you need to move with it. A surefire way to fail in a search initiative is to treat it like a project. Search engine marketing is not something you launch and leave. You launch and manage.
The same can be said for all types of web marketing tactics, from email to online advertising.
Think "Duke Ellington" - If you're company is more Mozart than The Duke, you may struggle for a while getting your internet marketing strategy to jive (that's a jazz term, baby) with your exisiting offline campaigns. Staying strategic is critically important because it's too easy to get lost in the tactics. As you plan for next year, make sure you've got a Duke at the piano, and a handle on your unruley bandmates.
Until next month,
Andrew Eklund
CEO
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