Avoid these and the cash register will start ringing.
U.S. consumers spent $1.56 billion online in 2003, up 19 percent over 2002. Yet most major American brand marketers are not getting their fair share. Some of America's biggest, most successful brand retailers can't give their products away when it comes to the Web. They're masters at marketing their products on television, radio and in print. But when it comes to their flashy, fast and friendly e-commerce Web sites, the cash registers aren't ringing.
Range Online Media provides the following list of the Top Ten reasons why:
Flashy Designs -- Graphics and Flash make your site look cool, but without text to encourage search results, customers may never even make it to your Home.
Ignoring Meta-tags -- Meta-tags are an integral part of crawler accessibility and most people don’t even know what they are. That’s a big mistake up front.
Crafty Content Terms -- Don’t use fancy words. Keep it simple or no one will find you.
Graphical Links -- Purpose: appeal. Functionality: none. Text links should be used to interrelate every page of the site, creating practical link architecture that encourages greater search returns.
No Site Map -- Beyond customer usability, site maps are essential to create a jump path to all other pages on the site so that crawlers can more accurately index the entire site, thus increasing related search returns.
Short-term Planning -- Failure to think long term and plan for changes is one of the most resource-consuming mistakes you can make. In this dynamic environment you must leave room for alterations in the initial design phase.
Content Management Packages -- Don’t block out search engine crawlers with homegrown content management systems. It’s essential to have a search-engine-friendly package.
Tracking -- Tracking users on your site is important, but many tracking methods can keep you from showing up in the search engines. Know how to track without sacrificing search engine traffic.
Optimization Overlook -- If it were easy, everyone would be #1. Be sure to speak with an expert.
Misconceptions of a Quick Fix -- There’s no such thing as a quick, easy fix for getting listed in the search engines. Be careful of your tactics or you may end up costing your company millions in the long run.
Specializing in Internet advertising and research marketing, Cheryle Pingel is a co-founder of Range Online Media along with Misty Locke. Range is a search marketing firm that develops and implements search strategies to help clients acquire customers, generate sales and build brands.