WordsmithBob recommends...

Get 17 Free AdWords Cheat Sheets, MP3s, and Videos from someone with a proven track record of AdWords success.

WordsmithBob recommends...

Get GoSolo - Toll-Free Number, Virtual Office, Communication Tools

WordsmithBob recommends...

What’s Involved in a WordsmithBob Website Analysis?

I used to offer a free website analysis for existing websites. It usually took me 2 - 3 hours to complete but I thought it was a good marketing tool. However, no one seemed to appreciate what they were getting and no one acted on the information. So I realized that I had to charge people for the website analysis or website review. Then they valued it enough to act on the information.

So now I charge $300 for a website review or website analysis. While you may not care about having a website analysis done on your website, I find that people are amazed when they read one. Even when it’s about someone else’s website.

Reading a website analysis is a great opportunity to learn about what makes a successful website tick and what constitutes a bad website. In that interest, this months newsletter is a website analysis I did for a friend, Mark Komen, a business coach and TAB group facilitator.

While Mark hasn’t completely made all the recommendations I suggested, he has made quite a few of them and it has had a powerful affect on his website.

While each analysis is different depending on the website, I started Mark’s out with an HTML analysis and then moved on to content.

Enjoy reading the analysis.

Forward this to a friend

HTML and Meta Tag analysis

Home page HTML

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Kodyne Main</TITLE>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<meta name="description" content="Templates by BSN Designs">
<meta name="keywords" content="business coaching, management consulting, organizational culture, organizational culture assessment, organization development, individual development, business process development, team development, management development, leadership development, team leader develpment, team training, team process training and troubleshooting, strategic planning, strategic architecture, organizational infrastructure, small business resource, peer groups, facilitation, management consulting, situational coaching, developmental coaching, 360-degree feedback, team launches, operations management, quality methods, HR systems human resource systems">

Analysis:
First of all, at the very top of your page, you need to have a statement about your site being W3C compliant. Please put the following at the very top of your HTML on every page:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US">

This is important because Google will count against you if you have no statement of W3 compliance. It’s a simple thing but has a big impact.

Your title has no keywords in it and tells people nothing about your site. Your title is one of the most important items because it tells the search engines what they will find on your page and what it’s all about. And the title should open with a keyword unique to that page.

Unfortunately, your description is an advertisement for whoever created the template you used. Instead, it should be a powerful description of what the page is about and should be sprinkled with keywords. Not all keywords but at least one or two. This is the statement that shows up in the listing when your site comes up in Google or Yahoo or MSN. Sometimes they use the page title and sometimes the description. Either way, both are very important.

You have way too many keywords. And even worse, you have the same keywords on every page. You should never have more than 4 or 5 keywords per page and those keywords must be in the copy. Otherwise, the search engines assume you are scamming them by stuffing a bunch of keywords in your HTML that have nothing to do with your actual copy.

BIG, big hint: Every page must be treated like it is totally unique. Each page must have its own Title, Description and Keywords related to what is on that page only.

About page HTML

NumberOfImagesToRotate = 22;

// Specify the first and last part of the image tag.

FirstPart = '<img src="testimonial';
LastPart = '.gif" height="50" width="800">';

function printImage() {
var r = Math.ceil(Math.random() * NumberOfImagesToRotate);
document.write(FirstPart + r + LastPart);
}
//-->
</script>

<TITLE>About Kodyne Inc</TITLE>

Analysis:

You have Javascript at the top of your page. That means the search engine “spider” (software robots that scan and index your site for the engines) must dig through all that meaningless code before it gets to any information about your site. That’s a black mark with the SEs.

Every page must start with the same organizational structure:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en-US" xml:lang="en-US">

Same advice from the Home page applies to the title, description and keywords.

I’ll also give you another bit of advice. The javascript you have on your page actually hurts your sales. You’ve got a banner that moves around and changes messages at the top of the page. In copywriting, this is known as the “Zeigarnik effect”: the state of mental tension and unbalance caused by uncompleted tasks.

In other words, the human brain can only focus efficiently on one task at a time (regardless of what people like to believe). If your visitor is trying to read your content but there is a distracting moving and changing banner at the top of the page, their focus is drawn to both and the sales intent of the copy is diluted or lost

Do yourself a big favor and get rid of the javascript.

HTML Conclusion

I looked at the other pages and they all have the same ills. One other problem I noticed, your keywords don’t say a thing about Saint Paul or Minneapolis. All your business is local. You don’t care if someone in San Diego finds your site.

So your keywords, titles, descriptions and text on every page should mention Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities and possibly Minnesota.

Home page copy

Unfortunately, you don’t have any home page copy. Everything on the page is an image. Ergo, there is nothing for the search engines to read. That tells them that there’s nothing for their search customers to read on the page so they will give you terrible placement for that page.

Your “navigational tabs” don’t tell me anything about what I will find on the pages. I don’t know what “Individual” or “Team” or “Organization” mean. Never assume that your visitor can read your mind.

There’s no headline. How would you like this one?

If You’re Looking for “touchy-feely” Business Coaching, Perhaps You Should Visit My “competitors.”

About page copy

The first problem I see is the lack of a headline. Every page of your site should have a headline with at least one keyword exclusive to that page in it. And telling both your reader and the search spider what the benefit of reading that page is.

A headline will also draw the person’s eye to the content that is selling who you are and why they should use you. You have three seconds to get someone’s attention and convince them to read your content. Without a headline, they spend that three seconds wandering around the page trying to figure out what they should be reading. Boom, they’re gone.

The javascript statements you’ve got rolling across the top of the page are excellent. Rather than wasting them in an ignorable slide show, they should be in your text. Each of those statements should be sub-headings down the page with text under them explaining why these questions are important and what you can help them do about them.

The next problem I see is your tag line near the bottom of the page:

Our vision is to be "Your partner in developing pathways for success"

Sorry, but I have no idea what this means to me. Success has very different meanings to different people. This statement is so generic that it will not connect with anyone. It comes down to the old line, “If you try to be everything to everyone, you become nothing to no one.”

Lastly, you have a testimonial at the bottom of the page (where it’s quite likely most people won’t see it), with no name attached. Here’s the skinny on testimonials. People have seen plenty of no name or phony name testimonials before. Ergo, without a name and title and company attached, people’s BS sniffer will immediately discount your testimonial.

Contact me for an Online Marketing quote on writing powerful website copy that turns visitors into buyers
Contact me for an Online Marketing quote on effective search engine optimization that puts you ahead of your competitors

However, there is a way to get maximum benefit from a testimonial. If you attach a name and title and company name to it and put it near the top (ideally after the first paragraph), it will put a shine of believability and respectability on all the rest of the copy they read after that. Big boost.

Individual page text

It wasn’t until the last paragraph that I knew who this page was targeted to. If you want people to read your text, they have to know it’s targeted to them. CEO’s, Presidents, Managing Partners and Business Owners. How about this for a headline:

CEO’s, Presidents, Managing Partners and Business Owners Get Powerful Answers and Fast Results on Management Issues From Kodyne Business Coaching

Team page text

This is the best page I’ve seen so far. The text is brief and to the point and it’s broken up by sub-heads. However, again, I would use the questions in the javascript as sub-heads. They are much more provocative and intriguing than the stale titles you have now.

Organization page text

This page is excellent except for a few items. Again, no headline, but on this page it’s not quite as important. The opening statement could be much more effective:

We offer a variety of organization development and facilitation services.

“We” is an evil word. It’s part of the “I, Me, My Syndrome” that so many websites suffer from. The two most important questions to ask yourself whenever you write a marketing sentence are:

“So what?” and
“What’s in it for me?”

Because those are the two questions that go through the subconscious of every person that reads your site. Here’s a potential headline:

The Services Listed Below Will Help You Build Business and Build Sales. Kodyne Knows What You Are All About.

One more thing. This page should definitely have a testimonial at the top of the page. In fact, if you put one no where else, please put one at the top of this page!

Copy Conclusion

If you’d like some help fixing all of this, here is what I propose. I find it much more effective to help friends fix their sites and have them telling others how good I am at what I do than make a few quick bucks off of them

How about we get together over a cup of coffee for a couple hours and hammer out some new Titles, Descriptions and Keywords for each page? And get the HTML straightened out?

As far as the copy goes, perhaps we can trade services. As I’m sure you’ve noted, I could use a little help in the business area.

Let me know. If nothing else, you’ve got more than enough information here to give your site a big shot in the arm.

Talk to you soon,

Bob

PS Keep adding articles. Content is King. Tattoo that across the inside of your skull. If you do nothing else with your site, continue adding articles constantly, whether you write them or you pick up free articles on the web.

PSS There should be a call to action on every page. Either right at the end of your content or in a prominent box on the side. You can’t afford to assume people will go to your contact us page. Also, if people see something that strikes them, you need to make it easy for them to act on their impulse RIGHT NOW! A phone number and email link should be prominent on every page.

Check out our complete list of business marketing articles and online marketing articles!

Follow my blog!

Follow me on Twitter!

Contact me for an Online Marketing quote

Online Marketing help...

Download our FREE 38 page Online Marketing Primer to learn about the most effective online marketing methods available today. Then Contact me for an Online Marketing quote or to discuss creating a cost effective online marketing program to drive customers or clients to your website.

Premiere Vendor in the Minneapolis, Minnesota Copywriter, Copy Writer Directory at Marketingtool.com.

Member: TC Web Pros

Member: MIMA - Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association