SEO vs.the creative professional
I’ve recently had the opportunity to design and manage several interesting and diverse websites. I was retained to create and brand these businesses from the ground up: my perfect projects! As a creative director, I have the expertise, talent and resources to do most of this incredibly well.
The components of the website pie include not only design (which, of course we can do), but content, integration of social media and the weird science called SEO:search engine optimization.
Nothing has been more daunting than learning the inroads of SEO. As I quickly discovered, it permeates every aspect of the web design success.
We all know it is important to have your trusted team perfected. So if part or all of your project is to design the website, read on and learn from my mistakes.
BIG STUFF I LEARNED
1. PROPOSAL 101: WITHOUT SCARING OFF YOUR CLIENTS, try to educate them right away about the time commitment and costs involved in actually getting their fabulous new website ranked by Google! I suggest mentioning this when you first meet and then put it in the proposal. Then tell them again. And right when you are midway through designing the site send them an SEO plan. Yes, you have to at least rough out that part of the plan. No TBD (to be determined); come up with a basic plan that shows components, suggestions and whatever costs you know are involved. What most clients do not realize is that “designing” the site can be the least costly part of the success of the site. Google will not recognize a new site for quite some time. Waiting for a site to get recognized organically can take months, so get the client familiar with Google Adwords, daily budgets and realistic time frames right away.
That way, if they give you a hard “no,” it won’t be a surprise when the site does not come up in the search.
2. FINDING YOUR SEO PRO –TALK TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE. You, the creative, need a great SEO vendor. Do not expect your web designer/programmer to be expert in this area, although they may have a good referral for you. There are many self-proclaimed SEO experts talking the talk, but not many walking the walk. Some are good at just one portion of it; some are larger enterprises, so you know you are going to be at the bottom of their list. SEO is not something you want to leave up to a sales rep, especially if you have a start-up with limited resources and budget. Look for someone you can work with directly. You want them to be strategic, analytic and have proven examples to back up what they say. Check their work. This person must stay current with the changes that happen, often weekly, on Google. Your SEO person must be accessible and communicate well. Ask around and around and around until you find a resource that really knows the weird science of SEO. In my experience, the teacher shows up when the student is ready.
3. COPY, CONTENT AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW – writing for an optimized site begins with finding your top keywords. You can rough out what you want to say or accomplish on each page, but before you begin writing, I’d advise working with your SEO resource to determine your top 10 keywords. These are established through marketing analysis, demographics and knowledge of your target market. It may sound like something you can do intuitively; don’t believe it. Let your SEO expert handle this esoteric process for you.
Then begins the strategy of how to set up and write titles and descriptions for each page. This is also an area that requires SEO expertise. If your clients think they can write it themselves, I’d advise walking away.
I suggest talking with your client about content from the very beginning. Fresh content is essential to a dynamic website. If you have a client that blogs, and you can show him or her how to integrate keywords, it’s a blessing! Otherwise copy writing will be an ongoing cost because Google craves fresh content.
4. DESIGN LESSON: BE WILLING TO GIVE UP SOME FORM FOR FUNCTION.
Okay, I can’t believe I wrote that, but honestly, you want your clients to have a robust and well-ranked site and you want Google on your side, so there are some things you as a designer have to give up. Like font selection, or too many images.Or placing searchable paragraphs on your beautiful landing page in areas you did not have in mind.
This is not print. And flash is not searchable. So work it out.
You’re a good designer, right? What’s the big deal about a few more obstacles? You can work around the limitations in type and complicated images by keeping it clean. Remember: you want the site to be successful. You want a happy client.
5. GET GOOGLE FAMILIAR. Google pretty much runs the show. Just so you know what you are dealing with, set up your Google tools and STUDY.
In my case, the SEO person I worked with gave me a quick tour and told me what to look at more closely. There is a ton of great information you can get about site ranking, who is looking, for how long, in what part of the world, from what browser, etc. Be prepared and willing to spend time learning what to look for. In my case, Adwords, Analytics and Webmaster Tools were all necessities.
It felt a little like college, but I dug in. I’m not a super expert yet, but I can finally say I know my way around.
There are many, many other lessons I’ve learned along the way. But thanks in part to my solid connection with a terrific SEO resource, my sites are being found and climbing the ranks. Most important? My clients are happy.
Next lesson: The latest trends in video
