Important Elements for Small Business Web Sites


The main visitors to your business pages include web bots that crawl the Internet and catalog your content. Having the right HTML source code, along with the right combination of text and graphics, is just one of the secrets to success. Proper code can mean higher robot ratings, and the "look" is just as important. Once a new prospect finds your website, you have 5 seconds to make them stay.

As a website owner for a small business, you might have asked "Why are we not getting any results?" Did you know that web pages can load and display correctly with incorrect or outdated HTML code? A browser can ignore your mistakes and display what it thinks you mean, and that might sound awesome. Web bots may not be that forgiving.

8 basic elements for good search engine placement 

That should be taken into account in designing and promoting your website. For more details on world authority code issues, visit the World Wide Web Consortium to view DOCTYPE and other quality standards.

  1. DOCTYPE declaration 
  2. Page title 
  3. Appropriate HTML code 
  4. META description 
  5. META Keywords 
  6. First paragraph of the home page 
  7. An additional page of Just LINKS 
  8. Backlinks (links to your pages)

These 8 key elements are missing or poorly designed in 85% of all websites. Some search engines only list the remaining 15% in their directories. In other words, as little as 15% of the 6 billion online web pages end up in some search engines. Worse still, there are some errors that can result in your page being blacklisted and the search engine bots may never come back to see if this is fixed. This could explain why you "never get results".

Websites can be simple and professional without using fancy software to create your pages. Experienced programmers hand over the code and many create HTML in NotePad. Web authors who choose to use flash, frames, or the latest software may lose a significant share of new visitors (customers) because the visitor may not have the technology or the latest version of browsers. If they are disabled and leave without giving your site a fair view, it could mean lost profits.

Most designers use pre-packaged software to create web pages. If the software omits any of the key elements, the code is hidden and you will never know your site has not been optimized for search engines. The designer may not know or care about these elements as long as the page looks attractive. Note: Search engine algorithms vary from company to company, so things like "extra page links" may not be as important today with some search bots. Backlinks refer to the marketing of your site and the creation of links between other websites and yours.

Finally, trade visitors want information. They don't visit your homepage for entertainment. Most have a need (problem) and want a quick response (solution), so designs should be created to minimize the use of music or video, unless that is your primary business. Anything that distracts from a positive first impression can violate my “5 second rule”.