When I talked with my web developer about the design of my SEO Aware site I gave her my wants:
- Dark gray to black with green
- Web and world map integrated
Guess what? I got that! I like the design; it makes me happy, but it doesn’t address the type of businesses we are targeting. My goal was a cool looking site and that wasn’t the right goal to have.
We are completely redesigning the SEO Aware site to meet our goals and we are letting go of the personal “wants”. I think it is important for businesses to distinguish between their “wants” and their “goals”.
Some Starter Questions to Help You Determine the Right Online Goals
- Which services currently make you money?
- Which other services do you want to make money with?
- Who are you targeting?
- Which demographic do you want to target specifically?
- What areas of your business must be addressed on your home page? Not what your want, but must be addressed.
- What are your online goals?
- Are your online goals reasonable?
- Do your online goals include conversion?
- Do you have an operational plan in place to convert?
I would write out the answers to these questions, review them carefully and make sure that all your information and ideas are ideal. If you take these questions and answers and then sit down with your web developer to explain your goals, they can come up with a design and usability plan that will meet these goals. Your SEO needs this information as well to create an optimization plan that can help you meet your goals.
It is much easier for developers and SEO’s to come up with effective plans if they know what the goals are. Oh, and if your developer and/or SEO are not concerned with your goals then they are not the right company/consultant. Lastly, if they recommend some tweaking of your goals I would listen to that advice.
Melissa
