Recently, the requests for content management systems have escalated. Website owners are wanting to save money by updating their own websites. I understand the need to save a few dollars, but, in my opinion, unless you are a web professional, updating your own website is a bad idea. Why? Because you want to get found on the Internet. 

If you are a client of Adventures Online, your website was developed with all the (current) search engine-friendly components built in. Or maybe you are not a client, but have paid SEO professionals to work on your website.

Now you want to update your website on your own - which sounds innocent enough, but, search engine optimization (SEO) is as intricate as calculating your taxes. One change over here causes a change in an amount over there, and your overall liability picture changes.

Are you capable of doing your own taxes? Yes, if you want to come up to speed every year on the new rules and laws. But don’t you always wonder if there is some little-known rule or law that a professional would have used to reduce your tax debt?  (I used to wonder.) Is coming up to speed each year a good use of your time? And, if you have the time, shouldn’t you be working on your marketing?

Getting back to SEO… In order for you to preserve, support, and enhance the search engine-friendly components that were built into your website, you need to come up to speed with the latest SEO techniques and apply those to your updating. Is coming up to speed each year a good use of your time?

 It is in your best interest to hire a professional who has deep knowledge of SEO in order to maintain your relationship (rank and categorization) with the search engines.

When is it okay to update your own website?
When no SEO has ever been applied to your website, and you don’t care about getting found on the Internet.

It’s Fun Friday! Spring is on its way in Boston, and today we are having April showers.

A business colleague sent me a link to this video. Being from YouTube, I knew that I would enjoy it, so, I sat back and relaxed. Then I listened to the words. This rapper knows how to optimize a website for the search engines! So I had to listen again, then again. I was laughing my tail off, and, at the same time, applauding this young man’s talent - getting it right and putting it into a rap song. What a fun way to be reminded of what you need to do to get found on the Internet! Folks, this is filed under Best Practices

Watch…Listen…Enjoy…Do it again…

[Took the video out and replaced it with a link. ]
The Poetic Prophet (aka The SEO Rapper) tells us how. This is a must see!

… and Have a Great Weekend!

Now that Labor Day has passed us by, many of us will be reviewing our books, taking note of our successes thus far, maybe adjusting our plans to meet our 2007 Fiscal Year goals, and preparing our website budget for 2008.

Here’s a list of items to take a look at and include in your website budget.

• General maintenance items like:
  • Updating the copyright date on all pages
  • New/retired employees on your staff page
  • Updates to your Seminars, Workshops, and Events pages
  • Update contact information if you moved during the year
  • Testing and updating the links that you provide in your Resource/Links page
  • Updating the Sample Newsletter. The sample newsletter should be dated within the last quarter.
  • Updating Job Opportunities
  • Removing the “NEW” label next to content that has been posted for two months or longer
  • Updating your bio and company history. Oftentimes, these contain phrases like “15 years experience” and “established 10 years ago”.
• Upgrading applications that you may use. For example, Ad Management, eCommerce (shopping cart/catalogue), and Blog software packages. It is a good idea to stay current with these packages -and- it is less expensive to keep current with the newer versions than it is to take a leap from an older version. (See my previous post, Web News and Blogs Upgraded. Had I stayed current, it would have taken a lot less time.)