Pay Attention to Site Maps (blog definition)
No commentsBy Terry Leslie
Site maps are more than just a convenient list of the basic available content on any given site. Very few people use them effectively despite their importance. Site maps are part of creating a strong index, maintaining a strong site, and makes for a very user friendly site. Site maps are more than just a blip, and thus you need to put the time and energy into making sure that your website is dressed up with the best site map possible.
Your site map guides your visitors through the options available on your website via either your web features or through useful and relevant links. Your site map is also a handy way for helping along the indexing process as search engines can then spider to your website and help users find it faster. Usually located along the bottom of the page, sometimes along the side, the more up to date your site map is the easier users and search engines can determine where to go and what information or products you have available for them.
A site map is also a good tool for helping visitors seek out what they are looking for without accidentally or purposely traveling to a rival website. While many websites now have search features, your site map can be just what they need. When a user doesn’t find what they are seeking readily, many either use the back button or find another site from their original search results or they just hit the “Enter” key and launch another search from their browser. A good site map will help interfere with this process.
Search engines use site maps a way of helping them to determine what information or products can be accessed via your site. Think of a search engine like a spider with innumerable legs. When a search engine wants information, it will not only grab the information that it has already been given through indexing, but it spreads its long legs out to feel around other web pages to find out what is going on out there in the net. Your site map can be a useful tool in helping to attract a few more spider legs. Without a site map, the legs can not determine whether the links available are accessible and will often have a hard time opening the door to your web pages.
When you create your site map provide a professional look to your website by presenting your links as cleanly and accurately as possible. Don’t substitute names or create cutesy and juvenile links. Just call them what they are and remain professional. Clear, concise site maps are easy to follow and read. Use HTML site map tutorials and guidelines to help ensure that the site map you create is not only professional but will work. There is nothing more frustrating than clicking a link on a website that you wish to visit only to get an error message.
It might seem a little redundant and over simplified, but make sure that your links take your visitor to where they want to go. Have you ever clicked a link that was labeled as one thing and you ended up on an entirely different subject, web page, or website? Test your site map weblinks before you consider the job done and periodically test them over the course of time.
You want your site map to be easily located and easy to read. It is part of your website, not a disclaimer that you are trying to shove under the table. Remember that it is a map, complete with instant guides and directions to get visitors where they want to go. Your site map is not a content listing.
Make sure you link each item on the site map with a hyperlink to its own URL address. This makes sure that everything gets where it needs to be. Your site map should offer up information that helps direct and guide the visitor, rather than just offering them a title which can be left open to interpretation. Your site map is there to create a user friendly environment while inviting more traffic to check out your web pages. You are offering something valuable. You also need to help get your visitors through the site, to the check out, and hopefully your attention to detail will help bring your visitors back for more.
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Make Time For You And Improve Your Business
By Scott Lindsay
What if you could focus your energies by doing less? What if you could play a little and not feel guilty? What if all work and no play really does make Jack a dull boy?
Most online businesses start with a great amount of struggle. Most entrepreneurs understand it is often the proverbial sweat of their brow that is required if success is going to happen. There is an understanding that networking must take place, but that is often rivaled by the notion that there is a strong need to be self-reliant.
What happens, however, is the brow sweat turns into a raging river as the business owner essentially operates in a place that is often devoid of life enjoyment.
There is obviously a concerted effort to breathe life into an idea, but at some point you need to rescue your own life from slavery to the idea.
Think about all the time you spend just answering emails, the phone or questions from associates. What if you channel all of your activities to constraints in time? For example, what if you set aside very specific times you look at and respond to emails and refuse to look at emails at other times of the day. From personal experience I know emails can eat up the bulk of my day.
What if I wanted to get to the gym or read a book that will help me in business? What if I wanted to take a walk or watch a webinar? What if I wanted to have a social life apart from my business?
The truth is I can and do. So can you.
We can all make time for what we really want to do. If we have a favorite show on television we will watch it. If we really want to know what’s going on in the world we will intentionally pay attention to the news.
For some strange reason when it comes to business we often believe there is no relief from the relentless tyrant known as “Urgency”.
When you compartmentalize your schedule you will find you may have more time to do life-enhancing events that may be disassociated with your business.
By participating in life it is as if the spigot opens up to refill your passion for what you are trying to accomplish in business.
The reality is by enjoying life you can improve your business.
The ’struggle’ of business can be made less difficult by stepping away from the struggle for a period of time. By consistently facing the struggle you can no longer see how to get around the barriers you face. It’s the old, “can’t see the forest for all the trees’ idea. Back up and take a look. Once you see clearly where to go, step around the barrier and move on.
If you don’t take time away for you there will come a melting point where you will either need to take time away involuntarily or you find yourself emotionally incapable of continuing because the candle that has been burning at both ends has finally met in the middle and the flame is extinguished.
Take time for you. Consider it an investment in your company.
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Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 at 4:25 pm and is filed under internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
