Annatto

What is a Website Audit?

Annatto offers website audits to those looking to improve their website. It is a thorough assessment of a website with respect to content, structure, and branding. Once we evaluate a site, we can make thoughtful recommendations for enhancement based on the goals of your company. These can range from general usability and user experience to search engine optimization (SEO).

What deliverable should I expect to see?

Once we gather all of the information and recommendations, Annatto provides a comprehensive report that covers each aspect of the audit. This could include a revised site map/structure, recommendations for content strategy, ideas for stronger calls to action, etc. Within each section of the audit, you’ll see a general definition, our review, and why it is important to your website.

Below are some common items that often show up in our site audit reports. 

Site Map

A site map shows the structure of your site in flow chart format. It is a visual representation of the pages in your site and how they link together. There are often tweaks that can be made to page positioning that will aid in user experience and/or SEO. 

We assess the complete layout of the site including navigation options, section and page groupings, and on-page linking. Site map development is based on content strategy derived from brand messaging, keyword research, competitor research, industry trends, user experience, competitor analysis, local reach, and SEO. 

Visual Elements

On the surface, how does the site look? It’s important that your site reflects your brand accurately. Consistent use of fonts, colors, and other visual elements is a must. User experience is also factored in. Are the visuals supporting the flow of the site? Is navigation throughout the site intuitive for the user? 

A user-friendly and cohesive look in mobile device views is also important. If your site is not responsive to a mobile user, you are eliminating a large section of potential customers. 

Content Structure

There are ways to create and implement content so that it works effectively for your company. Focus is often lost when a site has been live for a length of time. Over months or years, more and more content is added and it can often blur lines and confuse the viewer, not to mention hinder search results. 

  • Messaging and Keywords: We look at the overall messaging of the site as well as keyword/ranking term usage in order to see how the content is working across the pages. Ranking terms are keywords or phrases that a site is ranking for in organic search results (i.e., a user typing in a search bar instead of going straight to your website). 
  • Duplicate Content: Search engines generally like to see unique content across pages. A strategy that reuses the same content several times is usually not effective.
  • Calls to Action: We assess CTA’s with respect to positioning, verbiage, and visual appeal. Who is your audience? Are you asking the right question to get the action you desire? 

Metadata

This is information that is stored “behind the scenes” in a website and gives search engines like Google important insights about the content of each page. It helps to determine whether a website is relevant enough to display in search results and also indicates what to show the viewer.

  • H1 and H2 Tags: Annatto looks at consistent H1 and H2 tags – these are header tags that are set in the back end of a site and they are important for SEO. Just because a phrase visually looks like a head or subhead to the viewer does NOT mean that it is noted as such in the back end of your site. Search engines use these tags to indicate what a page is about and how to categorize it. Improper tagging is doing your site a disservice.  
  • Titles and Descriptions: ​​Page titles and descriptions appear in search results as the page name and a summary of what the page is about. If there is no description, Google pulls a summary from the first content it can find on the page and this isn’t always accurate. Missing, too lengthy, or inaccurate titles/descriptions can result in lower click-through rates to your website from search results.

Linking Profile

A website’s linking profile is built on both outside domains that are linking to your site and links within a site (i.e., linking between pages of a site). Having outside sites link to your site shows search engines that you are trustworthy and builds authority. 

Be careful – it takes time and effort to build a solid linking strategy. It requires a company to build relationships and partners to enhance their linking strategy. Stay away from “quick fix” sites that promise links for a price. These sites do not offer legitimate value with search engines like Google as they come across as “spammy.” 

Recommendations and Action Items

All of the information included in a thorough website audit can be overwhelming. To help focus energy, we include a simple, bulleted list of recommendations and action items to tackle. Depending on the depth of changes needed, these can be prioritized or worked into several phases. 

No matter what the next steps look like for your company, you will have a practical, useable website audit document that can help keep your site in the best shape moving forward.

Think your company’s website might be due for an audit? Give us a call or send a quick email and we can help you determine if an assessment is in your best interest.

The Importance of Using Strategic Keywords on Your Website

What are keywords?

Keywords are trade-specific terms that are widely searched by consumers looking for products or services in your industry. They are the building blocks of your search engine optimization (SEO) and are therefore a necessary marketing tool.

Why are keywords important?

These words and phrases are how people find you on the internet. For example, if you were looking for a new scarf you might search “winter scarf” or “black scarf” or “soft blanket scarf” depending on the type of product you would like. If a company selling scarves has those keywords in their content, they are more likely to be listed in your search results. 

How do I know what keywords to use?

This is the tricky part. There are a lot of words (so many words!) out there and it can be a bit of a puzzle to determine what phrases will be most beneficial to your company’s SEO.

Balancing search volume and relevancy

Keywords vary in popularity so we often look at search volume as a starting point. Added to this is relevancy – it doesn’t do you any good to rank for a popular term if it doesn’t relate to what you are selling. Balancing search volume and relevancy is the first step. 

Search intent and long-tail keywords and phrases

The next thing to consider is the intent of the search. The problem with keywords is that they can often be somewhat vague. For example, if you sell space sprockets like George Jetson, you would hope to rank when someone searches for “sprockets.” But does that mean that a high percentage of those people are looking to buy your sprockets? Or are they looking for other information? And since everyone who sells sprockets wants to rank for that word, it can be a difficult one to hold on to. 

This is where subtopics or what we refer to as “long-tail keywords” can come into play. These are more specific phrases that people might search when they are further along in the buying process. They may have a lower search volume overall, but the conversion rate is higher because they are looking more specifically for what you are selling. You might search for “mid-size space ship sprockets” – this would be a better lead for Mr. Jetson because he manufactures what you are looking for. 

What is your process? How do you deliver keywords to a client?

After learning about the goals that a company has for its website, we spend some time researching a variety of possible terms. Once we have assessed each term, we present a spreadsheet detailing potential keywords based on volume and relevancy (example shown in the image below). The spreadsheet shows the term, along with minimum, maximum, and specific monthly search volumes. The minimum and maximum are average volumes for the term for any given month. The specific volume is the previous month’s search volume nationally for that term. 

The numbers that you would see are based on the number of search queries. It could be one person searching the term ten times, or ten people searching once – either way it would be a volume of ten. Annatto also highlights the keywords that we believe would have the most impact to help narrow your company’s focus. 

In addition to the broad view, we can also give key term suggestions for each particular page of your website or even work with our copywriter to produce content for your company, if needed. 

Okay, I have a list of keywords, now what?

Now that you have some words to work from, you need to use them! 

Here are some places that you should be utilizing keywords:

  1. Page Content. Make sure that the strongest choices are used throughout the content on your site. This is the main copy that is visible to the viewer.
  2. Content Headers. In addition to using keywords throughout your body content, it can also be beneficial to include them in your headers (those tagged with an H1 or H2 style, for example).
  3. Page Titles and Descriptions. This information is set in the back end of your site. When a search engine like Google displays results, this is what is shown to the viewer to give them an idea of what they will see if they click through to that page. 
  4. URL. Each page on your site has its own specific URL. It’s helpful to include keywords in this address if it makes sense within the structure of the site. 

Keep in mind that, above all, the content on a website needs to make sense and provide value to the viewer. Keywords are important, but if your information doesn’t make sense to the reader, then it’s not helping anyone (your company OR your potential customer). 

I have no idea where to start!

That’s okay! No one expects you to become an expert on SEO overnight (or ever). A good digital strategist will be able to discuss your company goals and do some research into key terms to give you guidance and an action plan.

Whether you are looking for a new website or revamping a current one to better serve you, keywords are a must. Contact us today to get started.     

We’ve Added Digital Marketing Services

Laura, Nicole, Chantelle and Lindsay are the team at Annatto

To better serve our clients, we’re growing!

In addition to design, website and strategic marketing services, we now offer digital marketing strategy including Google Analytics, Facebook and Instagram advertising, SEO and integrated email campaigns.

The newest member of our team, Laura McDade has joined us to lead results-driven digital marketing campaigns for our clients.

For the past 15 years, Laura led digital marketing efforts for large corporations such as Citigroup and Constellation, a leading energy provider of power, natural gas, and renewable energy (now an Exelon company). For the Citi Financial Retail Services division of Citigroup, she experienced success in establishing the first digital marketing program. She went on to head another inaugural digital marketing program at Constellation, when the U.S. company went from being a B2B energy provider to launching its residential program. Today, the company reports 2 million customers.

I love to get into the numbers – the analytics and the data – to see where we can improve from a business generation standpoint.

Now Laura brings her analytical gift to Annatto

We are excited to add Laura to the team! Together we can help growing businesses optimize their organic search campaigns, paid digital marketing campaigns, email marketing and more “to get customers through your door.”

Laura moved to Georgia from New York with her husband, Aaron, their children, Ian and Emma, as well as Tucker, their pug and Colby, their shepherd mix. She has a Bachelor of Science in marketing/advertising from Towson University in Towson, Maryland.

Ready to learn more about how Laura and the rest of the Annatto team can help you? Contact us for a consultation!

Considering a template-based site? Squarespace might be the answer!

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At Annatto our primary philosophy is that design matters. Design is an integral element to all forms of marketing for all types of business. Whether you are a sole proprietor, non-profit, small business or a large corporation, it’s likely that your primary marketing tool and first impression is your website. Everyone’s got one. The question is, what impression is your site making?

The two avenues we offer for developing strategic, responsive and beautiful sites are custom WordPress development or template-based sites. Today we’d like to discuss the template-based approach.

Template-based sites are best used for “brochure-style” websites. This means you are looking to provide your audience with information about your business, product, service, or program but do not need customization (i.e. client portals, sophisticated content management systems, etc.). If you are leaning towards this kind of site, we can help you determine the type of information you want to present and the goals you would like to achieve via your site.

There are many template website services to choose from, so why work with Squarespace? So many reasons! SS templates are beautifully and thoughtfully designed to incorporate cutting-edge UI/UX best practices, which means your website will have the best of the best in “form and function.” There is also peace of mind as you move forward. SS is a self-contained platform that is fully managed from top to bottom and works seamlessly. This eliminates the need to update software, plugins, or widgets; patch security vulnerabilities, or worry that changing one component might break something else. It also means there’s rarely any need to investigate or pay for third-party apps or plugins since most functionality is native to Squarespace. Finally, all Squarespace templates include a unique mobile experience that matches the overall style of the website, so content will look great on every device, every time.

We can elevate your SquareSpace website from good to great by providing the type of strategic and design-oriented thinking that only comes from experience. As members of Squarespace Circle—a community of creatives, developers, and designers who use Squarespace regularly—we have access to resources in addition to our own knowledge that can point you in the right direction, saving time and easing budget concerns.

Do you think Squarespace could be right for you? Whether the answer is yes or no, we’re here to help determine your next steps. Let’s chat and figure out your best way forward!

SquareSpace Circle

Get in Touch:

678-773-0523 / info@annattocreates.com

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