gratitude-driven web design and development
206.271.5919 | ken@gratefulcreative.com | www.gratefulcreative.com
Overview of Web Design and Search Engine Optimization
Website: Websites range in size from 5 – 10 pages (small businesses) up to 100,000s of pages (universities,
Amazon.com, etc.). For a small business, websites provide contact information and allow a prospect to evaluate a
company. Websites may also contain a blog(s), videos, or other content, which can be very important to search engine
optimization (SEO) (below).
Search engine optimization (SEO): SEO is the technical term for activities done within and outside of a website to
improve a site’s ranking within Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines. SEO goes hand-in-hand with a goodlooking, functional site. (Put simply, what good is a beautiful site if no one sees it?) Search engines are one of the key
avenues by which prospects discover a site.
Research shows that the vast majority of prospects select one of the first three results in any given search (i.e. “General
Contractor Glenview”). As such, it is essential to undertake activities that will facilitate a business’s site being listed
within the top three results in any category.
Activities can be simple like adding proper titles to a site and posts. There are also a number of technical adjustments
that can help improve rankings. However, the most important driver of SEO is developing high-quality, regularly
updated content that is embedded within the pages of a site. High-quality, regularly updated content generates links,
the primary mechanism by which search engines evaluate the relative importance of websites.
SEO is not immediate – depending on the competitiveness of the sector and geographic location – top three rankings
can take anywhere from three to six months to realize. Furthermore, these results must be maintained by continually
investing in high-quality, regularly updated content. SEO pays dividends, but it never goes away!
Social media: Social media includes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many more. Social media is the third pillar of a small
business’s online presence (web design and SEO being the first two). Though less important than web design and SEO,
social media facilitates connections with prospects (for example, one can easily begin following / responding to Tweets
from all the realtors in Glenview that use Twitter). It is also a great way to draw attention to the high-quality content
within a website.
Pay-per-click advertising: Pay-per-click advertising enables a small business to bypass SEO and immediately achieve
visibility on the first page of search results within a given category. However, because pay-per-click ads are
distinguishable from “organic” search engine results, many prospects bypass these ads in favor of content they consider
more likely to be relevant.
www.gratefulcreative.com
web and SEO brief
May 2013
Introductory Questionnaire:
1. List the websites of three competitors within your geographic area.
2. List three websites you consider excellent examples of websites for your sector (does not have to be within your
geographic area).
3. What are your businesses main activities?
4. Who are your clients (age, income, etc.)
5. Please list the one distinguishing characteristic of your business (i.e. why should a prospect choose to work with
you).
6. List 3 – 5 demonstrations, “how-to”, articles, etc. that you think would be highly valuable to a new business in
your sector / location.
7. How much time are you able to commit every week to developing high-quality content?
www.gratefulcreative.com
web and SEO brief
May 2013