I wanted to thank Christa Miller for allowing me to start a conversation of a critique of her site. This is a new feature that I started in my E-Newsletter. The review can include tips and suggestions concerning SEO, social media, landing page optimization, or anything else that you see.
I need your help. Be sure to take a look at the site below and let us know what you find.
Christa manages ChristaMMiller.com, where she develops and manages digital forensics & law enforcement content. Please check out her site and say hi to Christa on Twitter
I am going to start with 3 initial things I noticed:
- Quality Links: The site is limited in quality links. Zero links were found on .EDU, .GOV, DMOZ, or in the Yahoo Directory. Quality, not just quantity links matter. Those are a few examples of improving quality.
- Title Tag: The title tag for the main page is “Content Creation & Strategy | Digital Forensics & Law Enforcement | Christa M. Miller”. That’s 85 characters (including spaces). I usually don’t recommend more than 80 (max). However, the good news is the important words are first. Google is picking up the description of the site, but not her name.
- No Phone number: A phone number is needed for credibility. I realize, in this modern age of social media, there are much better to connect with people. However, people still like to see a phone number. The truth is most people will probably never call it, but they like to see. I have a Google Voice number on my site. It’s very seldom used, but it is there.
Keep in mind this was just an initial look and obviously we are just scratching the surface, but that’s where you come in. I would love to know what else you found. Everything is open for discussion.
Thanks again, Christa. You are sure to get all sorts of opinions. Some may be useful and some may be out of your hands. Take bits and pieces of what will work for you and hopefully those will help your site.
Tags: crista miller, landing pages, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, site review« « Introducing Google Instant | Barcamp Nashville » »
September 14th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
Hi John and Christa,
I like Christa’s website. Looks like it’s still in its beginnings, but I like how prominent the “about” and “connect” info is… My only suggestion at first glance is to possibly rearrange the “Do the people who need you know who you are?” section to bring out the more actionable “Put your talents or products in front of your customers” idea. As I was reading through, that statement jumped out at me more than the question.
September 14th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
Since John hit on a couple search issues, I thought I’d mention a few design issues that ultimately affect your credibility.
1.) Fonts – Use a professional font package of non-standard MS fonts. It will go a long way to make your site look more polished.
2.) Graphics – What’s up with the Celtic symbols? It does not have anything to do with your industry or your customers. You’ve got to make sure that you ask yourself with every choice: Is this choice based off of my preferences or my customers. Also, don’t feel that need to add a logo or art to your site unless you really have something relevant to your business or industry.
3.) Colors – The colors are very dark and are only suited for certain tastes. Choosing colors for your site should be very similar to choosing colors for a house you are hoping to sell: keep it neutral and clean. Lighten the colors of your site to make your site appealing to a larger audience.
4.) Bio Photo – Use a professional photo in business attire and display it only on your “About Me” page. Using casual photos can quickly make a business site look like a blog. Also, unless you are a spokesperson or a model, your face should not me used to sale your services.
Good luck Christa…your work sounds fascinating! I hope these tips are helpful.
September 15th, 2010 at 11:46 am
@Ashley – I love that idea! Thank you!
@Walt – very interesting thoughts.
1) Do you have any font packages you like and would recommend?
2) The Celtic knots represent interconnectedness. Part of what I do is connecting investigative professionals to one another, so I wanted a logo to reflect that. Sounds like it may be too esoteric, though?
3) I am not a huge fan of \"clean and neutral,\" in part because I don\’t know enough about design to make my site stand out from others following similar color schemes, and in part because I simply like contrasts.
4) Did not know that about not putting a face on the main page. I\’ve seen other consultants do that and in an industry which places high value on word of mouth and trusted connections… I wanted something more personal than words.
I know that ultimately, all this points to the need for me to hire a site designer, but unfortunately I\’m still at the DIY stage, so any pointers you have for me in the interim are most welcome!
September 28th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Some things I notice off the top of my head:
1) the header link back to the homepage is nofollowed – but the links in the footer to admin sections of the site are not. Help Googlebot get through your site by nofollowing links to pages you wouldnt want a user to land on – and letting googlebot follow links to pages you DO want them to land on. I think that header “name” might be an image – if so dont worry about following it – the point is moot.
2) you can help googlebot crawl your site with a robots.txt that disallows your WordPress pages that have wp-content wp-config wp-admin in the urls. You can also ping an XML sitemap from your robots.txt to further help Googlebot find the pages they might not find on a natural crawl
3) Set up a Google Webmaster Tools account to see exactly what Google does and does not know about your site. You can also submit your XML sitemap here to help googlebot through the site. There is a Robots.txt builder within Webmaster Tools to help you complete #2 if you desire.
4) work on internal linking within the content of your site to other pages on the site. Be sure you’re using keyword phrases wherever it makes sense to the reader. The trick here is to use keyword phrases that will LET you use them as anchor text within the paragraphs. IF you’re using out of context or slightly irrelevant keywords to optimize your site – you’ll find them very hard to work into the text.
This looks like a great start – hope this was helpful!
~Carrie
September 28th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
First thing I noticed was the logo/graphics. After reading your response to Walt, I understand why you choose them, but the typical person who finds your site doesn’t know Walt, and hasn’t read your explanation of the use of the symbols.
And while they mean “interconnectedness” to you, I’m sure that there are historical or cultural references and meanings that may or may not be appropriate for their use on your site. Have you researched the origin of the designs? I would hate for your site to turn someone off because you inadvertently used a symbol that was offensive to a group of people.
And I agree with Walt that any picture, graphic, symbol, logo, etc should have relevance either to your company specifically or to your industry.
——-
Your sidebar:
I see you have included an “email” box. But to try to limit spam, you’ve displayed the following:
christa (at) christammiller dot com Remember to type two m’s in that domain name!
Your potential clients, should not have to think when they choose to contact you.
If you don’t want a hyperlink that opens an email client like Outlook, you may want to incorporate an embedded contact form to allow people to send you an email. Or do away with this form of contact totally.
——-
Most importantly:
Just by going to your homepage, I’m not quite sure what you do.
Is it Content Creation & Strategy (what strategies are you referring to?)
Do you work in Digital Forensics? Law Enforcement?
I’m confused.
I heard someone say one time that an alien from Mars should be able to figure out what you do based on your website in about 4-10 seconds and know how to contact you in that same amount of time.
——
I don’t have any specific objection to your color scheme. I think it’s okay. Overall the layout is clean and consistent from one page to the next, which (as an obsessive-compulsive-neurotic-perfectionist) I appreciate.
October 9th, 2010 at 8:32 am
@Carrie – thank you so much! Crawler bots are not something I understand particularly well, and you’ve laid out a really nice step-by-step approach. As for internal linking, I’d been thinking I didn’t have enough pages to do that… but will work on it. Thanks again.
@James, I’m not aware of any oppression symbolized by the Celtic knot, but I did find a graphic designer who has worked on a client’s graphics and seems to understand both industries. Fingers crossed!
Also appreciate the feedback on my job description, which I’d wondered about for some time (and have since changed to the more accurate “public relations & communications strategy”).
Finally, I’m not a big fan of contact forms. They seem more impersonal to me. Any suggestions on limiting spam? My Gmail account has been spoofed and that’s what I’m trying to avoid with my domain name.
Thanks again all!
October 20th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Hi Christa,
For a good form program try WuFoo.com. They have a basic level which is free and a paid level that allows more submissions. We use these with all of our sites now and its really a great feature, and very flexible.
Internal linking should be done on sites regardless of size – its what helps Google see all the pages on your site, and is good for users also. Some think that you should go BACK and add the links as you add more pages, I don’t live in that camp – and do what is best for every page and users as I build each page.
Hope this helps
~Carrie
November 30th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Christa,
my two cents
1) I too had a bit of confusion at first glance as to what you did. Your line up top says “Serving the digital forensics and investigative communities”. But, HOW do you serve them? What do you do for them? If I were a part of these communities, those would be my first questions to you. I think your statement up top should answer the “how” not the “what”.
2) I’m not a fan of the condensed font. It’s hard to read. I would go with something a bit wider. I think verdana would look nice if you want to stay on the free side.
3) I also agree that you need to state your email, phone AND have a contact form. Although you may think it’s “impersonal” remember, you are not your audience! Nowadays people want to connect in the way they feel most comfortable, and a lot of folks really love those contact forms. Don’t exclude, try to be open minded and accept that some would like the feature.
4) Your picture under “about”. It’s blurry and dark. We want to see that lovely face of yours! If you’re going to have a pic, please be sure that it is clear and bright. Adding a pic shows that you want readers to trust you, to put a face to the name. And that’s great! But when your pic is dark and blurry, it’s defeating its own purpose. Have a friend pop by and take some glamor shots (sans reflective glasses). Make that pic a bit bigger and brighter and I think it would look great.
5) Finally, I think your twitter feed should be minimized. In my humble opinion, your blog posts should shine, not share the space with your twitter feed. if you changed the date/time format, your Twitter column could be much skinner, and thus fit right under the email/phone sidebar area.
I love the new colors and the way the celtic symbol is now closer to your name. The site is looking great! Keep it up.