The 2 Most Common Web Site Mistakes

When we review the sites of potential clients, there are 2 mistakes we see over and over. If you are having problems with your site, make sure these 2 problems aren't killing you.

Traffic

Just because you think something is a good idea doesn't mean the general public agrees. A web site should solve a problem that is common to some part of the population. If people have a problem, they will be compelled to find an answer to it. If they don't, they are not going to visit your site for anything other than browsing. Browsing doesn't pay the bills!

Do the research on Overture or your favorite tool. If there isn't a significant amount of monthly searches for your topic, move on to another one. If you think you can both alert people to a problem and solve it, you are in for a difficult time. It can be done, but your chances of success are pretty small.

Database Parameters

If you have a database driven site, you absolutely must get control of the sub-domains. Examples of database sites include sites selling products or providing some version of a listing service such as real estate or jobs. Programmers and designers have a bad habit of putting session ids in the sub-domains. Session ids are an indication of dynamic pages, pages that are built on the fly when the domain is triggered. A dynamic domain looks something like:

http://www.your-site.com/default.cfm?sid#####LLLLaaa#####

The problem with dynamic domains concerns search engine robots. A robot is designed to recognize the meta tags and content of a page. The robot will then include the page in the search database. Robots often refuse to index dynamic pages because the robot cannot predict the content on the page. From the robot's view, the page could show different things each time it is accessed. As a result, the search engines can't list it under any particular keyword with any confidence that the content will be relevant to the search. If you have dynamic pages, most of the pages of your site will never appear in Google, Yahoo and MSN. That's a disaster.

Planning is the key to setting up a profitable e-commerce site. Make sure you are solving a known problem and set your site up to be friendly to the search engine robots.

Halstatt Pires is with http://www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing and advertising company in San Diego, California.

In The News:


Top Stories - Google News
Updated : Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:25:23 GMT+00:00

Third Pakistan Sectarian Attack in Week Kills 35, Injures 100 - BusinessWeek

Globe and Mail

Third Pakistan Sectarian Attack in Week Kills 35, Injures 100
BusinessWeek
Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- A bomb killed at least 35 people at a rally of Shiite Muslims in the western Pakistani city of Quetta, the third attack in as many days on minority sects. More than 100 people were injured in the ...
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Publ.Date : Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:12:39 GMT+00:00

Police question scientist in Miami airport scare - Boston Globe

Aljazeera.net

Police question scientist in Miami airport scare
Boston Globe
A Miami-Dade Police and Fire Rescue officers are seen on the arrival level at Miami International Airport in Miami, early morning Friday, Sept. 3, 2010. A spokesman for Miami International Airport says four of its six concourses have been evacuated as ...
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Ariz. immigration law's legal costs could top $1 million - USA Today

GlobalVisas

Ariz. immigration law's legal costs could top $1 million
USA Today
PHOENIX — Defending the state against lawsuits related to its tough new immigration law has cost more than $440000 to date, and outstanding bills could easily add up to an excess of $1 million or more. ...
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Donations to defend Ariz. immigration law top $2MThe Associated Press
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Publ.Date : Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:59:58 GMT+00:00

Apple's Ping a Scammers Haven? Security Experts Say Watch Out - PC World

Sydney Morning Herald

Apple's Ping a Scammers Haven? Security Experts Say Watch Out
PC World
Apple's music-focused social network, Ping is only a few days old, and already the iTunes-based feature is "drowning in scams and spams," security researchers say. The scams are nothing too advanced at the moment, and there are no reports of ...
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Publ.Date : Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:00:48 GMT+00:00

Hurricane Earl weakens as it approaches Mass. - Boston Globe

CBC.ca

Hurricane Earl weakens as it approaches Mass.
Boston Globe
Hurricane Earl has weakened and may not pack as big a punch when it arrives off the Massaschusetts coast late tonight, the National Weather Service said this morning. Earl is now predicted to be a Category 1 hurricane ...
Hurricane Earl Sideswipes Carolina Coast; Disaster Declaration Issued for ...ABC News
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Publ.Date : Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:51:27 GMT+00:00

Oars stolen in Ohio from youngest Atlantic rower - The Associated Press

NewsNet5.com

Oars stolen in Ohio from youngest Atlantic rower
The Associated Press
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio — The Ohio woman who became the youngest person to row across the Atlantic alone says oars used in her feat have been lost in a car theft. Katie Spotz of suburban Cleveland says the gear was in her 2000 Dodge Caravan when it was ...
Spotz's gear stolenNews-Herald.com
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Publ.Date : Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:50:23 GMT+00:00

Put the millionaires' tax money to good use - Washington Post

msnbc.com

Put the millionaires' tax money to good use
Washington Post
With the economy downshifting into first gear and their poll numbers sagging, the White House and Democratic congressional leaders are desperate for an economic and political game-changer as they head into the November elections. ...
Unemployment Rate Rises to 9.6 PercentThe Washington Independent
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