SEO this, SEO that
Have you been following along with our series of articles on SEO? A brief recap on what we’ve covered so far:
- Content is vital to ranking well, and well-written content will also help you reach your goals.
- Backlinks are like neon signs pointing to your website that say, “This is a great website!” And who doesn’t want that?
- The images on your website should be optimized for users and crawlers, and images really are worth a thousand words. Good images drive human connection.
While we have been discussing SEO and how to rank well on Google, there’s been an underlying theme. Wanna Pixel’s own Mindy Schoeneman is going to fill us in on what that theme is and what it means for your organization.
Over this series of blog posts, we’ve been talking about how to become friends with Google. You want to be friends with Google, because you want people to be able to find your website easily when searching for relevant information and terms. Because more traffic equals more opportunities to win the hearts of potential donors and volunteers.
Implementing an effective SEO-strategy is the best way to draw in a steady stream of visitors (without paying for ads month after month after month). But what do you do if all of the SEO talk has your head spinning?
While you wish you were feeling challenged and energized by all the SEO information we’ve shared, the reality is that you’re feeling overwhelmed and maybe even a little nauseated. Instead of feeling like Google is your friend, you’re feeling as if Google is holding your website hostage. And now, you’re worried that one wrong move will result in the death of your website as it’s buried alive on page 10 of search results.
Whew! That’s a lot of pressure, right?
Above, we mentioned there is an underlying theme with this blog post series. This theme is the answer you need to take all of the pressure off your relationship with Google. And it is based on this premise: You and Google share a common interest.
Your Common Interest
Google is a business that thrives because it provides its users with the most relevant results to their searches. And by choosing which results are relevant to the search, Google has also chosen the websites that provide a clearly understood message.
As it happens, that’s exactly what you want to do for your website visitors. You want to provide them with a message that’s easily understood. You and Google want the same things for website visitors.
What happens when people (and even companies) share a common interest such as this? With any common interest comes common ground. The common ground you share with Google simplifies the bulk of SEO practices. Both your organization and Google want the same thing to happen when someone comes to your website.
So, what is the theme upon which you can build your SEO strategy? The theme that we’ve been repeating throughout every post in this series?
Everything on your website should deliver a user experience that encourages a human connection.
Creating a Great User Experience
As you know, when people understand the emotional impact of what you do as an organization, they line up to help you facilitate your mission. Creating an emotional connection with your website visitors is vital to growing your organization.
And the best way to create a human-to-human connection through emotion is by delivering a superb user experience.
How do you create such a user experience? The answer to that is lengthy and varies greatly. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. There are no templates that guarantee you’ll deliver the best user experience possible to your website visitors.
Instead, there are a million different little details that work together to make an impact, to leave an impression with every visitor. From the content to the images to the dynamic design—all of these components must work together with hundreds of other little details.
The answer to it all, though, is to hire experienced professionals who have a proven track record of delivering websites that offer these user experiences we’re describing. Wanna Pixel can help you.
But first, how do you know if your current site is not providing the best user experience?
Evaluating a User Experience
The best way to evaluate the user experience of your website is to ask for feedback. Start with those who do not have a vested interest in your organization’s success. When you are asking those who are deeply and emotionally invested in the success of your organization, it’s like asking someone to weigh the pros and cons of their own child, pointing out areas that need improvement.
People you should ask:
- Strangers who fit within your target demographics.
- New donors and volunteers who have just joined your cause.
- Wanna Pixel.
Asking for feedback from those who know next to nothing or nothing at all about your organization can be eye-opening. Make sure you’re asking those who are in your target market, though, since your website should be geared toward those you most want to reach.
Asking new donors or volunteers who recently viewed your website and decided your organization is a good fit for them is the perfect way to gain insight on what you’re doing right.
As for asking Wanna Pixel to review your website, book a consultation with Wanna Pixel and this service is included. The Wanna Pixel team will get to know your organization, who you’re trying to reach, and your mission.
Once you know your website’s strengths and weaknesses, you can move toward a solution to capitalize on the good and improve or eliminate the bad.
Human Connection
Before you can secure a single donation or volunteer, your organization has to make an emotional connection with people. This is the first step to building trust and and creating a human connection. And human connections are powerful.
You can spread your message so much more effectively when you have others who are spreading it for you.
Human connection is so powerful that it is the centerpiece of Google’s algorithm. There is no better way to defuse your relationship with Google than to focus on connecting with your target market in a way that is sincere and heartfelt.
So set up your organization right—make sure Google can’t hold your website hostage. Put your users’ experience at the forefront of your SEO strategy.
Also, take a look at this post by our friends at Wild Apricot – The Top 8 SEO Tips for Nonprofits Who Want to Rank #1, or check out the other posts in our SEO series – SEO Part I: What Powerful SEO-Friendly Content Looks Like For NPOs.
