As the end of the first decade of the new millennia approaches, Internet developers and strategists are predicting both the timing and impact Web 3.0 will have on the digital landscape. Analysts have proven that the Internet is much larger than most people even comprehend – some 500 times larger than all the content indexed on sites like Google and Yahoo. This “invisible web” is comprised of hidden databases and protected data which are deployed online but only shared in private network environments. As with life itself, the Internet has a way of evolving progressively and sometimes at great speeds. As the adoption of this technical evolution increases – so does related connectivity, community and a new era of personal empowerment online.

The question remains will Web 3.0 and all of its proposed promises become more of a technical milestone or an Internet user expectation?

In the 1980’s, the world saw the adoption of the PC and desktop computing. This phenomenon of personal computing really took hold in the 1990’s with the introduction of the Internet, the World Wide Web and basic applications which took data from file systems and expanded them into file servers for global sharing. This period of the Internet introduction era or Web 1.0 was a major time of transition as many industries were caught off guard in their adoption to a new way of dealing with both communications and business operations. The speculative financial markets in the Y2K years brought with it an investment correction online. The results of the meltdown proved that not everything built online with a business model in mind would find financial success – let alone user adoption.
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The Web is overflowing with sites search engines can’t index. The problem is largely due to URL structure, back-end programming, and poor design choices. I could fill a book with the search-friendly design mistakes I’ve seen. For starters, here are the top five mistakes I typically encounter.

Design First, Optimize Second

The biggest design mistake made by Web designers and site owners is to treat search engine optimization (SEO) as an afterthought, rather than a main component of the design process. Bring in a search specialist before a site is created, not after. Site architecture should be based on what the target audience searches for.

A search specialist can perform keyword research to determine the words and phrases to be used as a site’s information architecture; the navigation schemes, categories, breadcrumb links, headings, and cross-links.

If search is an afterthought, it can cost site owners thousands, even millions, of dollars in advertising expenses and sales conversions. People may have a more difficult time finding a site via the major search engines without paid search advertising. Once visitors arrive at a site, they might have difficulty locating the products and services they searched for.

Always bring in a search specialist early in the design process.

Splash Pages

A splash page is a main entry page with either a large graphic image and a link instructing visitors to “enter” a Web site; or a Flash animation with a link to skip the animation (”skip intro”), and a redirect to a new Web page after the animation is completed.
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Is it a combination of the right colors? Perhaps a lot of white space? Could it be a particular style of art? In reality, it can be any of these factors, none of these factors, or even a variety of other factors. Graphic design, unlike art, generally should not be a subjective thing. Graphic design has a business purpose and that being the case, means that it should accomplish a particular goal. That may mean driving sales, promoting a political agenda, educating, or whatever applies to your business model.

Experienced graphic design companies, freelance graphic designers and in-house graphic designers know how to craft your marketing materials to do just that. They know when it’s a good idea to use a lot of copy to explain a complex message and when it’s a good idea to use just a little bit of copy to get your message across quickly. They know when to use a rich, textured design and when to use a clean modern design to stir up the emotions of your target market and incite them to take action. They know when to use a subtle color pallet, when to use a vibrant, eye-popping color pallet, and when to use a combination of the two. They know what images are going to work best with your designs to convey the image that you are looking for.

More importantly, they know the reasons behind the decisions they make.

Many other businesses are very black and white where in situation “1? you take action “A” and situation “2? you take action “B” but with graphic design, you must take human emotion and experience into account as well. More than a few businesses have learned this the hard way when using inexperienced graphic designers or even doing their own graphic design to save a few dollars. On the other side of this coin, as a start-up or small company, there is no need to invest in the largest ad agencies because even if you can afford their prices, you will be such a small account for them that you won’t get the attention you need. By investing in the right graphic design company or freelancer, you’ll generally see greater results more quickly at the best possible price.

So what is good graphic design? It’s something that conveys the image that you want for your company and accomplishes a particular goal.

SEO is the active practice of optimizing a web site by improving internal and external aspects in order to increase the traffic the site receives from search engines. Firms that practice SEO can vary; some have a highly specialized focus, while others take a more broad and general approach. Optimizing a web site for search engines can require looking at so many unique elements that many practitioners of SEO (SEOs) consider themselves to be in the broad field of website optimization (since so many of those elements intertwine).

Why does my company/organization/website need SEO?

The majority of web traffic is driven by the major commercial search engines – Yahoo!, MSN, Google & AskJeeves (although AOL gets nearly 10% of searches, their engine is powered by Google’s results). If your site cannot be found by search engines or your content cannot be put into their databases, you miss out on the incredible opportunities available to websites provided via search – people who want what you have visiting your site. Whether your site provides content, services, products, or information, search engines are a primary method of navigation for almost all Internet users.
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