Everyone wants their site to rank well in search engines, and for obvious reasons (more site traffic!). SEO (search engine optimization) is a big part of building a successful site, but it should not be your #1 priority. Making decisions on your site solely for SEO benefit has some serious downsides.

For most websites, incoming traffic is simply not enough to achieve success. You need a conversion of some sort. People need to make a purchase, fill out the contact form, sign up to a mailing list, or take some sort of action that helps build your business. Without a conversion, traffic is useless.

While SEO might get the visitor to your site, it won't generate the conversion for you. What decisions have you made to generate a better ranking that now work against you in creating a conversion? Here are some things to keep an eye out for:

Ridiculous Amounts of Content

Why write 8 paragraphs of content when 4 is more than enough to make the sale? Effective web copy is all about cutting the crap, and giving the customer all the information they need in the fewest amount of words possible.

The longer it takes people to find what they need to know about your product or service, the less likely it is that they do business with you. So all the redundant, lengthy copy that earned your site a visitor ends up costing you a sale because it wasted their time.

Content Written for Computers instead of People

Content is what generates conversions more than any other factor. I would like to say it is our fabulous design, but in most cases that is simply not true. Saying "high-definition plasma television" 52 times on a page most likely won't help you sell any more plasmas.

When writing copy for your site, write with the customer in mind FIRST, then sprinkle in keywords when it makes sense. Writing primarily for search engines makes for ineffective copy, and sticks out like a sore thumb.

Cluttered Design

From a design standpoint, we often see the same trends as with copy. Sites are designed to rank well in search engines, but end up cluttered and extremely difficult for people to use. Just like with copy, sites work best when you design for your ideal customer FIRST, then do everything possible to rank well.

In most cases you can create a user-friendly, quality design while also writing code that works great for SEO. But there are bound to be conflicts as well, and you have to be certain about what is more important: the traffic or the conversion.

Doing the Math

As a design shop that is solely focused on clean, user-friendly design, you can tell what side of the fence we are on. But some simple math backs up my point.

Let's say you generate 2,000 visits as a result of being #1 on google, but due to some of the sacrifices you had to make in order to earn the ranking, your conversion rate is 2%. That is a total of 40 sales.

On the other hand, let's say the customer is your #1 priority. As a result you may choose to do a few things that boost conversion, but maximize your ranking. Maybe your site is #6 and generates half the traffic (1,000 visits), but has a nice conversion rate of 5%. Even with half the traffic, the end result is 50 sales because your site converts better.

I know this is a hypothetical situation, but higher conversion often ends up being a more powerful factor than generating more traffic. Plus, it's usually cheaper to improve conversion than it is to generate more traffic.

The answer? Learn to Make Compromises

SEO is still a great thing, and should be among your top priorities in managing a site that depends on conversions. Our company spends a lot of time and effort creating very SEO-friendly sites, but it always takes a back seat to user-friendly design that generates conversions.

Compromises must be made to maintain the integrity of your site's design and copy while also taking steps to maximize your search engine ranking. Understanding both sides of the coin, and working with an SEO company that understands them too, will ensure in the highest rate of success for your site.

"Coming Soon" is a perpetually bad habit I see on the web. There is no doubt you have seen the following many times over ...

• "New website coming soon"
• "This website is under construction"
• "The store section of our site is coming soon"

Why do we feel the need to tell users that something bigger and better is on the way? In any case, "Coming Soon" sends a bad message about you ...

1. It sets expectations.

9 times out of 10 when people say "coming soon", they don't have a definite time that they expect whatever it is to be ready. So why set expectations with users when most times it leads to a total letdown? It just makes you look bad.

By nature I am not an early technology adopter. I purchased my first iPhone just last week, and only started twittering about 5 months ago. However, due to utter frustration with traditional phone companies, I tried Ooma very early.

Ooma is a Palo Alto startup with hopes of changing home phone service for the better. Buy the hardware (an Ooma Hub and Ooma Scout @ $229.99) and enjoy free phone service for life. No bills, no surcharges, absolutely free phone service. It uses VOIP (Voice over IP), so all you need is broadband internet service.

They have two things going for them that are game changers in my opinion: the business model and the product. Ooma does both incredibly well.

The business model is obvious. Who can argue with free phone service after paying a one-time price? They also have a service called Ooma Premier that I will use, at $99/year. It simply adds some additional features and capabilities that are well worth it, and by the way have never been available with traditional phone service providers. For a full list of the great features out of the box and with Premier visit http://www.ooma.com/learn/ooma_features.php.

The physical product is very well done, and no other mainstream VOIP companies have figured this part out. The design and packaging is Apple-esque and ease of use is refreshingly simple. You can access multiple lines, voicemail and phone settings, all from 8 little buttons on each unit. The scout and hub work with any normal phone, too. From the web interface, you can access voicemail, add new numbers and more.

As for the actual service, this is no Vonage (which is a good thing). I had Vonage for a while, and it was really awful. I could never talk on the phone while uploading files, or even watch a streaming video, without the call breaking up or disconnecting all together.

Ooma has somehow figured out the dropped call thing. It's amazing, I have purposely tried to max it out by uploading big files and streaming a few videos at the same time, and the call is NEVER effected. The cute little blue light turns to red if service is interrupted, but that's never influenced by how much bandwidth you are using on your computer.

Right now my current setup is still with one traditional line for the business, and I have 2 Ooma lines (one business, one personal). I can access all 3 from one phone. Using the system is worry-free, and so is setup.

The really cool part is the Ooma Scout. One or multiple Scouts can be in any other room of the house/office, separate from the Hub. It does NOT require a direct internet connection. Simply connect the Scout to the phone, and to the phone jack (no router or modem required) and it works. Don't ask me how, but it does.

So what's the downside? The service has not quite caught fire yet, a little more than a year after launch. They are slowly making their way into retail stores and homes around the country. However, the startup is well funded (one investor being Ashton Kutcher, actually) and should come out on the other side.

I give Ooma an overwhelming recommendation for those out there looking to save money on phone service while enjoying an expanded feature set. My savings after Ooma expenses will be $570 in the first year, and $900/year after that.

"Coming Soon" is a perpetually bad habit I see on the web. There is no doubt you have seen the following many times over ...

• "New website coming soon"
• "This website is under construction"
• "The store section of our site is coming soon"

Why do we feel the need to tell users that something bigger and better is on the way? In any case, "Coming Soon" sends a bad message about you ...

1. It sets expectations. 9 times out of 10 when people say "coming soon", they don't have a definite time that they expect whatever it is to be ready. So why set expectations with users when most times it leads to a total letdown? It just makes you look bad.

2. It's a waste of time. Those two words provide no substance or benefit to users, so why say it?

If you don't have time to build a site or add a new feature, that's no problem. Throw up your logo and a couple paragraphs about your company on a page and leave it at that until you have something else of value to provide.

A classic example of using "coming soon" as part of your public strategy on a large scale is with Microsoft and Apple.

Microsoft, for example, LOVES coming soon. They love talking about the future, and all the great products they are working on that will change our lives ... soon. Forget the here and now, it's all about what's coming. And more often times than not, once the product hits the shelves it does not live up to the hype.

How about the Microsoft Surface computer? They have set incredibly high expectations by touting videos and demos all over the place for months, but the product really makes no difference to me until there is a DATE when it will be available for public consumption.

Apple, on the other hand, has mastered the art of hype and keeping secrets until they are worth sharing. They worked on the iPhone secretly for years, and never said a peep about it until they had a release date. Looking back, I believe their strategy resulted in an unprecedented demand for the phone.

I believe my mother said it best when I was a kid, "some things are just better keeping to yourself". That is, until they are worth sharing.

"What's a feed?"

I hear this question at least a few times per week. In short, feeds are the future. A feed is a document that keeps track of updated content on a website. Blogs and news sites are the most common places to find feeds since the content is updated pretty often.

When you subscribe to a feed, you can be notified when the content is updated without having to visit the website. Geeks use feed readers, like the one google has. I personally follow about 60 different feeds from my reader. It is much more convenient to have all the new content from those sites on-demand rather than visiting the sites individually.

Since experts say that only 3% of people use feed readers, we need a way to bridge the gap and help people figure it out. Feed My Inbox is our solution. When a feed you have subscribed to is updated, we will send you an email with the new post(s).

About Feed My Inbox

The concept is designed to be as easy as possible for the 97% out there that is figuring out the feed scene. All you have to do is enter a website, and enter your email on the home page. The application will go to the website, find any available feeds there and subscribe you. Simply click the link we email you to confirm the subscription, and it's all set.

It literally takes 30 seconds or less to add a feed. No new software or learning is required.

Each time the feed is updated, you will be notified through email. However, if a feed is updated more than once in a 24-hour period, you receive one email with all the updates. This is designed to keep your inbox tidy, as no one wants more email than they already get.

How Long Did it Take?

I talked about this a lot on my twitter feed, but we tried to create this entire application in 1 day. All in all it took a little over 2 full days, but all the design and front-end stuff was done within the first day. We just wanted to make sure the technical side and emails were done right, so that part took a little longer.

Building something this way is great for a number of reasons:

• We built ONLY features that were absolutely necessary to launch, then added the rest to a list for "someday maybe".
• All working together, 100% focused on the goal for an entire day, was a great source of momentum. We all pushed each other, and as a result, things happened quicker.
• After only a couple full days of work, we have an extraordinary sense of accomplishment! You can't beat that with a stick.

I Thought You Built Websites, not Software

We DO build websites, and thoroughly enjoy it! However, we like to work with our own ideas too. It keeps us sharp, motivated and always learning new things. So to make these ideas a reality, I partnered with the same two guys to create a software company called Brightwurks. I will make Brightwurks announcements on this blog from time-to-time.

Feed My Inbox is the first of many web-based software applications Brightwurks is building. We have 3 more in the works. We would love to hear what you think of this one.

I can't help getting frustrated when I read about the mentality on Wall Street. I do not understand all the talk about valuations, projections, analyst opinions and other BS that is all purely speculation. Did someone forget that projection is another word for guess? Educated guess at best.

Shouldn't all the brilliant people in this industry be hedging their bets on something a little more concrete than a guess?

Forget creating great products. Forget making a positive contribution to society. Forget providing extraordinary customer service. Analysts and investors force companies to maximize profit at all costs. It is the only number they see. Grow, profit, grow, profit, that's all that matters. Forget about long-term vision and success, all that matters to these people is next quarter.

There are some amazing companies today, doing great things in their industry. And they all have one thing in common: ideology rules, profits do not. History proves time and time again that great companies are built on solid values, and an ideology that takes precedence over anything else. Profits are simply the end result.

Ricardo Semler puts it masterfully in his book, The Seven-Day Weekend:

"The minute I hear conventional explanations for business practices, like the idea that companies are required to grow, that profit is paramount, I know I'm encountering calcified thinking ...

Why do we have to make more money every quarter or face being downgraded by analysts on Wall Street? Because Wall Street needs to guarantee income to pension funds, which in turn finance ever-increasing numbers of retired people? Because it must compensate for too many bad bets on start-ups, dot-coms and mature players that are no longer ready for prime time? Because it has hired too many MBAs who make too much money and drive costs even higher?

None of these is a convincing reason for relentless growth."

Bottom line, the profit-centerd mentality pushed on public companies by analysts and investors in the past several years has reached an all-time low.

Companies are bigger than ever, thanks to merger after merger and growth for the sake of higher profits. Public perception of these companies is lower than ever, and for good reason. Everyone hates their cell phone provider because the customer service is a joke. Why? Because it's cheap for providers to outsource customer service to India and infuriate their customers on a daily basis.

Here are a couple real-world examples of Wall Street logic simply not adding up in the last week:

Example #1: Google

Google, a great company with a solid values that guide their business, announced Q2 profits last week. They profited $1.25 billion, up from $925 million last year in the same quarter. Unbelievable, a 35% increase year over year, reporting a profit of $4.63/share. However, since "analysts" had predicted a return of $4.72/share, the stock plunged as much as 12%. Huh?

Example #2: Apple

I'm not ready to call Apple a great company, but there is no doubt they make great products. In Q2 Apple sold an unprecedented number of Macs, 2.5 million to be exact. Not to mention the other phenomenal product offerings that have been leaping off of shelves. Their profits neared a 31% increase over last year. Yet Apple's stock plunged almost 11% because they only issued $1/share earnings, instead of the "projected" amount of $1.23/share. Are you kidding? Best Q2 in the company's history and stock goes down double digits?

The attitude on Wall Street (no offense to the street, I love working right next to it) is all wrong, and I would go so far as to say that it (and the media) has had a large impact on the current state of the struggling US ecomony.

I for one will not subject myself or any of my companies to such ridiculous and flawed thinking. Growth is NOT always the answer, and it does NOT always mean a greater level of success. Companies that put values first, profits second, win.

Today I posted three new showcase sites that we launched in the last couple of months. Amazingly, all three sites are for individuals. Two own very successful consulting companies, and one is a renowned speaker and New York Times bestselling author.

Heartprints Adoption

Heartprints Adoption is the company of Sharon Brani, and she is fully dedicated to helping to-be parents navigate the complicated waters of the adoption process. Through many years of experience, she also shares excellent advice and information about adoption on her blog. It was a pleasure working with her, and a company doing such good work for people.

Lampion Consulting

Lampion is the company of Paul Heagen, a seasoned and very experienced corporate consultant. He works directly with CEOs and leaders of major corporations (Verizon, Disney and Cisco to name a few), and helps them communicate better with employees, shareholders and customers through a number of services. Paul is also an author, with a book called Real Owls Don't Bark available from his website.

Andy Andrews

Andy was one of our very first clients three years ago (still one of our favorites!), and his accomplishments are far too lengthy to begin listing in a couple simple paragraphs. He is a New York Times bestselling author, corporate speaker to virtually every major company you can think of, and more recently has begun blogging (thanks to some gentle prodding from us).

This project was a re-align (for a definition, see this article) from the previous version of the site, improving functionality, focusing on a couple main objectives and moving the whole site to our Springboard content management platform. We could not be more pleased with how it turned out!!

Our software company, Brightwurks, is looking to hire a developer for ongoing development with our content management product Springboard, and also to help with some large client projects. Here are the details . . . Location: Anywhere, preferably in the US Time Frame: Ongoing contract, potential full-time

Requirements:

• A personality, along with a great work ethic
• 2-3 years plus experience developing web-based applications
• Expert knowledge of working with Java, Struts, JSTL
• Expert knowledge of PHP, and CakePHP experience is a plus
• Expert knowledge of MySQL and/or other relational database management systems
• Understanding of web standards and xhtml/css layouts is a big plus

About Us:

We like to date our people before jumping in the sack, and we believe you deserve the same courtesy. What does that mean? It means we should spend some time getting to know each other and working together before making any long-term career moves. If it's a great fit, we would love to have you! To start, you will be working on a couple of large-scale projects with our team. This includes work on our customized content management platform, called Springboard. These projects will require 20-30 hours per week of work, and you will be paid as a contractor. Those hours can grow into a full-time position if we still like each other after a while. If you want to have another job or some projects on the side, that's fine as long as you can stay on track with our work too. The only way to get great results from a developer is if they really love the work they are doing, so we want to give you work that you are psyched about.

Benefits:

• We intentionally don't have an office. Work when and where you want, as long as you can do quality work and meet reasonable deadlines.
• We treat you like an adult. No micro-managing or silly rules. We currently have a very close team of 4 guys, and you get a say in everything that goes on.
• Each project we work on is different, so the work should be continuously challenging and fun.
• We'll be honest with you. We have nothing to hide. We just need more help!

What's at stake?

The opportunity to get involved in a young, fast-growing company that is trying to build some very successful applications. If you are able to refer the winning candidate to us, there is a referral fee of $200 in it for you. We would appreciate the help. Sorry, you can't refer yourself.

That's perfect for me! How do I apply?

Please send a resume, samples of work and a preferred hourly rate to hireme@brightwurks.com. Or just touch base and send what you can, but make sure you fill the requirements.

Welcome to 2008! Let this serve as a friendly reminder for all web developers out there to update your website copyright notice. Many sites, including most of ours, have a copyright notice in the footer with the year. This is a very simple thing on your website that can make you look good or bad, so make sure your sites look good! And set a yearly reminder so that you don't forget in the future.

We were recently honored to be featured alongside the world's very best designers in an article from Smashing Magazine, called "50 Designers x 6 Questions". This was an opportunity to share a little about web development and pass on some advice to fellow designers. For those that are interested, here are the answers we provided to the 5 questions in the article:

What's 1 typical myth about web-development (which is not true)?

That a great site can get you to the top of google. Developing an SEO-friendly site is only the first step in accomplishing a goal like that. Past the development side of things, there are tons of other factors involved. That's why we work with an outside company (VKI Studios) that is one of the very best, and I am thrilled to not have to worry about it outside of the code.

1 bulletproof method to get over creativity block

This is far from profound, but walk away. And don't leave one screen to go sit in front of another and watch TV. Go workout, take a run. Or do some errands. Just do something active for at least an hour that does not require you to think about work or look at your crackberry.

1 thing to do before starting a new project

Get to know your client. What drives them? What are they passionate about? What can you learn about their business that will help you create their ideal website? Who do they compete with and how can you appeal to their target market? It's also important to shake their hand if you can. If not, spend 20+ minutes talking with them on the phone. Make sure that you get along, and that you can work well together. Be sure that they are open-minded to your ideas, and that you can be a good listener to them. If something's not right about the relationship in the beginning, don't be afraid to cut it off and save yourself a great deal of hassle.

1 thing I wish I knew before I've started programming/designing

How much I would enjoy it! Developing websites is really hard work, and it's not always really fun. But in general I feel that working on different projects with clients in TONS of different industries always keeps the job fresh and full of new challenges. I also learned very quickly the value of a team. I work with two guys that compliment my skill set perfectly, and I would encourage those just starting out to always be seeking people to work with that are better than you at certain things.

1 common mistake you should always avoid developing web-sites

Shortcuts. This applies to design and code. I don't care if the client will never notice the subtle gradients or appreciate the beautiful semantic code. Just make sure it's something you can get excited about, and that you can learn something on each project. There's simply too much talent out there to ever think you know it all, so do things in your everyday work that are incredibly challenging and uncomfortable. That's the only way to keep getting better. Don't hesitate to spend much more time on a project solely for the purpose of becoming better. It's worth it!

1 tool or/and service/web-service I can't imagine my life without

iGTD, from Bartek Bargiel. Unbelievable. http://www.igtd.pl/iGTD/ Also, I wanted to mention that Smashing Magazine just celebrated their one year anniversary. As a result, they are offering some of the BEST books on web development (40+) for free to those that choose to write a thoughtful comment. Read their post to learn more about it.