Last week I wrote in detail about the importance of applying SEO to corporate domain names. Of course, the thing about SEO tips like these is that they are really only focused on making it easier for others to find you online. But will those visitors actually like what they see once they get there? That’s another matter altogether.
Whether it’s your main corporate homepage or a random piece of content living somewhere on your site, certain elements are a must. Quality copy? Of course. Ease of navigation? You betcha. A clear message for first time visitors? Absolutely. But while all of these examples are important, they are really just individual elements of the overall corporate site design.
The first thing to remember is that every page is a landing page. Stephen Bradley makes this point in a great post on how to design an effective homepage over at VanSEODesign. He writes that while your corporate homepage is still a very important entry point for your site, it’s not necessarily the first page people see when they find you online. That’s why it’s critical that every page answers these three questions:
- What is the site about?
- Where can I go next?
- What’s new here?
It’s an excellent post, and I strongly recommend checking it out. Even if you already have a corporate website in place, there’s no doubt there is still room for improvement in certain areas. Check out Stephen’s post and ask yourself “Are we covering all the bases?” If not, see how you can apply some of those ideas to your overall corporate site design.
Of course, mapping out a quality page and site ahead of time is the best bet. If you’re like me, it always helps to see things visually. And if you’re really like me, you love a good infographic.
Jason Acidre from Kaiserthesage (one of the best SEO blogs I’ve discovered in a while, I highly recommend checking it out) recently posted an awesome infographic by Formstack breaking down the anatomy of the perfect landing page. You can view it below, but here are a couple of simple points from the graphic that I think are especially important when it comes to corporate site design:
- Impeccable grammar – I mean … DUH! But you’d be amazed how many typos and poor grammar examples are floating around on corporate site pages, especially on corporate blogs. While you might be able to get away with this in an informal blog post, sloppy grammar never reflects well on your company. And with landing pages especially, you don’t want the first time a prospective customer visits your site to be riddled with misspellings and mistakes. Hire a freelancer if you have too, but make sure your copy is clean as a whistle before it goes live.
- Buttons and calls to action should stand out – This is all about pages per visit for me. You want to make it as easy as possible for visitors of your landing page to see where to go next. This is especially true for sales and marketing elements like “where to purchase” or “free trials.” You only have a few seconds to capture a visitor’s attention. Once you do, make sure they stay engaged with what you have to offer.
Finally, the last thing to remember (as pointed out below) is testing. You’re site is never done; make time to test which elements are working and look to improve the parts that aren’t. Your landing pages are the gateways to your company online, so don’t neglect them!
Infographic by: Formstack
