Top 10 lists supposedly showing the most popular search terms for the year are pouring out from Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask, AOL and even Lycos (via Avenue A – RazorFish) so where’s your list? It’s an easy way to generate some buzz using data you probably already have on hand for your site without having to create a lot of new content. Continue reading →

OK church webmasters, here are highlights from this year’s Chicago SES conference for those of you running parish websites.

• Write down 10 reasons why someone would want to link to your site — if you get stuck at #5, go back and get some good content before you embark on a link campaign
  • Get your site linked on del.icio.us and other social bookmarking sites — every extra link helps; include your press releases here, too
• Handle misspellings in your meta keywords tag or in a glossary — not everyone is going to spell “catechetical” correctly, but make sure you do
  • Common misspellings in your meta keywords won’t influence your rank, but will show SEs a potential connection there
• Cross link within your site — your anchor text is helpful to visitors and SEs;
  • Repeating key navigation at the bottom of each page helps and also saves your visitors the trouble of having to scroll to the top
  • Site maps help here, too, but be sure to include an introductory paragraph and explanatory phrases for the humans
• For FAQs, list all the questions at the top of the page where visitors can see them without scrolling
  • Use anchors to jump down to the answers below the fold; you want as many questions visible as possible so don’t let the answers get in the way
• Forms on the left side of the page typically perform better
• Include phone number(s) on mobile version of website — will become a click-to-call link on a phone browser (I’ve updated my mobile guidelines accordingly); move navigation to the bottom so that new content is clearly visible when a new page loads on a tiny screen
• Optimize your site for video
  • Put all your clips in a single /video/ directory for organizational and search engine (SE) purposes rather than scattered across your site; your visitors and the SEs are more likely to look in one location to see your vids rather than expecting it be related content under different topics
  • Tag, tag, tag — use descriptive, not clever, title tags, file descriptions and body tags; if you’re reconverting video to an alternative format, make sure your tags aren’t lost in the process
  • Create a video site map — similar to a regular site map, but just for your videos; include it in your regular navigation if you have lots of clips
  • Yahoo in October said more folks were looking for video than love, news or religion-if you can’t beat ’em…
• Optimize your landing pages for where your visitors are in the “buying” process — sure, you’re probably not a pure e-commerce site, but church websites still have “shoppers” who may be doing early research on area churches or might be ready to commit immediately; make sure you speak to both groups
• Monitor trends with google.com/trends to see how the popular search terms for your site ebb and flow over the year

You’ll find more SES coverage by Search Engine Roundtable and Bruce Clay recaps Chicago and then some, too.
Updated 12/16/2006: Search Marketing Standard’s comprehensive SES Chicago round up

Technorati tags: seschicago06 and seschicago

Like Santa, if you’re running a parish website you need to be checking your list at this time of year. Here’s how to prepare your church site for Advent.

1. Pick a permanent page for all of your Advent content. Use the same page year after year so the search engines—which really means first-time visitors—can find you. That’s your best chance for reaching those who are thinking of returning home for Christmas.
2. Use a short and memorable name for that page, such as example.com/advent. This is not the time to show off your information architecture with directories like /seasons/recurring/advent/ or /ministries/liturgy/advent. Could someone say this address out loud to a friend and have it remembered? Can the address fit on one line in the bulletin?
3. Add your Christmas Mass schedule as soon as possible. Again, you might have only one shot at first timers. All of your other Advent events should be here too, of course.
4. Incorporate an Advent theme for the entire parish. My church adopts a single theme for all children’s religious education programs that carries over to the parish as a whole. If the theme already is in place for the kids, get some more mileage but expanding it across your community. Here’s our 2006 theme along with “Sent Forth in Hope” from 2005 and 2004 and 2003.
5. Add a poll about your parish’s Advent events. A one-question, multiple checkbox survey is a fun way for parishioners to see what events are most popular while also reminding them about all of the opportunities that are available. Include the basics: are you using an Advent wreath, attending additional Masses, doing extra good deeds, going to the parish Christmas party, etc., plus add those events that are unique to your parish–especially the minor ones that need more publicity. Here are advent survey examples from 2006 and 2005 using the open source phpESP script to administer surveys.
6. Include Advent reflections. Lots of good choices are available, including American Catholic’s Advent page, Catholic.org’s Advent resources (see left-hand navigation), an online Advent calendar, my own parish’s Advent reflections, and St.Anthony’s Rocky Point (warning: music plays automatically, which is generally a no-no without asking first).
7. Link to daily Scripture readings. The US Bishops’ daily readings site is a good start and try out other daily/weekly readings and reflections sites.
8. Take some time for yourself to prepare for Jesus. It’s easy to focus on getting the website ready for the parish and forgetting about your own journey. Use one of those reflections yourself!