SEM/SEO

Legitimate and honest search engine marketing or optimization idea

Make Your Site Accessible for The Most Disabled Visitor: Google

Mark Alves SEM/SEO

Website accessibility for disabled visitors often gets pushed aside in favor of other design or branding considerations, but now you can solve that dilemma. Matt Bailey, president of Site Logic Marketing, explained how to get accessibility the same priority as SEO. He said that search engines are your most disabled users – – they can’t see, can’t fill out a form, can’t press a button to continue. So, if the powers that be say No to accessible design, you can give them a reason to say Yes to Google.

Matt presented “Successful Site Architecture” as part of the SES Chicago 2006 Conference, which I’m attending.

Technorati tags: seschicago06 and seschicago

Advent Checklist for Church Webmasters

Mark Alves Content Ideas, SEM/SEO

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!

Take a Page From St. John’s-St. Ann’s in Albany

Mark Alves Content Ideas, SEM/SEO, Site Reviews

You can see how your church website compares to others by taking a look at American Catholic’s Parish Site of the Month. While American Catholic doesn’t share the criteria they used to select St. John’s-St. Ann’s of Albany in November, here are a few features that stand out.

  • People pictures, not empty building pictures – The Church is the people, right? Then how come so many sites limit their photos to building exteriors or empty interiors? Sts. J-A gets it right by showing the choir and other volunteers in action on the homepage. You’ll also find shots of the property, too, so that newcomers can find it in person.
  • Clearly set the tone of the parish on the home page – A prominent outreach link and an Iraq War Body Count banner let you know what this parish is about up front. Newcomers or church shoppers don’t have to guess what’s important to this parish.
  • Timely homepage – Current readings and an acknowledgement of the Site of the Month designation reassure visitors that this is an active and worthwhile site. Including some key parish events here would further reinforce this impression.

This is a site that’s doing a lot of the right things. In a few areas, though, the content looks like it’s not quire ready to go “live”. The calendar points to an unbranded, separate .mac account that lists but one event for November and none for December. Better to stick with the established announcements page or use a regular page on the site. The placeholder “cemetery (coming soon)” navigation link would be frustrating to someone who just experienced a loved one’s death. Just link to contact information or leave out the link until the content is ready. And once you get beyond the homepage, the title tags no longer reference the church’s name, such as “Liturgical Ministries” or “Join Our Parish,” which begs the question which parish? if you’re relying on that snippet in your bookmarks or search engine results. I’d also love to see a couple of staples from other church sites: a site-specific search engine and weekly Sunday bulletins, but the site has so much else going for it.

So what lessons did you learn from the terrific St. John’s and St. Ann’s site?

Comic Bookify Your Church Website

Mark Alves Content Ideas, SEM/SEO

Guy Kawasaki says he’s found “one of the cleverest blog postings” he’s ever seen, and that’s saying something. It’s a photo blog done in comic book style with talk bubbles and a graphic novel layout. In one page with some scrolling you can quickly tell a story with a range of emotions. Sure beats a page of thumbnails or clicking through a tired photo album. Give it a try on your church website, such as to recap a:

  • Youth group retreat
  • Young adults social event
  • RCIA candidates during Holy Week
  • Parish festival or fair
  • Newcomers dinner