ONLINE STUDY WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
Become a Web Site Developer
- Start a business at home
- Freelance or seek a job with a web development company
- Lay the foundation for an exciting, long term career
Modules
Note that each module in the Qualification - Certificate In Web Site Development is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.
How to Get Visitors to Your Web Site
Developing a web site is only half of the job. There is little point having a great web site if no one ever looks at it; or if the wrong people are looking at it.
Being a successful web site developer is more than just being technically capable; being good at graphics, or good at writing. All of these skills need to be brought together with marketing skills and a proper awareness of what the web site's purpose is, and who the target market or readership is. A holistic approach to web site development is needed if you want a sustainable business or career in this industry.
It Starts with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Search engine optimisation is an internet marketing strategy whereby websites and social media sites are edited in a way that optimises the chances of them being “picked up” or “found” by a search engine and presented in organic search results.
- If you choose to use words that are very specialised, and only commonly used by a narrow target market, you may attract fewer people, but are more likely to attract the right type of person (potential customers).
- If you choose broader, less targeted terms, you may well get lost in the crowd.
There are tools that can help you determine what keywords to use. These include:
- A thesaurus – this will list equivalent or similar words to the one you are focusing on so that if someone searches for the item using a slightly different term the thesaurus should help you find these potential alternatives.
- Internet marketing tools – marketing services on the internet (such as the Google Ads Keyword tool or Google Trends) have automated services which allow you to enter a series of terms, and see the relative strength of each. You can see lists of suggested keywords and the demand for them as well as the relative popularity of different keywords in different countries.
The best keywords are not the best in every circumstance, for example:
- The best key word in one country might be different is another country. People in one country might search for “home study courses” more than “distance education”; while another country may use “distance education more frequently than “home study” for example.
- Changing a keyword from singular to plural may give you an advantage and vice versa.
- Using variations of the same keyword may give you an advantage
- The number of times you use a keyword may give an advantage
- The places that you use a keyword may be important
The best keyword to use is one that lots of people search for, but which your competitors are not using a lot.
- The best keyword today, can sometimes become the worst tomorrow.
- A popular keyword in one industry may not be as popular in another.
- The only way to work these things out it to analyse it using keyword tools.
How do you actually do this?
Once you have decided on the best keywords for your business you have to integrate them into your website (remember though that the popularity of certain keywords will change as users’ preferences alter – so this is not a static process; to keep your ranking high you will need to keep abreast of popular search terms and keywords and make changes quite regularly). There are many software applications available that allow you to easily import your own keywords (or keywords that have been identified by others as gaining the greatest amount of hits). These ‘keywords’ may not be seen by people who visit your website if they are embedded in the metadata - they are only visible to internet search engines. When a person conducts an internet search using these same words (i.e. those embedded in your website), your site will come up (usually) within the first few listings in the search engine results.
Where should you use keywords?
You can use variations of the keywords that you select for the webpage can be used in the following places:
- Page Title
- Meta Description
- Header
- Sub Header
- Body Paragraphs
- Image Alt Tags
It is recommended that you select one keyword/ theme per webpage that focuses on a particular topic area. The copy that you select to use within the website should not be saturated with the key word that you select (this is called key word stuffing). You should also ensure that you do not place key words where they do not belong- this will not benefit your SEO and will just not make sense to your target audience. Your webpages should be easily read and be understood by your target audience and have a balance between attracting and retaining the interest of customers and whilst also considering then fulfilling your website’s search engine optimisation.
