Who cares what the glass looks like...is the beer any good?

Who cares how a website looks if it doesn’t work?

Well, the owner of the site, usually. Many of the websites I’ve built over the years have been for clients who care very much how their websites look, and often make decisions to enhance that aesthetic quality at the expense of usability (the ease with which a person uses the website).

Of course the “look” of a site is important. A website needs to draw and engage the eye quickly, or at the very least, not make the visitor puke on their keyboard (here, this might help you with that).

But drawing the eye is only part of the equation. Readers familiar with this subject might here expect me to talk about “function”, and how it needs to take precedence over “form.” In other words, don’t sacrifice usability for flashy eye-candy. But we all understand that, don’t we? I don’t need to beat this dead horse, because look, here’s a perfectly good, live horse that’s ripe for a beating:

Form follows Function follows Content

What’s usually left out of the puzzle is content. Yet content is the most important piece. It’s what the internet is about; it’s what you visit websites for. It’s what you came here for. You’re reading content right now.

Would it make a difference to you if this site was ugly (go ahead, call the site ugly–Google knows where you live), so long as you were still interested in this article?

Further (let’s assume you came via direct link), would it have mattered to you if, when you came here to read this article, the navigation was broken, the images didn’t show up, or the styles or scripts didn’t operate quite right? Would you still have read the article? I think so, provided you were interested enough. And interest in content is only effected by lack of good function or form to the degree that lacking hinders your ability to view the content.

Form follows function follows content. Content comes first; it’s what we build the website around. As a designer, it’s always better for me to know the content before beginning design work. It allows me to design a better website, something that fits the content in look, layout, and function, and to do it much more efficiently.

The benefit to you, the business owner, is a better website all around.

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Photo courtesy of stevendepolo

Is The Look Of A Website Most Important? is a post from: RSA Blog

"The cobbler's children have no shoes."

We’re entering 2010 with a new website, but also a fresh perspective and a new appreciation for the position our clients are in when embarking upon web development projects.

As an agency that offers web development as a core service, we’ve been painfully conscious of the need to update our website for a few years now. It took us a good long while to devote enough attention to getting our own work done, for the obvious reason of being extremely busy with client work. As Robert once put it, “The cobbler’s children have no shoes.”

Of course finding the time was only part of it. It’s often said “you are your own worst critic,” but we never thought we’d also be our own worst client. Turns out we are.

The Curse of Knowledge

We’ve built websites from research to release, from the ground up, and been very successful at it. Dozens of times. Yet for some inexplicable reason, all of our knowledge about marketing and web strategy, design and usability became completely useless when we started on our own website project. We may as well have been school children trying to reach Mars.

I’ve pondered this at length: how and why does this happen? It didn’t take long to realized we’re not unique in this – it happens with many of our clients as well. But it was rather surprising to experience it first-hand after being on the outside for all other projects.

What we experienced was the overwhelming scope of a web project that involves something so personal you can’t separate the emotional from the pragmatic; the technical from the preferential. This subject matter was so internalized – we take so much of it for granted – that it was immensely difficult to pull it out and put it down on “paper” in a way that made any sense to others. If you’ve ever read Made to Stick, you’ll recognize this as the “Curse of Knowledge,” as the Heath brothers coined it.

But this experience also underscores the value we offer our clients, not only in expertise or great service, but also through caring enough about your business to understand the emotional element, yet remaining objective enough to weigh the practical and external concerns. It’s much easier for an outside agency to keep a project on focus without the “curse” of detailed and ultimately distracting knowledge of the subject matter we found in ourselves during the project.

In other words, if not for the fact we are an advertising and marketing agency, I would love to have hired such an agency to help us with our website. After all, the surgeon doesn’t operate on himself.

Need a Hand?

So here we are in 2010, with a fresh look and a fresh outlook. What about you? Thinking of building your first website or upgrading the one you have? Feeling overwhelmed or apprehensive? We’ve been there, and we can help.

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Photo courtesy of alanlpriest

Meet Our Worst Client is a post from: RSA Blog

Whenever I sit down to go through ideas for blog posts, I inevitably think of a few that sound great, only to realize hey, we already wrote that one. A lot of the things we wrote about last year are still relevant even now – maybe more so.

Looking back through our logs, it’s no surprise to find some content was more popular than others. After all, we’re still experimenting to find the sort of thing you, our readers, find most useful.

To make sure you didn’t miss any of the good ones from last year, here’s a short list of our most viewed posts from 2009.

Why Good Customer Service Is So Important

5 Reasons Not to Cut Your Marketing Budget in a Recession

Elements of Internet Marketing

Going Nuts? Don’t Cut your Marketing

Should You Put Video On Your Website?

Understanding Web Design

14 Practical Uses For Social Media

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Photo courtesy of kevinzim

Stuff You Liked From 2009 is a post from: RSA Blog

Within the search results you not only get a link to Google maps for directions, but a link to the coffee shop’s site. Upon entering their website you are automatically eligible for a mobile discount: a free latte, which is redeemable at the register by simply showing the mobile coupon code you will receive in a text message.

Does your website work for mobile?

Does this scenario seem a little crazy or far-fetched to you? Well, it is more realistic than you might think. In fact, it’s already happening.

Mobile Marketing Today

Mobile websites are not only used as a quick way to find information, but they have become yet another avenue for marketing campaigns.

Capturing the attention of multiple generations and target demographics, mobile marketing is an intricate and interesting venture that effectively ties into other marketing efforts.

Mobile marketing can be used to help establish brand awareness through many different outlets like mobile search banner ads and SMS advertising. Before you get too excited though, remember that mobile marketing is largely useless without a properly functioning mobile website.

Your Website, Mobile

Contrary to popular belief, websites built for standard web browsers do not display very well (if at all) on mobile devices. While standard websites can have multiple features, the main purpose behind a mobile site is a simple call-to-action.

Call-to-action features allow for users to accomplish something useful, such as finding the location of a restaurant, making a hotel reservation, or subscribing to text alerts or an e-newsletter. Whatever the action is, it should be easily accessible to users as soon they land on the site.

Whether the goal is getting more customers in the door, increasing online sales or reservations, a good mobile website will help make it happen. With a growing demand from mobile web users to have accessible and customizable mobile sites, business owners and marketers around the world are working to keep their customers happy both at their desk and on the go.

How does your website look on mobile devices?

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Photo courtesy of edans

Mobile Marketing and Your Website is a post from: RSA Blog

Don't get robbed.

I don’t know anything about rockets or surgery. If I wanted to find a good rocket surgeon, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea where to start. I’m not at all confident I could find the right person for the job; someone who won’t rip me off or do a half-baked job (hey, no disrespect to rocket surgeons, but some of you are kind of shady).

If you feel that way about finding a good web designer*, I may be able to help (yeah, some of you are shady, too).

There are key values, practices or qualifications in any profession that can help you judge its practitioners. So you might proceed in your search with greater confidence, I’ve outlined below some key things to look for in a good web designer (Surprisingly, little of it has to do with actual ‘design’ skill).

1. A good web designer listens.
It’s incredibly difficult to solve a design problem without knowing what that problem is. A designer who listens when you explain your business and web needs is going to be much better equipped to provide an effective solution.

If the designer seems to be doing all the talking, consider moving on. They might be the best designer in the world, but if they haven’t listened and understood your problems, it’s unlikely they’ll give you an effective solution.

2. A good web designer asks questions.
In my experience, clients are not always able to articulate their needs, wants, or problems the first time. Sometimes it’s the questions they’re asked that will bring issues to the surface, or reveal directions or solutions right away that may have been overlooked.

If a designer isn’t asking any questions, he’s either telepathic or he doesn’t care much about solving your problem.

3. A good web designer solves business problems.
It’s not about making things pretty. Many designers – and clients – get caught up in the aesthetic aspect of the work, or the latest design trends and tricks. If you want a product that will address your specific needs, however, you want a designer with a more ‘objective’ perspective, who focuses on *your* business problem, not someone who churns out another carbon copy of their latest design obsession.

Look at their portfolio with a critical eye. If they show work in diverse industries, the graphical elements and overall styles should be very different.

4. A good web designer helps you understand what he does and why.
Some people don’t like having to explain themselves or educate clients on design or usability fundamentals. Their language will be intentionally vague and full of buzzwords in an effort to bedazzle or confuse, or they’ll simply talk to you like you’re a third-grader.

Look for someone who cares enough to help you understand everything that’s going on. Their language will be accessible, and they won’t talk down to you.

5. A good web designer has a wide range of in-depth industry knowledge.
Unless you’re on a three-figure budget, you probably don’t want to hire the kid next door who took one HTML class and has a Geocities (RIP) site. To ensure a successful outcome, you’ll want to make sure your designer or agency is proficient in basic tools such as Photoshop or Fireworks, XHTML and CSS, and also has skills in things like search engine optimization, programming, web writing, marketing, the web-hosting process, and maybe even some print graphic design.

Ask the designer about her process. What steps will she take to solve your problem? What tools does she use? Does she adhere to web standards?

6. A good web designer thinks of the end-user.
He knows it’s his job to be the advocate for the people who will be using your website, and for the content those people will be viewing.

While your opinion on design, content, interface and usability decisions is important, it’s only important to the degree that it’s informed by business sense and knowledge of your customers and industry. If your opinion is merely based on personal preference or assumptions about your audience or web users, a good web designer will argue the point – and he’d do well to argue vigorously (but respectfully, right designers?).

If a designer isn’t concerned about how the people visiting your website will use it, but only about his own preferences – or even yours – it’s time to move on.

7. A good web designer is a professional.
Design isn’t all about skill in creating dazzling graphics. It’s also about knowing enough about business and marketing to create an effective solution to whatever problem you face. It’s about being consistent in communication, professionalism, and work. It’s about delivering as promised.

A designer who doesn’t care to dress reasonably well, speak well, or solve your problem effectively in a timely manner probably doesn’t care much about you as a client. Or eating anytime soon.

8. A good web designer is honest.
Hell, any good professional is honest. Right? RIGHT? If business is all about making money at the expense of quality work and lasting relationships, then we’re all doomed. (Notice anything about our economy lately?)

A good web pro will tell it like it is. They won’t make guarantees about your search engine rankings. They won’t claim to be a social media “guru”, or expert, or rock star, maven, ninja, wizard, or god. They won’t inflate the price of their work to unreasonable proportions but neither will they deep-discount their work just to make the sale.

If the designer you’re talking to does any of this, run away. Better yet, call me.

And more…

There are plenty more I could list, but you get the idea.

The most important thing you can do when looking for a good web designer is to ask questions. Asking more questions will help you understand the process of web development much better if you’re talking to a good web pro, or it will bring up a lot of red flags if you’re face-to-face with a poor one.

Have you ever had a bad experience with a designer? Tell us about it here, and offer your own advice for finding a good web designer.

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* This implies ‘one person working independently,’ but for the purposes of this article I mean to include all web professionals: agencies and other web organizations; anyone you might hire for your web project.

How to Find a Good Web Designer is a post from: RSA Blog

She's right...

What is “good” web design? Many people don’t understand what makes websites good or bad, and some are even surprised to learn that effective web design takes time, and isn’t cheap. Let me explain…

When you look at a website, you’re looking at an end product. Like a car, there’s really no indication of what went into the creation of the product. We can break it down into its individual parts – wheels, pistons, frame, gears – but we don’t know *why* they, specifically, were used in its construction, or how to acquire and assemble the right types of parts for another car.

Who decides what’s good?

Most of us probably don’t understand how cars are designed, and have only a basic understanding of how they work. But we do know how to use them. We call them “sweet” or “clunker,” seeing distinctions in quality based on various attributes, such as age, safety, power, or utility.

Let’s dwell on that for a second. The designers and engineers who build these complex machines understand them a gazillion times better than you or I, and yet *we* are the arbiters of automotive quality? How does that work?

It’s simple, really. Cars are designed to solve our traveling problems. Need to pull cargo in hilly terrain? Alright, here’s a truck with more power…how’d we do?

“I need cargo space, but also passenger room.” Here’s your gas-guzzler.

“I need a place to put my drink while on long trips.” Okay: this model has 200 cup holders.

“I need an economical car.” Here’s a chair on wheels.

And we get to be the judge as to how well they’ve accomplished those goals. SUV? Wildly popular. Chair on wheels? Not so much.

So these researchers, designers, engineers and others all get together and attempt to solve our problems. They each have a role in the design and construction of our cars, and, together with all the complex parts and mechanisms in the machine, make for a price that can be pretty shocking.

After all, it’s just this little car. Like…a frame on wheels, right? With lights. And gears. Computers. An engine. Hoses and fluids and wires. Fabric and safety belts and airbags and safety glass and…yeah, that sounds expensive now.

You know what? I bet many of us could walk into a big automotive company office and tell those designers a thing or two about building cars. They’re made for *us*, after all. “Here’s what I want…”

But we’re not really telling them how to design cars, are we. We’re just telling them what problem we want them to solve. In the end we trust them to solve these problems in the most effective way, all variables taken into account, because we just don’t know how to design or build cars.

So now that we’ve completely forgotten the point of this article, let’s get back to web design.

Web design is…

The process of solving a business problem, communicating a message, and facilitating user action on the web. That’s my working definition. By all means, critique it in the comments – I’d love to get it nailed down.

1. Solving a business problem.
Website design – even print graphic design – is not art. As a designer, I’m not creating a work of art. The graphical and architectural decisions I make throughout the process are not primarily based on my own preferences – I have reasons for each choice I’ve made.

This is because I am creating a solution to a business problem. However one might want to articulate that problem, it usually can be constructed as an objective end, “Generate more foot traffic,” or, “Increase non-local sales,” or, “Take over the world.” Whatever the objective, all of my efforts as a designer revolve around it and attempt to fulfill it. This takes research and planning, information organization, writing, discussion, graphics work and programming.

The point here is that web design isn’t like creating art. Designers do have to think about the aesthetic form of the design, but within the context of business goals and the rules that go along with a communicated message.

2. Communicating a message.
With every website, something specific needs to be communicated, both visually and through the copy. Call it the brand or the marketing message – either way for this message to be communicated successfully, graphic and structural decisions must be subordinate to it. Does this color help convey the message? Does it fit the brand? Is it simply a preference? In web design, preferences must die.

3. Facilitating user action.
If there’s a clear goal for a website, the website user or “visitor” is involved on some level. You want them to read something, click something, subscribe, purchase, or interact in some other way. The design of the website must facilitate and not hinder whatever action you want the user to take.

All design decisions must be subordinate to usability. If a website looks great but is slow and clunky, or isn’t easy to figure out, it is not an effective solution to your business problem. Yet if it’s incredibly usable but has no visual appeal, you might also say it’s less effective than it could be. So there is a balance to be found, but when it comes down to either aesthetics or usability, usability must win. If your visitors don’t take the action you want them to take, you’ve failed.

Clear as mud?

I know there is confusion out there, and I hope this helps somehow. Creating a website is not just painting a pretty picture or moving some colored boxes around on the screen. It is an attempt to construct the most effective solution to meet a business goal, and sometimes this can be a lofty endeavor. There are so many things to consider beyond just the “look” of the site: the user experience, structure of information, findability, search engines, and more. It’s no wonder this stuff takes time.

But we’re not talking about a piece of wall art, here. This is a business investment, the core of your company’s web presence – a web used by over 1.5 billion people worldwide.

Don’t you think that’s something to take seriously?

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Photo credit: lmnop88a

Understanding Website Design is a post from: RSA Blog

As a business owner or marketer, you’re always taking steps to stay ahead of the competition in a marketplace that’s always changing. The web is no different; it’s always changing as well.

Businesses online must keep up with the constant changes in web technology, trends, and techniques, or be left far behind very quickly.

As for your website, you need to take dozens of constantly-changing elements into account that will, at some point, affect the value of your web presence and the viability of your business online. Here are nine.

1. A “brochure-style” website is good enough.

This hasn’t been true for almost a decade. Competition on the web is stiff, and you’ll have a hard time maintaining a successful website if it’s a purely static, online “brochure.”

Instead, you should be constantly updating your content to reflect changes in your business or organization, your market, technology, and the needs or desires of your customers and website users.

Further, your content should be configured or “optimized” to cater to your specific market. We call this search engine optimization (SEO).

2. Websites should contain as much information as possible.

While placing every bit of content you have on your website may seem logical, it can actually hinder the user experience and reduce conversions. If you have a very well-designed website, you may not have a problem offering a lot of content. But this sort of design takes not only good visual communication skills (read: graphic design, information architecture), but also a well-thought-out content strategy.

Anything less and you run the risk of publishing a website that’s bloated, slow, overwhelming to the user, or ineffective for search.

3. The “home” page is the entry page.

This may have been true at some point, but it isn’t anymore. Most website traffic comes from search engines, and any given search can bring up any page of your website – not just the homepage. So a visitor can come to your website through almost any page.

But realize this is a good thing! It helps you better understand your website traffic; who is entering your website, where did they enter, and why. Then you can better structure your website and content to better serve these visitors.

4. “Intro” animations or “splash” pages are awesome.

With sincerest apologies to anyone I ever built a splash screen for: no, they are not awesome. They are clumsy and superfluous, and as a visitor to your website I can assure you they do not add anything positive to my experience of your content, but simply get in the way.

5. The focus of my website is me and my stuff.

Wrong. The focus of your website is the visitor, and how they experience it. Does that seem backwards to you? It shouldn’t.

This shift in focus has been a long time coming. It’s changed the way we do almost everything on the web, whether content structure, navigation layout, page layout, graphic design – it’s even changed the way we analyze web statistics.

So keep this in mind when thinking about your website: it’s all about the user.

6. “Click here to see more!”

Again, we’re more than a decade into this era – do we really need to tell people to click? I mean, assuming you’ve provided some form of differentiation for links (i.e. underlined, blue, bold), there isn’t really a reason to tell people they have to click it.

There are, however, several reasons not to, the most important being its affect on accessibility and SEO.

7. Welcome to our website!

When the web was young, each new person or organization to join up and publish content was overflowing with excitement. With all the ecstatic jubilation of a 4-year-old who’s just received a new playhouse, they proclaimed: “Welcome to our homepage!”

Alright, well…it’s a little played out, and a lot unnecessary. A better tactic would be to analyze what your current visitors find most important on your website, and highlight that in place of a welcome message.

8. “The Fold”

I remember 640 by 480 pixels. You know, the maximum screen resolution on those tiny computer displays we all had at the dawn of the Internet. Boy, those are long gone now aren’t they?

Well “The Fold” isn’t quite extinct, but it certainly isn’t as important a consideration as it was.

“The Fold,” by the way, is a metaphor drawn from newsprint where content of supreme importance was placed on the top half of the front page, “above the fold,” so as to be immediately visible to readers or passers-by. Likewise content of great importance should be placed “above the fold” on the website – that is, above the bottom of the browser window.

The problem is we have so many different screen sizes now, it’s difficult to identify exactly where the “fold” is. Further, we’re over a decade into the “web” era – I think most of us are accustomed to a bit of scrolling.

9. Because I can!

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Yes, you can add a hit counter to your site. Yes you can make text blink, or add scrolling marquee, or animated GIFs and clipart. But think for a second: are you adding it just because you like it or think it’s “cool”?

What about your target audience (see number 5)? Is their experience improved or made worse by the addition of these things?

Look, would you base a marketing campaign decision involving TV/radio/print (read: $$$$) on something as shallow as “because I like it”? No? Then why would you do it online? This is all part of your marketing effort, so your decisions should be based on strategic goals and research.

You do have strategic goals for your website, don’t you?

So there’s only nine out of dozens; clearly there are a lot more. But if you think I missed any big ones, let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear what others think about this topic.

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Photo credit: gothopotam

Keeping Up With a Changing Web is a post from: RSA Blog

In the audio below, I cover some basic questions that you need to consider before making a decision about web video, and talk about the age-old question of costs.  While the discussion will continue in-depth in the weeks to come, this first clip should help you begin the decision-making process with some easy-to-understand fundamentals and historical perspective.

Give it a listen:

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Should You Put Video On Your Website? is a post from: RSA Blog

This is your website (credit: machity)

An old, rickety car slowly pulled into the car dealership lot and parked. It belched black smoke as the clunky engine finally backfired and gave up. A man got out of the car and strolled into the office. The salesman met him there, asking if he could be of any assistance.

The conversation went something like this:

Salesman: “Hi, how are you doing? What can I help you with?”

Customer: “I need a new car.”

S: “Ah, I see! Well you’ve come to the right place. We have plenty of cars on the lot, and can order anything you might want that we don’t already have. Any idea what you’re looking for?”

C: “Yes, you see I am a salesman myself, and I spend a lot of time driving to see customers and prospects. But my car is rather old, and the engine barely works. In fact, I can only drive in first gear!”

S: “Wow! I bet that makes it hard to visit many customers in a day. Can I interest you in this brand new Complete Car? It’s well-rounded with a great engine, good looks, comfortable interior, and will certainly connect you with your customers.”

C: “Well, I wonder if you can just repaint my old car, maybe get rid of some of the dents. It could probably use new upholstery, too.”

S: “…”

If that seems to you like a strange turn of events in this completely made-up story, you’re not alone. I see this all the time, except instead of cars, we’re talking websites.

Out with the Old

Online competition is much too stiff for the old, static, “brochure-style” website to be very successful anymore. That kind of website is the old clunker with a weak engine; it doesn’t get around very well.

The pitfall I see people running into – especially in this region of South Dakota – is the notion that an “updated look” will take their website into the modern age. To be fair, a snazzy-looking website doesn’t necessarily hurt – provided it’s on target. But there are other important considerations in today’s online market.

This is your website on SEO (credit: SFB579)

For example, how are people going to find your website in the first place, and what are you doing to facilitate this? Will they find your competitors instead? How do you know if customers are finding you online versus other media? How much traffic hits your website? How do visitors use the website? What are people telling each other about your products or services?

In with the New

You can’t answer these questions with a paint job. You need a better engine, better tires, power steering – you get the idea. Your website needs analytics, search engine optimization, and social media engagement is also something to consider. These elements combine to give you a well-rounded (and much more effective) web presence; a Complete Car.

The point: SEO is not just something to add to your website. If you want to be at all successful in your online market, SEO is a must, at least to some degree.

You may be on a tight budget, and so tempted to cut these elements out of your online marketing plan. Resist the urge! Cut back on something else – perhaps the redesign of the site graphics can wait. If no one can find your website, they won’t be able to see the cool new paint job anyway.

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[Photo credit | Top: machity | Bottom: SFB579]

SEO is not an Add-on is a post from: RSA Blog

Well, to be honest, SEO is a strategy, not a “quick fix” or a “one-time deal”. It will take time and it will be an investment. Generally, for low to moderately competitive areas, it may take 3 – 6 months to begin seeing results.  If the area of focus is highly competitive, results can take 6 months to a year.

Here are a few basic factors we consider when forming an effective SEO strategy:

How will people find you? (aside from the name of your company)
Researching relevant, competitive keyword terms people use when searching for what-ever-it-is-they-are-looking-for and cross matching these terms with your products and services is the most important part of the optimization process. This is the foundation from which we will build, and much like a building, laying a strong foundation takes time if you want it to last.

Is your website SEO-friendly?
Making a website “SEO-friendly” is crucial to improving your SERP rankings, as well as the site’s ability to effectively communicate with your site visitors. On-page content is essential…is the copy written for the web or was it once used on a printed brochure? Is it written for everyday-people? Does every element of the site use keywords effectively?

How user-friendly is your site?
Just like making the site “SEO-friendly”, how user-friendly a site is also contributes to both your ranking on SERPs and your website’s ability to maintain your audience once they have arrived. The number of images, use of video, and interactivity, as well as navigation structure and overall organization are also important. If people do find your site, but immediately “bounce back” because they can’t find what they’re looking for, you just lost potential sales. People will rarely revisit a site after a bad experience or considering it “unhelpful”.

Do other industry-related sites link to yours?
Backlinks (links inbound to your site) are important – Google and the other search engines rank sites higher if they appear to have the most relevant content. This means they give weight to the number of links pointing to YOUR site. Which site do you think could potentially be more useful, the site that has 5 people pointing to it or 500?

What is your opposition doing to increase their rankings?
As you work to improve your site’s ranking, your competition is likely to be doing the same to maintain their position.

How did the latest Google algorithm change affect your site? What about the next one?
Search engines rank sites according to proprietary algorithms, and these continually change (Google just did a change last month to the description characters, the month before that it was duplicate content).

So, is it possible to achieve the elusive “first page ranking on Google”?  Of course, but it won’t happen overnight! There are many variables involved in achieving a front-page ranking (not to mention maintaining it), the length of time it takes to get to page 1 and how much it will cost will differ from one client to the next depending on competition, market focus, and aggressiveness of strategy.

Just remember…the dollars this can potentially add to your company’s bottom line will directly reflect the dollars you invest into the strategy to not only get you there, but also keep your position; and to remain effective, the SEO strategy will last the lifetime of the site.

How to get to the Top of Google? is a post from: RSA Blog