The purpose of this tool is to target the recurring visitors and provide them with content they would be most interested in.

he following link is a very good overview of what Google Analytics has to offer: Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics. Also view this excellent Google Analytics Interface Tutorial video by Google. From there you can find other video tutorials that have more advanced topics.

Alternatives to Google Analytics do exist, but are not always free or as easy to install.

In the Wikipedia page List of content management systems, there is over a hundred CMS: some I’ve heard of, others I’ve used, and most that I’ve never seen before. The top three are WordPress, Joomla and Drupal.

WordPress is user-friendly, has a huge community of volunteer web designers and web developers, offers loads of free resources like themes and plugins. There is no lack of tutorials, how-to’s and information on WordPress. It is pretty impressive actually. WordPress started as a simple blog application which was a bit limiting and slowly evolved into a fully grown, highly customizable CMS.

Joomla is apparently a simple “out of the box” (meaning ready to use) installation. I say apparently because I installed it once about 5 years ago and never touched it again. According to a comparison of all three CMS, Joomla’s core structure is rock solid and offers features that the other two have to be done by a developer. (Side note: I noticed that  the website of the comparison link was running on WordPress. Food for thought!)

Drupal, over that last couple of years, has been gaining momentum in the world of CMSes. Although maybe not as user-friendly or simple “out of the box” experience, with the right developer at your side, the sky’s the limit. In the latest version of Drupal, we can see that the Drupal community has been working hard to improve usability. Drupalites mainly consist of geeks, and you know that geeks are always up to neat and awesome things. And as far as I know, Drupal is the only system that has an aggressive web accessibility team to ensure that the core features of Drupal be usable by everyone.

So depending on what type of website you want, you can choose a CMS that suits your needs. If you are not sure, ask an expert. But no matter what CMS you end up choosing, these are the fundamental advantages you, the client, will have:

• No need to learn any programming or coding,
• Complete control of your content,
• Add and modify content anytime and anywhere,
• A lot of features are all ready to install and use,
• Get the latest system updates.

Terms like search engine optimization (SEO), metadata, ranking and search engine marketing (SEM) can be a bit confusing. I will instead give you three basic ways to get your site more visibility on any search engine.

Follow accessibility standards

This is the most technical point, but the most critical of all three points. It demands the know-how from your web professional. The main focus is on making your content available and providing coherent HTML code.
Accessibility standards include:

• Providing alternative text to anything non-textual or complex,
• Using headings sequentially,
• Conserving the purpose (semantics) of all HTML code,
• Making the content of links and destination comprehensible as is.

Get known outside of your sphere

Use external resources to attract attention to your site. Social Networking sites are a great way of increasing your online presence. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and now Google + are the most well known social networking sites, but there are much more out there. They all have different particularities. It is up to you to judge which one fits your needs most. You can also participate in forums, discussion boards and sites with comments that target your desired audience.

Web tools from your favourite search engine

All of the major search engines have what is called “Webmaster tools”. Search engines provide us with the possibility to send them data about your site directly. Data like your site URL and an index of your site, in turn they provide you with basic information on your site and submit it to their database (webcrawler).

Remember that making your site appear in search results takes time and dedication. There are no magic tricks to make your site be in the top results. The tips I gave you should give you a head start into attracting more people to your site.

• Make it short and simple,
• Brainstorm,
• Hyphens or not, numbers or not,
• Make it multilingual,
• .com, .org, .net, .ca?
• Purchasing your domain name,
• Buying off an existing domain name.

Make it short and simple

The idea is to have a domain name that will be easy to remember, easy to say, but mostly easy to find. Something unique like a made up word or an acronym might be ideal, but will be harder for search engines like Google or Bing to find you unless these made up words or acronyms are well known.

Brainstorm

Here are three websites that can help you brainstorm while checking if your choices are available:

• www.panabee.com: Simple and to the point. Write a couple of words and it comes up with a bunch of possible domain names, other suggestions and you can even buy the domain name from them.
• www.domainhole.com: This site has a few more features like a domain generator depending on the length of characters, a name spinner that combines sets of words together with suggestions and even a system to search recently expired domains. Some services require you to create a login.
• www.dotomator.com: You can brainstorm endlessly with a combination of two suggested and/or your own terms.

Hyphens or not, numbers or not

Generally hyphens and numbers are not recommended, but if used in moderation I see no harm in them as long as the domain name is easy to remember or easy to say. Try the domain name without either, see if they are available. See if your domain name passes the “radio test”–meaning, if someone says your domain name on the radio or over the phone, will the person listening be able to get to you website.

Make it multilingual

If your target audience is francophone and anglophone, for example, choose words that work in both languages. If this is impossible, consider purchasing two domain names, one in French and the other in English.

.com, .org, .net, .ca?

As a convention, .com is used for companies, .org for organizations, .net for networks and .ca for Canadian sites. The most common is .com, so even if you don’t have a company, .com is a sound choice for any website. I chose .ca, because my target audience is in Canada and .ca domains are managed by a Canadian agency, unlike the other domains which are run by American agencies. You can buy as many domain derivations as you like, but one is enough.

Purchasing your domain name

Use a well known domain provider like Godaddy. It is better to register your domain name with a different company than your web hosting provider.

Buying off an existing domain name

If you have your heart set on a specific domain name, you can always try to contact the owner of this domain name to buy it off. This can be an expensive option since domain names are sometimes considered as real estate.

• Be prepared to be actively involved,
• Brand yourself: your domain name, logo, and slogan,
• Find what you like,
• Static or dynamic website,
• Have your content ready,
• Get a good Web Hosting provider,
• Consider social networks,
• Maintenance,
• Ask questions.

Be prepared to be actively involved

You must consider the pre-production process as well as the eventual post-production life of your site. Having a successful website demands a consistency and a certain dedication from everyone involved, but especially from the owner of the website. This is particularly the case for any personal or small business website. You will be required to make decisions, sometimes quickly, be receptive to learn a few things along the way and communicate your desires efficiently.

Brand yourself

Branding is essential. Naming yourself or your small business is intertwined with a potential domain name. Do a brainstorming session of what your business represents and find keywords that you like. When you have a couple of potential names, go to www.godaddy.com to make sure that the domain name you like is not already taken. Once you bought your new domain name, invest in a good graphic designer that will create a logo that represents you or your services. Your graphical identity will potentially be a crucial part of your website. In addition, you should think of a slogan or motto for your website. This will be useful for search engine optimization (SEO), more information for Google, Bing and others to better reference your site on  searches people do online.

Find what you like

If you don’t have a crystal clear idea of what you want your website to look like, take the time to look at other websites that offer similar services as you. Think about the colours. If your logo has colours, look at web pages that have similar colours. Note what you like, what you don’t like. There are many design styles so take your time. For quick inspiration, take a look at sites that have an endless selection of web templates like iWeb Templates or Dream Template. A good web designer will be able to conjure something up that respects your budget.

Static or dynamic website

If your budget is tight, you might want to go with a static site. This means that the content of your site will rarely change. A dynamic site refers to a site that has interactive content like a blog with regular articles, a forum, or even a picture gallery. You have to know how much time you want to dedicate to your website. The more interactive your site, the more your potential client will get out of it and the more they’ll be inclined to contact you. Regardless of the frequency of the changes you plan to make, you should opt for a content management system (CMS) that allows you to change any content on your site, anytime, anywhere through the Internet. Initially it might cost a bit more, but in the end you won’t ever have to depend on another person to edit a line, paragraph or misplaced period.

Have your content ready

If you want the production process to take as little time as possible, have your content ready in both languages. Have some idea of what pages you want to include: About me, Contact me, etc.

Get a good Web hosting provider

There’s an abundance of Web hosting providers out there, some better than others. Ask around! Before purchasing your hosting plan consult with your web developer to make sure that the hosting provider has all features needed to run your website.

Consider social networks

Social networks like Facebook, Twitter and the like increase your web presence since more people have a chance to find you. They can be very time consuming because you have to keep adding content. Since there are so many social networking tools, you will probably find one that suits you best.

Maintenance

If you opt for a CMS, you must expect some kind of maintenance at least once a year.  Maintenance will ensure that the CMS of your choice stays secure from hackers and malware.

Ask questions

Please ask questions. No question is stupid. Really!