Key Word Research & Burgers King!!!

Hi all!!! 

This is my 4^th blog post. Today I am going to explain what a key word research is and how to conduct a Google Adwords campaign using the research findings. Google Adwords basically falls under paid advertising, which is a part of Search Engine Marketing (SEM).The organization I am considering is Burgers King , a fast food restaurant in Colombo.

The first step is to log on to Google Adwords.Then go to Keyword tool option in “Tools & Analysis” tab. Then you will get following window.

Since I am going to do the Adword campaign to Burgers King, I entered “Fast food restaurants in Colombo” as the word or phrase. As the category I selected fast food restaurants.

Then under Advanced options and filters, as the country Sri Lanka & as the language English was selected.

When we give search command we get following keyword findings according to our request.

Then we need to select highest locally used words and download them to a spread sheet.

Next step is to create the ad campaign. For this we need to go to campaign tab on the top. When you proceed there’s space to enter headline, description and URL.Here you can see the ad which I created to Burgers King.

After creating the ad what we have to do is enter the keywords which we selected from the research. It is done as below.

Finally when everything is done we just have to press “save and continue to billing”. Once you make the payment the Ad goes live. Burgers king could be highly benefited from this Adword campaign.

Hope you got something new from this blog post…

Cheers :) 

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization is a main form of Search Engine Marketing. As Wikipedia defines Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural" or un-paid ("organic") search results. Successful SEO leads the website to perform well in the organic search results.SEO falls under permission marketing which attracts the target audience.

There are some key success factors to SEO. Website crawlability is one of them.Crawlability means ability of a search engine to crawl through the entire text content of the website and easily navigating to every web page. So we should make sure that all navigational links are visible to search engines.

Other success factor is key word research. This helps in identifying what are the words that your existing and potential customers are using to search about the services or products that you offer. With this understanding SEO can be carried out effectively.

Other important thing is we should decide is how viewers will be going to more specific pages navigating from the home page. Site mapping should be done with care. It should allow the viewer to return to home page without a burden.

Content building and formatting should be a priority regardless of the type of the web site. Basically content should be easy to read, should be organized around the main topic of the site and unique and fresh. And the content should be mainly aiming at viewers of the site. Otherwise the    unnecessary content can be annoying to the viewers.

On the other hand images play a major role in SEO. ”alt” feature allows tagging (alt tag) information to the image. This content should provide details about the image.

Apart from above mentioned there are much more success factors to SEO.such as Internal linking, Domain properties and URL , Authority building and website maintenance. finally i would like to share something i found in the internet "The periodic table of SEO ranking factors" this shows on the page and off the page activities and the weight ages that should be given.

Analysis of Ada Derana website usability

Ada Derana website is a major news provider website in Sri Lanka. I am going to apply 25 point website usability check list in order to evaluate www.adaderana.lk.

Accessibility

1. Site load-time is reasonable

    Site loading is very quick. It takes only 2 to 3 seconds.

2. Adequate text-to-background contrast

    Text-to-background is well designed. They have used Black and Red on White background which is highly contrasting. Which allows reader go through the text without any burden.

3. Font size/Spacing is easy to read

    Headlines are in slightly big font and are readable. But it would be great if content font and line space increased.

4. Flash & add-ons are used sparingly

    Ada Derana web site is so much cluttered with Flash & add-ons.Basically it is distracting the viewer.

5. Images have appropriate ALT tags.

    ALT tags have been used very well. When the viewer moves the cursor on to an image it provides a brief description of the news.

6. Site has custom "not found/404" page

    Site does not have a customized 404 page; neither has it directed the viewer to the home page. This is a minus point.

Identity

7. Company logo is prominently placed

    They have placed the logo in a banner which is on top. Since Red is highly used for news headlines, Logo is not highlighted.

8. Tagline makes company’s purpose clear

    Sri Lanka’s premium 24 x 7 News portal is the tag line of the site which gives a clear understanding of the purpose of the company.

9. Home page is digestible in 5 seconds

    Site is understandable to the visitor in less than 5 seconds.

10. Clear path to company information

      Company information is not available in the web site. This is essential to build up the confidence of the viewer.

11. Clear path to contact information

      Contact us tab can be easily seen on the top menu bar. This also provides advertising information to the companies.

Navigation

12. Main navigation is easily identifiable

      Navigation is easy with all the tabs provided in the top of the site.

13. Navigation labels are clear and concise

      They are OK.but it would be better if put in much bigger font and in upper case. Labels are in one word. That can be seen as a good thing.

14. Number of buttons/links is reasonable

      The number of buttons they have used is high compared with other sites. But since this is a news provider that is fine.

15. Company logo is linked to home page

      When the visitor clicks on the logo it takes him to the home page. This is a feature most of the viewers are expecting.

16. Links are consistent and easy to identify

      There are links to sports, business and also to Facebook, Twitter and you tube. They are in smaller font so not easy to identify.

17. Site search is easy to access

      Yes. Site search is provided in the top right corner which is very easy to access.

Content

18. Major heading are clear and descriptive

      Major headings of the site are Lead story, hot news and top picture story. But they are not that much clear. Only difference is that font is in Blue. Font size is same as normal news headlines.

19. Critical content is above the “Fold”

      Yes. Lead Story and Hot news are above the fold.

20. Styles and colors are consistent

      Yes. Site consistency was there from the beginning. With the Red and Blue headings, Black content, Same Font and etc.

21. Emphasis is used sparingly

      Lead Story heading is in Blue and other headings are in bold font in Red background to get the attention.

22. Ads and Pop-ups are unobtrusive

      So much of Ads and Pop-ups have been used which interrupt and distract the viewer.

23. Main copy is concise and explanatory

      Yes. At a glance viewer can understand this is all about News.

24. URL’s are meaningful and user friendly

      http://www.adaderana.lk/ This URL is easy to remember, meaningful as it is the same name as the television news.

25. HTML page titles are explanatory

      <title>Sri Lanka News-Adaderana-Truth First</title>

Explanatory enough.


In my opinion Ada derana website would be much more user friendly if it goes for some changes with font size, line spacing and reduce the Ad clutter.