Blogging for SEO

My job is about making a good landing page for potential customers of our clients. While I do have rather limited control of this, I do however have full control of the banner, at the very least.  Thus I practically spend all my time doing this, since after all it is the look that interests people, not what goes into it. On top of that, I have been doing webpage/site/application design for many years now, which definitely helps with the creativity. For this post I will only focus on the banner aspect of a page. Since this is the case, the reset of the example page should be taken for face value as it is all pretty standard. Here is the link to the example page:

http://www.newmexicohomesforsalenow.com/

The FIRST thing to remember about a banner is that it needs to convey a message of some sort. Typically speaking, this message is the company logo and usually some additional elements that have some meaning to the business. For instance in the example, the example is a site of a Realtor. What do Realtors do? They buy and sell homes for people… so what does the example banner say to you? most would probably say big houses. This is the message.

When attempting to determine what the message is, ask yourself, what does this company do? Who is the target audience? What product/service do they offer? Where are they located? What areas do they service? Questions like these generally give you an idea of things to look for to include in your banner.

Another good source for finding the message, or an idea thereof, is their main site. Look at their current banner. If it was designed professionally, chances are that the creator knew the message and incorporated it in the banner. Your goal is to have an unparalleled understanding of the message, such that your banner is better in every aspect. Additionally the content that is provided on the current site is generally a good indicator to the message to convey.

SECOND, any text incorporated in the banner absolutely must be readable. Text that is not readable is defeating the point of including it. If you are following the first rule, you are only including elements that have relevance to the message. If that element happens to be text, like a slogan or business name, then if this is not properly communicated, then you have some scribble on your banner and are not portraying your clear concise message.

If you use PhotoShop or PSP they both give you sample text named to the font in the font selection screen, to sort of stream-line the font selection process. Just a side note, in graphic design there is actually a field dedicated to typological design. It is a very important aspect of all fields of design not only in banners.

THRID, use your tools, and use them as effectively as possible. What do I mean? For the PhotoShop users, you have a very powerful program at your finger tips. However, statistically, you will only use about 3-5% of it’s true capabilities. Thus what I mean is learn it. Get a book. Get tutorials from the NET. Find a real tutor. Take a class. Know your trade. Simple.

I love using metaphor speaking so here goes. Working in graphic design, at any skill level, with powerful tools you have no idea how to use, is like being in a grand master mechanic’s garage with every tool imaginable and expecting your car to fix itself, even though you have no idea what 95% of these tools do. Experiment. Most people have a specific learning facilitation that aides them more than others. For me, it is a technique called Kinesthetic Learning. What that means is that I learn best through doing. I learn less through Audio Learning (like lectures) types and Written Learning (like textbooks) types.  Find your nitch, then find some source to learn from, and then practice. Practice makes perfect.

I hope this blog helped you.

Loushou.