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10 Great Tips For Your Nonprofit Website
www.see3.net
by See3 Communications
Our work with clients to produce and integrate online video
demands that we keep up with the latest and most effective
web strategies. Here are just a few of our tips on making your
website more effective:
1. Make your site social media friendly. Incorporate appropriate
widgets, chicklets, banners, and badges onto your site. Encourage
video and photo sharing, link to your social network profiles, and
make it easy for bloggers and social networkers to embed your
videos and feature your banners on their web properties. This
will attract new traffic sources, retain visitors, and build community
around your cause.
2. Put your most compelling content front and center. If you
have video or photos showing the work you do, use them! A
strong collection of media can help you build connections in a
way that is not possible with words alone.
3. Look at your website from the visitor's perspective. If you were
a first-time visitor to your website, would you understand the
mission of your organization? Are the actions you want a visitor
to take clear? Is the navigation easy to understand? Surveys are a
great way to gauge your site's usability and keep it dynamic in a
universe that is always changing. Sites like Survey Monkey allow
you to set up a survey that is simple and inexpensive.
4. Email sign-up should be one of the most prominent items, and
the easiest action for a visitor to take. If you don't have an email
newsletter, you should. You can build your list and strengthen
relationships by maintaining regular and meaningful contact with
people who have already shown an interest in what you do. It's
also easier to collect emails if you provide interesting content in
return.
5. Think about the home page description of your organization.
If you only had ten words to describe yourselves, what would
those words be? Make sure the words you use on your site are
accurate and descriptive. It also helps if those words mirror the
keywords and phrases people are likely to use searching for you
or your issues.
6. Feature the 'Donate Now' button. Visitors shouldn't have to
think about ways to engage with you - you need to show them
how you want them to engage. Putting a Donate Now button
on your site doesn't guarantee anyone will use it. But if you
make a compelling case for your work, you should make it
easy for visitors to support you.
7. Don't hide your address and phone number. Even in this
high tech world, we still know that the best way to build a
relationship is showing people that you're real. Phone numbers
and addresses build trust and a sense of accessibility and is
often the one piece of content people are looking for when
they go to your site.
8. Three clicks and you're out. Make sure everything you might
want a visitor to do on your site is no more than three clicks
away. Research indicates that you lose 40% of visitors with each
click.
9. Build and test your search function. A search function and
site map is a quick and easy way to help users get to their
destination as quickly as possible. Analysis on the backend
through a tool such as Google Analytics will tell you if users
are finding what they need on your site.
10. Connect to your blog. An organization blog is a great
forum for the latest news and online engagement. Think of
your blog as your website's little buddy. Only start a blog if
you have something to say and are ready to make a
commitment. If you aren't sure, try guest blogging for
someone who already writes on similar topics. A blog
also helps raise your ratings with search engines.
(We blog at http://blog.see3.net/.)
For specific campaigns or issues, a microsite might be the best
idea. These are smaller sites with different URLs that speak
about one specific topic. You can build an online marketing
campaign around a microsite without confusing the visitor
with other options. For example, Amnesty International
launched TearItDown.org and AVODAH launched
Jews4NewOrleans.org to focus on specific issues with specific
calls to action.
To learn more about our web strategy services, contact us
at (773) 784-7333 or info@see3.net.
Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - May 17, 2008