12/8/13 InvestCloud’s cScore Drill-down: Navigation & SEO Over the last several weeks we have been drilling-down into the elements of InvestCloud’s approach to analyzing the effectiveness of a financial website. We call it our cScore and so far we have covered Aesthetics, Primary and Secondary Content, and Blogging. We have focused on this for an extended period because the advisor and money manager web-site has become the single most important marketing tool that a firm has. From our experience, far too many firms still approach their sites as an afterthought, believing that performance and personal connections are all that really matter. If that were ever true, clearly that is no longer the case. In this week’s installment we come to Navigation and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). As these have more to do with less obvious, background elements, they are often neglected. Here we will shed some light on some of the more important aspects of each. Navigation. Effective website navigation for many firms is relatively easy because the amount of content on their sites is fairly simple. In fact many firms would do well to use primary (first level) navigation only. A well-written first-level presents better than a spotty second level. For mid-size and larger firms, especially those that have begun to take content development more seriously and who regularly produce new strategy and market commentary the problem becomes more involved. The key with site navigation is to keep it simple and intuitive. Design around the universal metaphor of the outline or tree structure and do not overcrowd the top-level menus. Exploit the ease of drilling into textual content to keep your pages short, but be careful to use it consistently so that it is always clear how to get back to the higher-level content. Make sure that your external and drill down links are clear and that every page is linked to “home”. Another key here is to have on every page both a contact link as well as a call to action such as: “set an appointment” or “request more information”.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization). In addressing SEO the first bit to get out of the way is the generally held understanding that investors do not use search engines to find advisors. In fact that is true. However, if your firm is a specialty asset manager with a very identifiable niche that lends itself to certain keyword searches, it is important to elevate your search “rank”. But, do not overlook the critical importance of search “results”. The reason that “results” are critical while “rank” is not is that while investors do not often use search to find advisors, they consistently use search to “validate” advisors. By that we mean that they use the results of searches to confirm what they believe they have learned through personal contact. Almost always Google, sometime Yahoo or Bing, and often supplemented by LinkedIn and Facebook, potential clients, or the children of current clients, will form a view of your firm from the impressions given by your aggregate online identity. For that reason is it very important that your firm be as aware of the words, images, and impressions that show up in these online ecosystems as you are of how you personally, and your office, present when you are preparing for an important meeting. Your firm should have a Facebook page that coordinates with the branding and messaging of the
home page of your website. Likewise your employee’s, especially your principal’s and PM’s LinkedIn pages should have a coordinated look and messaging. The two most important of these online arenas are Google and LinkedIn. A very simple way to see your current results is to search for your firm name on Google and see what is captured from your site to post on the search page. Likewise, visit LinkedIn and do the same. If you are like most firms, the irregularity of the images and messaging will be somewhat embarrassing. InvestCloud focuses on this with our cScoring process because coordinating these sites with the messages are foundational to the impression a prospective client will get, and may effect whether on not you gain the opportunity to meet them. On a more technical note, another important element of optimizing your site is to test for W3C Compliance. W3C is the primary standards body for the web, and have defined a precise specification for how the HTML (or XHTML) of a website should be written to ensure compatibility and accessibility. W3C compliance is a widely adopted test with many benefits. Complaint sites will generally: a) work more consistently across all web browsers; b) be more accessible and usable; c) work on non-standard devices, such as mobile phones; d) rank better in search engines. W3C compliance is considered one of the best assurances that the website has been built with accessibility in mind. With this post we have now covered the first 6 of InvestCloud’s 10 cScore tests. In our next post we will continue with Document and Data Reporting the two most important anchors for making your website into a true client portal. If you would like more information on InvestCloud’s website design or 100 point cScore visit us at www.investcloud.com.