Watch #techtuesday Episode #9 Part 2 and meet Paul Taubman of Digital Maestro.
Hosted by: Jonathan Katz of Business on a Browser
Paul Taubman II - is the Chief Online Strategist of Digital Maestro. He is skilled in areas such as Website Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), List Building, Database Optimization, Website Security, and just about any area that impacts your online presence. He has his roots deep in the world of technology. Working as a Solutions Architect at Fortune 500 companies for over 25 years, Paul knows how to get systems to talk to each other and share data.
See the first part of this episode here: Quick SEO Tips and The Importance of Content Creation
When asked about the approach he takes when building websites, Paul takes his double expertise to share valuable information about building websites and SEOs.
WordPress vs Wix and other Website Builders
According to Paul, there are two components when building a website, one is the architecture and the other is the infrastructure of how it's being built. There are so many different ways you can build a website. WordPress is probably the most popular one on the internet today. But there are also more commercial ones like Wix and Weebly. People are still building what Paul calls old-fashioned HTML sites or ASP.net.
There are so many different ways to build a website but the number one consideration is taking a look at what the method of platform development is. Some of them have really good infrastructures to handle SEO, some certainly make it a lot easier than some other platforms. The next thing you need to keep in mind is what those signals are for SEO.
Off-Page VS On-Page SEO:
Off-page SEO is what happens to your site when they're not on your site. Backlinks is one example of this which means getting people to link to your website.
On-page SEO is how you organize your content, using keywords specifically, and making sure they are in the text. Are they styled in the proper way? Are they headings or subheadings?
Keep the SEO going
Knowing those things and keeping SEO in mind as you write the content and as you build a website is important. These things have to be kept going as you add new content. SEO is not a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing. If your website is set-it-and-forget-it, then your SEO is done. Google will come to your site and see that nothing's happened there recently, maybe it's growing weeds. Even if your website is still 100% relevant, you need to add new content and make it up to date.
In the banking sector, it used to be unheard of for bank websites and financial institutions to have content on it. But now, they're adding new articles and helping their customers and their consumers by explaining things. It benefits both their client, to disseminate this information, and the business because it's a great way to stay ranking in the search engines.
Website Functionality
Jonathan: What would you say to someone that's looking to build a website for the first time? Can they rely on one of these pre-published sites? What are the steps that someone should take to really find out what website they need and how to go about it?
Paul: “That's a great question and you know those could be akin to the religious debates because you talk to certain people and say ‘No, you should never do it this way, you always did it this way’. And you know people get passionate about it. So my viewpoint is, and from our company, we do not build on those proprietary commercial platforms like Wix, Weebly, Squarespace. It doesn't mean that they're bad, it just means that for the type of results that our clients want (for the SEO, for the layout, for the design) those sites can't do it.
A lot of them can be customized a bit, but there's usually a spot where you ‘hit the ceiling’ of how much refinement you can do and you're stuck. Plus, you can't simply just export and put your content someplace else in most cases. With that said, if somebody’s needs fit into what they provide, it's generally going to be a faster low-cost barrier to entry, and they can get started plus they can do it themselves. That's what I think the benefits are for them.
They also do have a lot of functionality built-in. For example, a shopping cart. Just starting on day one with a whole store experience if you upload images and prices, that's something that can be done. However, for most people they outgrow it or they're stuck with sort of the templates that are provided. But it is a viable solution. It really depends on the needs of the person. But where it fits, as far as how it looks, that's a whole scale and range in itself.”
Jonathan: From a creative standpoint, does it help if somebody comes in with an existing website, or is it better if someone comes in fresh? With these build-out sites, do they sometimes cause more harm than good?
Paul: “If somebody has an existing website it usually means that they're aware of what they want to do. We work with a lot of people who are just starting their business, in that case, it's really kind of speculation of where they're going. So we'll build it according to the dream and the plan of where they're going. And then within a couple of years, it's time to redo it. Plus, websites are kind of like fashion. They're always changing through the years. You can look at a website and go “you know what, this looks a little old” and it was just three or four years ago. Truth is that's the way they looked. Does it matter that the website looks a little bit old versus cutting edge brand new by today's standards? I don't know.“
Do I need an SSL certificate?
According to Paul, it's all about perception. A couple of years ago and even now, when SSL certificates came out which is making your website secure, Google started to show that websites didn't have that extra security. People think “well I'm not selling anything, I'm not collecting financial information, why do I need it?” But what people are going to do when they're visiting your website and it says: “Not secure”. Does it matter that you're not selling things you're not collecting personal information? When people see that your website is not secure, people will go away from it.
FAVORITE PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY
Paul and Jonathan exchanged their favorite piece of technology. For Paul, it’s the old school fountain point pen and paper. He also shares that he loves collecting them and he “just loves the way they write”.
For Jonathan, his favorite piece of technology has been the streaming of music. He loves music and the way it has become very accessible. And from an eco-friendly standpoint, he likes that it cut down on a lot of waste from buying CDs and packaging, and plastics.
Closing Thoughts
For the final part of this episode, Paul leaves us his closing thoughts:
“Just for websites and for SEO and just for life, enjoy what you're doing, have fun with it. Even if you're banging your head against something, remember it's all about the journey, enjoy it.”
To anyone listening and watching this podcast, if you need or know anyone that needs help with building websites, content and SEO, start with Paul.
Recommended Readings:
- Introducing Business on a Browser
- The Importance of Balancing People with Technology
- New Business? Tax Issues to Consider
- You Can Expense Business IT Purchases
- Episode #1 with Peter Yeargin of Sage
- Episode #2 with Scott Dickson of 20 Digits
- Episode #3 with Kim Henderson of Cobalt Compass Solutions
- Episode #4 with Dayana Pereira of Dayana, Inc.
- Episode #5 with Jonathan Grzybowski of Penji
- Episode #6 with Jim Minadeo of Zero Surge Inc
- Episode #7: with Dennis Harabin of Relax Teams
- Episode #8 Part 1: with John Genovese of Amazon Web Services
- Episode #8 Part 2: What the Future Looks Like for Metaverse, NFTs, And More
- Episode #8 Part 3: Be In The Know about Metaverse Real Estate
SEE YOU NEXT TECH TUESDAY
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