I want to talk about a SEO process today I call design, build, and validate. It is actually a term I picked up working on Epic Hyperspace in the healthcare industry. The concept applies just as well to search engine optimization.

Every so often, it is necessary to take a look at the overall design of your website. I know I am getting ready to look at the design of this site again. Changes in the overall design of your website can really make a difference in the number of visitors that come to your website. 

Part of your overall Google PR ratings comes from the number of people who visit your website. It can often be just as important as the content you provide.  One would think a fact should be valid under any circumstances. In a sense, that is true. But relevance comes into play in the world of the Internet. The more people that come to your site can influence people into thinking that your information is better.  It’s just a cold hard fact of life.

So now, let’s talk about a process to make changes to design, called DBV’s. Again, that stands for design, build, and validate.  In the design phase, you will look at what design changes need to be made. You may want a new template, or a new set of colors, or a new set of graphics.  You may even decide that you want to design a couple of options. This can actually be valuable to the process.

Next you will build the options. You may even want to save them on your server for quick changes.  Think of all the change options you can, and build them out. Just knock them out.

Finally, you will validate which designs have the most impact.  In this process, you want to try to keep all other variables the same.  If you have not changed content in a while, then hold off. If you post a regular blog, keep the same schedule.  You don’t want too many variables to scew your validation process. 

Analytics comes into play in the validation process. You must start by clearly knowing how many people are visiting your website. You also need to know how many normally come each day. Then, make a change, and validate that the change increased or decreased traffic to your site. Validate again you have made no other changes that could scew your results (often called negative testing in the industry.)  Then, work your way through your designs. Soon, you should be able to determine some changes that will help you.

Design, build, and validate is a great way to go about the process of making changes to your website. I guarantee it will be the process I use to update Celtic Ozark Solutions.