MARKETING MATTERS
8
Hidden Things
EVERY WEBSITE NEEDS
MONICA PITTS
Some sites are like mean girls . Some websites are quite lovely on the outside and a bit like mean girls on the inside . They ’ re shallow . They lack the things they need to be compliant and well-rounded . When I say compliant , I mean compliant with many things : Google , user expectations , the government . There ’ s an educational gap we need to forge . Here ’ s a checklist to see if your website is a mean girl or a compliant , well-rounded powerhouse .
1 . SSL Certificate
Most major web hosts offer an SSL certificate with your hosting space .
The main purpose of SSL Certificates is to protect your website and any sensitive data transmitted to and from your site , like credit card , username and password information , identity specifics and more . But even if you ’ re not collecting that information , you still must have one .
If you don ’ t have one , Google may block your site or stop serving it in search results altogether . And that , my friend , is a really bad deal . So get one .
2 . Cookie Notification
Cookies are a type of message given to a web browser by a web server allowing websites to store information on your machine . While most cookies are only site-specific , major ad platforms like DoubleClick , Google Search Network and Facebook Audience Network have cookies on lots of websites . And because they serve ads all over the web , they can track users ’ behaviors across many sites . As they combine those user patterns , they can develop rich user profiles about visitors . Some folks are creeped out about this . So now we have some pretty specific rules we need to follow as site owners to keep everyone safe and happy ( especially if you ’ re in California or Europe ). There are varying shades of grey being implemented . You can pick your own shade . But at the very least , you need to let visitors know you are using cookies on your site .
3 . Tracking
You need some way of tracking visitor behavior on your site . I suggest Google Analytics . How people act on your site will help you make decisions about how to make your site better and tell you if your other marketing efforts are working .
4 . Privacy Policy
If you collect information from your website visitors using an email form , gather donations , allow people to register for events , signup for your mailing list or track user behavior with a system like Google Analytics , you are legally required to have a privacy policy . As the privacy laws change , and they are definitely in flux right now , your privacy policy needs to adjust as well . For this reason , we generally utilize an online service www . callape . com [ 12 ] 1.800.210.5923