Getting users to visit your website is hard enough, but it's not the only key to a successful site. Once a user is at your site, it's your job to keep them there! This article is going to cover the mistakes that novice (and professional) webmasters often make when they are designing a new page.
An unorganized mess

A website that is cluttered and unorganized is a good way to drive away visitors. Someone viewing your site should be able to find your content easily, without having to stray too far from your main page.

• Organize your content into relevant categories. It may be a good idea to include a sitemap if you have a lot of individual pages.
• Keep your URL's simple, yet descriptive. It's also a good idea to use keywords in your URL's
• Use descriptive page titles, article titles, headings, etc. A visitor should be able to grasp the purpose of your site almost immediately.

Another common problem is bad design. "Bad design" consists of anything that inhibits the usability of a website. Some examples of bad design include:

• Background images (or colors) that make the text hard to read. This is a mistake that is seen quite often. Make sure that your text color contrasts the color of your background (or background image)
• Pop Ups, and Pop Unders These are simply annoying. Most of these, however, can be avoided thanks to pop-up blockers.
• Large Images take time to download. Even though the number of high speed internet connections is growing by the day, large images can still be a problem.

If a visitor enters your site, and is lead to a missing page, "file not found" error, or any other error, they will leave.

• Use Redirects for pages that have been moved. There are several ways to do this, some better than others. The preferred method of redirecting is to use a 301 redirect.
• Get the most out of 404 pages. If a page has been completely removed, it may be best to use a custom 404 page. A good 404 page will give the user options or products that are similar to the one that has been removed. You should apologize for the inconvenience, and give them an option to explore a similar portion of your site.

A visitor wants to be able to get to the information they are looking for without having to go through maze, or jump through hoops. If your website offers a newsletter, or some other promotional item, don't make the user click through 10 pages of ads or nonsense before they can sign up. Another thing that drives users away is misleading information.

• Get to the point. Don't make users sort through pages and pages of irrelevant material to find the information they are after.
• Don't mislead your visitors. Don't trick your users into clicking on ads, or doing any action they they do not want to do.

What is meant by browser hijacking is where your website "takes control" of the user's web browser. This is a sure-fire way to make users leave and never return.

• Clearing the history in the user's browser, or disabling their back button is a technique that you should never use.
• Removing things like the address bar, back/forward buttons, and the status bar have their uses (for example, to display an image from a gallery) but should be avoided at all cost.
• Fixed window size, like removing certain items, may be good for displaying an image, but should be avoided.

When it comes to search engine optimization and having a successful website, there is one major thing that you should always keep in mind: If you design your site with the user in mind, and promote promote promote, everything else tends to fall into place.

SEO Advocate.com was developed to help other people (like myself) who are confused by Search Engine Optimization, or would like to brush up on their SEO skills. On our site you will find (FREE!) articles, suggestions, tips and tools to help you optimize and promote your website. Stop by for more great articles like the one you just read. http://www.seoadvocate.com