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Module 2

Website Development and Optimization

PRC 112: Digital Marketing Practicum

Faculty of Management Studies • Pokhara University

Duration: 3 hours

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

  • ✅ Compare website platform options and choose the right one
  • ✅ Structure a simple, user-friendly website with essential pages
  • ✅ Apply basic on-page SEO techniques to improve search visibility

Why Your Website Matters

Your website is your digital home base. Social media platforms can change algorithms or shut down, but your website is yours forever.

  • 24/7 availability to showcase your brand
  • Complete control over design and messaging
  • Central hub for all marketing activities
  • Builds credibility and trust
  • Captures leads and drives conversions

Website Platform Options

Let's explore the best options for getting started quickly:

1. WordPress.com (Managed)

✅ Pros

  • Easy to use, no coding needed
  • Free plan available
  • Many themes & plugins
  • Great for blogs
  • SEO-friendly

❌ Cons

  • Limited customization on free plan
  • Ads on free sites
  • Custom domain costs extra

Best for: Blogs, content-heavy sites, small businesses

2. Wix

✅ Pros

  • Drag-and-drop builder
  • Beautiful templates
  • All-in-one platform
  • Good mobile optimization
  • Built-in SEO tools

❌ Cons

  • Can't switch templates later
  • Less flexible than WordPress
  • Wix branding on free plan

Best for: Portfolios, small business sites, quick launches

3. Google Sites

✅ Pros

  • Completely free
  • Super simple to use
  • Integrates with Google tools
  • No ads
  • Reliable hosting

❌ Cons

  • Very limited design options
  • Basic features only
  • Not great for SEO

Best for: Class projects, internal sites, simple portfolios

4. Landing Page Builders

If you just need a single page to capture leads or promote an offer:

  • Carrd: Single-page sites, very affordable ($19/year)
  • Linktree: Link-in-bio page (free, great for social media)
  • Notion: Turn Notion pages into public websites (free)
  • Google Forms + Site: Simple lead capture (free)

Essential Website Pages

The 3-Page Minimum

  1. Home: What you do, who you help, clear call-to-action
  2. About: Your story, credentials, why people should trust you
  3. Contact/CTA: How to reach you or take action (form, email, social links)

Bonus pages: Services, Portfolio, Blog, Testimonials, FAQ

User Experience (UX) Principles

Make it Easy for Visitors

  • Clear navigation: Menu should be obvious and consistent
  • Fast loading: Aim for under 3 seconds
  • Mobile-friendly: 60%+ of traffic is mobile in Nepal
  • Readable text: Good contrast, 16px+ font size
  • Visual hierarchy: Most important info first
  • White space: Don't cram everything together

The F-Pattern Reading Behavior

Users scan web pages in an F-shaped pattern:

  1. Horizontal scan across the top
  2. Horizontal scan across middle (shorter)
  3. Vertical scan down the left side

Design tip: Put your most important content in these "hot zones"!

Call-to-Action (CTA) Best Practices

❌ Weak CTAs

  • "Click here"
  • "Submit"
  • "Learn more"

✅ Strong CTAs

  • "Get Your Free Guide"
  • "Start My Trial"
  • "Book a Free Consultation"
  • "Download the Checklist"

Formula: Action Verb + Value/Benefit

On-Page SEO: Introduction

On-Page SEO: Optimizing individual web pages to rank higher in search results and earn more relevant traffic.

Think of it as making your website speak Google's language!

Keywords: The Foundation

What Are Keywords?

Words and phrases people type into search engines to find what they need.

  • Short-tail: "digital marketing" (high volume, competitive)
  • Long-tail: "digital marketing courses in Kathmandu" (lower volume, easier to rank)

Pro tip: Focus on 1-2 primary keywords per page

Keyword Research Tools

Free Tools

  • Google Autocomplete
  • Google Trends
  • Answer The Public
  • Ubersuggest (limited)

Paid Tools

  • Ahrefs
  • SEMrush
  • Moz
  • KWFinder

Manual Method

  • Search your topic
  • Check "related searches"
  • See "People also ask"
  • Analyze competitors

1. Title Tags

The clickable headline in search results (shown in browser tab)

  • Length: 50-60 characters (longer gets truncated)
  • Include keyword: Preferably near the beginning
  • Be compelling: Make people want to click
  • Include brand: Add your brand name at the end

Example: "Digital Marketing Course Kathmandu | Arjan KC"

2. Meta Descriptions

The snippet text shown below title in search results

  • Length: 120-160 characters
  • Include keyword: Google bolds matching terms
  • Include CTA: Encourage clicks
  • Be accurate: Match page content

Example: "Learn practical digital marketing strategies from an expert. SEO, PPC, social media & more. Enroll in our Kathmandu course today!"

3. Heading Tags (H1-H6)

Proper Heading Structure

  • H1: Page title (only ONE per page, include main keyword)
  • H2: Major sections (include variations of keyword)
  • H3-H6: Subsections (organize content hierarchically)

Think: Book title (H1) → Chapters (H2) → Sections (H3)

4. URL Structure

❌ Bad URLs

  • site.com/page?id=12345
  • site.com/p1
  • site.com/NEW-PAGE-2024!!!

✅ Good URLs

  • site.com/digital-marketing
  • site.com/seo-guide-nepal
  • site.com/about

Best practices: Short, descriptive, lowercase, hyphens (not underscores), include keyword

5. Image Optimization

  • File names: Use descriptive names with keywords
    • Bad: IMG_1234.jpg
    • Good: digital-marketing-strategy.jpg
  • Alt text: Describe image for accessibility and SEO
    • Example: "Digital marketing strategy diagram showing SEO, PPC, and social media channels"
  • Compression: Use tools like TinyPNG to reduce file size
    • Target: Under 100KB per image
  • Format: JPEG for photos, PNG for graphics, WebP for modern sites

6. Internal Linking

Internal links: Links from one page on your site to another page on your site

Why It Matters

  • Helps Google understand site structure
  • Spreads "link juice" (ranking power)
  • Keeps visitors on site longer
  • Improves user experience

Best Practices

  • Use descriptive anchor text
  • Link to relevant pages
  • 3-5 internal links per page
  • Don't overdo it

7. Content Quality

Quality > Quantity

  • Original: No plagiarism, add unique value
  • Comprehensive: Cover topics thoroughly
  • Readable: Short paragraphs, bullet points, subheadings
  • Updated: Keep information current
  • Engaging: Solve problems, answer questions

Word count guideline: Aim for 600-1000 words for blog posts, 300+ for service pages

8. Mobile Optimization

Google uses mobile-first indexing: Your mobile site is what Google primarily uses for ranking

  • Responsive design: Adapts to any screen size
  • Readable text: 16px+ font, good contrast
  • Touch-friendly buttons: Large enough tap targets (44px+)
  • Fast loading: Critical on mobile data
  • No intrusive popups: Google penalizes these on mobile

9. Page Speed

53% of mobile users abandon sites that take over 3 seconds to load!

Speed Optimization Tips:

  • Compress images
  • Minimize CSS and JavaScript
  • Use browser caching
  • Choose good hosting
  • Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network)

Test your speed: Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix

10. Schema Markup (Structured Data)

Schema: Code that helps search engines understand your content better

Common Types

  • Local Business
  • Person
  • Product
  • Article/Blog
  • FAQ
  • Review

Benefits

  • Rich snippets in search
  • Higher click-through rates
  • Better understanding by Google
  • Voice search optimization

Most website builders have schema plugins (Yoast for WordPress, built-in for Wix)

On-Page SEO Checklist

  • ☐ Keyword research completed
  • ☐ Title tag optimized (50-60 chars, includes keyword)
  • ☐ Meta description written (120-160 chars)
  • ☐ H1 tag includes main keyword
  • ☐ H2/H3 tags used properly
  • ☐ Clean, keyword-rich URL
  • ☐ Images optimized (compressed, alt text, descriptive names)
  • ☐ Internal links added (3-5 per page)
  • ☐ Content is 600+ words, original, valuable
  • ☐ Mobile-friendly design
  • ☐ Page loads in under 3 seconds
  • ☐ Clear CTA present

Hands-On Activities

Activity 1: Choose Platform & Create Site

  1. Pick your platform (WordPress, Wix, Google Sites, or Carrd)
  2. Select a template/theme
  3. Set up basic structure with Home, About, Contact pages

Activity 2: Add Essential Content

  1. Homepage: Clear headline, value proposition, CTA
  2. About page: Your story, credentials, why trust you
  3. Contact/CTA page: Form, email, or clear next step

Remember: Focus on visitor needs, not just about yourself!

Activity 3: Apply On-Page SEO

Complete the SEO Checklist

  1. Research 1-2 target keywords for your site
  2. Optimize title tags and meta descriptions
  3. Structure headings properly (H1, H2, H3)
  4. Optimize images (names, alt text, compression)
  5. Add 3-5 internal links
  6. Test on mobile devices
  7. Check page speed with PageSpeed Insights

Activity 4: Publish or Preview

  • Publish your site and get a live URL
  • OR create a shareable preview link
  • Test the link in incognito/private browsing
  • Check on mobile phone

Module 2 Deliverables

What to Submit:

  1. Live URL or preview link of your website
  2. Completed On-Page SEO Checklist (provided template)
    • Screenshot of title/meta tags
    • Screenshot of heading structure
    • Screenshot of PageSpeed score
    • Screenshot of mobile preview

Mini Rubric (15 points)

Criteria Points What We're Looking For
Clear structure & mobile responsiveness 5 Organized pages, works well on mobile, easy navigation
On-page SEO completeness 6 All SEO checklist items addressed properly
CTA clarity & contact info 2 Clear next step for visitors, easy to contact
Professional presentation 2 Clean design, no errors, good UX

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • ❌ Too much text on homepage (keep it concise)
  • ❌ Unclear value proposition (say what you do clearly)
  • ❌ No clear CTA (tell visitors what to do next)
  • ❌ Slow loading images (compress everything)
  • ❌ Not testing on mobile (most traffic is mobile)
  • ❌ Keyword stuffing (use keywords naturally)
  • ❌ Missing contact information (make it easy to reach you)

Quick Tips for Success

  • ✨ Less is more: Don't try to say everything at once
  • 🎯 Think like a visitor: What would YOU want to see?
  • 📱 Mobile first: Design for phone screens first
  • ⚡ Speed matters: Every second counts
  • 🔍 SEO takes time: Don't expect instant rankings

Resources & Tools

  • Platforms: WordPress.com, Wix.com, Carrd.co, sites.google.com
  • SEO Tools: Google Search Console, Yoast SEO, Ubersuggest
  • Speed Testing: PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix
  • Image Compression: TinyPNG, Squoosh
  • Mobile Testing: Google Mobile-Friendly Test

Questions & Discussion

Think About:

  • What websites do you find easy to use? Why?
  • Have you ever left a site because it was too slow?
  • What keywords would people search to find your project?

Thank You!

Your Website is Your Digital Foundation

Next: Module 3 - Content Creation and Management

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