Extra! Extra!

Optimizing content is not difficult. Once you have a fair grasp of your targeted keywords, can write reasonably graceful copy incorporating identified search terms, can do so while abiding by the rules of keyword density and proximity, then it’s really rather simple. You should be in good shape to attract both man and machine. At least in your source language which, typically, means English.

But what happens once you take your carefully crafted text and decide to push it out for global consumption? You translate. Perhaps you localize which sometimes but not always means something more. And what of optimization? It appears to me that SEO has rewritten the rules of localization: incorporating unique cultural and linguistic nuance is no longer enough. Localization now has to take into account not a literal or even idiomatic translation of keywords but it must identify these in language and replace as needed. Keyword density and proximity can reshape syntax if one isn’t careful so the translator’s task is now (or should now be) more complicated.

As for what the major localization companies might be doing on this front? It appears they are yet to rethink the consequences of SEO in their arena.

I would venture that most translated sites that use US English source content are not optimized, not even for UK English. That the exercise of optimizing, typically left to the local, in-country, Web group rarely happens, and organic Search results ultimately languish.

What is the best way to handle this? Centralize all language content optimization or leave to country personnel? I tend towards the former. More on this later.

I have always struggled with how social networking fits into the online financial services marketplace. My experience has been squarely focused on designing experiences for the customer that lead to account origination, cross-selling, and delivering a superior experience so I’m surprised to see that there are literally thousands of poor financial services Web sites that fail to optimize business opportunities and inevitably leave the customer disappointed.

Hoping to build deeper relationships with their customers, organizations – financial services and otherwise - are offering various forms of social networking; of these, the fastest growing is the blog. And within the financial services landscape the credit union should be in the best position to capitalize on the benefits of blogging. Because credit unions are owned by members who presumably are invested in the operation of the institution, the opportunity to generate a conversation and gather customer feedback would be well served by a blog. The challenge in this case might be in dedicating resources to monitor, update and ultimately address issues that are surfaced in the community discussion. The more successful the blog the greater the opportunity for improvement either of the Website or of the operation at large. And this means work for you because it’s critical that once you give your members an opportunity to speak out that you follow up somehow.

Among current financial services Web sites, Wells Fargo offers a killer design in their Student LoanDown(SM) site, but the content is uneven and the target audience appears unclear. If the objective is to show the lighter side of Wells Fargo – and that might be a fair goal in its own right – then maybe it’s fine, but if the intention is to drive a meaningful conversation that might generate actionable feedback then it appears to miss the mark. Remember: you have to have something to say that is relevant to your community. It does not necessarily have to be on topic, ie, about financial services in this case, but it should speak to your audience, and it should be a point of discussion – not just a journal entry.

Don’t get me wrong – I think that social networking and blogs in particular can have a dramatic impact. For example Oracle deployed a social networking site for their technical support customers and shaved 20% off their support costs. Microsoft rolled out Channel9, generates 4 million hits per month, monitors these in order to understand what is being said about Microsoft in the blogosphere and is now better positioned to address their shortcomings within the developer community. Both of these instances show a real business impact that clearly warranted the investment.

I was forwarded this article from the Palo Alto Daily news yesterday. The article covers the recent launch of the City of Palo Alto’s new website and the rising tide of public disdain for it, citing long load times, an odd color palette, low contrast, and a disjointed user experience. The article also points out that Palo Alto paid a tidy price for the site, especially when compared what Mountain View paid for their site.

Update:
I see Valleywag’s got a short critique here.

Clearly the ability to access accounts online is changing the way and frequency with which customers are accessing their banking accounts. Gone are the days of the monthly statement and waiting in line at the bank twice a month to do banking.

Today’s customers are online savvy and their expectations are changing– and it’s not just the Gen-Y crowd that is adopting this new way of way of doing their banking. Customers are coming in contact with their financial instutions at a higher rate than ever. A recent comScore survey found the following:

Growth in Online Customer Visits Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore Credit Card Solutions Benchmarker
Year	Total Customer Visits (Billions)	Percentage Change vs. Year Ago
2005	2.31	55%
2006	3.62	57%

Specific E-Servicing Activities that are Important to Consumers Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore Q2 2007 Credit Card Survey
E-Servicing Activity	Percent of Responders for Whom E-Servicing is Important
Viewing Online Statements	83%
Making a payment (pay your credit card bill online)	77%
Disputing a charge	62%

Number of Credit Card Bills Paid Online at Issuer Site Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore Credit Card Solutions Benchmarker
Year	Credit Card Bills Paid Online (Millions)	Percentagte Change vs. Prior Year
2005	414	37%
2006	524	27%

The online channel is quickly becoming the preferred channel for connecting and doing business with financial institutions. The online channel will touch more customers than all of the brick mortar touch points combined. It’s the best place for our clients to generate customer satisfaction and proactively market new products and services. This trend presents an entirely new set of challenges for the institutions that have historically competed as high-touch and relationship oriented.

Extractable is pleased to announce a new hire within our Strategic Services group: Mathew Quilter.

Mathew Quilter joins Extractable as a Web Strategist. He previously worked at Walmart.com, Logitech.com and Xerox.com. He has managed content from initial development to global rollout, launched Web marketing programs across multiple geographies, and consulted to various start-ups on issues from Web lead-generation to globalization strategies.

We are proud to have Mathew on board!