How to Quickly Remove A Former Employee From Your Website

One of Many?

If the former employee is currently displayed on a page with one or more others, then this could end up being quite easy. Just remove them from the page and you’re about done. Confirm that the “meta description” and “meta title” areas don’t contain any of their personal information. For good measure also remove their primary image from the site’s image collection.

Their Own Unique Page

If the employee had their own page on the company website, then completely removing it from the site is a good start. But, since copies of most online content are stored in search engine’s memories, you may want a more immediate separation between brand and individual.

Get Them Removed from Google, Quick!

A 301 Redirect can be sued to tell search engines that the content has been moved permanently. 301 redirects, for any outdated URL, can be created by your website admin, WordPress plugins, or IT team. Rather than using the 301 Redirect to send visits back to the homepage, the 301 can serve up a replacement page to future visitors who attempt to access the ex-employee’s page. Pages such as a Team Overview or About Us are good candidates for use as replacements, to help visitors get back on track and accessing profiles of just current team members.

Keep Their Blog Posts?

If having some old blog posts by a former employee is problematic then consider removing the post or changing the post’s authorship to a generic author name if appropriate.

Get Them Removed from Google, Quick!

Make sure that the site’s dynamic sitemap is linked up and sending notice of revised and removed page content, directly and automatically to Google and Bing. Both have a verified Webmaster Tools area that is used to link your sitemap. Once logged in you can also request specific pages be hidden from appearing in SiteLinks, which are the subsection links that sometimes appear beneath the main website link, usually when a website is the top most relevant search result.

Finding the Trail of Digital Breadcrumbs

Once the company website content is scrubbed it’s time to do some search engine testing, to see what results come up. How unique is their name, and how closely is it associated with your brand? Depending on the quantity, visibility and positive/negative sentiment of the links that appear in search results, you may want to update external sites and also consider creating some new branded content to hopefully push older content downwards in search. Creating a social media policy ahead of time can also help by clarifying the obligations for employee and employer upon termination of employment.

Hopefully your business website is using informative online content to highlight the depth of the talent within your company. If not, then getting a plan together for what to do when an employees leaves should give you the confidence to start showcasing your staff more often online.

The Launch Party

Although I am not physically present in client offices on the day that we launch their website, the way I envision things, the entire team toasts the bubbly and congratulations pass around for a website well done. The designer and developer bask in the glow of their thank you emails. The marketing team ends the day on a high note, and everyone goes home with a relieved smile and a slight headache.

So what happens the next day? Don’t let your website lose momentum – invite your entire team to participate in getting your new site jump-started, with these three steps:

1. Coordinating Your Pit Crew

Are you taking advantage of all the resources around you? Identify the people most interested in the success of the website, and try to involve each of them in some way. Keep each member of your team motivated with lots of updates and occasional homework.

2. Getting Up To Speed with Content Creation

Every business has a different marketing strategy – share yours with your entire team so they can support the company’s online goals as they participate in content creation. The heroes of your content marketing efforts could come from anywhere: from leaders with the most product and customer knowledge; to the all-important company photographer(s); to prolific writers and other creatives.

• For management, suggest that they write a new blog post, or rewrite a website landing page.
• For less experienced staff, consider assigning them the important role of photo librarian. Organizing and updating the marketing photo library makes the job of content creators and writers easier, and also gives new-hires better understanding of the company’s marketing efforts.

What are your customers most common questions and concerns? Fuel their interest in your new content by focusing on customer needs first. Whether you plan to update your site once a month, or even twice a year, plan ahead so that you have time to brainstorm for catchy titles and research engaging visuals, and to get committee approval if needed.

3. Getting Under the Hood with Training

Is the website set up to support your ongoing marketing efforts? WordPress and other tools may already be configured. Website backups and claiming of various Google properties may not be. Ask your launch team to explain what has been set up, and if they have any simple tips to boost website performance.

Once your website team completes your site, log in and get familiarized with the content creation toolset. Start by getting trained on how to add and manage content, from whatever training source you prefer. As a web designer I include personalized training sessions soon after launch. I find out what tasks clients wants to handle internally, and help outsource those that they don’t. As new people get involved, occasional skills tune-ups will build their confidence and effectiveness.

Wash, Rinse and Repeat!

So, you have assembled your team, started creating content and scheduled training. Blog posts are being started, by your top customer service and sales people. And cameras are getting warmed up for upcoming tradeshows. At whatever speed you are making progress, at least you are getting started! With the right mix of people involved, your website will be headed for the winners circle.

Ideally, for the shortest possible development time, deliver the content to your web team at the beginning of the project, before the design is even started.

Practically though, many website projects do not have the luxury of having the content ready at the beginning of the design & development process. With more businesses crafting their website content in-house, the reality is that the right time is when the customer says it’s right.

Once a website proposal is approved, it’s typically two weeks before a client reviews the first design drafts, and a few weeks later the design is approved and the code is complete. If a quick website launch is desired this is an excellent time to kick your content plans into high gear.

Get Your Content Motor Running

So who’s writing your website content? Occasionally I get to work with my writer to create a client’s website content. It’s a fun challenge to become fluent in a client’s industry, find the right style and tone, and tell the story of the brand. But the fact is, more clients now supply us their own content than not. If you’re the one writing your website content, and you find that it’s taking longer than you’d like, then consider this:

You Could Be Halfway Done Before The Writing Is Even Started

Having even a portion of the content completed can be a relief to the person in charge of completing the website content. Review all your past marketing efforts and identify which content can be reused or re-worked. Got a sales brochure? Even if it’s outdated, there is likely some wording that can be grabbed from there. Traditional or online advertising, and even scripts from radio or TV ads can all be multi-purposed for use on your new website.

What is the minimum amount of information a buyer needs to take the next step with your product or service? Focus on anticipating and providing answers to their most pressing questions first. Whatever you do, don’t spend all your time perfecting your About Us page. Focus on creating content that is all about the customer and their needs.

Are You Thrilling Your Audience?

Everyone website visitor is unique. They want to get a quick impression of your business before diving deeper. Some appreciate text, especially if it’s short and easy to understand. Others prefer images and video over words. Either way, one thing’s for sure: website visitors have an increasingly short attention span. Your website just a few seconds to capture visitors attention and establish trust so they will consider exploring further, and taking the next step of contacting your business. Check out a few best-in-class competitor websites to see how similar businesses are handling photos and videos. If your budget allows, consider using professionals to capture your photographs and video. And consider that even images or videos with lower production qualities are better than none at all. The web is a forgiving medium so get busy with your photo editing tools to color correct and improve dark and shadowy photos.

Training The Content Creator

Even when my team is not providing the client’s website content we still want to work as closely as possible with the client and their content providers, to make sure the content fits the design and supports the client’s marketing goals.

For the client’s writing team I suggest:

• Simplify the navigation
• Build internal text links
• Shorten or break up long paragraphs of text
• Create titles that contain keywords from the approved keyword target list
• Avoid using PDFs, which are not as user-friendly as content on the page, or a modal window

For the client’s photographer:

• We provide page layouts showing the exact cropping needed for each main photo
• Communicate the the need for ultra-horizontal cropping
• Make sure unlimited image usage rights are transferred to the client
• Request the highest resolution possible for best quality at any size

Ensure A Rapid Web Launch by Avoiding Perfection

Avoid creating an encyclopedia on your business at all costs, there is no need for the A-Z of your business before the visitor has even expressed interest. Visitors will warm up to your website quicker if the information is bite-sized, scannable, and lays out the features in terms they understand. Create content that respects the visitor’s time and addresses their specific needs.

When finishing up your website content, keep a careful eye on perfectionists to avoid delays. The web is different than a one-time sales presentation or widely-distributed printed piece. With modern websites the content management system, or CMS, allows website managers to edit and improve the content instantly. Hopefully the ability to edit the content will pacify any perfectionists on your team.