Your website is vital is the shop front of the online marketplace. But having a great website a few years ago doesn’t necessarily translate now. As users become more tech savvy and let’s face it; impatient, your website has to work its socks off to attract, engage and retain visitors.
Website service
Like any good machine your website needs regular servicing to give it a fighting chance. A general rule of thumb is you have less than 10 seconds to engage a user on your site. If they’re not charmed within 10 seconds, they will click away. Here’s what to look for when doing your website service:
Website messaging
Does your website quickly tell people what you do and communicate the benefits of your product or service? Most websites have no problem telling you what they do, but miss the crucial next step: how does what you do benefit the visitor? Read your homepage applying the “what’s in it for me?” perspective to see if you nail your messaging.
Content
Google feeds on genuine, regular content that’s educational and engaging. And guess what? So does your audience! Review your website and make sure you have great content such as a blogs, client stories or videos. All of this content not only helps SEO but hammers home your messaging. If you don’t have any of the aforementioned and don’t wish to, at the very least you need to have a super-strong About Us page.
Images
Refreshing images is like giving your website a fresh coat of paint. New staff? Make sure they’re on the website. Not only will they feel part of the team, your audience will quickly become familiar with them. This also works in reverse. If a staff member left 4 years ago and they’re still on the site, what does that say about your business?
Call to action
Are your calls to action telling people what you want them to do? If you want people to buy, do you tell them to do it (in the nicest possible way)? Or do you take them on an Alice In Wonderland-esque journey through your website from one page to another?
User Experience
Is your site easy to navigate and simple to use? If you need to be a trained Google programmer to find what your visitors are looking you need to review your UX (user experience), stat.
Need a website review? Let’s talk.
See you next week,
Darnelle
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