Is your Marin business website harming your business, or actually helping it? Many websites (especially DIY websites) are either just sitting there on the web lingering (while costing you money in website hosting fees, etc.), or they could actually be harming your business by alienating new customers, or damaging your SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
1. Expired Design
As we all know, first impressions are powerful. Design expires relatively fast on the web-even a website that seemed amazing just a few years ago can now appear seriously outdated–and your potential customers will notice this (even if it’s on a sub-conscious level.) Is your website design retro (which is a legitimate style) or just simply outdated?
2. Not Mobile Friendly
Nowadays people are spending more and more time on their cell phones-you’re probably reading this on your mobile phone right now! If your site fails to display properly on devices other than a laptop or desktop computer, you’re driving potential customers away. This functionality is often referred to as “mobile friendly” or “responsive design,” and it’s just as important to your site visitors as it is to your SEO ( Search Engine Optimization) and Google. Make sure your site is responsive across all devices so you’re not alienating any potential new customers, or harming your rank in the Search Engines.
3. Complicated Navigation
Don’t complicate your website’s main navigation. Keep it as simple and intuitive as possible, as too many options confuse/overwhelm new site visitors. If your prospects can’t easily find what they need, they’re probably going to search for it elsewhere. A good idea for both your website visitors and Google is to have a sitemap.
4. No CTA’s
It’s good practice to have a “Call to Action” after describing your product or service. Don’t leave your potential customers without a “Contact Us Today” type of actionable link. If you’re displaying your phone number, make sure it’s a clickable link. Have you ever tried to contact a business on your cell phone and had to copy and paste the phone number? Wasn’t it a pain – especially when you’re in a hurry?
5. Unclear Homepage
Have you ever landed on a website and thought, “What the heck is this site even about?” If you sell greenish blue widgets at a discount online- tell people that! And do it “above the fold,” which means the top part of the home page before you scroll.
6. Content (text) is King!
Consumers search online to help find answers to their questions and make buying decisions. If your website lacks information about your product or service (actual text on the page), you could lose potential customers. Google and website visitors want the same thing–good information! So don’t be afraid to be wordy. One solution could be to have a bulleted, skim-able list, and then more in-depth information underneath (using your keywords). This will please your website visitors in a hurry, those that want more detailed information, and search engines who want to direct their visitors to the best information available.
7. No Page Names and Meta Description
No matter the platform you’re using to create your website, your web pages need to have correct titles and short descriptions–and it’s so easy to forget the meta description with DYI sites! Meta descriptions are the short snippet of text summarizing your page or site content in a Google search results page. Find out how to add the correct title tags. Read all about the description meta tag.
8. Not Connecting Your Website to Google My Business
Google has powerful tools that allow potential customers to find you more easily. Google starts the process automatically, but you must follow up and “claim” your listing and make it work for you. How to claim your Google Business.
9. Ignoring Google Analytics
Google Analytics gives you the tools to gather the information you need to better understand your customers and how they’re interacting with your website (or aren’t)–and it’s free! How do I set up Google Analytics for my website?
10. Your Website is Not Encrypted
Google wants your site to be safe for your visitors and will label a website as ‘NOT SECURE’ in the address bar if this is skipped. Nobody wants to visit a site like this-especially someone who’s using their credit card to make an online purchase. However, whether your website is set up for eCommerce, or not, it simply must have what’s called a TLS (Transport Layer Security protocol). Learn more about the importance of TSL .
Speaking of CTA’s..
I hope this has been helpful. As you can see from this list, there’s quite a difference between just having a website, and actually making a website that works for your business. Feeling overwhelmed? Contact me today and let’s talk about your project.