Having an effective website is critical to your business success. You cannot afford to have a missing or poor online presence. If your website doesn’t make a good first impression and deliver all the information the visitor is seeking, you will most certainly lose out on business.
Read more to learn about the key elements that affect your websites performance.
Your website is your first “First Impression”.
Think for a moment… what do you do when you need information? If you have a phone in your hand or pocket, chances are you will ask SIRI or Hey Google. Otherwise, you may jump on the nearest tablet or computer and visit your favorite search engine to get your answer. All of these will likely result in you viewing one or more websites. Even If you have some familiarity with the organization you click to, it is highly likely that you will form an immediate impression of how viable they as a service or product supplier. That click will create a first or updated “First Impression” that will affect your purchase choice.
Having an effective website is critical to your success. You cannot afford to have a missing or poor online presence. If your website doesn’t make a good first impression and deliver all the information the consumer is seeking, you will most certainly lose out on business.
So how can you make sure your website is a help and not a hindrance? First of all, let’s begin with the basics. You need to make sure your website works. This may sound obvious and trivial, but a surprising number of sites have broken links or error pages that become roadblocks for the visitor. Surely you have encountered many of these in your online experience. How can you check your site for problems? Start with free resources that will perform a quick technical audit of your website and make sure your website is free from technical issues.
Another basic check is to make sure your website is compatible with all commonly-used internet browsers as well as mobile devices. Your site is visited by a diverse array of users who may be accessing it through multiple means. You do not want to forfeit a potential business opportunity because your site would not load on a particular browser. Also, if your site has mobile usability issues, Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines will lower your search result placement (SERP) to save their visitor aggravation.
Since most users will be using a search engine to find you, your site needs to be prominently listed when a potential client is looking for your product or service. This is what Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about. SEO is a complicated but necessary process you need to use to rank your site well with search engines.
We know that most users do not look past the first or second page of search results and if your site is not one of those results it will most likely not be visited. You will also need to rank well for the key words and phrases used in your industry. Finding these terms means that you will need access to the tools and skills of an SEO consultant. They have data that sheds light on keyword search volume and competitive difficulty in ranking for words and phrases in search. They will help you use the best words and phrases in your web content so that search engines understand the essence of who you are and what you do. This understanding gives them the confidence to send their visitors your way for answers.
Be aware that website performance does not exist in a vacuum. You and your competitors’ search result positions change from day to day as new content is added on websites and tastes and trends change. Therefore your site’s performance needs to be monitored so your website can respond to both opportunities and obstacles. We are here to help you with this step.
Your content cannot be so focused on search engine consumption that human readers are turned off or confused. To present a professional image, your content should be easy to read and free from grammatical and spelling errors. Proofreading is always necessary before posting or updating page content. You may utilize a professional proofreading service, such as www.bulletproofonline.com to make sure it is done correctly. Or you may run your content by several sets of eyes and use tools like Grammarly. Once you know your content is sound, make sure the color scheme, font, and graphics are consistent with your branding. If the alignment is off or colors vary from page to page, it can come across as unprofessional.
Lastly, make sure all of your content is current and that it is updated as needed. Your site needs to keep up with the times. You should be staying current with industry standards so that design, functionality, and user experience are up to par. Users know what to expect from companies in your industry, and your site must represent the best. Maintain your site much like you would maintain anything else in life. Your site requires constant upkeep and you can expect that you will need a site redesign every three or so years to keep a contemporary and fresh look.
Developing an effective website is a very intense process, and can seem quite overwhelming to the average business owner. Thankfully there are many resources available to assist you each step of the way. As long as you know what you need, you will be able to make your website an indispensable asset. If you have questions about any of the items above we would welcome your contact or call.
