3 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Website
There may be lots of things you don’t know about your website, but there are three really important points that all small businesses should be aware of if they want to get great results from their websites.
1. Quality, relevant content on your website can make or break a sale.
It’s true – a report from IDG Research recently discovered that if a customer perceives the content on your website as being poor, it reduces your chance of closing the sale by 45%.
The importance of good, informative, well-organized content cannot be overstated; your customers and potential customers visit your website to learn about your products and services, and to be reassured that you are qualified to help them solve their problems. If your content is poor, or if there is not enough relevant content on your site to meet their needs, chances are that they will simply click over to the next site; probably to your competitor’s site.
Another bonus to having good, quality web content is that it gives the search engines plenty of relevant content to index, which is a key component to good search engine rankings.
2. A call-to-action on each page of your website helps boost conversions.
Each individual page on your website should be written to get your visitors to do something or take action; whether it’s to sign up for your email list, fill out an information request, buy a product, call for a quote, etc. A call-to-action is the way to let your visitors know what you want them to do – so don’t make them guess!
The more specific you can be with your call-to-action, the better. Using a simple “contact us” seems straightforward, but may not be enough to get a response. Take the guess work out of it as much as possible.
For instance, “contact us” could be changed to “click this link to request more information”, which takes visitors to an online form. “Call us” could be “Call us at 800-555-9846 and ask for John”. Let visitors know what to do, what they can expect, and when to take action, and your web conversions can improve almost instantly.
3. Your website is never really “finished”.
Your website is not a one-time project that can be completed and then forgotten about. Your website is a dynamic marketing asset for your business that must be updated, improved, and monitored over time to make sure it is working for your business and for your customers.
Often, small businesses will scramble to get a website put together, only to breathe a sigh of relief once it’s “completed” and goes live on the web. But that is only the beginning! Your web site is one of the most important, effective marketing tools your business has, but only if it changes and grows along with your business. Adding new content, adjusting search engine keywords, and showcasing new products or company news are just some of the things that any good business website must do in order to be successful and keep visitors engaged and coming back.
If your website is outdated, it will not be useful to your visitors, nor will it be useful to the search engines (and they won’t bother displaying your site in their search results). Visitors and search engines both require relevant, up-to-date, useful information, and there is certainly plenty of that on the web today already competing with your website. Make sure your site is regularly updated with fresh content, and that you keep up with current technology and user expectations (like web video, links to your social platforms, RSS feeds and web apps, etc.).
The More You Know
Your website can (and should!) be the central focus of your online marketing strategy. It is the place your existing customers return to when they need information, but it’s the first place new customers will look to “check you out” before doing business with you. Both will make many decisions based largely on what they find there.
So if you create a website that is 1) a quality resource for visitors, 2) provides the information and incentive needed to do business with you, and 3) is regularly updated with useful content, you will have created a true asset for your small business.