Category: Web Site Tips

To be successful, a small business web site should lead visitors toward taking action – whether it’s purchasing a product, signing up for a newsletter, or clicking on a specific link – the site should provide a clear pathway for visitors to accomplish a goal. But sometimes, moving your visitors toward that action is harder than it has to be because of hurdles (however unintentional) that can block their path. To keep your visitors following the intended path to action, make sure your site isn’t an online obstacle course.

Natural Scan Patterns

The goal of your web pages is of course to give visitors the information they are seeking, but at the same time, the page must also be attractive and inviting. Using images is a great way to add interest to a page, but be careful. Images can sometimes get in the way of a visitor’s natural scan pattern and distract them from accomplishing the action you want them to take.

Notice Me

Users are so accustomed to skipping over display ads that they can sometimes skip right over an image on your web page – even if that image contains important information. This means that if you have a critical page element, like a call to action or conversion trigger, don’t bury it in an image. Instead, put it at the end of the user’s natural scanning pattern and make it stand out.

Image Placement

The placement of images on the page is also an important consideration. Page elements or content that is buried under the fold (content that a user has to scroll down to see) runs the risk of being outside the user’s natural flow and may be missed altogether. If your call to action is at the very end of your page, move it higher or make sure it is at least repeated somewhere in the top half of the page or in the navigation system.

Obstacle Free

The same is true for video and other page elements that could potentially interrupt the flow of information that leads users to the desired action. Provide visitors with a direct route that follows established scanning patterns, and avoid adding barriers that could distract them from taking action or accomplishing their goals on your site. Your business has something unique to offer, so make sure your visitors have an obstacle-free path to finding it.

How many types of “anchors” can you name? I can think of News Anchors who bring us the headlines on TV each day, those wall-anchor thingies that you hammer into a wall before hanging a heavy shelf, and of course my summer favorite – boat anchors. But the most valuable type of anchors for most small businesses is of course the anchor text that is used in the links on its web site.

What Is Anchor Text?

First, let’s be clear about what anchor text really is. Anchor text is the clickable part of a text link on a web page – it’s the text that is usually blue and underlined. As it turns out, the text you use in your link is hugely important to the search engines, especially to Google. The logic behind this is that if certain text is important enough to be used in a link, then that text MUST be something important, right? Well, apparently that’s what the search engine spiders think.

Choose Carefully

So it makes sense that you should choose the anchor text for your links very carefully, making sure to use your keywords and phrases as anchor text as much as you can. You may need to adjust your content a bit in order for the keywords to make sense as anchor text, but the benefits are typically worth it. Also, don’t waste the power of anchor text on generic terms like “click here” or “more.” Instead, be specific and descriptive with your anchor text, and weave in keywords and other meaningful text to take full advantage of the importance that the search engines place on anchor text.

For example, on the Five Sparrows web site we have a page that describes our web support & maintenance plans. (And yes, the link you just read is an example of anchor text, too!) Since this is a natural extension of new web site development, the first paragraph on that page has a link that takes users to our web site development services page. We used the anchor text “web site development” (which is also blue and underlined) because it not only describes the page where users will go if they click the link, it is also one of the keyword phrases that Five Sparrows targets on the page.

Hey Google, Listen Up

When you select text on your web page and turn it into a link, you are telling the search engines that the text is important. You’re giving Google a clue that the anchor text you selected is relevant to the content on your site, and that your site should be listed in the search results when users search for that text. You’re communicating with the search engines in a language they can understand!

So while boat anchors might be my personal summer-time favorite (well, the boat part anyway!), there’s not an anchor I can think of that has more impact on your small business marketing than the anchor text used in a web link. The search engines are paying close attention to the anchor text you choose for your links, so make sure that you are paying attention too.

Home pages. Landing pages. Sub pages. Content pages. These are the types of pages found on most small business web sites. But if you’re trying to turn your web site visitors into loyal customers, then you definitely need to know about your exit pages. And where can you find your exit pages, entry pages, and all other types of pages? They can be found in your web site statistics, which you should be reviewing regularly!

Exit Pages
First, let’s talk about exit pages and what they can tell you. Exit pages are exactly that – the pages on your web site where visitors leave and move on to another site (or move on to something else altogether). So why should you know on which pages your visitors exit your site? Because if a large percentage of your traffic is exiting from the same page, this could indicate a problem with that page. The problem could be as simple as a broken link or page not found error, but it could also be that the page content is sending a message that you don’t intend.

The content on that exit page may be losing your visitors’ interest, or may not have the information they are looking for. The goal should be to make each page’s content as valuable as possible, and always include links and menus so visitors are prompted to stay on your site and click around some more.

Entry Pages
The opposite of exit pages of course are entry pages. It’s common to think that your visitors enter your site through the home page, but often that’s not the case. Search engines routinely bring visitors to the internal pages of your site, depending on what information has been indexed. Also, the inbound links found on other web sites may point to internal pages on your site, and your online ads may direct visitors to specific landing pages within your site. In any case, just make sure that you provide enough information and structure on your internal pages so that visitors entering the site from any page can tell where they are and can find links to your other pages. It’s also a good idea to include a specific call to action on each page to lead visitors toward taking your most desired action.

In Good Health
Your web statistics are a source of extremely valuable information, but are often overlooked or ignored. Web stats are fundamental in diagnosing the general health of your web site and determining the best way to keep it healthy. Review your web stats weekly (or at least monthly) and pay attention to what they show you. You can then make adjustments based on actual user experiences, which will evolve over time into an improved user experience on your web site. And the better the user experience, the more likely you are to turn your visitors into the loyal customers that drive your bottom line.

To be an effective marketing tool, your web site should lead your customers and potential customers to take some sort of action. Whether it’s signing up for your newsletter, visiting your online store, calling your toll-free number, or simply remembering your company or your brand, it’s the customer’s action that ultimately results in new leads and increased sales for your business.

Sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often small business web sites lack a clear call to action. When creating content for your site, think about what your potential customers are trying to accomplish. What types of questions are they asking? What specific information do they want to find out? What are the potential objections they may have? What do you want your customers to do as a result of visiting your web site?

Although sites can differ in their purpose, they all should have a clear path to a most desired action. For instance, if you have an e-commerce site, you want your visitors to purchase something from your online store. If your site is informational, you probably want visitors to join your mailing list to receive updates or news.

To lead customers to take some action, try these tips:

1. Clearly state a call to action on each page of your site. If you want to sell something, don’t ask visitors to call you for more information, directly ask for the sale instead.
2. Make sure it is obvious how to get in touch with your business. Always use a Contact Us page that gives complete contact information including phone and fax numbers, email address, snail mail address, map to your location, etc.
3. Highlight the benefit that your product or service offers. Customers typically buy because it will make their lives better in some way.
4. Don’t talk about yourself or your company; instead talk directly to your visitors, about meeting their needs. For example, “Our products and services can help you increase your bottom line…” talks about you and your products. Instead, try something like “You’ll save hours of monotonous work and reduce your overall costs with our products and services.”
5. Present your key concepts using bulleted lists and break up page content with headings and sub-headings. It makes the page easier to “skim,” improves overall readability, and helps direct the reader to your call to action.

By showing your visitors a clear call to action, you can lead them to the information they are looking for, answer their questions, resolve their objections, and move them toward taking the action that you want them to take.

A good web site is one of the most important assets a small business can have, but what exactly makes a business web site “good?”  To some extent, the answer depends on what type of industry you are in.  But certain elements are common to most business sites, and should be implemented regardless of your type of business.  To ensure that your business web site is professional, credible, and relevant, be sure it follows these basic principles:

1. Stand out from the crowd.  Make sure your site is unique and doesn’t look like everyone else’s, and don’t rely on pre-canned templates.  Templates are almost always a bad idea for business sites, since they are too cookie-cutter and don’t deliver anything compelling or unique to your users.  Be intentional about the message that you are sending to your visitors, and make sure your site is an appropriate reflection of your business.

2. Use consistent, user-friendly navigation.  Make sure the navigation system appears on every page so users can easily find their way around the site.  Try to keep information only two or three clicks deep, and use drop-down menus to organize information and keep things simple.

3. Give readers something to read!  First and foremost, great content gives visitors a reason to come your site.  It provides them with something of value, and can result in word-of-mouth recommendations to friends and colleagues.  Don’t waste your readers’ time with boring, irrelevant content that is too company-centric.  Readers don’t really care about your business, they care about how your business can help them solve their problems. Great content is the most important part of a business web site, so don’t skimp on providing readers with excellent content.

4. Provide complete contact information.  Few things are more frustrating than not being able to find out where a business is located or how to contact someone in the company. Make sure you have your complete contact information on your web site, including a physical address, and provide users with multiple ways to contact you (phone, email, etc.).  Providing detailed contact information reassures visitors that your company is real and gives your business additional credibility.

5. Present a strong call to action.  The purpose of having a web site is ultimately to get visitors to do something, whether it’s to buy something, contact you, join a mailing list, or remember your company the next time they need products or services.  Whatever it is that you want your visitors to do, you should always present a clear, strong call to action and make it easy for them to actually take that action.  Be specific, and don’t be afraid to be direct.  For instance, a link that says “keep reading here” is a call to action, as opposed to a more neutral link that says “continued.”  Even something as simple as “Buy Now” invites action because it is so direct.

6. Give readers something of value. Readers need a reason to follow your call to action and/or come back to your site again. Offer them a coupon, a tip sheet, free advice or information, or something entertaining like a crossword puzzle. This can also help build credibility with your audience and set your business apart from your competitors, too.

A long time ago, (okay, maybe the ‘90s) small businesses that had web sites were mostly thought of as being cutting-edge and technically savvy.  Remember those days? Merely having a web site sent the message that the company was competent, professional, and innovative.

Helping, or Hurting?
Now, however, having a web site is basically an expectation, something that is essential to most small businesses today.  But having the “wrong” kind of web site can actually be worse for your business than having no web site at all.  Here are some tell-tale signs that your web site may actually be hurting your business rather than helping it:

• The site hasn’t been updated in years
• The site commits web “sins” such as frames-based design, Flash intros, doorway pages, blinky-flashy images, or image-based pages
• Confusing or inconsistent navigation among web pages
• Visitor counters
• Busy, repeating backgrounds that hurt readability
• Horizontal scrolling
• Pop-up ads
• Not enough quality content
• No strong call to action
• Uses a “pre-canned” template design that is not consistent with branding
• Cannot be correctly read by search engine spiders

(Of course there are many others, but those are the biggies…)

Sending a Message
Most small businesses would love to be perceived as competent, professional and innovative, but the wrong kind of web site sends the opposite message about your business.  So ask yourself – does your web site help or hurt your business?  Does it give visitors a great first impression, or does it send some other, less positive message about your company? If you aren’t sure of the answer, then it’s probably time for an upgrade!

Most small businesses know that driving traffic to their web site is the first step to web success. However, it is no longer enough to simply drive traffic to your web site. In today’s web environment, you must also make sure that once visitors arrive at your site, they “stick” long enough to absorb your marketing message, are encouraged to click around for more information, and are ultimately motivated to take action, all in approximately four seconds. According to recent research by Akamai Technologies, 75% of surveyed customers said they would not return to a web site if it took more than four seconds to load. Four seconds! That’s not very much time to expose visitors to your small business and all it has to offer!

 
For small businesses to effectively compete in this ever-changing, cluttered web environment, it’s important that they consider using the latest interactive technologies on their web sites. One such technique, called a “microsite,” is emerging as a powerful strategy that small businesses can use to attract new visitors, generate new leads, encourage visitors to spend time on the web site, and ultimately turn potential customers into buyers. 

 
So what is a microsite? 
A microsite is a new twist on the tried-and-true technique of web site “Landing Pages.” With a microsite, a business creates a group of highly personalized web pages that are designed to appeal to a particular buyer segment. For instance, a construction company could create a microsite (group of specifically targeted web pages) to address the needs of residential clients that contains different information from the web content presented to commercial businesses. By using a microsite, companies can provide visitors with exactly the information they are looking for, and also gather information from prospects that applies directly to their needs and interests. 

 
A Versatile Strategy
Microsites can also be developed to work with a specific promotion, such as an email campaign or post card mailer, which leads visitors directly to information related to the campaign. If a heating and cooling company is promoting winter furnace maintenance, it could create a microsite that completely skips information about air conditioners and focuses only on the furnace products and services that are currently on sale. 

 
Target Information = Better Conversion
Because microsites are so highly targeted, they are an effective way to provide the right information to web site visitors right when they are looking for it, often producing more qualified leads and improved web conversion rates. Microsites can also provide small businesses with the valuable customer data they need to build strong, lasting relationships with their prospects. 

 
To compete on the web today, small businesses may want to consider adding an interactive technology like microsites to provide visitors with targeted, relevant information as quickly as possible. After all, four seconds goes by fast!

Most small businesses know that a good link building strategy is essential to a web site’s success in the search engines. If you want your site to show up on the first few pages of search results, you really need other credible web sites to “vote” for you by linking to your web site. Up until recently, it was common for web sites to exchange reciprocal links in order to help each other build inbound links to their web sites. But while this used to be a useful strategy, the rules have recently changed and now you must learn how to play the new link-building game!

Be Picky About Reciprocal Links
Reciprocal links can sometimes be helpful, but only in very specific instances. In order to be useful, the incoming link (from the other web site) should be on a page that has a higher page rank than the page on your web site containing the link that goes back to them. Plus, the text of the link on the other web site should match one or more of the keywords on your site. If you can get reciprocal links that meet these criteria, then they may be helpful to you in the search engines. Also remember to steer clear of inbound links from link farms, free-for-all sites, and paid links since these are almost always penalized by the search engines.

It’s Not a Democracy
The idea of a reciprocal link counting as a “vote” for your web site may be appealing, but there’s also a downside. Each link on your site that goes out to another web site essentially deducts a vote from your site as well. Reciprocal links can be a no-gain situation for you, and could end up hurting your site overall in the eyes of the search engines.

Voting Against Yourself
One of the new link-building rules that may surprise you is that one-way outbound links on your site may be a bad idea from a search engine’s point of view. For instance, if you have a “Helpful Links” or “Resources” page on your site that contains one-way outbound links to other sites, you are probably losing lots of ground in the search engines. To avoid these “negative votes” for your site, be sure your outbound links are coded with the NOFOLLOW attribute so the search engines know these outbound links should not be deducted from your web site’s score.

Link Content is Key
In order for your links to really be powerful, there must be a relationship between what you say about your web site, and what other people on the web say about your web site. How does a search engine determine this? It’s all in the link text. The text of each inbound link to your site must match the keywords used on your web site, or else the search engines may simply ignore that inbound link.

For example, if you want to rank for the keyword “travel” but the inbound links to your site contain just the name of your company, then there’s no way the search engines will know that these inbound links have anything to do with travel.

Send Your Site to De-Tox
Ranking well in the search engines can be a moving target, so it’s important to do everything you can to protect your site. Always try to build inbound links that contain your relevant keywords in the link text, and get rid of the reciprocal links on your site that are not working for you. Also be careful when coding your one-way outbound links so that you aren’t unintentionally “deducting votes” from your own web site. These simple steps can help you build effective inbound links, while avoiding those that may have recently become bad news for your web site’s search engine rankings.

For most small businesses, the goal of having a web site is to attract customers, gather leads, and convert sales. But is that what YOUR web site is doing? When you get it right, web visitors have a valuable experience and clearly understand how your product or service fulfills their needs. Get it wrong and you could be sending web traffic and potential business right to your competitor’s door! Here are some common web site mistakes that can scare away visitors and hurt your bottom line:

• Too many choices – When you give your visitors too many options, it can become overwhelming, making them less likely to make any decision at all. All options are not equally important, so be careful to present your information in an organized, logical way that is easy to understand.
• Non-relevant web site content – Be sure that the content on your site is focused on delivering your main marketing message. You are the expert on your business, so you already know what information customers need in order to make a decision. Extra information that doesn’t promote or support your message doesn’t belong on your web site.
• Unprofessional web design – The way your web site looks and functions speaks volumes about your business, even if it is unintentional. If your web site has poor layout, broken or missing links, outdated information, or looks unprofessional, your visitors will have a negative impression of your company, regardless of how great your business may be.
• Red flags – Most web users today have a healthy skepticism when they visit web sites, so make sure you show them immediately that your company is legitimate. Provide detailed contact information that includes your physical mailing address, phone number, contact names, and email addresses so visitors know your business can be trusted.
• Asking for too much information – When visitors want to make a purchase, sign up for your mailing list, or request information from your web site, what kind of a form will they be faced with? Make sure you ask only for the information that you absolutely need, and don’t try to gather too much information at once. Instead, keep the form short and simple, and then follow up later to gather any additional customer information that you may need.

While it’s true that “nobody’s perfect,” I think the same goes for small business web sites as well – no web site is absolutely perfect. Even the best of the best often have room for improvement! But there are some basic web site mistakes that many small companies make that can end up hurting business instead of helping it.  Do any of these mistakes show up on your web site?

1. Not enough content.  Often, small businesses will put minimal information along with their contact information on their web sites and think that’s probably good enough. But today’s web visitors are looking for something more, and lots of good quality content is a great way to deliver value to your visitors and build credibility for your business.
2. Old or outdated content.  If you want visitors and search engines to pay attention to your web site, you need to keep adding new content and updating the existing information on your web site regularly.  If your site never changes, the search engines will ignore your site, and visitors will not have a reason to come back. It’s also unlikely that visitors will recommend your site to their friends and colleagues, too.
3. Not being search engine friendly. Speaking of search engines, what happens if a search engine spider visits your site, but can’t read your web pages? Nothing happens, and that’s a problem.  If a search engine spider cannot read your web pages, it just moves on to the next site, and your information is completely ignored.  Your web site must be search engine friendly in order to be included in the search engine databases.
4. Not monitoring your site in the search engines.  Even if your web site is search engine friendly, there are constant changes going on with the search engines and also with your competitors.  If you aren’t monitoring how your site is performing in the search engines, how will you know if these changes are affecting your rankings or if you are losing traffic? Monitoring your web site means that you can react to changes and take appropriate steps to make sure your site shows up in the search results and that web traffic keeps flowing.
5. The site is built using Frames or Flash. Not too many web sites still make this mistake, but there are still some small business web sites out there using one or both of these methods.  Sites built with Frames or Flash intro pages cannot easily be read by the search engines, and web visitors typically hate using them as well.  These are older web techniques that don’t reflect well on your business, they don’t perform well in the search engines, and today’s web visitors expect better.  

Making your web site the best it can be is a very effective and affordable marketing option for most small businesses. Of all the other types of advertising and marketing that you do each year, your web site has the potential to be seen by more customers, can continue to promote your company perpetually through links, is always accessible to customers, and can instantly reflect changes and provide fresh information to draw people in.  Avoiding basic web site mistakes will help your site perform better, making it a “perfect” marketing strategy for your small business.