Is Your Website Valuable?
Mediocrity is the last thing you want your business to be identified with. You strive to provide your clients with your best everyday, so why would you settle for less with your website? One of the most misunderstood and overlooked assets for a business is its website.
As the number of online consumers grows, your business needs to be prepared to impress and inform leads. Your business’ website should leave no question about the value you provide and how the customer should react to this value.
The cliche that “first impressions are everything” could not be more true in this scenario. When someone lands on your page, they need to be immediately aware of what your business offers.
Statistically speaking, you have about 15 seconds to convey your message to a user before they leave your site. The implication of this statistic is that you have a very small window to convey your message, and to provide a call to action before you lose the user’s attention. Users don’t want to hunt for information, so you need to accommodate them.
One surefire way to get users to leave your site in a hurry is to make it confusing. “Where’s Waldo” is a blast if you’re into that kind of thing, but no one wants to play “where’s information” when they land on a website. Too many, or irrelevant images can throw a user off the trail of any content your site may offer.
For example, if you own an organic tomato farm, your site should exude organic tomatoes. You want the user to know that your organic tomatoes are the best in your region, and you should show the user how they can purchase your organic tomatoes.
So what should your users see when they land on your site? Organic Tomatoes! Sure, a picturesque scene with a farm truck perched atop a hill with the sunset in the background would look cool, but does it capture your brand? Is there any copy present that explicitly states that you’re an organic tomato farm?
“Cool” doesn’t work if it confuses your users. If you can find the intersection between aesthetically pleasing and informative, you’ve struck gold, but if the site only provides a nice view, your bounce rate is going to increase.
Clearly defining the goals of your business should be paramount for your site. Conveying what you do, or how you can help in a concise manner will provide the customer with an easy decision on pursuing your product. You want to make the customer’s decision simple; alleviating any concerns they may have about misunderstanding your offer, or what your business does.
After clearly establishing what your business offers, you need to provide the user with an explicit call to action. Persuading someone to purchase your product without giving them a clear path to accessing the product is a common mistake made by many marketers. The user is left hanging, stood up like an internet prom date. Don’t leave the user’s next step to chance. Provide a clear call to action, and watch your revenue increase.
Does the user have any reason to trust you when they arrive on your site? Is there any knowledge or content that can be accessed for free? Providing free information displays your willingness to help. It shows prospective clients that you’re not just in it for the quick “one-off” sale, rather you want to establish a partnership that’s beneficial for both parties. Users should feel like you care, and you should care — it’s your business.
A huge part of developing trust with your clients is brand consistency. Brand consistency provides your business with an identity. Your brand is who you are: personality, appearance, tone, etc.
If you don’t establish a consistent brand, your clientele are left wondering who you are. They’re unable to become comfortable with your company, and will often opt for another brand that does consistently state who their business is.
Once you’ve found your brand, it’s important that you stick to your guns; never changing the brand you’ve established. Dissociative Identity Disorder has no place in your business.
Imagine if a business bounced between an inviting, customer service centered brand to a cold, exacting demeanor with their customers. This would scare everyone away and would gain zero repeat customers. Why? Because repeat business is derived from consistency, which develops trust.
Your brand doesn’t want to be lonely. It’s all dolled up and ready to be displayed to the world — go get some traffic! Not sure what traffic is, or uncertain if you’re getting any? Google Analytics is a fantastic place to start. With this tool you can determine where the traffic to your site is coming from and in turn discover what areas you need to focus on for advertising.
If you’re concerned that Google Analytics may be too overwhelming for you to handle yourself, you have a lot of options. There is a plethora of educational resources on the web. Google Analytics even offers a course on Analytics that is very helpful.
Not interested in DIY? Reaching out and finding a marketing company that can help you optimize the traffic to your site could be a great investment for your business.
Social Media can be a useful tool in garnering traffic to your site, but should never be placed at a higher level than Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Facebook delivers a valuable channel for directing traffic back to your site, but the lion’s share of your traffic will come organically, which means through Search Engines like Google, or Bing. Investing time and money into a website without considering how you’ll generate traffic can hamper your online platform and keep your site in the proverbial “cellar” of the web.
The importance of a website to your business cannot be overemphasized. With the number of internet users expected to hit 3 billion this year, it’s safe to say that you need to invest in your web presence.
By ensuring that your site clearly states your business’ goals and providing the users with a clear call to action, you will stand out in the crowded room that is the internet. If you’re not sure if your site is optimized, we would love to help you get your it into tip-top shape! It’s kind of our thing ☺
