It wasn’t that long ago that simply having a website was enough to drive people to you. Merely having a site was cutting edge and a sign of a thriving business.
Today, 85% of people search for a business online before they do business with them. 97% of those people say that your business website influences their decision and bad sites erode trust. They do their homework, gather research, and these days, they’re doing it all from their phone. So many are using their phones that Google now ranks mobile friendly sites significantly higher than those that aren’t.
Want to know if your site is mobile friendly? Use the Google Mobile Friendly Test I’ll wait while you check….
Back? How did your site do?
If it’s not mobile friendly, you’re missing out on potential customers and you’ll continue to lose more and more as mobile use increases. Mobile has been on a huge upward trend since pre-2012 and in 2015, mobile search is set to surpass desktop searching.
Mobile searching + browsing is taking the lead, are you ready?
More than that, if your website isn’t delivering a positive experience for your visitors, you’re losing customers.
What is a positive website experience anyway?
A positive customer website experience is one where they can clearly see what the site is about, find what they’re looking for quickly, and do what they came there for. For your business, I hope that your website also has a clear call to action that will draw those visitors in to do business with you. Certainly there is a little more to this and I’ll dive deeper in a future article or podcast.
In the past, you may have DIY’d your website to save on cash but what you may not realize is that it’s costing you money now.
If your site isn’t mobile friendly, doesn’t have a clear CTA (Call to action), is out of date (has old info on it without anything fresh), or worse, is overflowing with so much information a visitor gets overwhelmed and leaves, it’s time to make a change. It’s worth noting that if your site hasn’t been touched or revamped in 2 years, it’s time to give it some attention.
Navigation is a critical component of the visitor experience. A well designed navigation and site plan can make your site work for you 24/7 while bad navigation and no plan can turn visitors away in seconds.
In today’s world, merely having a website isn’t enough. Your website has got to be good and it has to deliver what the visitor wants from you. If you want to make money from your website, you’ve got to have a clear call to action-that’s how you get paid! You wouldn’t believe the number of businesses that never ask for the sale and then wonder why they’ve got no clients.
What your website is doing wrong
If you’ve found that your website just doesn’t seem to be working anymore, it’s probably doing one (or several!) of these wrong:
- Mobile Friendly
- Clear call to action
- Clear purpose
- Clear audience
- Clear navigation
- Clear next step
- Current information
- The right amount of information to make the buying decision and no more
- Answers to the questions they’re asking-before they ask
- Great content
- All about serving the customer
Miss any of these and your site won’t perform as well as it could. Imagine if your website were a raving fan, telling everyone how amazing it is to work with you and making it simple for others to do exactly that. Wouldn’t that be great?
Tuning up your website
Now that you know what is holding your site back, it’s time to dive in and give it some love! Set aside 10 minutes to take an in depth look at your site and see where it can be improved. Next, write down concrete steps to make those changes and deadlines to ensure that your site gets the attention it deserves. Time, attention, and a little bit of brainstorming will help you transform your website into the effective business partner you deserve!
If you know it’s time for a website that truly delivers a great customer experience and drives business and you’re tired of cobbling things together and hoping it works, let’s talk! I’ve got dates opening this July for new web projects and would LOVE to craft a site that works as hard as you do!
