Is your website working for you?

Is your website turning potential customers away?

If you are a business owner, one of your most valuable marketing tools is your website. As I’ve posted previously, you must optimize your website for organic search in order to draw potential customers in, but what happens when they get there will make or break you.

When a potential customer finds you, is your website it doing all it can to encourage the potential customer to make contact with you? The reality is you only have a split second to make an impression.  One look at your Website Analytics will tell you where they came from and if they are staying. If your website bounce rate is high (meaning they are not seeing what they hoped for) your site may be turning that potential customer away.  It’s kinda like if you walk in to a store and you don’t see what you want… no one is there to help you… so you leave.  Online, this all happens within seconds.

If you’re losing business to your competition, there are some simple changes you can make to aid your potential customers to take action. Bear in mind, you need to have analytics built in to help you with this simple task.

Get the visitor to take action!

If a visitor hits that infamous “back button” you’ve lost them. The fact is you could be exactly what they’re looking for and your page may be very inviting, however how do they get a hold of you?  ALWAYS make sure your contact information is at the top of every page (meaning your phone number) and a badge with a call to action is visible, linking to a “contact us” page is right in their face.  Don’t make the mistake of making them search in the menu or for a contact us link in your site map.  They won’t waste their time.

Do you want them to call? sign up for a newsletter or promotions? Buy something? Studies have shown that if a visitor does not know which to choose, they most likely will do nothing.  Keep it simple for them.  If it’s not clear, they won’t do it, and they’ll leave. It’s all about conversions!

Do they trust what they see?

If they don’t, say good bye again.  Logos like the Better Business Bureau, awards, Certifications… Are they readily visible?  Do you have testimonials front and center from a real client, with a full name and/or name of the business?  I know for me if I just see something like “great service”, by Bob J. I don’t get a warm fuzzy feeling.  Make sure there are links to reviews, a Linkedin page with recommendations, etc.  If you can score a video testimonial from your client… kudos!

Are you an ecommerce site? Give them that warm fuzzy that your site is secure through secure pages (the https in the address) logos from such companies as Authorize.net or another site will show that potential customer that you value the safety of their credit card information.

Focus your content on the user!

We all like to talk about ourselves and how great we are.  A little bit is fine.  Too much is a turn off.  Focus on the word “you”!  It’s all about them, not just your company or service.

Try focusing your content on the problems your customers might have, and how you can solve them.

Bring it all together…

Bring all these things together, and you’ll have a website that works for you instead of against you.

Here are a couple examples of websites that tie these things all together into a total marketing package:

Ecommerce  - http://www.anarchyeyewear.com  It’s plain and simple what they want you to do.  Big bold links on the home page for promotions, online vendors of the month.

Medical Financial Management Services- http://www.theroi.com  Plain and simple.  Phone numbers at the top for existing customers and potential customers, a badge on every page with a call to action, and two proper logos stating they’re a trustworthy company to do business with.

Childcare services - http://www.storksnestchild.com  Locations, a simple paragraph of who they are, and a call to action with a discount to contact them.

Simple Changes!

These small changes can make the difference between someone wanting to do business with you or leave someone to find your competition.