That Are Costing Your Business Money.
Have you fallen prey to these common website mistakes— Ones that will alienate your customers and deplete your revenue?
If you tried to save money by constructing your own website, or had it built by someone without the latest knowledge in digital marketing, you’re wasting money, and probably losing business. Check out these common mistakes, and find out how you can overcome them.
- Lack of Credibility
The first thing prospects look for when visiting your website is a professional image that inspires confidence in your brand. When the information on your home page is weak, outdated or inaccurate, the trust you’re trying to develop will never happen.
Here’s a tip: If you’re part of a larger consortium, or have recommendations from organizations like the Better Business Bureau, list these prominently throughout your site. Readers will find these brandings comforting, as they represent a known entity. This is especially important if your brand is new, or you’re reaching beyond your market to bring in new customers.
- Inconsistent Branding
Branding your business consistently with professional logos, images, and language is just as important online as it is in print materials. If your website is slick and stunning, but looks completely off-brand, you run the risk of confusing potential customers.
The template that your site is built upon is another issue. If you use stock images, it’s a good possibility that viewers will recognize this. Visuals are important. Pay for professional images, or better yet, use photographs that truly represent who you are and what you’ve accomplished. This will elicit honesty and promote trust.
- Long Page-Load Times
People are busy. If it takes upwards of 4 to 5 seconds to load a web page, viewers will give up and Google your competitor. Free websites that offer low-cost hosting may seem attractive. However, as you know, you get what you pay for in this regard.
Shared hosting accounts run thousands of websites on the same server, causing latency issues along with significant security concerns. Successful businesses work with local IT Managed Services Providers to create secure, highly-structured websites that provide consistent experiences with quick load times. This encourages visitors to dig deep into a site, increasing the possibility of sales.
- Missing a Call to Action
You’ve got a gorgeous website design. You’ve nailed the mobile experience. Your branding is on point. However, you’re still not making any sales! What’s wrong? You’re probably missing an obvious call to action.
After you lead customers down the path to learn about your business and brand, it’s crucial that you ask for them to take an action. This can be as simple as having them sign up for a newsletter, download a PDF document, or create an account and purchase an item.
- Inadequate Mobile Experience
More than 50 percent of website views are using a mobile device. It’s critical that your website is mobile-optimized. Google, Bing and other large search engines provide preferential treatment to websites with a great mobile experience. This will raise your search-result rankings without much effort.
If you’re not sure whether your website is mobile-friendly, grab your phone or tablet and start clicking. If you see images that flow off the page, forms that require you to scroll before you can submit them, and you’re constantly frustrated with the whole thing—chances are you need to work with a professional to create a mobile-first website that uses responsive design.
- Sub-Standard SEO
One of the best ways you can differentiate your business on the web is to have stellar SEO (search engine optimization) rankings. This means your business shows up in the first page of search engine results for your product or service.
Online discoverability is of critical importance to growing your business. It will increase traffic to your website. Work with a partner who can create a website structure that’s consistent with SEO best practices.
Alliance Technology Partners in Chesterfield has digital marketing professionals who can work with you to beat your competitors online. They can quickly and easily walk through your site and identify places where you can effectively gather information, encourage people to sign up for services or make a purchase.
Contact us at (314) 391-9888 or email info@alliancetechpartners.com to get started. We’ll help you open your digital front door.
