Don’t Invest in a Website Before Learning How Your Brand is Perceived

Can you capture someone’s attention in 59-seconds? Imagine you’re attending a large event with hundreds of people. You’re hoping to find people that you can assist, or maybe you’re looking for people who can help you.

The same holds true for your website. But, instead of hundreds of people, there are thousands, or more, who need to know the value of your product or service in less than a minute. Many websites are not designed with the user in-mind which prevents consumers from connecting with brands.

“Focusing on improving your website’s conversion rate is one of the best investments you can make in your brand’s online success. Small changes can make a huge difference in the way users behave on your site, so it’s important not to neglect the details.” — Forbes, 2017

10 Website To-Do Items:

1. Use Responsive Web Design: Incorporate flexible layouts, images and cascading sheet style (CSS). Google’s algorithm favors mobile-friendly websites since searches are conducted on smartphones and tablets. Google penalizes non-responsive sites.
2. Choose a Customized Theme: Many inexpensive website builders have slower load times: Nearly ½ of web users expect a site to load in two seconds or less, and abandon sites that don’t load within three seconds. — Kissmetrics, 2017.
3. Create Quality Content: The #1 ranking criteria for search engines is content. Sites that are text-heavy, use industry jargon, are sales-oriented, and business-centric lose visitors and conversion rates. 90% of businesses use content marketing, but most don’t feel they’re effective. Only 9% of B2B businesses that say they are “very effective” with their content marketing, and a third feel they are “somewhat effective.”
4. Position Key Business Content “Above the Fold”: Above the fold is the portion of a web page that is visible in a browser window when the page first loads. The portion of the page that requires scrolling is called “below the fold”. When users scroll, there are many variables, including browsers, screen size, operating system and toolbars that change how a website looks.
5. Incorporate Video: Video drives a 157% increase in organic traffic from search engine results pages (SERPs). Viewers retain 95% of messages from videos versus 10% when reading text. By 2019, internet traffic will be 80% of all consumer internet traffic. Viewers spend 88% more time on websites with videos.
6. Include Visual Imagery: “Visual content has become so prevalent that it’s no longer just a piece of the marketing industry, but its core.” — Adweek, 2017. Authentic photos, infographics and short videos drive engagement. “Nearly 60% of senior executives prefer watching a video over reading text of both formats are available on the same page.” – Forbes, 2017.
7. Add Social Media Links: Choose which platforms to use based on your target audiences, and industry sector. It’s more important to be active on a few sites then have too many to manage. Create different content per platform.
8. Know Your Customer: Develop buyer personas. Analyze customer-buying habits, and behaviors to determine the most effective tactics for key segments and microsegments.
9. Capture Customer Data: A call-to-action (CTA) should entice a consumer to want to learn more, have a conversation, or arrange a meeting. Offer a discount on a service, a coupon, an e-book, or whitepaper.
10. Fully Update: New technological advances offer opportunities and risks. Ensure themes and plugins are maintained and website speed is optimized for mobile use.

A website is the core of your business online. It’s your personal and brand story, and should differentiate you in a crowded marketplace. Every industry is competitive. When people are searching for products and services, what makes them click, is knowing your value to them. They need to know that you’ll solve a problem, or fulfill a need.

The most common websites have 6-12 pages, including, Home, About, Team, Mission/Vision, Services, Press, Testimonials, Blog, News, Contact and can range from $7,000 to $100,000 and more.

Before spending money on a new or updated website, learn exactly how to direct and manage a graphic designer or team.

We’re offering a new program, discounted for the month of August, that includes a full assessment of your website, an analysis of how your brand is perceived both online and through social media, and decipher whether there’s a disconnect. If so, we’ll provide recommendations.