I’ve seen some rubbish websites in my time – there are many still sitting around the internet. I do wonder if they’re actually any use at all.
If your website isn’t getting results you need to decide if it’s worth paying your hosting fee every month/year.
I’m not suggesting you dump your website, but it’s worth reviewing the analytics to see if it’s getting visits, where from and how long they stay on your pages. Google analytics is free and will give you a good basic picture of how your website is performing.
SEO
I’m not an expert in search engine optimisation (SEO), but I do know that you need a key word or phrase that is the focus for each page. This helps the page turn up in searches and the more content that is on the same subject the better it will perform.
This doesn’t mean your copy needs keyword stuffing – the search engine bots are smart these days and read almost the same way we do. As long as the copy is related to the core search term, it will work. In fact, if you stuff your copy with keywords the bots will penalise you – and the humans will find it hard to read.
Bounce rates
Your bounce rate is calculated based on how quickly people leave your site. The quicker they go, the higher your bounce rate.
The problem is usually that they can’t see what they want, or don’t get what you’re offering and can’t be bothered working hard to find out.
If you’ve got a high bounce rate these are my tips:
- Ensure you have a good headline above the fold (on the top where people are looking when they arrive on your site)
- Ensure the image in your banner is relevant and helps to get the message across. Pretty pictures aren’t helpful – especially if they don’t appear to have anything to do with your products or services.
- Make your navigation easy to understand. No quirky page titles or anything that requires the visitor to think about it. Stick to About and Contact, not Company Profile and Get in Touch.
- Make it easy for people to find your core offerings. So after a short (100-200 word) introduction with it’s own attention grabbing headline, provide easy links through to your top 3-4 products, categories or services. Remember, if people have had to scroll this far, they may not want to scroll back up to the menu.
- Better still ask your web designer to have the menu ‘float’ so it stays visible as the page scrolls down.
- Check that your copy is focused on the reader and their problems, not on you and your services. If you can get them to relate to how you can help them, they’ll stay around longer.
- Put your phone/email contact in your brand banner, top right. Don’t make your visitor have to find the Contact page or scroll all the way to the footer (they won’t) to get in touch.
Keep up-to-date
Every couple of years, if not more often, give your website a refresh. Website design styles change and there’s nothing worse than a website that looks ‘old’. There’s a subliminal message that your business is out-of-date.
A smart website that’s easy to navigate says a lot about your business.
