If your business website has served you well for all these years, it can be easy to get stuck in your ways and not wish to change. However, just because everything is plain sailing in terms of success doesn’t mean that things could be better. If you’ve started to look at competitor websites and feel your website is missing something, then it might be the right time to make some changes to your own site.
It’s invisible in internet searches
If you have to keep scrolling to page 10 of Google’s search engine results to find out what your company does, then it might be time to change. If your website isn’t using up-to-date SEO techniques, then it may not rank that highly when it comes to finding it under the relevant search terms. As well as using backlinks and keywords, it’s vital that you use techniques that Google won’t penalize you for. Websites ranking high in search engines have always benefited from a bit of expertise and SEO know-how, such as not using dodgy or expired backlinks and having excellent content.
On top of not using enough SEO techniques, you might want to check the quality of the content on your site. If your web pages are full of spelling mistakes or the content is completely unreadable, then the chances are that people probably aren’t spending too much time to get a grasp of what it is you’re trying to say. If you have limited resources within your company, hiring a copywriter to re-do these pages could be well worth the investment.
It runs slowly
Today’s generation doesn’t have the patience to tolerate a website that churns through items that need to load. Gone are the days of modem-slow web pages, and so websites need to meet the speeds of modern-day internet connections. Diagnosing what is causing your website to run slowly is the first step in keeping visitors on there for longer. Conversely, lots of visitors might also be the cause of your website running slowly. If your website was not built to cope with high volumes of traffic, then you will need to optimize it accordingly.
It looks aesthetically out of date
A website that looks like it belongs in 2004 just isn’t going to perform as well as one that’s slick, full of animated infographics, and uses modern fonts and imagery. It’s possible to have tones of expertise but not visually look like you’re capable of providing it. If you’re truly unsure as to whether yourwebsite is turning people away visually, it’s recommendedthat you turn to Google Analytics and ask yourself these questions:
- How long are the users staying on your website?
- Are people browsing your pages or are they giving up after a few seconds?
- How many conversions do you get?
- Have you set the correct goals to track and measure the performance of your website?
Ifyou’re getting less than positive results on any of these questions, it might be your website’s outward appearance that’s putting people off exploring what you have to offer online.
Poor customer engagement
If you’re desperate for reviews and testimonials, but they just aren’t coming through, then you might want to look at how well your website is serving your customer base. Having a ‘Call To Action,’ which usually take the form of ‘How did we do today? Leave us some feedback’ encourages visitors to leave a response, meaning that their opinion ultimately feels valued. Using this call to action and appeal for customer feedback should also be duplicated across all of your social media platforms, as these have a thriving online community which are much more likely to provide immediate feedback. Facebook Business, in particular, has plenty of functions that allow customers to share their experiences of your company and their ratings. Sharing positive and insightful Instagram Stories is also another way to do the same for a much younger demographic.
While you might resend the price tag that comes with a new website, it’s good to focus on what the end result will look like. There’s nothing better than a website that not only matches the branding of your company but is also tailored to its business niche and audience demands.
