When people are searching for products and services online, your website is often the very first place they learn about your small business. So, making a good first impression with your small business website is absolutely critical. With so many choices and competitors, your website must quickly make an emotional connection with your prospective buyer. If your competitor’s website makes a better first impression, you may very likely lose a prospective customer. With that in mind, here are five reasons it’s time to update your website:
Your website is stale. When was the last time you updated your website? Old, outdated content is a red flag for many site visitors. Are you offering new products and/or services that are not reflected on your website? That’s a big missed opportunity for additional sales! The content on your small business website is what makes visitors want to come back for more.
The visual look and feel does not reflect your brand identity. We’ve talked before in our blog about brand identity, and how important it is. Since your brand is the image you project to potential customers, partners, and anyone who comes in contact with you and your small business, it’s important to have a cohesive brand identity for all your marketing materials, including your website. If you’ve updated your logo, or the look and feel of print collateral, make sure these changes are reflected on your website!
Introductions & Flash. As connection speeds have increased, so has our collective impatience for website loading times. If you have a Flash introduction piece, or a landing page that says “Click to Enter” on your website, be aware that you are most likely losing visitors to your website! People no longer want to wait for websites to load, and chances are, they will leave your site and click on the next result from the search engine. In addition, Google and other major search engines don’t like these intros. It makes them think you have no content on your Home page. We all know that’s not a good thing for SEO results!
No call to action. As a part of your overall marketing strategy, your website should serve a purpose – it should be working for you to help generate sales. A Call to Action is a must for every site and can include something to the effect of “Call Now for a Free Consultation” or “Click Here for a Special Report”. Free information, such as special reports, is an easy way to capture email addresses for your contact database, and provide valuable information that will keep your customers and prospects coming back for more!
Site visitors don’t stick around. If your analytics package shows a high bounce rate for your website, that is a good indicator that you need to take a good look at your website, and maybe get some professional help, to understand why you’re not converting visitors to buyers. Google Analytics will tell you that about 40% is a typical bounce rate; however it is very important to note that it depends on your site and there is no blanket answer for bounce rates. There are lots of reasons why people are leaving your site, ranging from small, easy tweaks, to a major redesign. Whatever the reason, if you don’t have visitors, you’re not utilizing your website to help generate sales!
If after reading this list, you think you need a website update, don’t delay! Get started now! If you think you need a professional opinion, let us know. We’d be happy to help!
