LET’S MAKE 2020 GREAT!
Below are 9 simple steps you can take to get the most out of your website and make 2020 awesome for your business.
1. Keep it simple!
Your clients need to be able to find what they are looking for quickly and on the devices that they choose to use. (Google Analytics can tell you what devices they use now)
Clean, crisp pictures and vivid call to action buttons with a headline that states exactly what you’re offering. Flat designs work really well with responsive website design (a website that works perfectly on every device. Desktop, Mobile, Tablet)
Keep the most important content towards the top of the page or above the fold, before you have to scroll down.
2. Quality content is key
Content should tell a story – Lead visitors along as they scroll to share the benefits of your products or services in a way that is meaningful to them. Show them what kind of results they can expect and how it works. Include relatable case studies or stories and break the text up into easily digestible paragraphs to make it easier to read.
Aim for 250+ words per page.
3. Security Certificate (SSL) – Have you done this yet?
Back in April 2017, Google Announced that their internet browser software Chrome, from October 2017 will mark HTTP (normal website) as Not Secure. IF they have forms where users enter data like the contact forms on your website.
According to a recent HubSpot Research survey, 82% of respondents would leave a site if they saw this Not Secure warning.
or
Obviously, we recommend that you have an SSL Certificate configured and installed as good practice, not only to secure your website but to also help future proof it.
Having a valid SSL certificate may improve your Google rank
Google announced that they’d give a ranking benefit to secure websites or those websites with SSL certificates installed. While the ranking benefit is relatively minor, it is a good practice to have a secured website, especially if you are an eCommerce type store or collect personal information in any way.
WordPress have also announced that some features of WordPress will now require you to have an SSL certificate installed.
“We’re at a turning point: 2017 is going to be the year that we re going to see features in WordPress which require hosts to have HTTPS available”
It is now 2019 and still lots of websites don’t have a SSL certificate installed.
You can check your website here: https://www.hubspot.com/ssl-checker
4. Leverage website technology intelligently
Only use website features where and when it makes sense. Resist the urge to embrace a trend purely because of someone else has. ie just because you can have a popup on your website, doesn’t mean you should.
Think about how your customers are using your website an on what devices.
5. Be mobile friendly
Chances are that 50% or more of your website traffic is coming from smartphones. Make sure your website design is mobile friendly and optimised for your customers.
Is your website mobile friendly? You can check here
If it is not, you can be penalised in mobile search results on Google.
6. Digital Marketing
Now that you have got your fancy new website sorted, it’s time to get some traffic into it and attract some new clients or convert old ones.
There are 4 main sources of website traffic and depending on who your customers are and what stage of the buying cycle they are at, different strategies may apply.
Direct Traffic – These are visits directly to your website. Likely repeat customers or word of mouth referrals.
Search Engine Results – Customers searching for your brand, product or service. Your position on the search engine results pages can be improved with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) campaign.
SEO is an art, combining quality website development, proper keyword selection & strategic planning to achieve your goals.
Paid Search Engine Traffic – Google Ads is the biggest paid traffic platform and can be very effective for creating almost instant quality leads. Your Google Ads campaign can be highly targeted to find your ideal customers, including geographic location, demographics and interests and search phrases that your customers use. Other Paid per Click platforms include Facebook / Instagram Ads, Amazon Ads, LinkedIn Ads and Microsoft Ads.
We can help you work out which platform is best for your business and goals.
Social Media (paid and free)
Social media both paid advertising and strategic posting is another good source of website traffic. Depending on who your customers are, their age, interests and even geographic location can help determine what social media platform they use. Some business owners may think that Facebook is not right for them as they only target businesses and not personal consumers but this isn’t necessarily right.
Are you on Facebook?? Your customers probably are too. Facebook’s targeting, especially with paid ads is ridiculously powerful. Find out who your customers are and where they hang out online and you can create a highly effective social media strategy.
7. Maintenance
Software requires maintenance. All software, including WordPress which is the software that powers your website. As problems and loopholes are identified, security updates and patches are created.
It is important to keep your website up to date and backed up.
Luckily, it isn’t hard to keep your WordPress website up to date but it is important to do this regularly to ensure your website remains safe and secure.
8. Backup
Do you have a copy of your website, if the server it was on crashed, could you recover it quickly? What if you hosting provider goes out of business?
If your website is with us, it is backed up already but it is a good idea to have your own backup of your website too and it is just good practice to ensure you always have a copy of your investment.
9. Review your Website regularly
You should review your website and digital goals at least every 90 days, if not more regularly. We use and recommend Google Analytics to tell us all about who is visiting your website and how they are interacting with it & most importantly it can help identify areas that can be better optimised.
If your website was built by us, you have Google Analytics already installed
- Google Analytics can help us understand
- Who are they, Age, Gender, Interests?
- Do they view your website on mobile or desktop devices?
- Geographic location
- Do you know where they are coming from? Paid Search, Free Google search results, Facebook?
- What actions they are taking on your website and what can be better improved to increase enquiries and sales?
- And alot more
Take control of your website and use Google Analytics to make smarter strategic decisions for your website or book a strategy session with us and we will help you improve your digital business strategy.
