When Was the Last Time You Did a Website Evaluation?
We all go to our doctor to get regular check-ups (well, most of us do), but how often do we worry about the health of our business websites? A “healthy” website means it is working in the best way possible for you and your brand. At the same time, it’s vital your site is well received.
Performing a simple website audit keeps your site current and user-friendly. It also allows for a clear, actionable list to improve SEO and super-charge your digital marketing.
To help you do a quick website evaluation to see if yours needs some fine-tuning, review the following:
Navigation
Does the navigation of your website tell a linear story? For example, my business is something that is very personal to me. My brand has thrived because I created a narrative that intertwines facts about myself into the services that I offer. Arranging my website to follow this linear pattern increases my potential and has solidified my brand into my business. By integrating a narrative that relates to your own business into your site's navigation, you are likely to see your own impressive testimonials start to flood in.
Pricing
This one’s a tricky one. Some people can’t include their pricing because it’s different for each client’s situation. But in a world where we are used to doing our own research before making a purchase, price point is a big piece of information we, as consumers, are looking for, so if you can include it, really consider doing so.
I hear many people argue that pricing can deter customers, but think of it this way, if people can’t afford your rates, wouldn’t you rather know that first before having multiple, lengthy conversations with them, drafting a proposal and then getting turned away for your pricing? If people want to work with you, they’ll try to negotiate or tell you that your pricing is an issue. If it’s a client you really want to work with, you can negotiate, but putting it on the table speeds up that conversation.
If you do decide to include your costs, information about pricing should always be easy to find. You can find out my pricing by the clearly labeled “Pricing & Services” tab embedded in my website menu. By having this information clearly labeled, it follows with the navigation plan mentioned previously. All things on your website should leave your online visitors knowing exactly what the next step is. No one should ever leave your website wondering “What’s next?” It is your job to give them enough information where they feel empowered enough to make the next move, whether it’s to contact you or research other options.
Entry Points
How many conversion places do you have on your website? One aim, as a brand, is accessibility. This goal can be achieved by either integrating an online chat bubble, easy-to-find contact information, and a well-written FAQ section. If your brand is personal, like mine, you can also include more details through personal recommendations of articles, eBooks or case studies.
When visitors come to your website, they are strangers. Most will leave without you ever knowing who they are which leaves you unable to contact them ever again. By having entry points such as a contact form, a newsletter signup, ebooks or templates to download, a chat bot, etc, you are able to get their contact information so you can continue to reach out to them and send them helpful content which helps gain their trust and leaves you the desired choice compared to the competition.
Mobile Formatting
How many times does someone recommend something useful to you, and the next thing you do is look it up right on your smartphone? If your website is not properly formatted to capture potential customers or clients on-the-go, your business could suffer in the long run.
It’s helpful to run a few tests on different smartphones, tablets or other devices that people use daily. If you don’t like how it looks, make a plan to reformat it accordingly.
While most people know that their website is automatically formatted for mobile due to the CMS platform they are using, most don’t actually go through every page of their website on a mobile device. When things are realigned for mobile, it might leave some design glitches. For example, when your website resizes for mobile, that home screen image and copy might not line up the same as they do on the desktop view of your site and the copy is now in a different spot on the image and therefore harder to read.
SEO Assessment
Are you producing high-quality content without excessive fluff? Are you consistently producing content? Most importantly, is all of this content helpful to your target audience?
A common misconception is that an SEO assessment does not include a content-based assessment. Having too little or too much content can have adverse effects. The ideal solution is to aim right for the middle. You should be friendly, informative, and efficient in helping potential customers find you.
In addition to producing helpful, relevant content, you’ll also want to evaluate these on-page SEO elements:
Do you have a keyword strategy?
If this is something that you have not considered, send me a message, and we can make a plan.
Are you factoring in keywords when creating content?
Before writing any piece of content or creating a web page for your site, you should ask yourself, ‘What’s the goal of this page or post?’ That page should look to achieve that goal as well as target a keyword that is most closely aligned with that goal.
Is each page optimized for that keyword (page title, URL, meta description and copy)?
Your page title, URL, copy headings and meta description should aim to include a keyword you are trying to target.
Does your website load slowly?
Are you still using Flash or Javascript? These “old-school” ways of designing sites can really slow load times. People tend to leave a site if it takes longer than a few seconds to load.
Do you have a URL structure that is SEO friendly?
As mentioned, the URL structure should match and fit into the same organizational narrative of the content of your site. Make the URLs concise and easy to find.
Do any of your web pages have errors (like 404 errors or broken links?
If you have switched any of your URLs recently, you may have broken links to pages on your site. It is wise to look into having a bot automate your indexing to avoid this in the future.
Remember, the main goal of a business website is to convert online visitors into customers. This is a good place to start, but if you have more questions about how you can optimize and clean up your website, I'd be happy to do a quick audit of your site with you. Just click the link below and we can set up a time to chat!
