Your website is the central hub for your business. Sometimes it is the first impression that your potential customers have of your company and they are looking for ways to determine your credibility. For these reasons, it is vital that your website an effective tool, both for you and your customers. Consider evaluating these criteria periodically to determine if it might be time to recreate your website.
Bounce Rate
Bounce rate refers to the percentage of people who visit your website and click away after viewing only one page. You can use Google Analytics to monitor your bounce rate and if it is already high or steadily increasing, you will want to take time to figure out why people are leaving so quickly. Your website should have simple features that quickly engage people and draw them into your site.
Mobile Friendly
If your website was designed a while ago, your web designer might not have optimized for mobile. Maybe you could get away with it then, but in today’s world mobile friendly is a must. According to a recent report from Hitwise (registration required), about 60% of internet searches are now done by mobile devices. Mobile definitely is the trend and your website cannot afford to ignore it.
SEO with keywords
Where do you rank in search engine results? There are many factors that play into optimizing your website to increase your search engine rank. One simple way is to include keywords that you know your target audience is searching for. Think about keywords in the language that your audience uses, rather than technical or professional jargon.
Who is your site about?
Go through your website and consider: is the content focused on the customer or my business? Customers want to see and read things about themselves, so they feel like they can relate to your business first. Help them to care first, before just telling them details about your company.
As you add more content to your site keep track of how it affects your load time. The ideal load time is always changing, but about 4-5 seconds is generally average. A good practice is to visit your competitors’ sites and comparing with their load times. Large file sizes, especially images, can drastically affect the speed, as well as external programs that you are running on your site.
Text Heavy
If the homepage on your site looks like it was created in a word processor, it is time for a redesign. This is an instant indicator of an outdated site and customers will make assumptions that your entire business is behind the times. Simplify your messaging, and supplement it with professional grade photos and video content. This will give your site a fresh, modern look.
Incorporate Social Media
Maybe when you originally created your website you did not even have a presence on social media. Hopefully, that has changed and so should your website. Make sure that your content is optimized for social engagement. You can add buttons for liking on sharing on a variety of social media platforms. This will also increase your search engine optimization as people engage with your company through multiple platforms.
Â
Written by Nicole Richards