How to Design a Successful Business Website
Small business owners may not have the resources to invest heavily in their web presence and finding solutions to problems can be like finding a needle in a haystack. You know something’s wrong but don’t have the faintest idea how to fix it. Is it a technical issue? Are your ads not performing well? Don’t know what kind of traffic you’re getting? You maybe should keep reading if you want how to improve your website.
One of the most common issues is the lack of traffic. Everyone goes through this at some point or another, but there are ways to counteract the problem. Even if you’ve spent tons of money on the web design, it doesn’t mean you’re going to make money.
Setting up link exchanges to other sites is a big help getting your site crawled almost immediately. You can also submit your website to other well known directories to put your name out there. When starting you new site, generating the traffic is typically the hardest part.
You need to start by building quality content, and generate incoming links from other sites to help maximize your efforts. After you have completed this you will need to monitor progress through web analytics software. This will allow you to analyze your traffic to and from your site.
2) Setting up your site for failure can sometimes be a bit easier, then setting it up for success. I say that because most sites that are generated today for most businesses already have someone, somewhere, out there doing it already. So if the content on your site, and the product you provide, doesn’t set you apart from your top competitors then you are setting yourself up for failure.
Take a glance at the way the top competitor has theirs set up and use that as a measuring stick of where you need to go with yours. Make sure that you are creative, and try to stand out amongst others.
3. You have no call-to-action. Poor promotional language can have a sabotaging effect if visitors aren’t drawn to your conversion pages. A conversion page is any page that acts as the final step in a visitor submitting a form, making direct contact or purchasing a product online. Obscuring those pages or confusing the visitor on where to go next can make them leave your site. Remember, internet users have a short attention span.
Use your web analytics software again to find out what pages visitors are landing on first. If your home page gets the most traffic, make sure there are clear links to your sub-topics. If inner pages are your most popular landing pages, find out if the traffic is targeted.
The bottom line is to always make clear why, and how, visitors can buy your product. Don’t get too cute with multiple steps, options or convoluted language.
Unfortunately there will come a time when you get all kinds of traffic and no sales. When this happens you have to reassess why you’re not making any money. It could be due to the fact that you don’t have relevant traffic. To fix this you’re going to have to optimize your content appropriately to the keywords that don’t have a lot of competition. This way when people come across your business website, they’ll already be interested in what you have to offer. The only thing left to do is make sure your site closes the sale.
5. You’re getting relevant traffic but no sales. This problem could signal a technical error or navigation problem with your site. Make sure you thoroughly test all functionalities on various web browsers and systems. Submit test forms. Do a link check to spot possible broken links.
Making sure you have relevant traffic, a unique product, and making your site user friendly are just a few ways to set yourself up for success. Moving away from the web site problems, make sure you also investigate any part of the sales process taking part away from the website as well.