Your website is the online home of your business, it should be as inviting and appealing as your actual office is to your ideal client. Perhaps even more so because, chances are, it will be one of the first points of contact that a potential customer will have with your business.
In the modern, online environment business referrals are made more often by word of mouth than ever before. When we need a new service provider the first place we are likely to turn is the internet. And, by the internet, we don’t necessarily mean a search engine. When we are looking for a recommendation we tend to ask the people we trust most, our friends…all 247 of them (that’s how many the average person has on Facebook). What’s more our friends tend to value their own opinions and they are more than happy to offer it. Ask for a referral and you’ll easily get half a dozen, plus a cautionary word on who to avoid.
What you need to do, as a business, is to enable people to give that word of mouth referral?
1 – Provide a clear pathway from Social Media to your website.
The first thing your website needs isn’t even on your website. It is essential that your website address is listed and easy to find on your businesses social profiles.
If you haven’t got your social presence sorted yet, then you might want to back up a bit and get your strategy up to scratch in that arena first. It is reasonable to expect that a large percentage of your website traffic will come from social media (not from search engines) so if you don’t have a solid presence away from your website (ie Social Media) then your website will be pretty much invisible on the internet unless you are willing to throw significant dollars at it for paid search engine traffic, an expensive strategy with no guarantee on results.
Assuming that you have your social profiles up to date and are posting regular, relevant content that is of interest to your target audience then you are good to go.
2 – Personality
The first time you meet someone you want to make the very best impression possible, right? Your website is exactly like you are meeting a potential customer or client for the first time. Like it or not they’ll judge you on that first impression so it’s important that what they find is an accurate representation of both your business and your brand. Give them a taste of what to expect when they meet you face to face.
Your website allows you to stand out from the crowd and allows you to take your potential client by the hand and introduce them to your business in a way that clearly illustrates the benefits of working with you. If your website is doing its job properly a new client will feel like they already know you when they walk through the door and shake your hand for the first time. The foundation of a great business-client relationship has already been built because they have bonded with you over a shared interest or view of the world…which leads us to the next point.
3 – Easy to locate, personable ‘About’ page.
Did you know that the about page is one of the most commonly visited pages on every website. In this highly digital age we have big expectations on each other to show our human side online. Yes, the history of your company, your qualifications and credentials are important but visitors to your website, aka potential clients, are also really interested to know your favourite movie of all time, whether you drink coffee or tea and what your dog’s name is. Don’t fight it, it’s the truth.
When you write your about page remember that it’s not actually about you, it’s about your audience and what they need to know to establish a connection with you that makes them feel like they can trust you with their finances/renovation/feet/etc.
4 – Clear calls to action
Having a website is one thing but if you aren’t making it clear for people about how they can take action then you’re leaving yourself dead in the water.
It’s important to include regular, clear calls to action that entice your audience to make contact/book an appointment/make a purchase/sign up for more information. If you don’t ask clearly you can’t expect to receive.
5 – Blog
Blogs are not new but ‘blogging’ for your business is something that still feels unfamiliar, and possibly unnecessary, too many. I’m not going to tell you that you have to have one but I will say that having a quality collection of blog entries on your website will establish your authority, both with people and with search engines, much faster than not having one.
To put it simply, when comparing two similar businesses a person is likely to see the website with a blog as having a higher level of authority than the one without. Blog posts should be relevant to the audience, easily digestible and provide information of value.
In addition to establishing a higher order of authority with actual people a catalogue of good quality blog content will improve your authority with search engines.
6 – Great online marketing flow
Your website forms the central hub of your entire online marketing flow. It’s the place where you want to drive traffic to establish authority and trust and gather new leads.
To be blunt,
If your website isn’t mobile responsive then it doesn’t exist as far as search engines are concerned, what’s more if it’s mobile responsive but hasn’t been designed from a ‘mobile first’ perspective then it’s more than likely people will be bouncing off your site as faster than they arrived there.
AND
If you aren’t using your website to actively build your email database then you are leaving money on the table.
Digital marketing isn’t about to disappear any time soon, it’s a really powerful medium when used well and it’s more effective to build it into your website structure than bolt it on later as a clunky addition that is made to fit rather than being a perfect fit. Your website needs to be designed in a way that takes your visitor by the hand and leads them step-by-step through the essential information about your business, clearly asking them to take action when and where it’s appropriate and making it as easy as possible to to do so.
As for the one thing you should never use on your website…
Stock Photos of People
Even if you think that you look like a Hobbit your audience wants to see YOU on your website. Not a glamorous stock photo of a pretend person from the internet. If people can’t find a photo of YOU on your business website they you are instantly diminishing how much they’ll trust you before you’ve even given them a chance to meet you.
Whether your business is a team of twelve or a one man band real photos of the actual people in your business is what you need to show people.
How do you feel about your business website? Does it reflect how you want people to perceive your business when they visit? Is it optimised to collect new leads?
If not, then it’s probably time for an overhaul. We offer competitive, bespoke web design and development. Your finished product will be a true reflection of your business and how you want people to feel about it PLUS it will be optimised to make the most of your online marketing efforts. Remember that just like any investment you make in the physical presence of your business your website is a valuable investment too, an investment that adds to the bottom line.
