Ladies, whether you’re currently an aspiring business owner, or a successful business owner, chances are you have a website to support your business. And if you have a website, chances are you have spent lots of time, energy and perhaps money to get that website looking and working well. I don’t mean to be harsh, but having a website that looks good and works well is simply not enough these days if you want to attract more clientele, get the edge over your competitors, enhance your brand image or increase your revenue.
My business is in web design and development and every week I come across hundreds of sites. Some are good…really good. Some are bad. And some are just plain ugly! I’m here to tell you that there are easy, fast and affordable ways to improve your website, thus improving your business no matter what stage you’re at.
The following 10 tips will help you take your website from drab to fab in no time at all. If you’re looking for ways to attract traffic to your site, impress potential customers with your digital presence and attract more leads and sales, please read on. But more importantly, choose one or two tips from this list and commit to implementing them on your website in the next 14 business days. Good luck ladies – you inspire me!
Tip #1 – Mobile devices make up two thirds of web usage!
Over 60% of people visiting your site are doing so through their mobile device. Make sure your website is optimized for mobile usage. What does that mean?
- Your site needs to be responsive
- Site text and images must fit on the page
- Your mobile site must load super quickly
- The navigation bar is super clear and framed well in the screen
- Your pop-ups are optimized for mobile devices
Tip #2 – You have 8 seconds to make a first impression on an average visitor to your website!
Your potential customer must be able to find the information they’re looking for in just 8 seconds or say bye-bye! Don’t forget, the website has to be attractive and user-friendly to ensure the potential customer has a positive user experience and thus a positive impression of you and your company!
Tip #3 – 73% of visitors are heavily influenced by video!
Many potential customers would rather engage with a short, informational video instead of text where possible. There are tons of affordable tools which will assist you in making a professional video explaining your services, showcasing happy customer testimonials or giving a high overview of your company. So try to find a way to use video to help persuade potential customers on the merits of your products or services.
Tip #4 – 7 out of 10 consumers find a company via the blog!
A blog is a great way to attract new customers in an organic way. Make sure your blog content is informative and engaging. A blog establishes you as an expert in your field and will help you to gain trust and credibility with your audience. Even one new piece of content a week is enough to build a healthy collection of information over a short period of time.
Tip #5 – Lists are better than large paragraphs!
Website experts know that a text-heavy page used to be great for SEO, but too much text is counter-productive for actual human readers. Google algorithms no longer favor text heavy websites and keyword stuffing is a huge no-no! Think of the layout in a newspaper; long, thin columns of text is much more accessible than massive chunks of text. Even better, try using lists, bolding, and descriptive headers to make the text easier to skim.
Ladies, Part Two of this article will be released next month. In the meantime, please choose one or two of these tips and commit to implementing them in the next 14 days. Even a small change could have a huge impact.
if you are interested in a site audit, speed test or need any other kind of web design or development help, feel free to reach out through my website at https://cleanforest.co/ or via email at aimee@cleanforest.co. As Canadian Small Business Women, we do well by lifting each other up and supporting each other learn and grow. Message me today to set up your free consultation and learn how to best optimize your site!
Aimee Eppel runs CleanForest Consulting, a web design and development agency based in Mississauga, Ontario. Along with a highly experienced team, she creates high quality and affordable web solutions for huge organizations such as MIT, Mount Sinai Hospital and BMO as well as local start ups such as hockey schools, law firms and home organizers. Aimee is a mother of two beautiful children, both still in diapers!
For any sort of web related help, please email her at aimee@cleanforest.co or through her website at https://cleanforest.co/.