Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

Top Ten Tips for Improving Your Website Today – Part One

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?

  1. Your site needs to be responsive
  2. Site text and images must fit on the page
  3. Your mobile site must load super quickly
  4. The navigation bar is super clear and framed well in the screen
  5. 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/.

Susan Shannon: Canadian Small Business Woman of the Month of October 2014

Shannon_Headshots

Susan has over twenty five years experience working in municipal and provincial governments in senior level positions, including as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). In 2007, she decided to start her own independent consulting business and she continues to operate it from her home in beautiful Muskoka.  As a result of her experiences as a CAO not being able to find the services she needed, she saw the need for her new website – muniSERV.ca – a one-stop location that helps municipalities and professionals connect.  

FREE for municipalities to use, muniSERV lets municipalities search for the consultants and other professional services they need from our searchable database. The database categorizes the service offerings of our professional members so municipalities can quickly and easily find the professional services they need, saving them time and money while offering a wider range of consulting and servicing options – and ultimately more competitive quotes.

muniSERV is also Canada’s newest online solution for consultants and other professionals to connect directly to their municipal clients, find work and expand their businesses. There is a free Basic membership for consultants/professionals or enhanced paid memberships depending on their needs.

 

Our Q & A with Susan Shannon

 

What Inspires You?

What inspires me is my passion for local government.  I still have contracts and work with the CAOs, City Managers and Directors of Human Resources from Ontario’s large urban municipalities, so I am still very much in tune and understand first-hand the issues and the budgetary constraints municipalities face.  I showcase muniSERV at municipal conferences and it always inspires me when I see municipal representatives getting excited about this free tool. That’s also what keeps me always searching for other solutions that will help both our municipal and professional members.

As a small business owner, what achievements make you most proud?

I am most proud of the fact I have already witnessed, that the service I’m providing is helping both municipalities and consultants/professionals.  I am extremely proud that we have been able to attract municipal and professional members from across Canada in our first year!  This proves to me that there is a need for this tool.  And, I am delighted when I hear that a consultant’s website has seen improved SEO optimization by becoming a muniSERV professional member, or when they let tell me a municipality has found them from the site.  That tells me the site is working the way it should for both our professional and municipal members.

What advice would you give to other aspiring small business owners?

My advice to other aspiring small business owners is, if you have a passion and an idea, do your research and then go for it!  As much as I have enjoyed working in municipal and provincial governments, there is nothing that is more satisfying than working for yourself and watching your business grow right before your eyes.  Be prepared though, that there will be long hours (but you will enjoy them more), and there will be both encouraging and discouraging days from time to time.

But in true entrepreneurial spirit, I think those discouraging days only serve to make you want to dig in harder to try different approaches in order to succeed.
What new things can we look forward to from your business in the upcoming year?

We have an exciting second year coming up.  I am currently working on a number of collaborations that will enhance the muniSERV site and the services provided, for both our municipal and professional members.   We will also be working on adding more municipal members from across Canada and we are always looking for more consultants and professionals to set up profiles in muniSERV.  When they do, it helps municipalities find the services they need and it helps our professional members get an opportunity to showcase their services directly to their target market – municipalities.

So if you offer or would like to offer, consulting and/or professional services to municipal clients or if you know of someone who does, feel free to set up a profile or spread the word about  muniSERV.ca  – A Real Business Solution for Both of Us!