Is your website working as well as it could?
Before making a purchase, it is increasingly the case that we do at least some research online first, and the bigger the purchase, the more time and effort we are likely to put into that research. What’s more, during this research, the purchaser is most likely to engage with a business that helps them with their purchase decision through informative and original content. This engagement is the start of building a relationship, and if nurtured, the relationship can lead not only to an initial sale, but the potential for repeat business too.
The role of a website
Whether your business offers products or services, it has never been more important to have an online presence, and this starts with having a website that makes a positive impression on your potential customers.
A website can perform many different functions, depending on the nature of the business. In its most basic form, a website can be a showroom or brochure for your business. On a more subliminal level, if it looks professional, the website can convey a sense of credibility and permanence to your business; it can give confidence to the buyer that if there is a problem, there is a place to go to get it resolved.
It is not unusual for a website to be the hub for all your other marketing activity, where the emails, social media and advertising are all designed to drive relevant people to your website. In this case the website has an important role to play in creating enough interest to persuade the visitor to get in touch or place an order.
First impressions count
Having a bad website could be worse than having no website at all. If the website looks amateurish, your potential customers may question your professionalism; if the website is littered with mistakes, people may question your attention to detail; if the website is not interesting or is hard to navigate, visitors will quickly click away.
There’s nothing wrong with starting with a simple, professional-looking website and then developing it further as the business evolves. It is a fact that adding fresh content to a website on a regular basis will help with your SEO. If that content is rich with key search terms and informative content, Google will rank it more highly, increasing the chance of your website being found by potential customers.
The good news is that a simple, professional-looking website can be created quickly and efficiently by the team at 49Red and it really doesn’t need to cost the earth.
You can’t sell a secret
So, you have a great website that looks professional… but it’s of no value if no one visits it.
You may decide to just use the website as an online brochure showcasing some of your past work; somewhere to direct people who come to you through a recommendation from a past customer. But this would barely scratch the surface of the potential benefit. There are a number of ways to help potential customers find your website, including search engine optimisation, pay per click advertising, digital advertising, social media activity, email marketing, content marketing and more. They may not all be suitable for your business, but you can be confident a selection of these activities will be effective in making your website easier to find and raising awareness of your business with your target customers.
Conversion rate
There is no point in investing time and money into driving potential customers to your website if they are not impressed when they get there. They will just click away and look elsewhere. People visits websites for a reason: they may be looking for information to help with a purchase decision; they may be looking for details on the products and services you offer; some will be looking for evidence that yours is a business they can trust; others will be checking contact details and opening times.
Every business is different, but ask yourself why people may visit your website, what could they be looking for, and how effective is the site at providing them with the information they need. Generally, you want a visit to the website to lead to an action – often to make an enquiry or place an order – so ask yourself how easy is it for people to get in touch with you… and how good are you at responding.
Here to help
Whether you already have an established website or have no website at all, the experts at 49Red can help. We can offer a comprehensive website audit that highlights issues on your existing site that may be hindering your SEO; we can offer an independent review of the user experience; we can design and build a new website for your business, from the simplest of single-page sites to bespoke e-commerce websites selling thousands of products. Our dedicated team can also help with all your digital marketing activity, driving traffic to your site and improving the conversion rate for your calls-to-action. Whatever you need, we are here to help with cost-effective, no-nonsense marketing. Contact Hugh Moss on 07808 365214 or email hugh.moss@49red.co.uk to find out more.
This is the second of six blogs under the title ‘Five steps to post-pandemic business success’. Follow 49Red on LinkedIn or visit our website at www.49red.co.uk/news to see more.
