10 Biggest Website Mistakes
The final mistake which I often see is massive.
In an earlier Video I asked you what the number one purpose of your website is. If you remember it is to build a list that you can either sell to today or in the future. But to achieve this, the website must be able to be found. When it is found it then needs to be functional, easy to navigate, have a lead generation strategy that is part of a sales funnel.
Most websites are created by Web Developers and/or Graphic Designers.
They can look amazing, lots of interesting flash imagery. The problem with things like flash imagery is that they can load very slowly. Potential clients have already gone by the time the home page loads. Also these days, Google ranks websites on how fast they load. Google wants your experience in the search engine to be relevant and fast.
We have discussed earlier how important images are in the sales process. This is only true if they are actually assisting the sales process. If the images have been added to just look nice then they are next to useless. They must tell a story, or point someone in the right direction. Potential clients should be able to open a page and glance at the headlines, images and captions and understand what your page is about. If they like what they see then, only then will they read your text.
Pages that are just full of text, no headlines or images will have people clicking away from your website in less than a second. Just another little tip: The next thing that people read after the headlines are dot points. Look at your text to see if you can re-arrange some of it to be viewed as dot points.
We also spoke in an earlier Video about that precious space above the fold on the first page. This space is like a 10 million dollar piece of real estate, make sure you use it wisely.
Potential clients also need to be able to find their way around the site quickly. You should have navigation bars either across the top under the banner or down the left hand side. The names of each section should be clear and precise. A potential customer should know in an instant where to go to find out extra information on their particular query.
It is also helpful to have a search bar in the top right hand side of your banner as well. Some people may be looking for a very specific product, service or even a particular piece of information. They can find out if you have what they want in a few seconds with a good search bar.
A lot of websites these days have what is called a right hand widget. This is a column that runs down the right hand side and often appears on all or most pages. These can add to your navigation, showcasing blog articles, testimonials and specific sales messages. Make sure you limit the information you put here. If you have a well-designed website, the widget doesn’t need to be on every page. The information on the widget should enhance the lead generation process not become a massive distraction.
The moment you give potential customers too many choices, they end up choosing nothing. I have seen websites where they have a dozen different pieces of information as well as the information that is on the actual page.
So, when you get your person to go through your website, make sure they look at ease of navigation as well.
So this is the last Video, I hope you have learnt a lot about making your website a much more effective lead generation and sales tool and it ultimately brings more profit to your business.
You probably have a list of changes that you need to make to your website, lead generation and sales process. If you no longer have a web developer and you don’t have access to the back end of your website or you don’t know how to make the changes yourself, give us a ring.
We will give you a very competitive quote on getting your website up to scratch and turning it into a work horse.
If you would like us to complete a full review of your website so that you can ensure it is the work horse you are looking for then we would love to do this for you for free. This will ensure that when you get your web developer to make your changes, everything gets done.
Fill in the form at the bottom of the page to request a FREE review of your website.
We will provide a report within 2 – 3 business days.
And if you are ready to ensure your website sits at the top of Google give us a ring and we can have a chat about what will be required to be number one, whether it’s your website or your Google +Local listing.
Or click here to view our Search Engine Optimisation packages
Again, it has been such a pleasure creating these Videos for you. I am passionate about helping small business create massive profits from their business. My final words are, if you need to make changes to your website and lead generation system, make sure you get it done as soon as possible.
Google and You Tube have the capacity to bring a lot of customers to your business, make the most of it.
We wish you and your business great success and remember give us a ring if we can help in anyway.
