In today’s technology world, anyone, anywhere can build a website. And, unfortunately, that means that anybody does. Whether it’s your tech savvy nephew, or a budget-friendly website designer, a lot of do-it-yourself websites are not only not helping your business rank better, they’re actually making your rankings decrease and making Google penalize you. We’ve seen it time and time again.
Just because you don’t want to, or can’t afford to, hire a website designer, doesn’t mean your website should suffer. You can still DIY your website, but we want to help you do it better. So here are seven common mistakes we’ve found in business websites.
1. Your Business Website is Not Optimized for Mobile
Mobile usage has SURPASSED desktop usage. Meaning more people are searching for business on their mobile devices than on their desktop computer. That means, if your business website isn’t optimized for mobile users, you’re missing out on most searchers.
Here’s some statistics:
- Most people will leave a website if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds.
- 56% of mobile searches have local intent
- 60% of consumers use mobile exclusively to make purchase decisions
- Google’s algorithm gives an additional boost to mobile friendly websites
2. Your Website is Not Secure
Take a look at your website’s URL. Does it start with HTTP or HTTPS?
HTTP = Website Not Secure
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a way of encrypting websites to make them safer and less hackable. It establishes an encrypted link between the website and your browser, which allows all data transferred to remain private.
If your site has an SSL Certificate, Google will reward it with an SEO Boost. If it doesn’t, your site WILL NOT show up in search results.
3. Your Business Website Has No Calls to Action (CTAs)
Tell your website visitors what to do next. Clickable CTA buttons specifically have been proven many times over to increase conversion rates significantly. In fact, adding a CTA button to your website can increase conversions by 83%.
4. Your Business Website Has No Contact Method (Or Not Enough Contact Methods)
In this day and age, there are so many different ways for a business to be contacted by their customers and clients.
- Web Form
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Text Message
- Website Chat Bot
- Facebook Messenger
- And more!
Different demographics want to contact your business differently, so it’s important to pay attention to who your audience is and what they want. For example, if your demographic is older, phone calls and possibly email is going to be your best option. But, if your demographic is younger, text message and social media chat might be your focus.
The important thing to remember is, whichever form of contact you choose, make sure it is well monitored. It can be very frustrating for your audience to try to reach through a content method you offered, only to be ignored.
The more contact options you give your audience, the better chance you have of being chosen over your competitors.
5. Your Business Website is Using Stock Photos Instead of Real Photos
It’s almost impossible to completely eliminate the use of stock photos on your website. That’s why they’re available! However, whenever possible, you need to use real photos on your business website.
Real is better than perfect!
Using real photos of employees and/or clients (with their permission) will set you apart from your competition. Using real photos will showcase your business as a part of the local community.
People like to work with people. When a potential customer can see the faces they will be working with, they are more likely to choose you!
Stock Photos vs Real Photos
Stock Photos
- Are Interchangeable and unspecific
- Same photos can (and will) be used by different companies
- Looks posed and too perfect
- Inauthentic and impersonal
Real Photos
- Show your company’s vision
- Original and unique to your company
- Immediately connect with your audience
- Shows your potential customers what it will be like to work with you
At the end of the day, if you don’t have any real photos of your business, and you must use stock photos, be very selective of which ones you choose. Some stock photos are better than others. Many stock photos are starting to look less “perfect” and more real. But, always set a plan to get real photos to use in the near future.
6. Your Business Website Does Not Have Enough Web Pages
Google can only rank one keyword per webpage. When you start to add too many keyword focuses to one page, Google gets confused and your rankings go down. In order to increase rankings and decrease confusion, every website should have:
A Home Page. Your Home Page focus keyword will be the number one service you provide.
A Contact Page. This page is not for SEO ranking, but for user experience. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to reach you.
On Page for EVERY Service You Offer. Each service you provide needs its own page. Google can only rank a page for one keyword. So you will not outrank your competitors if you try to talk about too many different things on one page.
One Page for EVERY City You Serve. Google is very location focused because searches are very location focused. You want anyone in any corner of your service area to be about to find your business.
And, ideally, you want to have a service page for every city you serve. The more specific you can get with Google, the better chance you have to outrank your competition.
7. Your Business Website is Not Focused On Customers
Make your audience want to choose you over your competitors by solving their problems.
Ways to Make a Customer Focused Website:
- Solve their problems
- resolving a dilemma
- solving an issue
- offering practical advice
- giving guidance
- teaching
- Adjust to their language
- using an everyday style of writing
- using simple vocabulary
- using simple sentence structures
- avoiding technical terminology
- Continuously Analyze Your Customers
- the topics they care about
- their likes and dislikes
- their needs and values
- their response to events in the industry
- Provide Credible Information
- rely on credible sources of information
- provide facts
- provide accurate statistics and numbers
- use UGC or customer experiences
Many businesses make the mistake of focusing solely on themselves on their website. After all, people came to your site to learn all about you, right? Actually, that’s not the case. People came to your website to see how you can help them with whatever issue they are having. Flipping the language of your site to problem solving, rather than humble-bragging, will set you apart and make people choose you.
Conclusion
Having a DIY or cheaply made website can negatively affect your Google rankings, your user experience, and ultimately your bottom line. If your website is making some or all of these mistakes, adjust it as soon as possible to help get your business back on the right track.
If you’re starting to realize that you might need the help of a professional who knows how to create business websites that are secure, mobile friendly, and will convert visitors into leads and ultimately make you more money, Local Impact can help.
Our websites are affordable. We build beautiful, cutting edge websites that convert for an affordable rate for small businesses. Our websites go beyond aesthetics. Our designs are SEO informed, customer focused, technically sound, secure, and built to convert visitors into paying customers. They also come with a lifetime of edits as long as we host the site.
If you purchase a digital marketing package and are on a retainer, your website is included.
Contact us today to set up a discovery call!