Do you ever wonder why you’re not making …more money?
If you really want to beat the competition, make more money and be a leader in your industry then it all starts with one thing…
You need to ask yourself questions like “How can I improve my website?” because in the online world, your website is your main marketing vehicle.
So, here are some ideas for you….
You Have an Online Store
Have you ever heard people say that your website is like your shop window on the internet? The idea is that you use your website to draw people into your store.
But that’s only half of the story. Your website is actually an online store.
Your website is the place where your customers go to buy your services or products. So if you want the answer to the question “how can I improve my website?” the answer is: treat your website like a store.
Turning your Website into a Store
Location: Anybody who’s anybody will tell you that if you buy any kind of real estate then it all comes down to location, location, location (if they make a TV show about it then it must be true!).
For a website, the location that offers the best traffic is the first page of results from the search engine.
How to do it: To get on the first page of Google, Yahoo and Bing etc. you need to make sure your website is SEO optimized. This means that every page of your site needs to be optimized for the keywords and phrases that your customers are looking for.
- Make sure you do your keyword research. Make sure you look at the amount of searches that are being made for the word or phrase and the competition. Don’t try to go head to head with the big dogs. It won’t work and your page will be lost somewhere in Google’s underground dungeon – otherwise known as the fifth page of results.
- Place your keywords in the right place and at the right density. If you’re not sure where or what this is then take a peek at my article on how to do SEO properly.
- Make sure your pages are actually relevant to the keyword that you’ve chosen. Seriously. There is nothing more annoying than clicking onto a link for a home-made cookie recipe and being taken to a website for lawn mowers. Please don’t be one of those annoying people! White hat SEO only!!
Window Display:
Once you have the perfect location for your website, you need to make sure that your window display is attractive. In other words, you need to have a kickass landing page or home page.
How to do it: A great window display does two things:
- Stops you walking on to the next shop.
- Makes you want to go in and buy some stuff. Even if you haven’t got any money.
If you want to improve the effectiveness of your website then you need to make sure your landing page and home page are on point. One of the best ways to do this is to split test your page to see what gives you better results (kind of like putting different items in for display and seeing if more or less customers come in). So what kinds of things can you test?
- Headlines – Do you know why headlines are sometimes called hooks? You’ve got it. Because they hook people. Make sure your headlines are brilliant.
- Opt-in box – Building your email list is the key to you getting your customers to come back for more and more. So your opt-in box is essential. There are certain words that are excellent at getting people to take action. Free, discount, save money etc. are all brilliant. But playing around until you get the combination just right is what will make the difference between a good email list and a fantastic one.
- Color – The colors you use for your website make a huge difference to whether or not the site is successful. The visual impact of your site will convince people to stay or not. So the colors you choose will play a huge part in this. Try not to use any more than between two and four colors. Any more than that and it can get a little messy. Messy isn’t the look you want to go for when you’re trying to convince people to do business with you.
Inside the shop:
Now you’ve got people to choose your website instead of others and your landing page has got them excited about what’s inside. Well done you! 😉
If you don’t want them to hit that ‘back’ button on the browser quicker than the road runner then you need to make sure the interior of your shop – aka the internal pages of your site – are looking as slick as they can be.
How to do it: People don’t like to walk in to a store and have to ask the assistant for help. They like everything laid out in front of them nice and neat so that they can look at their best options. So instead of asking yourself “how can I improve my website”, try thinking about what you would want from a store.
- Clean and orderly – Nobody wants to buy food from a supermarket that looks like a tip or have to ask where things are. Make sure your page has a good clear layout that’s easy to navigate.
- No clutter – Do you like having to root through hordes of goods to find the one thing that you’re looking for in a store? Nope. Nobody does. Get rid of that Twitter and Facebook feed and anything else that distracts your visitor’s attention from what you’re trying to sell. There should be your content and a few buttons that people can click on to share what they see. That’s it!
- Full of products – If your website has content on it that doesn’t benefit you in a business sense – why is it there?! You pay for your site to be hosted. You might have paid for a web designer or content writer to collaborate with. If you have anything on that site that doesn’t bring you closer to making money then you’re paying for dead space.
[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”600px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Every square inch of your #website should be used to further your #business. via @I_Florentina
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Are you finished?
Not at all.
Just because your website looks good to you, doesn’t mean anybody else will like it. You need to get a second and even a third opinion.
If you’ve got contacts who know anything about marketing then ask them what they think. Or why not ask your audience what they think of your site? If it appeals to your audience… well then that’s perfect!
Always make sure to ask yourself:
- Does this help me build my list?
- Does this give the right impression for my brand/business?
- Do I need this or is it wasting mine and my customers’ time?
You’ll have to update your website regularly to make sure you’re appealing to your customers in the best possible way all the time.
This list of improvements are just the tip of the iceberg too. If you want a comprehensive list of over 60 actionable tips to improve your website then download my “Website Conversion Checklist” now and get more visitors to your website than ever before!
The huge list of 57 steps will cover absolutely everything you need to know so that you’ll never have to ask the question “how can I improve my website” ever again!
What about You?
What’s your biggest frustration in relation to your website?
Do you have a dream solution that you can’t wait to try out?
Tell me all about it in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!
Don’t Forget…
If you want tips and advice like this on a regular basis as well as the HUGE 67 point checklist to improve your website then sign up for my email list now.
Thanks for reading, here’s to a more successful website for your business!
Blessings,
Florentina