Is Your Website Still Working for You?

22/03/2017

So, you have a website, that’s great! But it was made in 2005, that’s… less great. Having a website in 2017 is certainly an essential for every business, regardless of size; but just having a site isn’t quite enough.

The best way to consider your website is to think of it as a digital shop – your digital store front. Most business owners recognise when their store front is becoming dated, dirty or cluttered, but a surprising amount don’t when it comes to their site.

The more aesthetically pleasing, refreshed and easy to navigate your shop is, the more likely it is for potential customers to enter and stay. It’s exactly the same for your website – if it’s outdated, cluttered or difficult to use, people will leave immediately.

Of course, if your website was expertly built, designed, you regularly update the information and upload blogs, then it’s likely to withstand the test of time; but if you’re not sure, take our website health check:

When was your website last updated?

Ideally your website should have new content every month; this not only keeps it fresh for return visitors but is a factor search engines look for when ranking sites.

If your site has been left for 6 months or more it’s worth irritating with the person that manages it what your expectations are.

If you’ve left your website for a year or more, then it will definitely need a spring clean. Check relevant information is still correct, refresh the copywriting and run an SEO audit.

How many people visit your website?

Ultimately this is what matters most; what’s the point of having a site if it’s not being found?

If you don’t already use Google Analytics, you should implement it now. If you’re not digitally confident, then we’ll be happy to help.

With analytics, you’ll be able to find out:

• Who, and how many people visit your website
• Identify how users got to your site (whether it’s social/email campaigns/organic/AdWords etc. Thus, what is working/what isn’t.)
• Find out how users interact with the pages on your site (is the interface encouraging users to visit the right pages?)
• Monitor which visitors spend the most on your website (pinpoint your audience)
• If users are finding the most relevant information
• Find out which other sites are sending traffic to you (therefore where to advertise!)

Is your website SEO optimised?

The older your website is, the less likely this is to be optimised for SEO. This is because search engine algorithms constantly change, so if your site isn’t on an SEO plan with a digital agency you should have an audit annually at least.

If you have access to your website, then there are a few things that you can check or change that’ll give you a better understanding of your SEO and help it rank better:

• How fast does your site load? (Check it here)
• Are your URLs easy to read? (This makes it easier for the search engine to read them)
• Is it mobile responsive? (61% of people abandon a site immediately on mobile devices if it isn’t optimised)
• Is it optimised for relevant, concise keywords? (Are you showing up for the right words and phrases?)
• Does it have any inbound links? (Having other pages with high authority linking to yours increases its authority; think good associations.)
• Are you updating content regularly?

How many conversions is it making?

While we’d all love to make 100% of conversions and sales via our websites without commission or staff to pay – this just isn’t the reality for the vast majority. However, your site should be working for you, if it isn’t, then that’s a problem.

While there’s no quick fix for a website that doesn’t convert, by tracking and checking the different things in this blog, it could explain and play a part in why it isn’t.

How’d your site match up to our health check? Not good? That’s okay, getting your site back up to scratch isn’t hard and shouldn’t take long. Give us a call on 01702 619 139 to start on your road to recovery.

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