How do you get an exceptional business website?
An exceptional business website will feature freshly updated content, be user friendly, intuitive and convert your visitors into customers. Unfortunately, many businesses have difficulty creating and maintain decent websites because they are unaware of what it is they need.
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We’ve come up with some useful tips that will help your website attract new clientele and keep your existing customers coming back for more.
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Design your website for your perfect customer.
Your website should not be about you. If you are too caught up in what you like and want, your website will disappoint. There is a story that the most successful swimming pool maintenance company in America is not managed by a corporate giant, but rather an everyday Joe who had the presence of mind to answer hundreds of questions customers often had about swimming pools on the FAQ part of his website.
This really goes to show that a FAQ is simply a must have for your business. Web visitors are surfing the web looking for the information that they want. If they don’t get it from you, they will likely try to find it in another place.
Answering a bunch of questions on an FAQ page shows that you understand what it is like to be a customer. Because of this, you allay potential clients’ anxieties and give them trust in your business. You also show that you have specialist knowledge of your industry. Effectively this will help you gain new clients, and may even be more effective than the hard sell routine commonly employed by some websites. No one likes being told what to do, so don’t frighten off your potential clients by using such aggressive strategy.
Quality copywriting will lead to good sales.
Content is the most important part of your business website and good content will attract repeat visitors, who are more likely to end up as customers.
The BBC reported in 2014 that spelling and grammar mistakes were resulting in lost sales for many businesses. It certainly doesn’t leave a good impression to have mistakes and old outdated content on your site, and your target customers will be equally unimpressed if they see it from you. It’s simply not good business.
Businesses with websites that use effective copywriting know there is much more to the art than just correct spelling and grammar. Quality copywriters will have a sound understanding of your business and customers and create the content required to satisfy both parties’ needs. Try hiring one. It will soon pay off.
Use SEO.
If no one can find your website you are not going to make any sales.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves making changes to your website that will result in it being listed higher in search engines results pages. The more optimized your site is, the more prominent your business will be. A good business website has to rank highly in search engine results pages.
We’ve provided some free tips that will allow you to start optimizing your business right now.
1. If you know your target market you should have a good idea of what keywords they may be searching for. Google Adwords Keyword Tool can help you identify what words you need to feature on your site.
2. Now list these keywords in important parts of your website, a good place is embedded in links to sale pages. But don’t go overboard here. Using the same keyword over and over again, out of context is unlikely to make for natural reading, and may turn visitors off. Also, If Google spots you using these tricks, they may even rank your website lower.
3. Try and get other high-ranking websites to link to yours. The most efficient way of doing this is by having your link embedded in their quality content. Make sure the link contains your keyword (but in an organic way). This is also great for SEO as it conveys legitimacy and will result in even more prominent listings.
Keep it updated.
Search engines and website users like regularly updated content. A common way to keep your content up to date is to feature a blog on your site. A blog allows you to communicate with your customers, build up a fan base and generate more web traffic for your site. It may also help you to become established in the industry you are in. On top of all that, it will also work wonders for your SEO.
If you can’t put in the hours to keep the content fresh then find someone who can. There are plenty of places to look online
Logical roadmap and navigation.
The more difficult your site to use the less leads, prospects, and clients will it produce. Make certain your site is easy to use. Road test it on friends and colleagues to make sure they find it easy to use and that they can easily find what they’re looking for. Simplicity is key, your site should be intuitive to use and logical. The last thing you want is your visitors getting lost.
Online is awesome, but real people are important too!
Your online business is serving humans, not robots, so it’s important to remember to have clear contact details for your customers, in case they need to get in touch with a real human being to sort out a problem.