Having a website for your small business or freelance business in this day and age should be a basic assumption.
Websites are one of the main ways customers will get to see what your business is really about. Even though many businesses now have Facebook business pages as their primary contact with customers, those same customers still want to see something more substantive.
That’s why, if you don’t have your website set up already, you will be leaving a lot of money on the table. This is in the form of website visitors that you’re not converting into buyers or subscribers.
But how can you make sure that your website will be successful? Well, there are generally millions of definitions of what the word ‘successful’ could mean.
However, here we’ll simply define it as attracting viewers and converting them into subscribers (to your newsletter) or buyers.
With that definition, we’ll look at the top tips to make sure your website proves successful for your business.
#1 Design
The first aspect of your website that your visitors will be looking at is your design.
Design is a very important part because it not only talks about the aesthetics of the entire endeavor. It also talks about all the special elements, styling, colors, textures and layout that come together to create that user experience.
If even one of those elements is off, then you could find your visitors leaving your website in droves.
#2 Content
You need to make sure that—even though it is part of your marketing—your website is focused on the customer, not so much on the business.
This means that you need to have a blog on your site and you need to keep that blog customer-focused. Don’t just use it as an avenue to communicate your marketing messages.
Instead, find out the burning questions your visitors are having and then provide that answer, fully, 100% for free.
While it should be informative, try your best to also make it entertaining. Don’t use dry, academic language. Instead, speak like normal people speak and your visitors will appreciate it, come back to it, and share it with others.
#3 Constant updates
You should always get your focus on your website to be about constant improvement. This means that your site should be updated on a regular basis.
I’m not just talking about your blog (which should have fresh content on a weekly or minimally 10-day period). I’m also talking about your design and SEO.
You should be using Google Analytics effectively to decide how best to serve your visitors.
What pages are they landing on? What pages are they exiting from? How long do they stay? If you can tweak your website and content, you should be able to improve your traffic tremendously.
Boost your website — and your business
By making sure that your website is up to par to your visitors’ expectations, you will be able to increase your subscribers.
Those subscribers will eventually turn into customers and they will help to boost your business immensely.
