Having a successful online presence requires a lot of moving parts moving together in harmony: blogging, social media, SEO, email marketing, and paid advertising to name a few. At the center of it all is your website. If it is not set-up correctly, you could be missing out on opportunities to maximize your online marketing efforts and results.
These are the 7 most common mistakes of ineffective websites:
Mistake #1: Unclear or Non-Existent Calls-to-Action
It is critical that a website communicates to the reader what to do next after “landing” on a web page or blog post. Prominent CTA buttons will encourage visitors to take action whether it’s clicking through to another page or post, or requesting a consultation / estimate. Whatever the next step is, these calls-to-action should appear on each page in prominent locations.
Mistake #2: Using a Non-Responsive Website Design
Did you know that more than 50% of website traffic comes from mobile searches? A non-responsive website is hard to see on a small screen. So, many readers will hit the back button to look for another resource. Responsive design ensures your website is easy to use on mobile devices and won’t be punished by Google in mobile search results.
Mistake #3: Slow Load Time
Your website pages should load in 2 seconds or less. When the load time is slower, there is a high risk that you will lose impatient visitors. Additionally, the search engines will penalize your site for these problems.
Mistake #4: Outdated Information
When was the last time you updated the information on your website? Think about your website as a digital storefront. Make sure the information is fresh and relevant to your target audience. Content should always be current.
Mistake #5: Complicated Navigation
If website visitors get stuck because they can’t figure out where to go next, they will leave the site. Poor navigation could drive people to move to your competitors’ websites. User experience is critical to making it easy for customers to navigate your website.
Mistake #6: Neglecting Search Engine Optimization
Without the right SEO factors, your website won’t show up in the search results when people are looking for your products or services. Focus on long-tail keywords because they are easier to rank for compared to short keywords. Plus, the leads that come from long-tail searches will be more relevant to your business. Keyword optimized content should be posted to share relevant, fresh content with your readers. Each page or blog post needs to be optimized for a single keyword. That keyword needs to be placed in the title, heading tags, first paragraph, bulleted/bold text, URL, and image alt-tags.
Mistake #7: Difficulty Finding Contact Information
How hard is it to locate your contact information? These details should be easily accessible in the header of every page. Also, including a clear, visible link to the “Contact” page to make it simple for customers to reach your team.
Do you want to avoid these common website design mistakes? Contact our expert design team at Aspire ID for a custom website.
