To begin, let us first answer the question, why should I optimize my website? Well… we have A LOT of reasons but to start: website optimization is all about improving your user experience so that people will be more likely to convert on your website. So to put it bluntly: traffic is good. Traffic that converts is better. So here are 5 ways you can optimize your website!
Tip #1: User Experience
Whether your Tri-Cities website is old or new, one great practice is walking through your own website (or better yet, asking family members and friends to take a look) every so often to view it through the eyes of your ideal customer. When doing this exercise ask yourself the following questions:
- When they land on your homepage what is the number one thing you want them to do and is that apparent?
- What does your call to action look like? Do they entice you to click?
- Is your messaging still relevant to what you are doing?
- When you get to the bottom of the page are you directing customers to the next page you want them to see?
Being able to answer these questions easily and confidently will make you feel more confident in your website and in turn, your customers will feel more highly engaged and lead on a journey when visiting your site!
Tip #2: Analytics
Do you know if your website has Google Analytics and Google Search Console? Are you reviewing that data to see where your visitors are coming from and what pages are they visiting the most? This data is crucial to you because of its FREE intel on what your visitors like about your business and whether they are viewing you via a desktop or mobile device. Have more mobile views than desktop, then is your website mobile-optimized? On the list of the top pages your visitors are viewing, are those pages as robust as you would like them to be?
There are simple things you can implement on your website to boost your online presence, such as offering educational content to help your visitors make more informed purchases or decisions, provide them with offers or a free downloadable on that page to capture their information, have reviews on that page for social proof… the content is endless so make sure you are providing it to your visitors!
Tip #3: SEO
There are free things you can use to improve your SEO! But first, when you Google your website on Google what shows up? What does it say about your business? Do you have a Google Business setup and do you know if it is optimized? Take some time every few months to go in and update your Google Business with a new post and respond to reviews to let Google, and people searching you know you are alive and active!
For your website, do you know if each of your web pages ’ SEO has been set up? For WordPress websites, this would include installing a plugin such as Yoast SEO to help optimize your pages and content for keywords. What keywords are your customers searching and does your Tri-Cities website have these keywords in it? SEO also includes a clear site structure, ensuring all links are working properly, having content on your website that is up-to-date, etc.
You can also improve your website’s SEO by signing up your business with all the social media accounts out there, but don’t just sign up and leave; sign up, make sure you complete your profile, add an image, and add some initial content to your profile. This strategy will help you improve your SEO through what we call “backlinks”.
Tip #4: Website Speed
How long does it take your website to load when you first visit it? Did you know the longer it takes, the more likely it is for Google to lower your ranking? A great website to use to test your website is: www.gtmetrix.com
This is such a proactive free tool that will grade your website, and even provide you with a lot of technical information on how you could improve your website!
Tip #5: Content is King
This last tip is one that takes consistency and time. If you want to get noticed online and increase traffic to your website for free, the magic word is content! Leverage your social media profiles to post creative content (images, before and afters, quotes, offers, blogs, etc.) and link them ALL back to your website! The more content you put out there in regard to your industry, the more opportunities you are providing for visitors and potential customers to interact with your business and brand, get to know you, and hopefully become a customer!
We hope these 5 tips helped you in optimizing your website, and really optimize your online presence! If you have any questions or would be interested in getting some help with any of the tips listed, reach out and set up a free consultation with the best website developers in Tri-Cities. Contact us today at 509.792.3283 or by clicking here to schedule a free consultation with us!