Nigel Wilkinson
Managing Director of Daneswood. Nigel has been in sales and marketing since the 1980's and run digital marketing agencies since 2000.
Ok, so it’s February, and we are all looking at our website and wishing it would bring more sales enquiries. Equally, we are all looking at keeping costs down in the tough financial times.
So, what are the changes that will have the most effect for minimum budget?
- Look at your strapline! You have 4 seconds to show you understand your customers’ problem and can solve it. Coming up with a killer strapline is not easy but is one of the best things you can do to boost conversions.
- Stop we-ing on your Home Page. “We started in 1867”, “we offer great service”, “we are great”. No-one cares! Demonstrate you understand the customers’ needs and how you help them. E.g. “You will benefit from our 156 years’ experience” is a customer benefit, not an ego statement.
- Put in clear Calls to Action. Tell customers how to buy, contact, subscribe etc, if you don’t know what you want customers to do, how are they supposed to know? Make sure your telephone number is clearly displayed – if you want customer calls!
- Add a blog. Google loves regular, unique, keyword-rich content. Demonstrate your expertise by blogging; once a month is OK, and 300 words is plenty. Schedule it into your diary – or assign a team member to hassle you for content, which is what works for me! (Thanks Izzy)
- Check your SEO. Blogging is a great thing to do, but website speed and a load of other factors come into play. If you aren’t sure, then get an assessment of your SEO and find out what it might cost to increase your rankings. (Shameless plug for our services here!)
- Use great images. A picture paints a thousand words, as someone once said. Often the difference between a good website and a great website is the quality of the images. There are free stock libraries at https://unsplash.com/ and https://www.pexels.com/, including video. But you can’t beat good “real” photography.
- Fast hosting. Ok, so this might not be a cost-saving, but with hosting, you get what you pay for – usually. Paying a few £ more to be on a fast server that’s not overflowing with competitors is a price worth paying. Google hates slow sites, and so do users!
That’s seven quick tips; there are loads more to a great website, but mapping your customer journey and getting a new design doesn’t hit the quick and cheap buttons! For more details, download our Guide to Creating a Great Website.