Your website is your online storefront, the place where deals get done and customer relationships are nurtured. So, the importance of having a good site can’t be overstated. At best, poor website design limits your potential; at worst, it actually drives away the very people you need and want the most—your potential buyers.
Is it time for a website upgrade? If you’re a Denver-area business looking to improve your website success, consider these smart ways to attract traffic and make your site the place to be:
1. Check browser compatibility
Yes, this is a technical aspect of good website design, but it needs to be addressed by you or your development team. Plain and simple, if your site does not work with all browsers and operating systems, you’re losing business.
2. Keep navigation simple and intuitive
We’ve all experienced them—the sites that are hard to use, with links that lead to nowhere and icons that don’t reveal their secrets until you’re hovering over them. With the possible exception of useless content, nothing drives visitors away faster. Trust us—you don’t want Mystery Meat Navigation on your site. So, keep it simple and user-friendly.
3. Include clear Calls to Action
Does your site lead visitors into the sales funnel? No? Well, one reason may be the lack of clear calls to action. Any business owner in the Denver area looking for a website upgrade should take a look at their landing pages, and how well they get visitors to take the desired action.
What do you want people to do? Action words such as download, buy, click and compare, in addition to consistent messaging and concise copy on these pages will deliver more click-throughs and conversions.
4. Add valuable, updated content
Fresh content brings your visitors back for more. It also scores big with search engines. Update your site constantly and you’ll see better results with both. A great way to do this is to add a company blog and/or article section that covers topics of interest in your industry, and post to these pages regularly. Useful, optimized content converts your site into an authority, and a resource for information-seekers.
5. Cross-promote
Website success doesn’t happen on its own. Even a great site needs to be marketed, so it’s important to get the word out. If you aren’t engaged in social media marketing, consider getting started. Post blogs on other sites that link to your website. Comment on others’ blogs. Include links to your site on all of your marketing materials and communications. Send out monthly newsletters to visitors who opt-in.
Overwhelmed? If you need help with your website upgrade, consider hiring an experienced Denver-area website design and development company to handle the details.
6. Rinse and repeat.
It’s a fact—the web is constantly changing, and so are the technologies that drive it. You need to make sure that your site is keeping up with the times. So, count on a web redesign about every 2 years or so. A fresh, updated site not only attracts visitors, it also tells them that you’re on top of the game. In other words, when your site looks good, you look good.
Website success is no accident—it takes careful planning and design and a willingness to constantly monitor results. Your website upgrade doesn’t have to be painful or confusing, but it does need to get done. So, if you’re a Denver-area site owner looking for better results, take a close and critical look at your site and fix the issues. It’s one of the most effective ways to increase leads and sales, and make your business the place consumers want to be!
Greg Sherwood is CEO of DBC Digital, a marketing agency based in Denver, Colorado. With over 30 years of marketing experience with traditional and inbound (internet) marketing, Greg helps mid-sized businesses get a better return on their marketing dollars.
You can reach Greg at (303) 357-5757 or at dbc@dbcdigital.com
