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5 Costly Website Mistakes to Avoid Part 1

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Before I go ahead with listing these mistakes, let me say that most of these are very easy to fix. And let me say that these items are important to pay attention to whether you are creating a new business website, or whether you have had one for a while. 

 

The business world today, and particularly the online business world is vastly different than it was just 2 years ago. Therefore, even if your existing website was designed for maximum visibility, it needs to be updated to ensure it still works well for your business visibility today.

 

Translation: As an example, Google changed their search algorIthm over 500 times in the last year. Many of these were just slight tweaks. Nonetheless, what this means is that you need to be in a position to constantly be tweaking your website, whether you do it directly, or whether you have someone who does it for you.  

 

The important point is that your website will need changes, once it has been designed, that changes should be easy to make, should not require huge technical knowledge nor effort, and that if you are paying someone to change and/or maintain your website, it should not cost you the equivalent of your mortgage or car payment just to make minor tweaks to your site.

If this is the case, then it is time for you to change. Better change now, then get caught later wondering why no one finds you online. And better be informed than ignorant.

 

COSTLY MISTAKE #1:  Your website must be responsive, particularly mobile responsive. What does this mean? In simple terms, a responsive website design will automatically adjust depending upon what type of device the viewer is using, be it a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, a phablet, or most importantly today, a mobile phone. 

 

Further it is important, that it be 100% mobile responsive, meaning it provides the critical information that a mobile user wants first and easily. Why?

 

  • Over 85% of people prefer mobile for its convenience and speed

  • Over 83% of mobile shoppers use search to influence their purchasing decisions. Even if you have a “brick and mortar” retail location, if people cannot find you on their phone, research shows you are losing out on a huge number of customer sales.

  • Over 75% of mobile searches trigger follow-up actions.

  • When mobile users find a site that is hard to read, 46% say they are unlikely to return to a website they had trouble finding or trouble navigating on their phone, 

  • 40% will click another site if yours is not mobile friendly

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COSTLY MISTAKE #2:  Failing to do proper SEO (Search Engine Optimization) so that your website can be found by customers/clients looking for you. In simple terms, SEO means optimizing your website for the word and phrases that people will be using to look for your business (and note this is most likely not your business name, but instead the products, services, and/or value you provide.)  

 

And even more importantly, this means putting these words and phrases in the right places in your website where Google looks and can find them. NOTE: This does not mean keyword stuffing, which will instantly get you demoted in search results. However, properly using keyword phrases will provide content so your website gets indexed and ranked by Google in the list (SERPS – Search Engine Page Results) it will use and will present once the search words or phrase is keyed in.

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This means that every page of your website must have:

  • A unique title (also called a title tag) that describes what the specific page is about.

  • A page description which is what appears in the search results right under the page title, and further describes what the page is about

  • At least one image, properly named (titled) and with an alt tag. This is because Google lovesimages, but can’t read pictures, has no idea what the picture is showing, so you must tell it.

  • A URL name that helps to tell the search engine what the page is about. So if you have a page about glazed donuts, as an example, then the URL for that page should be something like glazed-donuts.

  • Content for each one of the major search terms you want to be found for – this should be a separate page – minimum 400 to 500 words. Google actually penalizes websites for what they call “thin” content. As an example, you have a page that lists the 15 different types of donuts you make, but you do not have an individual page for each specific type.  Oh, now you added a 16th type??? Better add that 16th page.

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Note these are just some of the most important things you can do. Take a look at some of the other articles published on online visibility. And for more information, you can also reach out and call me directly at 760-452-7668.

 

Read Part 2 of this article with the next 3 tips. But right now, go fix the items above!!

 

Tags: Website, Online visibility

Filed Under: Online Visibility, Marketing Tips

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