Designing and creating a dynamic, engaging and inviting website is one of the most important elements of any business’s digital marketing strategy. A great website is the perfect shop window to increase revenue, improve visibility and help expand your customer base. In this blog Kirkwood Wilson Accountants gives you some top tips to get the most out of your company website.
Get the basics right
Having an all-singing, all-dancing looking website, loaded with nice imagery and interactive videos, is certainly no bad thing. But the key to a great website is getting the basics right. It should be well written, clear, and easy to navigate to make sure your customers enjoy the best possible experience. In a world of information overload, and millions of webpages vying for our attention, customers now have higher expectations of a corporate website than ever before.
Speed is of the essence
Studies have shown that 32 percent of consumers will abandon slow websites within one to five seconds. These so-called ‘bounce rates’ can be improved by as much as 30 percent by reducing your page size and therefore speeding up your site. Just one second’s delay in the time it takes for a page to load can result in 11 percent fewer page views, 16 percent lower customer satisfaction and seven percent of lost conversions.
Top load your key information
In a world of increasingly instant gratification it’s important to put your key information upfront on your webpages. Start with the end in mind, so your website visitor should be able to glean key information within seconds of clicking onto one of your pages. Use descriptive sub-headings, bullet points and punchy sentences to keep your webpage layout logical. Then once you have a reader hooked, they’re far more likely to carry on reading and hopefully buy in to your product or services.
Search Engine Optimisation
Of course, your top priority is to make it as easy as possible for potential customers to find your business. Google is the ultimate online Yellow Pages in that respect. But getting your company noticed on the first page of any Google search takes time and effort. Once upon a time you could flood your website with relevant keywords that would help to boost your profile. But nowadays websites are rewarded for providing exemplary content for their customers. That means regular, written, original content will stand you in good stead.
Get connected
A great way to foster good relations with your customers is to engage them through social media. If your business has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn – or any other social networking platform – then it’s a good idea to provide links through to those accounts from your website. This allows your customers to stay informed about your business and services, and gives you the opportunity to reach out to them in another way that complements your website.
Multi-media grabs attention
Use a variety of interesting media to get your point across. Video, images, graphs and infographics are perfect tools for conveying your messages and breaking up your text. Novelty and presenting ideas in a new and unexpected way is one of the key elements of focussing readers’ attention.
So there we have it. The digital marketing space is more competitive than ever. If you, and your company, can crack it you’ll drive new customers to your business. Ignore it, however, and you’re likely to lose out to your more tech-savvy competitors. We hope these tips will help you on your digital marketing journey.
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