5 WAYS YOUR WEBSITE IS A WASTE OF TIME

"Ugh! I need to update my website, but I have nothing to say. And is anyone even looking at it?!"

When we don't see sales or leads come through the website its easy to think no one is looking. And if no one is looking, why bother? And if no one bothers, then even less traffic will come in. And now you are trapped in a downward spiral (more about this later...)

The key to online marketing success is the super-engaged visitor. The Pareto principle, the idea that for many events 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes, applies here. Regardless of the industry, you  will earn 80% of your return from 20% (or less) of your online users. So the more you interact with the types of people likely to become super-engaged, the more your revenue grows. You have to get customers to the site, and then build a relationship with them so they will come back!

How is your website wasting your time, and what can you do this week to fix it?
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1. It isn't collecting contact information. People rarely purchase on the first visit to your site. So if you aren't asking for their email addresses, you have lost the opportunity to sell to most of your visitors. Ask for the email address at every turn. Even if you don't send direct email regularly, you are going to come to a point where you want to send something and you will wish your list was bigger.
   
   This week: Add a 'subscribe to get updates' button to every page of the site. If you can, make it a screen takeover on the homepage.
   
   
2. It isn't telling customers how to do business with you. I have a client who's only revenue stream is through selling educational programs. So you would think the first click on the website is "Get Our Training", right? It's not.
   
   So many (and I mean soOoooOOoo many) websites are filled with information that doesn't matter to the customer. They tell you how the organization is structured, they list vendors and affiliations, and the tell you who is on the board of trustees. Newsflash: NO ONE CARES.
   
   Get into the shoes of your customer and figure out what information they need in order to do business with you, then make that information the point of your website. Answer basic questions from the viewer's perspective: Why should the viewer care about what you do? What problem can you solve for them? How do they get a hold of you?
   
   The board of trustees list can stay on the website, but it shouldn't be in the primary menu.
   
   This week: Figure out what information is most important to your customers, and make sure that information is front and center on your website.
   
   It doesn't call the customer to act. What would you like a website viewer to do once they are at your website? Make a purchase? Request a quote? Schedule an appointment? Once a customer has arrived at your website, what is the next step to doing business with you?
   
   If you don't know, figure it out.
   
   
3. Each page of your site should contain a clear call-to-action (CTA) guiding the customer to the next action they should take. If there are several choices, then you have a primary CTA and a secondary CTA. The primary is the preferable action.
   
   This week: Create calls-to-action on the most popular pages of your site.
   
   
4. It isn't keeping you in front of your audience. Remember the downward spiral I referred to in the introduction? Sites that add new content (pages, event listings, blog posts, etc.) generate traffic in several ways:
   - Search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) will rank regularly updated sites higher than other similar sites with stale content. The higher the search engine ranking, the more traffic coming in from searches.
   - New content is the most likely to be shared, liked, clicked, and emailed by customers.
   - Your content is what positions you as the subject matter expert in your field. It gives audiences and search engines a reason to take you seriously.
   
   I like to say audiences aren't waking up in the morning itching to check your site for new content. You have to take responsibility for driving the spiral upward. Create new content and highlight it in your social media posts and emails. 
   
   
5. It isn't growing. OK, so I have a question for you. Are you measuring your online efforts against their results? Have you tracked the usage of your website month over month recently? It's natural to feel like your website is doing nothing for your business when you haven't looked at the numbers.
   
   This week: Make sure your site is hooked up to Google Analytics or another program that tracks usage stats. Then start looking at the numbers at least once a month. Watch for peaks and valleys, and take note of what may have caused them on what days. Don't focus on  amounts, focus on the increase percentages and most popular information. You will gain more insight about your customers than you can imagine from this exercise. 

​One last thought... There are so many reasons to follow up with past customers. Whether someone makes a purchase or just fills out a contact form add them to your email list. If they don't want to hear from you they will unsubscribe. ​