Your website is one of your most important assets for sales and marketing – but is it doing its job? To get a sense of just how valuable your website is, let’s consider a few recent stats…
- 9 out of 10 B2B buyers say online content has a moderate to major effect on purchasing decisions. (CMO Council)
- 66% of B2B buyers said it is very important to have a website that speaks directly to industry needs and shows relevant expertise. (Forbes)
But…
- 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a website after a bad experience. (Invisionapp)
Some of the most common symptoms of a poor site experience are:
- High bounce rate
- Low engagement/completion rate
- Low visitor volume
So, what kind of experience is your website creating for your customers? Are you helping them find what they’re looking for, or creating another roadblock on their path? Here are a few best practices as you evaluate your approach.
1. Demonstrate a polished, cohesive brand identity
According to research validated by Google, it takes users as little as 50 milliseconds (.05 seconds) to form an opinion about your website. That isn’t much time. These opinions are largely based on visual design such as color, imagery, layout and text density.
Visual elements convey credibility and context about your expertise. They also help tie your website to the rest of your brand identity.
2. Provide a clear, intuitive experience
Your message is only valuable if your audience can understand it. Your website should clearly articulate what you do and what value you can deliver to your customers. It should also be organized in a simple, user-friendly way that makes it easy for people to locate more detailed content related to their needs – that includes mobile. 70% of internet traffic was on mobile devices in 2018, and that number is projected to grow.
3. Use your customers’ natural language
Are you using the same words your customers use? Site visitors – not to mention search engines – associate specific words and phrases with the products and services you offer. To be effective, you want to align your messaging with those keywords.
As a benchmark, look at how your messaging compares to what others in your industry are saying. It’s good to have a differentiated position, but you want to make sure your message resonates with your audience.
4. Answer the questions your customers are asking
People use the internet to find answers. That hasn’t gone unnoticed by Google. Each update to their algorithm has pushed companies to create more helpful content in order to rank.
As you’re evaluating your website, think about what your customers need, and find opportunities to help them with your content.
5. Direct users to prioritized resources
Just because something exists on your website, doesn’t mean people will be able to find it. If there are important areas of your website where you want users to go, direct them there. Be directive with buttons and CTAs.
You should also establish a visual hierarchy that calls attention to the most significant engagement points. Don’t just assume people will naturally navigate to important content from your homepage.
6. Enrich site experience with content
People are different. They have different needs, attention spans, and learning preferences. Your site should provide alternate learning paths through featured content – your visitors expect it. 54% of consumers want more video content from businesses.
Visual assets like videos and infographics break up text monotony and provide users with choices. This content also gives your credibility a boost by demonstrating activity and thought leadership.
7. Don’t forget SEO
93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. When reviewing your site, it’s easy to neglect the parts you can’t see, but that’s a stat no company can afford to ignore. SEO is an essential tool for digital marketing, and it often uncovers low-hanging fruit when it comes to optimization opportunities.
First and foremost, develop a keyword strategy to define the terms you want to rank for. Then, you can optimize your site content for those keywords. You can use a site crawler to ensure your metadata fields are populated and optimized. It’s also a good practice to evaluate page load times to make sure you don’t have any technical or file size issues.
Looking for help?If you want to improve your site experience but aren’t sure where to start, we can help. Our CX Health Assessment for Websites is designed to help companies identify opportunities and build a roadmap for how to move forward.