Give your website a self Health Check
Is your website as healthy as it could be?
No? Fear not for we at Xplore Net Solutions have the answer: The Xplore Web Health Checkup. Our sure-fire way to slim that sluggish site, energise your e-marketing and build your market muscle.
Think your website is fighting fit?? Reassure yourself by taking the Xplore Web Health Checkup below.
1. Link cemetery?
Links that lead to pages that don’t exist or to outdated content are frustrating and waste the precious moments you have the users attention.
Solution: Clear them out! Keep links specific, make sure users know what they are getting when they click them and, most importantly, keep them fresh!
2. Do we have Contact?
Listing staff contact details and even pictures might be a great idea but it’s no good if the list is incorrect, the images out-dated or, worse, the contact details wrong.
Solution: Update them! The Contact page is the one most likely to be visited by genuine prospects so don’t waste this golden opportunity to let them know how to get in touch.
3. Just ask
Who better to give you objective opinion of the usefulness and usability of your website than those who use it.
Solution: Customer surveys and feedback are an excellent way to gauge how your website is perceived and how best to improve it. Be sure to read and store any and all customer feedback about your website then take it into account during your next site review.
4. Lies, damn lies and....
......website statistics? We think not. Your site stats are the most valuable tool you have in the constant struggle to improve and focus your online marketing.
Solution: Make sure you have easy access to your website statistics. At Xplore Net Solutions we host the sites we build so we’re able to provide you with detailed information about (among other things): the number of visits your site has received, when they occurred, which pages were looked at and which country the visitor was based in.
5. Finders, Keepers
88% of all users routinely use search engines to find what they are looking for. Are you doing enough to ensure your site is getting in front of the right people?
Solution: Call the experts....us! Since the dawn of the internet (which must be at least 10 years ago now) we’ve been helping our clients achieve better search engine results. It’s quick, painless and costs less than you’d think. Call or email us now.
6. Yesterday’s news
There’s nothing more frustrating then scanning the news section of website and finding it hasn’t been updated for.....well....ages. Stale content will have website users running for the hills faster than background music by Michael Bolton.
Solution: Keep your content fresh. Update your site – at least parts of it – regularly. Fresh content will attract users and, more importantly, keep them coming back. The most cost effective way to refresh your site is using a Content Management System.
7. United we stand
Is your website design lagging behind your other marketing? Perhaps your other marketing material doesn’t support or refer to your website? An outdated website design will deter potential customers.
Solution: Ensure that your website reflects your current image and branding. A website redesign or refining the existing design may not be as difficult and expensive as you fear.
8. Gibberish
Many, many websites are filled with content that is at best flowery and at worse obscures your point and drives away customers. Users read 30% slower on screen than printed material so most simply scan for highlights.
Solution: Don’t use five words when two will do. Break your content into small, easily read paragraphs. Keep column widths narrow. Utilise subheadings, bulleted or numbered lists and bolded or linked keywords to allow users to skim the content of a page. Write online content as if you were being charged by the word.
9. Customer Communication
So your website’s in good shape? Does anybody else know that? Make sure you tell your most important market segment – your customers – all about it.
Solution: Use the most effective form of direct marketing – email – to inform your customers about the latest and greatest your site has to offer. Email is about 1/10th the cost and has approximately 5 times the response rate of other forms of direct marketing. Why aren’t you email marketing yet?
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