A website may seem like only a cost of doing business, but it can also be a reliable revenue generator with the right strategy in place.
Google can be your best friend or your biggest enemy. So much of your online traffic flows through the globally dominant search engine, and the results it serves up can either scare away prospects or impress potential clients who encounter a first-rate page. Virtually everyone has a digital presence these days. However, investing in website improvements will keep you on the cutting edge and allow you to stand out from the crowd. With 48% of companies researching vendor websites to start their decision process, you can’t afford for your site to fall flat.
If your business sees less activity at the end of the year, it’s a great time to invest some time to update your website and make it work for you in the new year. See how well your website is performing in these areas.
Search engine optimization (SEO).
When designed with SEO in mind, your website can attract the most visitors possible. One of the simplest but most effective ways to enhance your business is to update your website with traffic-boosting keywords and SEO tricks and tactics that, like a magnet, can get the attention of people in your market looking for solutions to their pain points.
As you begin a brand-new year, consider some quick SEO tips to start 2022 on the right foot. First, use free tools like Google Analytics to review each page on your site and see which aren’t driving much interest. Once you identify those pages, consider changing the keywords to bolster their search engine rankings. Also, try adding new web pages built around popular and relevant keywords.
You’ll also want to master the basics of backlinking, which simply refers to embedding links to other related sites. Also called “inbound” or “incoming” links, these URLs help tell search engines what your site is all about and that it contains content that other sites reference. For example, by backlinking to the point of sale (POS) providers you work with, you’re letting Google know that you work in the POS space, too.
New types of content.
If you’re ready to take the next step up from basic text, it might be time to update your website with rich media like videos. The presence of videos on your site tells search engines that you have a variety of content related to the keywords people are searching for. That’s because all of the metadata around a video, such as the title, caption, labels, and other descriptive info, offers a ripe opportunity to pepper search-friendly terms into even more areas of your site. Also, consider uploading your video onto YouTube, the Google-owned platform where people watch 1 billion hours of content every day. Co-mingling your video content with one of the web’s most popular video destinations will work wonders in drawing attention to your digital domain.
Infographics also offer another means of drumming up interest. Not only are they an engaging way to share information, but they also lend themselves well to sharing on social media and spreading awareness of your business across the internet.
Social media links.
Another way to boost the performance of your website is to build a stronger social media strategy. A strong presence on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram can generate awareness around your brand. When people share the linked content you create for your social sites, your webpage will start to pick up additional traffic as these posts ricochet across the internet. Search engines will reward this social engagement by ranking your site higher in results.
Inbound marketing.
Another powerful way you can update your website is to create thought leadership, educational, and informational content, such as white papers, ebooks, and how-to videos. Next, you can require website visitors to complete a form to access those assets. Your team can then qualify those leads and pass on top prospects to your sales team.
New year, new look.
If you haven’t updated the overall look of your website in a few years, it’s likely that you aren’t taking advantage of the latest designs and features. A website refresh is a big project, but, done right, it will pay off with greater brand awareness and increased online engagement.
It’s also a smart idea to update your website routinely in bite-sized projects to prevent the upkeep from becoming overwhelming. Get into the habit of refreshing your site as the calendar flips forward into the new year to ensure dates, timely messaging, and staff details reflect up-to-the-minute changes. Remember, there’s no second chance to make a killer first impression, so don’t sleep on making business-boosting website improvements today.
