5 Mistakes Website Owners Need to Stop Making in 2020
The days of hunting for numbers in phone books are long gone. Today, all it takes is a quick Google search to find the information you need. When a potential customer is looking for a product or service that you offer, you want your website to not just show up on the first page of search engines, but to look great and perform well, too.
The importance of having a good website
Your website is the backbone of your business, supporting all of your marketing and branding efforts. The importance of a website extends to every aspect of your business and digital marketing strategy.
Every piece of communication, content, and advertising that you produce will drive the consumer back to your website. This is why it is important that your website gives a clear idea of what your brand is about and what types of products and services you offer.
5 mistakes most website owners make
1. Getting the wrong domain name
Your domain name is your digital address. It’s the first touchpoint that directs a user to your website, which makes it absolutely crucial that you get the best domain name you can. However, most businesses end up compromising on their first choice because it’s either already taken or it is available at a premium cost. So they end up with something like www.myextralong-businessname.com instead of exploring new domain extensions that offer shorter, contextual options.
What makes a great domain name?
● It's short, simple, and memorable
● It doesn't contain hyphens or numbers
● It's keyword rich
It can be difficult to find a domain name that boasts of all these qualities, considering the thousands of domain names already registered. This is why businesses and individuals are looking at new domain extensions such as .online, .tech, and .store. These domain extensions come with sweet branding benefits, such as:
● They help you get a keyword-rich domain name
● They help you stand out and create your unique identity
● They establish what industry you belong to
● They showcase your innovation and digital-savvy
● They are voice-search friendly
Photo by Carl Heyerdahl / Unsplash
2. No clear call-to-action (CTA)
What is the purpose of your website? Is it to sell a product or to give more information about your service, or is it a personal website where you’re highlighting your work, skills, and accomplishments?
Many people put all the information they can think of on their website without first deciding on a clear objective that the site needs to fulfill.
It's crucial to properly plan your website - the design, content, and navigation should all be done in a way that allows the user to easily find information and take action. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
● Keep the content on your homepage to a minimum and include enough whitespace.
● Have a clear menu with all the necessary options.
● Include CTAs such as ‘Learn More’, ‘Contact us’, or ‘Get a Quote’
● Include CTAs such as ‘Sign Up’ and ‘Subscribe’ if you have an email list that you want your visitors to sign up for.
When someone arrives on your website, you want your call-to-action to be clear and easy for them to follow.
3. Brand-Centric Copy
A common mistake we see far too often is that a company puts all their focus on telling their audience how great their products or services are. Their content completely revolves around their products/services, their features, and their benefits.
What the content doesn’t address is the customer’s side of the story. Some of the best websites offer customer-centric content wherein they talk about their pain points and challenges and explain how their product can help fix them.
Use social media and your market research to understand the kind of conversations your customers are having. Notice the specific words that they’re using and include them in your content. The more relatable your content, the better it’ll connect.
4. Not Tracking Analytics
Analytics helps you analyze the performance of your website, and shows you:
● What web pages are getting the maximum traffic?
● Where is the traffic coming from?
● What is the demographic of your visitors?
If you’re not studying analytics regularly, you’re missing out on finding what’s working and what’s not working for your website. Identify the pages that are getting good organic traffic, understand the reason behind it, and optimize your other web pages to enhance their performance.
Update the copy and design to gauge if it moves the needle. The more you try and test, the better you’ll be able to optimize your website and improve its search rankings.
5. Not Using a Reliable Hosting Provider
Your web hosting can make or break your website. Choosing the wrong hosting provider can affect your site’s speed, performance, and reliability. Therefore, it is important that you choose a trusted hosting partner who can meet the demands of your website (like Rebel, of course).
When you choose a reliable hosting provider, you can avoid high downtimes, your site can be more secure, and your page will load faster. Take a look at some of the hosting packages available right now at Rebel - all for 70% off the first term.