How to Make Your Website More Appealing to People and Search Engines

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Are visitors not sticking around to check out your website? You could be generating good traffic number, but without maintaining a high retention rate – you risk falling in Google’s ranking system.

There are many reasons why people gravitate towards the 'Back' button on their browser. Whether it's poor content, a confusing layout or slow loading times; it's your job to find out what the cause is.

Doing this can help increase your retention and conversion rates, and also get you into Google's good books.

 

1.    Improve the Loading Times of your Website

People don’t like to be kept waiting. And there are numbers to prove this.

According to Kissmetrics, 40 percent of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load. If those numbers frighten you, then it’s time to work on making your website load faster.

Thankfully, you don’t have to be a wizard at coding to improve your loading times:

 

·         Avoid forcing your website to downsize images. If you’re image is going to be viewed at 400x400 – upload it at that exact size.

·         Use an online image optimizer to reduce the file size of your .gif, .jpg or .png extension.

·         If you’re hosting on WordPress, you can download an image optimizer plugin to automatically do this for you.

·         Enable browser caching. This stores copies of your site pages onto a user’s device, which speeds up loading times when they revisit it.

 

2.    Keep Your Website Simple

Have you ever abandoned a website that was too difficult to navigate? We’ve all been there before. But what if the site you abandoned actually had what you were looking for? You’ll never know, because finding it was simply too difficult!

Don’t make the same mistake with your website. Make your website easy for people to navigate and find what they’re looking for. A well-designed website will give visitors more reasons to stick around and discover everything you have to offer.

To do this, make sure your links are easy to access. Most websites have a tab across the top, which unfolds when you hover over it – revealing more links to explore.

You can also have a sidebar that visitors can access by clicking on an icon like this:

 

A common button used for sidebars

 

Another tip: reduce the amount of call-to-actions on each page. Make sure each button serves a specific purpose in relation to the content being read. Your CTA should be the next logical step in the sales process - not an exercise in having as many links as possible.

Lastly, leave plenty of space between each paragraph and image. Clutter is not only visually unappealing – it can affect people’s attention span while they're reading. Provide plenty of breathing room, particularly for people who are browsing on their mobile device.

 

3.    Focus on the Customer

You may have the best looking website in the world. With fast loading times, clean layout and nice images – but if your content doesn’t appeal to the wants, needs and desires of your audience… you’re going to struggle with boosting your conversion rates.

Think about your target audience and the key selling points you want to emphasize:

 

·         Does the content on your website clearly explain what you do and the benefits you offer to people?

·         What do people gain by choosing your service? What do people avoid losing by choosing your service?

·         Does your product or service help people: save money, earn money, appreciate beauty, have fun, satisfy hunger or meet new people?

 

Focus on the kind of experience people can expect from choosing your product or service. And make sure you communicate that clearly on every page.

 

4.    Tell a Good Story

Your website is more than just a means to sell products and services. It’s a way to connect with your target audience in a meaningful manner.

Think about the kind of experience you want people to have when visiting your site. Use your website as a platform to tell people about the history of your company, your vision, mission statement and values.

Be consistent with your message and the way you communicate with people. Every page on your site should serve as a piece, that when combined, tells the whole story about your company and what you do.

  

5.    Start Blogging

Blogging started in the early 90’s as a way for people to write their own personal online diaries. Since then, blog writing has become a powerful marketing tool for small businesses and corporations around the world.

Blogging is a great way to engage with your target audience and reach new people. Plus, Google rewards websites that offer good value for their customers, which results in higher traffic, conversion and retention rates.

Why?

Because articles that provide useful or valuable information are more likely to be read and shared by other people.

So take the time to write your own articles, or hire a copywriter who can help you come up with ideas for new content. Teach people something new. Help them solve a particular problem. Share a little-known fact about your industry.

By giving away free information without asking for anything in return (except maybe a CTA to subscribe to your email listing), you become recognised as an expert in your field and increase your brand recognition.

Posted 20 July, 2017

shannon89

Remote Freelance Copywriter

Hello! My name is Shannon Jackson-Barnes. I am a remote freelance copywriter from Melbourne, Australia. Since 2015 I have been writing for businesses, big and small, local and international, that operate in a broad range of industries, from Building & Construction to Automotive to Information Technology to Hospitality to Education to Workplace Relations, and too many to all name here. With exper...

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