From the course: Digital Marketing Foundations
How to optimize your website
From the course: Digital Marketing Foundations
How to optimize your website
- Your website is an important piece of your digital marketing strategy and one of the most valuable assets of digital real estate that you own. Online consumers are fickle and that's because digital interactions are commonplace. So, users are spoiled by companies that are doing it well. They're used to things just working and they expect that the information they want will be available and accurate. When it's not, they're disappointed and credibility is lost for whatever brand they're interacting with. And the truth is if your website isn't good at delivering what your visitors are expecting to find, you're going to fall further and further behind. And if your website doesn't work on mobile, well, you're already way behind. An effective website is going to be simple, well thought out and highly functional. It should be intuitive and eliminate any and all barriers so your visitors can accomplish their goals effortlessly. As you evaluate your current website, take some time to ask yourself the following questions. For starters, is your site mobile-friendly? This is a non-negotiable. You should be testing all of your marketing on a mobile device. For example, how is the experience from clicking on a link from an email campaign through your website? Much of marketing is now what we refer to as a mobile first, meaning you design it intentionally for a mobile experience and then let the desktop experience follow. Okay, now from here, does it answer all of the questions visitors have? You want to identify the common questions your customers are often asking and make sure that information is easily and readily available online. Next, is the site reflective of your brand? Within the first couple of seconds, a user is going to decide how the site feels to them. So you need to make sure that your brand is carried through. Be sure that your logo, tagline and the color scheme all reflect your brand. It's important that things look consistent. It has to look to your visitor like they're in the right place and that any of the interactions they make with your website are secure. From here, consider how the visitor will achieve the objective you set out for them. Want them to book an appointment? Well, odds are, they're not going to click a button at the top of the homepage, no matter how big to book that appointment if they haven't first answered their key questions. Think through the information you want to present in a flow that logically moves that visitor through the stages of the marketing funnel. And another important one, is your site up-to-date? Nothing is worse than information that's out of date. It'll create concern with your users. So be sure to keep it updated and if you have a blog, you should also be posting on a consistent cadence. If you can't keep it up-to-date but the content is evergreen, well consider removing the dates. Whenever I encounter a blog article from a year and a half ago, it's kind of like walking into a hotel covered in dust. It might be an exceptional place but it feels a little abandoned. Your website is possibly the most valuable piece of your digital marketing strategy. Take your time, conduct an honest evaluation, ask for feedback and as always continue to experiment.
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