So you’ve got a website — the good news is you’re ahead of half of small businesses! But what if your website isn’t performing as you’d like? Start by following these tips to help your business stand out online!
Make Google Happy
I think the saying goes, “If Google ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” Or something like that. But seriously – if your website doesn’t please Google and other search engines, you’re not going to be pleased with your search and engagement results.
To appease the keepers of search results, make sure your website:
Is Mobile-Friendly
- Without a mobile-friendly site, you are missing out on mobile search results (as mobile-friendly sites get rank priority) and frustrating those users who do make it to your website. Make sure your website works well on any device.
Loads Quickly
- A slow-loading website is not a good for search results, as site speed is one of Google’s ranking factors. A slow website also means a bad user experience, and many of your visitors will respond by leaving. Focus on improving your page speed to make users and search engines happy.
Is SSL-Encrypted
- Having an SSL-encrypted website is not only good business, but also makes the Google happy. A secure connection through a website that has an SSL certificate enhances security with data integrity, encryption and authentication to thwart hackers. The encryption effort is one of Google’s latest recommendations to webmasters (with websites now being called out as “secure” or “not secure” within Chrome), and we expect it to become a stronger ranking signal down the road – so get ahead of the game and get encrypted.
Don’t Neglect Content
Even if you have a website that is optimized for SEO, if your content isn’t valuable your website won’t compete.
Focus on creating content that is helpful, shareable and answers your visitors’ questions. By making this content relevant to key search terms for your industry or product, you’ll improve your search results and create a great web user experience.
Pay to Play
To make sure your website is seen, and to compete with other businesses in your market, sometimes you need to pay to stand out.
Pay-per-click (or PPC) campaigns through search engines, social media sites, apps, etc. help you reach a wider audience with your content. PPC ads also let you target your audience so you can focus on getting your message in front of the best possible leads.
Not sure if your website is designed to compete? Contact us for a free website check-up.