Is your website helping you capture new business?

Within one second of landing on your website first impressions are made. You have the next 3-5 seconds to capture the interest of visitors to convince them to stay long enough to determine if you might be the firm that can help solve their problem and/or improve their life.

When was the last time your website had a check up?

Website-CheckupBe sure your homepage communicates who you are, what you do and whom you serve. Your headlines, your tagline, the text and keywords you use should combine visually with the photos and videos to convey this message. Critical information needs to be “above the fold,” meaning a visitor does not have to scroll to see it. Graphics and contact form that start above the fold does encourage people to scroll to see the rest.

The top right corner is a top-viewed location of a homepage that can be used to attract eyeballs and prompt action. Do you want people to call you? If so, this is the ideal place for your phone number.

Does your website help build trust?

People want to do business with people they trust. Stanford conducted the Web Credibility Guidelines study to see what generates trust online. They found that seeing real people behind the organization and highlighting their expertise and credentials are big factors. Visitors will contact you when they know, like, and trust you. Help connect with website visitors know and trust you by taking extra care with the “about us” page and the hotel or business profiles. Provide more than just your experience and years in business. This is your opportunity to tell people what you want them to know about your business be it a hotel or travel services. Sharing the company’s history and showing that there are great people on your team takes some of the mystery out of booking a hotel room or submitting an inquiry.

Is it easy to find information on your website?

You want to make it easy for visitors that come to your site to find the information they want and to view pages you want them to see. Is the navigation on your site clear? Is it easy for people to find the pages that help them understand the significance of what you do? Tabs should use terms the general public use and understand not legal terms.

Long paragraphs are not user friendly. Use bullets that link to a page or section that discusses that term or area of practice. Bold, highlighted and underline text helps the visitors and the search engines determine what is most important on the page.
Make it easy for people to land on the page of interest and make sure people see the information you want them to see.

Implement steps today to improve your website with SEO. Regardless of your efforts to optimize your site and make sure it is seen, if people don’t like your website they will not contact you.

Farhan Fawzer is a Sri Lankan SEO Specialist and Online Marketing Consultant.