Is your company’s website a few years old? Perhaps it’s minty-fresh and was just launched a few months ago? So much work and effort went into getting it live. Now you can sit back, crack open a cold one and relax, right?
Not so. Chances are there is room for improvement. The fact is that websites that successfully inform, educate, and inspire action typically require extensive ongoing analysis and refinements after going live. I always stress that websites are never a “one and done” deal. They are an iterative, ongoing project that requires attention and monitoring of the most basic of analytic stats, such as bounce rate, users flow, and drop-offs. However, even if you don’t have such behavioral data, there are a few quick and easy ways to improve your website right now.
1) Review your site’s calls-to-action (CTA)
Think about all the times you’ve signed up for things in your life. Each one of these signups is likely a result of an effective call-to-action. CTA’s are critical for lead generation, so it’s important that they are clear and concise.
Is the offer compelling and visible above the fold? Is the design weight appropriate or do they need more to stand out visually? A well-designed call-to-action will either convert an anonymous user into a known contact and/or steer a user to a specific page that’s crucial in your sales cycle.
2) Check for typos and grammatical errors
This seems like a no-brainer, but a majority of users, when polled, confirm that they cared about errors in web copy — so it’s in your company’s best interest to make sure your copy is clean. Ask yourself, “When you notice a typo or grammatical error on a website, how do you react?” Unfavorable web user experiences hurt sales, and typos and grammatical errors will likely cause a major segment of your potential customers to have a negative reaction to your website.
3) Remove friction from your lead generation forms
If you want to increase form conversions, you must consider reducing the number of fields. A recent study found that a company could increase conversions by 120% by reducing its form from 11 fields down to four. Clearly it’s worth sacrificing that extra information to get such a high conversion rate.
If you use inbound software such as HubSpot, this is the perfect time to utilize smart fields. If you really need the extra information, consider doing an A/B test to compare all of your fields with the absolute minimum and an in-between version to determine which converts best.
4) Getting the voice of the customer
You developed the website for your customers, so always keep their wants and needs as your guide. And what better way to do this than sending out a quick (no more than 10 questions) survey soliciting feedback on what they like or dislike about your website. They will appreciate the opportunity to provide their opinion and it will prove invaluable to your team.
5) Rid your site of link rot
Changes to a website can cause links to break, therefore resulting in 404 errors. This is because pages are continually being added, but they are also continually being removed, which means any link that points to a page that no longer exists will become broken.
Link rot happens, and it’s part of running a website. But broken links, whether internal or outbound, can hurt the usability of a website — and just tend to aggravate users. But, thankfully, link rot can be cured. Adding your website to Google Search Console is an easy way to find broken site links. Or use a tool like LinkTiger that automatically scans your website every few days and sends you a report of any broken links.
And there you have it — five quick and easy ways to improve your website today. No matter what state your website is in, its ability to inform, educate and convert will be greatly enhanced by using these five simple tips.
Like the idea of reviewing your B2B website but are just too busy? Then send me your info. I would be glad to review your site and share some insights with you on how it could be improved.
For more information on improving your website performance, check out Why Your B2B Web Design Strategy Needs a Roadmap or Maximize Your Marketing Automation with Conversion-Centered Design.
All marketing tactics should be thought of as part of a larger whole, rather than separate pieces. By strategically integrating all marketing tactics, the marketing program becomes more effective and cost efficient. As a B2B agency, we developed B2B 360 Integrated Digital Marketing to meet this improved performance need. To learn more about B2B 360 and how it will benefit your business, download our free eBook: The Better Path to Top-Tier Tech Marketing.