Compiling the 10 signs of a bad website isn’t easy.
Poor websites litter the internet, and it’s tough to narrow down the 10 best reasons to update your website.
Granted….some bad websites can be excused (they serve no business purpose like personal blogs, family photos, etc.)
However, in 2014, every business should place the same emphasis on their online reputation as they do with their offline reputation.
Not to mention…poor websites throw away a terrific opportunity to get more clients / customers and revenue!
Here are 10 signs your website may be harming your reputation and costing you revenue.
Top 10 Reasons to Update Your Website
1. Not ranked in search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.
80+% of EVERYTHING begins as a search, and not many people bother clicking past the first page of Google.
Search engine optimization is critical for EVERY business website in 2014.
2. Outdated information and material.
Many sites become static once created and never updated again.
Just check the footer of various websites. Often, you will find the copyright date is many years removed from the current year.
In 2014, websites should be updated a minimum of once per week with fresh material and news.
3. Hard to use navigation.
Many people use cell phones and tablets to view websites.
If the site was designed prior to the proliferation of mobile devices, the navigation of these websites will be poor and frustrating for mobile users.
You MUST have a responsive website design in 2014.
4. Primitive & outdated design.
Many sites have obnoxious colors, weird fonts, and outdated styles.
They were created by cheap templates and/or people who have limited knowledge in graphic design or marketing.
Companies spend thousands of dollars making their physical location look nice for visitors, but often skimp when it comes to making their website look nice for visitors.
5. Lack of engaging content.
Sites that are nothing more than a corporate brochure don’t cut it anymore.
You MUST provide fresh content regularly and provide value to your visitors. If not, you will be doing more harm than good when they check out your competition.
6. No calls-to-action.
Your website must incite action from visitors.
Don’t expect new revenues from your website if you don’t entice visitors with a reason to interact with you.
7. Your sales force is not INTEGRATED with your website developers.
Too often, the “website guy” and the sales staff operate in vacuums.
The Optimacy Group is one of the few firms that truly integrates the organization with the website as Step 1 in the process.
Both teams need to be in constant contact in order to implement a successful online strategy.
8. No promotion of the website.
Offline and email marketing campaigns MUST fully leverage their power to drive traffic back to your website.
Traditional marketing is NOT cost effective without incorporating the advantages of your website to deliver current material to your clients/customers.
9. The content is not optimized for Search Engines.
Content is king when it comes to visitor experience AND search engine rankings.
If website content isn’t SEO optimized, then rankings / traffic will suffer.
There are many factors to consider, but just look at the title and url of the various pages of your website. Are they terms or phrases that people use when searching for businesses like yours?
10. Your site is not integrated with social media.
The world is more social and almost every industry benefits from positive signals coming from social media.
If any of these apply to your site, be sure to contact The Optimacy Group immediately for a free consultation.
The good news is that everything is fixable…as long as you take action and hire the RIGHT partner.
We’ve helped sites go from ZERO to HERO in less than a few months and on modest budgets.
