Todd Sumamno
Your website may be pretty, but if we can learn anything from the world of dating it’s that there’s so much more to attracting the right people than simply looking great; you must meet expectations, hold a good conversation, and take interest in people other than yourself.
So the question is: is your website out there being its most authentic self? And more importantly, do you have your best foot forward when making first impressions?
In this article, we’re going to go through 5 issues that are holding your website back – and indeed cover how to fix them.
Weak copy that doesn’t resonate with your audience
Who wrote the content on your website? Did you invest in some cheap, generic content when you initially had your website built? Did you take the task on yourself and put together a nice summary of what you do without any real understanding of SEO and consumer psychology?
Whatever the case, if you aren’t getting much traffic or conversions through your website, then your copy is likely the leading culprit.
How to fix it?
Well, first you need to really understand who your audience is, what their biggest issues are, and how you can provide the ultimate solution.
The best website content needs to be SEO optimizer of course, however, it also needs to be crafted with consumer psychology in mind by gifted wordsmiths who understand how to appeal to your ideal audience and ultimately lead them to a positive conclusion: money in your pocket.
You have a slow page load speed
Do you know how long your website takes to load? Because if it isn’t between the 0 – 4 second mark, then you are seriously missing out on some attractive conversion rates.
The modern consumer is very impatient. Yes, “patience is a virtue”, but when it comes to browsing the internet and spending our money, we’re all rather selfish, truth be told.
So, how can you fix this and ensure that your website loads as quickly as possible?
- You need top-quality web hosting.
- Utilize a CDN (content delivery network).
- You need to optimize your images (remove unnecessary imagery and compress those that are crucial to your on-page experience).
- Reduce the # of HTTP requests.
- Optimize your HTML.
- Reduce the # of plugins used.
- Avoid URL redirects.
In truth, these are just a handful of the things that you can do to maximize your page loading speed. Every millisecond counts so it’s well-worth hiring the experts to accommodate your needs – particularly if technical SEO is not your forte.
You have duplicate and/or plagiarized content
Duplicate and copied content are commonly mixed up, though it’s important you understand the distinction because although both can hold you back, one is much worse:
- Duplicate content: duplicate content refers to having the same wording repeated over and over again on your website. The most common culprit is service area pages.
o For example: an SEO agency can service a multitude of regions and having dedicated web pages to address these areas and keywords is good practice (e.g., SEO Melbourne, SEO Brisbane, SEO Perth, etc.).
o However, many businesses make the mistake of copy & pasting the content on each page and only replacing the keywords in the title and the text. This is not a good approach and Google will see right through it.
o The fact is, if you want the best results from the content on your service area / product pages, you should aim to create unique content across the board.
o Rest assured that having the same “CTA / Contact us” isn’t the end of the world. What’s important is that your body content is unique and adds genuine value.
- Copied / plagiarized content: copied content refers to any content that has simply been stolen from your competitors. One of the biggest mistakes that small businesses make is to find their competitors and simply take their content and pass it off as their own. It doesn’t matter how good it is or how relevant it is to the services that you offer, if you steal content that isn’t your own you will be penalized for it.
No keywords in your Titles, Headers, and Meta
Keyword research is a critical aspect in SEO because it helps you to determine what your ideal customers are asking Google when actively searching for the products or services that you offer.
With those keywords in mind, you can then craft your Titles, heads, Meta, and content accordingly. This not only helps you let Google know who you are and what you do, but it also helps your prospective customers / website visitors to know exactly what they are letting themselves in for.
If you don’t have well-optimized titles, headers, and meta, then it will be holding you back.
No internal linking & backlinks
Links are paramount for SEO and they come in all shapes and sizes. The most important links of all are:
- Internal links: internal links are links that direct users to other pages within your website. Google loves websites with intuitive internal linking because it provides your website users with a seamless onsite experience. So for example, if you have an FAQ section where you address some of the most commonly asked questions by your audience, having links on each FAQ to the relevant services, products, or blogs for further expansion is paramount.
- Backlinks: backlinks are links that point from external websites to your own. These essentially count as “votes” in the eyes of Google. However, not all backlinks are created equal. So, whether you have no backlinks at all or lots of low-quality backlinks, it can seriously hinder your performance. The best links come from reputable and relevant websites with a high DR (Domain Rating).
Conclusion: Let the pros do their job
It can be quite frustrating as a small business owner to invest lots of money in a brand-new website only to be told that it needs fixing.
Don’t panic! The fact is, most websites are designed with aesthetics and usability in mind, absent any real thought towards your long-term marketing goals.
Which is where the experts come in…
If you want to get the very best out of your website, you are much better off hiring a reputable SEO agency who can come in and handle all of the technical, onsite, and offsite SEO requirements on your behalf.
That way, you can rest assured that no mistakes will be made and you can get straight to strategizing a long-term SEO campaign and ultimately attract as many ‘ready to spend customers’ as possible.
Brittany
