When you set up a website for your business it can be easy to feel that you’ve given it your all and your work (for the moment) is done.
Unfortunately it’s not quite as simple as that.
It’s not enough to just have a presence on the web, now you need to add value and build trust with your audience.
The most common method of doing this is by writing regular blogs. It positions you as an expert in your industry and Google will like that you’re adding fresh content to your website so it will help index your content faster.
If you feel blog writing isn’t one of your strengths then consider using a copywriter, virtual assistant or marketing manager.
It’s really important for you to have a structured plan and approach to creating content on your website. You can’t just put any old words on there, as this will actively work against you.
1. Monitor your bounce rate
You’ve all heard of the algorithm right? Yes it applies to Social Media but it really begins with Google. You see, Google has something called a bounce rate.
Bounce rates are to do with how long people spend on your website and how engaged they are. Take for example:
User 1
Lands on your website through a Google search. – reads the page/article that’s matched to the search. They read the article, get the information and leave. This user will contribute to you having a high bounce rate.
User 2
Lands on your website through a Google search – reads the page/article that’s matched to the search, they enjoy the well laid out, well written content and follow the calls to action to read more articles, get in touch etc. This user will be considered to have a low bounce rate.
In a nutshell
Low bounce rate = good
High bounce rate = bad
The reasoning around this: Google makes its money through advertising – if it delivers relevant content which engages the user to stay on individual websites then they can charge their advertising customers more money.
If they have a high bounce rate it shows their algorithm isn’t working properly, it’s not delivering the most relevant content to users and this drives down the price they can charge for advertising.
The answer – have high quality content on your website which solves your customer’s problem.
2. Give it away for free
But if I’m giving everything for free? How will I get paid?
Using this website strategy has 2 purposes:
1 – It sets you apart from people who aren’t doing this, as an expert in your field. You are putting your money where your mouth is and telling your customers that you know what their problems are and you have the solutions for them.
2 – You show the client what it is they need to do, you may even walk them through it step-by-step. However most of your clients are busy with their day jobs, they want to hand this work over but don’t have the connections. By showing them the steps you show them you know how to and can be the person to resolve their issues.
3. Use quizzes
How many times do you scroll FB and come across the results of a quiz a friend of yours has taken?
I know right? People will give literally any information away for free if it’s in the form of a quiz. Now I don’t expect for you to set up quizzes getting the same amount of info out of people (as a lot of the FB quizzes have more sinister reasons behind them), but you could offer a quiz which helps your customer get clarity on which service you offer would be best for them. Or how they get clarity before they use your service.
4. Use SEO Plugins
SEO plugins help your website to index your content, choose particular key phrases and offers a system to improve your content for search engines.
Keyphrases work because they help narrow down search results. For example if you search ‘website designer’ you’re going to get 854,000,000 results. If you search ‘WordPress website designer for small businesses in London’ you’ll still get a lot of results but they’re going to be relevant to your search and you’ll usually find the right designer (or service) for you in the first page or two of Google.
Improving content through an SEO plugin works because it guides the user through using the right Heading tags, writing and link structure, gives the post a readability score with tips on how to make content easier to read, reminds you to label images correctly. It’s basically a guide on how to make the most of your content.
5. Work your link structure
We’ve all fallen down the rabbit hole of Amazon (and still do from time to time). You know the one, where you’re on Facebook or Instagram scrolling through your timeline, admiring the baby photos of a friend you haven’t seen since high school when up pops an Amazon advert. The first tile they offer seems a bit ridiculous so you swipe left to see what the next one will be. You swipe until you find something interesting where you press to go to the product. Within a few seconds you recognise that the product you clicked on is unsuitable for you but just as you go to click away you see the ‘related products’ links. You give a quick swipe to see if they’re as ridiculous as the product you’re on, just for laughs. While you’re looking up the first ridiculous product, you remember there was something you want/needed. You do a quick search, after all, a few minutes ago you were on Facebook but now you’re on Amazon (within Facebook) and Boom! Sale made. That’s how Amazon gets you.
I’m not suggesting you employ the sneaky tactics of Amazon (who seriously did manage to get me on their page after advertising ‘knitted bonnets for cats – I don’t like cats, I just wanted to make sure they were a real thing and then post it on my friend’s timeline). If your link structure is good, your user experience will be good and therefore builds trust and makes it more likely for you to make sales.
What is a link structure?
A link structure is anywhere you have a link on your website. This includes:
Menu
Buttons
Images
Linked/highlighted text
Make sure your link structure is relevant and easy to use. This can mean having things in the right order on your menu and ensuring your menu is sticky so the user can see it no matter where they are on the page.
Blog posts should have related content at the bottom of them and, if relevant, previous and next arrows so users can easily read more of your content.
In the majority of cases images should not only be decorative, but also link somewhere if a user clicks on them.
Buttons and linked text should lead to other, relevant information on your website or other authorities (external websites), but open in a new tab so as not to take the user completely away from your website. This way they can visit the other pages but return to the page they were on.
Conclusion
Websites can feel that they’re never finished, there is always something to do. I like to think of them a little like having a house. You wouldn’t live in a house and never maintain or clean it. It’s the same for your website, you don’t just build it/have it built and then never look after it or update it.
Updating and reviewing your website content regularly, as well as contributing to it via blog posts will, over time, take your website from being like a small cottage, to a large mansion, as well as reducing your bounce rate and improving your search engine results.
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