LOOK AFTER YOUR WEBSITE!

Having a website that stands out is important in today’s digital world. Being mobile friendly, fully responsive, easy to navigate and well-designed are givens.

The usual pattern is that when a firm either builds a new website or refreshes an existing one, they are just relieved to get the project over the line as it was often more time consuming and expensive than initially expected. The process is then generally repeated in 3 or 4 years’ time. However, once the new site is up and running that is when the real work should begin – ensuring that it is nurtured, kept up to date and never goes stale. Having put all that time, energy and money into the website, it makes sense to look after it and realise its full potential.

7 Wonders of your Website

1. Search Engine Optimisation – SEO is essential to attract visitors and the right kind of traffic to your site. Most web developers provide some initial SEO when launching a new site, such as incorporating page titles and descriptions. However, as your website should be an organic, constantly evolving lead generating tool, it is important to keep on top of the many factors that affect your rankings for example, link building, keywords and relevant content.

2. Analytics – To identify how well your site is doing, it is important to monitor and review analytics and metrics. Looking at page views, bounce rates, where traffic is coming from, visitor numbers and what’s most visited, helps to identify what’s working well and what’s not on your site. 

3. Blog – posting regular content, whether this is daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly helps with online searches and highlights your firm’s relevance and up to date industry expertise. Becoming a thought leader and expert in your sector by adding educational, insightful and useful news to your clients will make you stand out. 

4. Regularly read and visit your website – set some time aside regularly to review your website, going through the site from a user’s perspective. How does it look, navigate - can you easily get to where you want to be, are there plenty of “calls to action”? This will help you to identify flaws that you can improve and enhance the “customer journey”. 

5. Don’t just update your blog! Particularly with professional services, it is important to regularly review your existing content for example, about pages, services, contact page and update the content, ensuring that it is technically correct. Updating and adding content emphasises that you are up to speed with your industry, giving credibility and showing that you are constantly evolving.

6. Add Client Testimonials, Reviews and Case Studies – There’s no better way to showcase your expertise than through positive client feedback. Regularly adding and updating client testimonials and reviews (including using review platforms such as Feefo) and demonstrating excellent service through client feedback, recommendations and case studies generates kudos and credibility, as well as keeping your website relevant to the target audience. Having independent advocates supporting you do will de-risk the buying process for new and prospective clients.

7. Updated Imagery and Video – Keeping a site visually appealing makes a huge difference to the site’s visitors. An easy and quick way to keep your site looking fresh is to regularly add and update imagery. Adding videos, recorded webinars, animations, infographics etc all help to maximise user engagement, keeping visitors on your site for longer, as well as ensuring that your site remains vibrant and up to date.