Feel like your marketing isn’t paying off? Maybe it’s your website…
Chances are you’ve landed here ‘cos you read the latest post I dropped on Instagram.
I wanna double-down on that a little more. And you’re a curious creature who wants to make damn sure your time, energy + marketing dollars are well spent.
So - Hey, Hi, Welcome - here we are + (if you need a reminder) here’s what I said:
There’s zilch point investing your dollars + energy into marketing, if your website ain’t set up for success.
And yes, I’m prepared to die on that hill.
Hear me out…
What that post isn’t saying? Is to stop your marketing.
Because now is not the right time to stop marketing. Yes, the tail-end of 2022 + the first (almost) 6 months of 2023 feels effing tough for a whole bunch of small business owners. But people are still buying. They’re still purchasing products online + they’re still booking services online. Now is the time to focus on the right marketing for your business.
But, I’m not going down that rabbit hole here. We’ll leave that yarn for another day.
So then, sweet soul, let’s dive into what that post is *actually* saying…
If you’re investing your dollars + energy into marketing, make sure your website is set up for success.
But first, meet Sally. Sally is sweet. Sally is sassy. Sally is also a little bit savvy. But Sally has a dang saucy product + offer. She’s done her research. She knows her place in the market. And her brand? Packs a serious personality punch. We like Sally.
Sally spends her days researching + learning all the latest marketing trends, tips + tricks. She records reels with clear calls-to-action, writes Instagram posts that points people back to her website with ease (thanks link in bio) + whips up lead magnets + itsy-bitsy-priced mini-courses to gather email addresses so she can *finally* kick-start her email marketing. Sally is stoked. That shit is hard. And Sally’s people (her customers / clients) dig what she’s doing.
But, suddenly, Sally feels sad. ‘Cos she can see allll the good humans landing on her website. But that’s where the good times end.
The sales? Nothin’. Nudda. Crickets… And by golly that’s hurting Sally’s soul.
Now why this whole website conversion thing isn’t happening for Sally? Is nuanced. Sally’s solution will be different to yours. But if it’s because Sally’s website isn’t set up to cope with the good folk landing on it - then that’s a kinda easy fix. If Sally’s website is a few years old, she might wanna reach out to her copywriter + website designer for an in-depth look + a zhuzh-up (the online space moves fast). Or if she’s feeling confident, she might wanna give these 3 starter-steps a whirl.
remember: there's a bunch of reasons behind why your website might not be converting. and some of those reasons may be more technical + require a real deep dive into your analytics. but starting here? is a pretty good first step.
Flex the words on your website.
Clarity trumps tryin’ to be be clever. Your website copy should be clear, compelling + consciously created to connect + convert:
You’ve got approx. 7 seconds to convince someone to stay for a gander or they’ll X outta your website, real quick. So if it’s not clear what you’re selling or offering + you’re not using the (good) power of words to help someone move around your website the way you want ‘em to? Bye Bye Bye - they’re (not) doing this tonight.
Now it wrenches at my word-weaving soul to say this, but… 79% of people will only skim your site. Yip, it’s probs only you, your go-to small biz pal support group + your copywriter who will *actually* read the whole dang thing. So make your website copy skimmable. Use helpful headlines + headings to convey what the people reading it need to hear.
Consider the flow across your website.
It’s part of the user experience (UX). You get to decide the goal for each page + then help website visitors journey across your site with easy-to-follow navigation, clear calls-to-action, limited / better-timed / no pop-ups + not too many clicks:
So… Keep. It. Seriously. Simple. Check that your site has also the right info, in all the right places so that people find it easy (+ they feel confident) when they navigate across + around your website. If they’re getting what they want + need? They stay longer.
Is the juicy info above the fold (the area you see on a screen before you start scrolling)? Have you got a clear call to action that helps them take the next step? Have you thought real hard about whether that pop-up is needed? Is your buying or booking journey seamless without having to make too many clicks? ‘Cos if it ain’t - you guessed it - they’re tappin’ out.
Suss your SEO.
‘Cos here’s the thing. Foundational search engine optimisation (SEO) is *actually* simple. And when you get it right? That savvy sucker does a whole heap of heavy-lifting for you. I’m talking SEO basics here, the beginners guide if you must:
Be guided by a human-first approach to SEO. ‘Cos yea visibility + ranking way up high is, well, awesome. But there’s zero point getting those eyes on your website if what they land on, doesn’t *actually* give ‘em what they want.
And once you know your keywords? You can weave them (naturally) through relevant + helpful copy + content across all pages on your website. The key places to put ‘em?
Your H1 on each page (only 1 per page peeps). 20-70 characters is best practice.
There’s zilch point in awkwardly stuffing your body text with keywords ‘cos both humans + search engines (like Google) will hate that shit. Instead sprinkle them lightly + naturally, throughout.
Your Title Tag / Page Title - stick to 50-60 characters if you can.
Your Meta Descriptions. While search engines don’t *actually* read ‘em - the people searching for products + services like yours, do. Keep them at 150-155 characters so they don’t get cut off + for the love of all things wordy - have some fun with them. Use them as a taster into what someone can expect when they land on your website.
Your Alt text describes the images on your website. This isn’t only to please the Google Gods but more importantly, supports people who are visually impaired or have images disabled. 100-125 characters works best.
Now off you go, sweet soul. Be like Sally + give these 3 starter-steps a whirl.
Holla at me if you wanna know more.