3 Website Mistakes Affecting Your Bottom Line
Business is now a digital-first world and a well thought out website has become one of the leading marketing and sales tools for businesses small and large.
Many businesses though don't have fully optimized websites, and it's affecting their bottom line. Is your business one of them?
Let's take a look at three common mistakes that we see local businesses making with their websites.
1. No Social Proof
Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people conform to the actions of others under the assumption that those actions are reflective of the correct behavior.
Did you know that positive reviews make 73% of consumers trust a local business more, and almost 70% of consumers look at reviews before making a purchase?
Consumers also trust online reviews 12x as much as they do website copy and product descriptions.
Consumers always want as much certainty as possible when they are deciding who they do business with. They want to make sure that their choice will result in a great experience and no unnecessary problems.
That is why social proof has become such a crucial aspect of business in a digital age.
As a business, you can use social proof as a tactic to help ease and reinforce a potential customers decision and increase your conversion rate on your website.
3 ways to add social proof to your website.
1. Present Your 5-star reviews.
Showcase your 5 star reviews on your homepage as well as throughout your website. This is a great way to enforce social proof on your site.
2. Create Case Studies
Creating case studies of your customers and their projects( great for contractors and service businesses)
3. Adding Industry Certifications
throughout your website ( Better Business Bureau, Industry certifications, etc.). For this to be most effective, consider only adding the certifications that your target customer would recognize.
2. Your Website Is Not Mobile Friendly
According to Google, mobile devices account for over 50% of all searches, and as of August 2017, 57.3% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices.
If your website isn't responsive and optimized for mobile, you are losing visitors and potential customers.
Google states that website visitors are 5x more likely to leave a website that is not mobile friendly.
With mobile website traffic increasing every year, having a responsive website is critical to the success of your business.
3. Slow Load Times
A major factor for keeping visitors on your site and converting them into customers is page load time.
Page load time is how quickly a page on your website loads.
How quickly your pages load has a significant impact on your websites overall effectiveness.
According to Google, a visitor is 123% more likely to leave a website that loads in 10 seconds when compared to the website loading in 1 second.
The speed of your webpage could be causing you to lose a significant number of visitors as soon as they arrive on your page.
A great way to check your page speed is to use Pingdom. https://tools.pingdom.com/.
3 Ways to improve your page load time
1. Compress your images
Images on your website might be causing your pages to load slowly. By compressing them to under 300 kb, you can ensure faster loading times.
2. Embed Videos Rather Than Upload
Instead of uploading videos directly to your site, you can improve the page load time by embedding your video from third-party platforms like Youtube, Vimeo, and Wistia.
3. Choose A Good Hosting Plan
Choosing a good hosting company for your website can have a significant impact on your pages load time. While it might seem okay to save a couple of dollars a month for a cheaper hosting option, more expensive options can be better for page load times.
Conclusion:
A properly optimized website can be your business's most powerful marketing and sales tool. Making sure that your website is optimized can have a dramatic impact on the overall effectiveness of your website.
Key Takeaways
1. Make sure your website Is fully responsive for mobile.
Visitors are 5x more likely to leave your website if it is not mobile friendly. With over 57% of all traffic coming from mobile devices, having a mobile optimized website is crucial for your business.
2. Your website needs to load quickly.
Website visitors are 123% more likely to leave a website when loads in 10 seconds when compared to a site that loads in 1 second. Aim to get your website loading in under 3 seconds.
Use https://tools.pingdom.com/ to see how fast your current page loads.
3. Incorporate Social Proof Into Your Website.
Social proof lets visitors know that your website is more trustworthy. To improve your social proofing and increase your conversion rate, showcase your reviews, case studies, and industry certifications.