As a business owner, you must understand the importance of your website. Your web presence can be one of your most valuable tools to connect with customers, build credibility and drive more business.

Understanding you have a problem, but not knowing where to start is common. Because of this common challenge, we have created seven quick reasons why you should consider a redesign.

A quick review of this list will help you identify how to increase traffic and your return on investment.

Here are ten reasons to redesign your website.

It’s unpleasant or outdated – Users expect websites to be clean, simple and pleasing to the eye. With so many options to choose from, it is vital that your website stands out. If you haven’t updated your website in the last 24-months, chances are it is out of date. If you are unsure, ask your colleagues for an honest opinion. Build a beautiful site that you can be proud of.
There is no call to action – Is it clear what you want website visitors to do once they are at your website? You need a call to action on each page of your website. A call to action could be about making a phone call, subscribing to an email list, downloading a document, and more.
It fails to build credibility – Let’s face it, most websites are created to establish credibility. Are you showing customer testimonials? Are you sharing the logos of your clients? Do you explain the reasons people should trust your business?
SEO isn’t part of it – If you want to rank highly on search engines, your website must be search engine optimized. You have to use the proper keyword phrases within your content. Optimize your images with the correct alt tags. Use the appropriate web page titles to include your target keywords.
You made it out of Flash – Similar to an outdated design, Flash ages your website. Flash is not compatible with all devices or search engines and this can hurt your traffic. Because of these reasons, more website designers are moving away from Flash.
It’s slow – You don’t want a website that is frustrating to use. Due to the increasing internet speeds available, users have lower tolerances for wait times. This is crucial on mobile devices. People want sites that load quickly when they are on the move.
It’s not optimized – Review your site on multiple devices. Laptops, large monitors, phones, tablets, etc. If your website does not run well on all of these devices, you are missing out on traffic and customers.
It doesn’t sell your products – Focus on your return on investment (ROI). All the traffic in the world won’t help you if it doesn’t create money. Reconsider how you advertise your products and services. Make it easy for customers to make a purchase. If you do have a high number of views, consider additional advertising.
Your brand isn’t visible – Are visitors connecting with your company? Do some research to see if people walk away with your intended message. Think about your brand statement, is this visible on your website?
It’s a pain to maintain – Fresh content drives traffic. If you don’t update your website, people won’t have a reason to come back. Frequent updates start with simple processes. If your site is hard to update, updates will take more time. Content Management Sites (CMS) such as WordPress have built-in solutions to make updating a website easier. If you have a complicated website with few updates, consider simplifying your process

If some of these factors apply to your website, you have taken the first step to improving your business. But you’re not done yet. You will need to conduct additional research to find the root of your website’s problems. Website updates may seem challenging, but they are worth all the effort in the end.

When you need a fresh new perspective on an outdated website. We will give you and honest review along with a free consultation and get you started in the right direction.

Get A Free Website Audit!

Useful content should be at the core of your marketing

Traditional marketing is becoming less and less effective by the minute; as a forward-thinking marketer, you know there has to be a better way.

Enter content marketing.

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.

Instead of pitching your products or services, you are providing truly relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their issues.

Content marketing is used by leading brands

Our annual research shows the vast majority of marketers are using content marketing. In fact, it is used by many prominent organizations in the world, including P&G, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and John Deere. It’s also developed and executed by small businesses and one-person shops around the globe. Why? Because it works.

Here is just one example of content marketing in action:

Content marketing is good for your bottom line — and your customers

Specifically, there are three key reasons — and benefits — for enterprises that use content marketing:

Increased sales
Cost savings
Better customers who have more loyalty

Content is the present – and future – of marketing

Go back and read the content marketing definition one more time, but this time remove the relevant and valuable. That’s the difference between content marketing and the other informational garbage you get from companies trying to sell you “stuff.” Companies send us information all the time – it’s just that most of the time it’s not very relevant or valuable (can you say spam?). That’s what makes content marketing so intriguing in today’s environment of thousands of marketing messages per person per day.

Marketing is impossible without great content

Regardless of what type of marketing tactics you use, content marketing should be part of your process, not something separate. Quality content is part of all forms of marketing:

Social media marketing: Content marketing strategy comes before your social media strategy.
SEO: Search engines reward businesses that publish quality, consistent content.
PR: Successful PR strategies address issues readers care about, not their business.
PPC: For PPC to work, you need great content behind it.
Inbound marketing: Content is key to driving inbound traffic and leads.
Content strategy: Content strategy is part of most content marketing strategies.

What if your customers looked forward to receiving your marketing? What if when they received it, via print, email, website, they spent 15, 30, 45 minutes with it? What if they anticipated it and shared it with their peers?

If at any time you have questions about content marketing, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask us.

Author Archives: davidc.

A New Year A New Website? 10 reasons to redesign your website.