A powerful B2B Website can help increase organic rankings, organic traffic and conversions. Every business owner should understand how ranking in front of competitors in search engines can help bring in additional revenue. More visitors to a site means more opportunities for conversions, and a higher conversion rate means additional revenue.
Business owners understand they need a well-built Website; however, they often don’t understand how to build a proper site. What ends up happening more often than not is that they build poor sites and make lots of mistakes. The following list is designed to assist site owners and marketers and ensure that their sites are properly optimized. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:
Under- or Over-Designing
Having a well-designed Website can be relatively simple; however, in many cases, sites suffer from over-design. It is important to build a Website that is easy for users to navigate, yet compelling enough to help them remember your brand.
We suggest using a professional Web designer and Web developer to build your site; avoid using your nephew because he “knows computers.”
Poor Keyword Research
Business owners usually understand what their customers are searching, yet there are always more opportunities. To market to other businesses, it’s important to conduct keyword research to find what users are querying.
Look into long-tail keywords that are related specifically to your business. You may find that there is low search volume. However, if it’s directly related to your business, it’s important to show in the search results for the phrase. Don’t focus on keywords you think you need. Take the time to find the keywords that will benefit the site the most.
Optimizing for Global Rather than Local Users
If your business is specific to a particular region, there’s no point in focusing on ranking globally. When you optimize your Website, make sure to use terms related to your location. By doing this, you can help increase your site’s visibility within local searches.
Lack of About Us page
A strong “About Us” page can help potential clients learn more about what your business does. Not ‘does’ in the sense of the type of business but rather regarding the goals and aspirations of the business. This is where a business can build its brand and introduce its team. Be detailed about the history of the business, some of the goals of the business, and how users can get in contact with the company.
Not Going Mobile
Each year searches from mobile devices increase 130 percent, and recently Google announced that mobile searches passed desktop search in number. Having a mobile- friendly Website gives users an easy way to view the site without losing interest. Say you send an email out to newsletter followers: nearly 53 percent of the emails will be opened through mobile devices.
Don’t miss out on possible conversions because your site isn’t mobile friendly. Any decent agency with a Web developer can set a site up to be mobile friendly.
No Blog or New Content
Keep your readers and followers up to date with news and trends by creating new content for your site. This content can be based on your business and its new products and services, or it can be about your industry and what is happening around it. The main point is to constantly be adding new content to your site, mainly through your blog.
Why? New content both improves the user experience and increases your overall SEO. Writing and sharing your articles can help build a larger backlink profile, which will help organic rankings and increase conversions.
Not Reviewing Analytics
Reviewing your analytics can be a game changer. It’s important to see how users are interacting on the site. Where did they come from, which pages did they visit, how long did they stay on the site, did they make a purchase?
Track your campaigns to see what happens. Has your new blog had any impact, has your new landing page dropped bounce rate? These are questions you should be asking and questions analytics can be answering.
Lack of Social Presence
Social media gives businesses a direct way to provide insights to customers. New products and services, blog posts and other content should be shared here. Regardless of your industry or niche, just about every business should be utilizing social media. You can build your brand, show your expertise in the industry, answer questions and make contacts for sales.
Handling Search Engine Marketing (SEM) in House
Although it’s possible to handle your digital marketing in house, it’s best to hire a professional to do it. This can be an employee or an agency. Too often business owners believe their IT or customer-service team can handle their search engine marketing. Take the time to research new hires, ask for examples of their work, and look into their references.
It is also possible to go with an agency that can focus on everything, such as Web design, search engine optimization, and pay per click. When deciding on an agency, talk with previous clients and review their case studies to see what kind of results they have generated.
No Focused Landing Pages
Building landing pages where your visitors can get proper information on your company is vital. These pages need to be well-designed and easy to navigate, have lots of information, and include a call to action. Conduct A/B testing with multiple landing pages to compare results. See where people click, when they leave, and how they convert.
Chris Hickman is the Founder and CEO at Adficient, with years of experience in search marketing and conversion optimization. In 2006, he founded an Adwords Suspension and Google Penalty recovery service to help businesses and Websites to get back on Google at GetBackonGoogle.com.
