8 Reasons Why Your Web Site Is Underperforming and How You Can Fix It
If you’re wondering why your web site isn’t living up to its full potential, here are eight reasons why it may be underperforming and what you can do to improve the situation.
1. Web Site Navigation and Design Isn’t User-Friendly
Imagine the frustration of being on a web site and not being able to find exactly what you’re looking for within the first few seconds. If users don’t find the answers to their questions or the products or services that they need right here and right now, then they’re very likely to leave your web site and turn to one of your competitors who can offer that type of expediency right away.
While creativity is an essential part of web design, so is practicality. Your web site design should be simple and easy to navigate to deter users from leaving in frustration. Tabs should be clearly placed at the top and drop-down menus should be easily accessible across all devices.
2. You Value Quantity Over Quality
Your content needs to be engaging, brand-powered, interesting to your target audience, and released on a regular basis, so people know when to expect it. But some brands take this a little too far by focusing more on releasing large quantities of content that’s overstuffed with keywords. Content is king when it comes to SEO, but not if it lacks quality, forethought, and relevance.
3. Your Web Site Isn’t Responsive Across All Devices
Most visitors to your web site are on their mobile devices and that means your web site and the content you produce needs to be geared towards that. If your web site isn’t programmed or designed to load quickly and completely on mobile devices or tablets, then you’re alienating a large portion of your potential market. Forget the fact that Google penalizes web sites that aren’t mobile-friendly, most people won’t even be able to access your web site unless they happen to be using a desktop computer and that just isn’t very realistic or accommodating to the majority of your users.
4. You’re Targeting the Wrong Audience
Especially for small businesses, e-commerce businesses, and freelance workers, it’s important to find your niche target audience and appeal to them as much as possible. Make sure you’re not only producing the right kind of content that will prevent users from clicking away from your site, but that you’re also using keywords that appropriately represent your business and what you have to offer. That way, you can appeal to a niche market more effectively without increasing your bounce rates.
5. Your Web Site Isn’t Properly Optimized
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential tool that you should be integrating into your overall web design. You should make your web site as search-engine friendly as possible by working with a reputable SEO marketing company to help you optimize your web site so that it’s always operating at its full potential and attracting the right audience to your business.
Organic web site optimization will help increase your click-through and conversion rates by helping customers find exactly what they’re searching for, whether it’s specific products, services, or answers to their questions. Creating well-researched and optimized content and marketing materials will help search engines like Google and Bing recognize your web site as a reputable business, which will inevitably help improve your search engine results page ranking.
6. Your CTAs Need Improvement
It’s no secret by now that every page and every article on your web site should have a clear, yet concise call to action that gives a brief description of what your company does and encourages readers to contact you or place an order. Your CTA should be inviting, engaging, and above all, easily accessible without being obstructive to the point that it annoys users and takes focus away from the main article.
7. Your Landing Pages Needs to Be Revamped
Landing pages, also known as static pages, lead capture pages, or destination pages, are usually the first things users see when they click on your web site link. These pages are designed to act in response to specific terms, questions, or search queries that people enter on search engines and they should be optimized and structured accordingly. Landing pages also serve as prime real estate for online marketing and promotional opportunities for your products or services, so make sure to take advantage of this space. Delivering key brand messaging in an accessible way is one of the most effective marketing strategies you can utilize and landing pages can help you get there.
8. Some Pages Are Over-Optimized
Believe it or not, there is such a thing as over optimizing your web pages. Giving people too many options can prolong the decision-making process and make it substantially harder for people to make the right choice. It’s the equivalence of reading through an over-packed restaurant menu. When you’re already very hungry, it can be difficult to decide on a single menu item to order. Putting too many elements on your web site has the same virtual effect. You should also avoid keyword stuffing because it makes your content unreadable and difficult to digest. Instead of focusing on trying to fit a bunch of keywords into your content with the intent of trying to get more clicks, you should create content that’s centered around relevant information that allows the keywords to fit in organically.