Rethink Your Website – Part III

As we continue into Part III and the final chapter in our website analysis for the new year, we ask you to look at the following questions:

Can visitors easily navigate their way through your site?
Is your call to action clear and are you getting visitors to act?
Are you clearly communicating to your target audience?
Are you doing everything you can to market your website?

Can visitors easily navigate their way through your site?
You’ve been to your site over and over and you know it better than you know what’s currently in your refrigerator.  You’ve created your navigation just the way you wanted, and it might suit your purposes just fine.  But for someone who has rarely or never been to your site, are you able to communicate what you are saying and funneling them where they need to go in order to maximize your conversions?

You want to be sure that if you have different segments of customers you funnel them through from the beginning or help them define which segment they are first.  For instance, if you sell vacations along the Grand Strand, then you may want to first segment your beaches – North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, and Surfside Garden City vacations.  Have information about each segment available, as well, incase your buyer doesn’t know yet.  Always have it easy to learn about the other beaches or view the properties available in each section. 

Have information like great family beach to target families, or best beach for couples, so that each need that the customer has is easily identified and ready to book.  For instance, if you are segmenting down to couples, you don’t want to suggest massive 8 bedroom oceanfront houses, but maybe a small romantic suite with options to upgrade to Jacuzzi or add on additions like champagne and strawberries.

Always have it be easy to go back to the start and let the visitor choose other options.   With better website programming available everyday, website owners are customizing their websites more and more.  This is important as the consumer wants to know their options, see the benefits and values, and choose which suits them best.  Help them find what their looking for and what will satisfy their needs without getting frustrated and leaving.

To check to see how your website is doing, go back to your analytics and look at bounce rates, time on site and exit pages.  Also, make sure you are tracking conversions and always strive to improve on them.   If there’s something that doesn’t add up, evaluate that page, funnel, or call the experts at ICND to help you identify these trends.

Is your call to action clear and are you getting visitors to act?
Do you feel like your calling but nobody’s home?  Make sure that each page has a clear call to action and it’s easy for your visitors to get started browsing your inventory or filling out contact information.  If you have a phone number, make sure it’s in a clear spot on every page.  Yes, the whole point of a website is usually to buy online, but sometimes it’s just not that easy. 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to a site, saw what I liked, but couldn’t figure how to get it!  But if you go to big brand e-commerce or vacation sites, you’ll almost always see a clear call to action and point of sale.

Are you clearly communicating offers to your target audience?
So many times I run into conflicting communication with marketing to an audience.  There has to be consistency in your messages.  If you are targeting your audience through any sort of marketing, whether it be direct mail, email, pay per click, make sure your offer is clear, concise, and consistent across each medium.

If you send out an expensive direct mail piece with an “Exclusive Summer Savings” offer and you call it “Super Summer Savings” on your site, you are going to confuse the heck out of your visitor.  Even if it’s the same percentage off and the details read about the same, it’s going to be confusing.  Buyers need to feel confident in your offer, not confused or hesitant.  This may lead them to check else where and leave your site.

Are you doing everything you can to market your website?
Of course this may be limited by budget, but are you doing the most for your money?  There are simple things you can to look at your website and make sure it’s in good working order.  In fact, an expert at ICND can take  a quick 20 minute look at your site and see if you have basic things correct for SEO, where you rank, where your competitors rank and a plethora of more information to let you know how you are doing amongst your competition.   We’ll put together suggestions and integrate these into your current marketing goals and objectives.  Let us work with you and make the most out of your website and marketing budget.