Today and even more with Covid-19, almost all businesses must have a website. That allows your potential customers to learn more about your products and services, to stay updated concerning your new products without even having to show up to your store, see what others think of your offer, etc. It doesn’t stop there. The Covid has awakened several companies on the importance of having an e-commerce for those who have products that can be purchased online. For example, in Quebec, Le Panier Bleu has prompted several companies to develop their online presence. Now it’s good to have a website, but it won’t do anything if you don’t optimize it. It’s a continuous work, moreover that the Web evolves quickly. For all those who are starting on the web, here are 10 ways to optimize your website so that it becomes a foolproof sales channel:

1. Offer a lot of quality content 

It’s probably not a surprise if I tell you that your website must contain a significant amount of information if you want your users to stay on your website and take key actions. But how do you determine what information should be on your website? There is no perfect answer. It varies from company to company. Put yourself in the place of a new customer, then your regular customers and ask yourself: What would you look for as information? Here are some examples :

– Your story

– Process

– Customer reviews

– What sets you apart from your competitors

– Your answers to frequently asked questions

– Where you are located

– How to contact you

– How are your products made

– Guarantee

– How to use your products

In addition to answering questions from your users, this content will allow you to improve your SEO and therefore bring new visitors to your website. Too often I see companies wondering why their web initiatives don’t work when their site is almost empty. Believe me, creating content takes a lot of effort, but it’s worth it! Make sure that your texts, images and videos are high quality, without disturbing the speed of your site (we will discuss this later), as this can negatively affect your brand image.

2. Review the structure of your website

Now that all the relevant information is present on your website, it’s important to ask yourself the right questions about the structure of your site, including your menus, your pages, your sections, etc. There are different ways to make informed decisions about the structure of your site including:

– Perform A / B tests with Google Optimize

– Analyze where people look and click using Hotjar

– Ask people to perform specific tasks on your website and observe their behavior.

– Sort cards to determine how to classify your sections (Optimal Sort is a good tool for this)

– Analyze your data in Google Analytics.

3. Make sure you offer enough support to your users

In store, it’s very simple, if customers need support, they will go see an employee for help, but what about the support that your business offers online? This is an essential element to consider when you create or optimize your website, because it will save you a lot of exits and increase your results. How can you support your users from your website? Here are some solutions:

– Offer a Live Chat (can normally be easily installed using a plug in and be connected to your Messenger)

– Display your phone number and email (in a visible place)

– FAQ (if you have frequently asked questions)

– How it works (including 3 simple steps, it’s often a winner, especially when your products / services are complex!)

– Possibility of making an appointment

4. Optimize the speed of your website

There are many tools to calculate the speed of your site and get recommendations to improve it, but the one I use most often is PageSpeed Insights (Google). Just enter your URL to get a score on the speed of your website for each type of device and solutions to improve your score (ranked in order of importance). Among the recommendations that come up very often are:

– Reduce the size of your images

– Remove code that is useless

– Reduce your number of apps. (It’s tempting to download lots of apps for everything, but the best thing is to be strategic. Establish 3 strategic pillars and allow only 2-3 applications per pillar.)

– Note that your host can play a role in the speed of your site.

– Reduce your number of redirects

5. Insert calls to action

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your website makes sense for everyone and that people know what to do. This is very rarely the case. To guide people and help you reach your goals, place calls to action on each of your pages. Here are some examples of calls to action:

– Contact us

– Download the PDF

– Buy now

– Learn more

– Get a free quote

Add calls to action (without abusing of course) to see the impact it can have on your results.

6. Show a consistent branding

As I work with more and more clients, I realize how often branding plays a more important role than we think. I strongly believe that it’s worth sitting down for a few hours and thinking about how you want your brand to be perceived. Among the most important points to consider are:

– Your colors and textures

– Your typography

– Your tone

– Your brand personality

– Your message

Make sure that these elements are well displayed on your site and on all your channels (documents, social networks, promotional items, etc.)

7. Facilitate navigation

I don’t know if you noticed, but on my site almost all of the pages have sections that lead to other sections. For example, if you go to my Facebook Advertising page, I offer the possibility to those who wish to discover my Google Ads services to do it directly from this same page. By facilitating navigation on my site, it allows me to reduce the bounce rate and improve session time. Think of strategic links that would be worth setting up on your website and see your statistics improving. As in everything, you shouldn’t abuse of it! Here are some examples :

– Products frequently purchased together

– Products that might interest you

– Connect your blog posts together or to your products / services

– Link your portfolio to your services

Of course, these are not the only ways to optimize your website, but I think that if you start with that, it should be enough to see your organic and advertising results improve. Then, I recommend you to re-audit your site at least every few months to determine how you can further optimize it. It’s a long-term job. Don’t hesitate to share your tips to optimize your website in comment. If it’s done and you are now ready to achieve impressive results with your online advertising with the help of a web marketing expert, contact me today and I will be happy to chat with you about how I can help you !