Is Your Web Design Blowing Your Visitors Away?
Recently I visited my cell phone company. I wanted to review my cell plan and change a few options. When I entered into the store I was greeted by an employee who really wasn’t interested in my needs or anything else that might be going on in the store. I quickly decided that this visit wasn’t going to satisfy my needs and neither was this company. I paid the penalty to get out of my contract, and left. I ended up in a competitive cell phone store, was greeted very well, and my needs were not only met, but happily exceeded, for less money!
I know you have your own stories of bad service so the point of this article isn’t to take up your time with mine.
I came to realize that many websites do for their visitors exactly what that surley employee did in the cell phone store. Does your web design welcome visitors or quickly get them to want to leave?
You might want to think this over…
Let’s say that you’ve made the investment to have your website properly optimized for important search terms, let’s use the example, “dog beds”.
Because of that Google is now sending you visitors from it’s search engine.
So take a moment and put yourself into the shoes of your customer…
You want a new dog bed for your new puppy so you do a search in Google. You find a local pet store listing that has dog beds.
You click on the Google listing and enter the pet store website.
What do you find?
Do you as a potential customer immediately feel welcome? See what you want? Feel comfortable about doing business with this company?
How are your website visitors treated?
Does each page on your website talk about YOU and how great YOUR company is?
Or does it pay more attention to the customer and their needs?
Is your website displaying a static billboard style webpage or does it reach out by displaying your personality?
Do you and your staff welcome your visitors in video and pictures?
Take an objective view of your website and ask yourself these questions.
Many small business people hide behind their website talking about how great the company is, and why the products are the best in the world.
Listen carefully! They don’t care! They only care about their needs, not how wonderful you are regardless if you’re the best that’s ever been.
They only want to find what they need and the right company to get it from.
The fact is that most people are using the internet to search for things they want and need. But they still want to purchase from people they trust and feel comfortable with. If you can provide what they’re looking for, and give them a feeling of comfort, you’re much closer to getting a new customer than your competitor is.
Quick Tips:
If you want to be found in Google you must SEO your website for local searches.
Optimize your site using keywords and phrases that are highly relevant to your content.
Talk more about them…less about yourself.
Build comfort and trust with your visitor by not hiding. Use images and video of you and your staff to help your potential customers become comfortable with you and your company.
Provide a real person for your customer to contact rather than info@yourcompany.com
Here’s a couple of examples;
1. “For customer support please contact info@dogbeds.com”.
2. “If you’d like to ask me any questions about our dog beds or your special needs, please feel welcome to contact me anytime at fred@dogbeds.com”
If you were a customer, which of the above would you prefer?
If you do some of this stuff you’ll be surprised at how the response changes from your customers.
It is my hope that you’ll improve your business and convert more web visitors to customers through the use of these web design tips.
Want to find out more about web design, then visit Murray McFadgen’s site on how to choose the best website designer for your needs.
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