According to Google, about 97% of consumers use the internet to find local businesses. Therefore, having a strong online presence will increase your chances of being discovered by your target audience. Discovery drives sales!
So how do businesses achieve a strong online presence? The first step is building a website. However, simply building a website is not enough! A website must be nurtured and maintained in order to improve your Google ranking and support ongoing business growth. Here are a few tell-tale signs that it’s time to update your website:
Your site has an outdated design
According to Adobe, 38% of people will leave a website if the content and design is unattractive. Therefore, it is important that your website is modern and aesthetically pleasing. With an outdated design, your bounce rate will likely be higher.
Your site is not functional
According to The Gomez Report, 88% of users are less likely to return to a website if they had a poor experience with navigation and functionality. Users come to your site to learn more about your services — if the content on your site is difficult to read and the pages are hard to navigate, users will leave without a second thought.
Your conversion rates are low
Your website should not only inform your audience, but also convert visitors to leads. What benefit will it serve to have a website that doesn’t bring you more customers? High-converting websites include forms that allow users to sign up for your mailing list or submit service inquiries.
Your site is not optimized
Visibility is key to achieving growth. Therefore, a website serves no purpose if it is not optimized to appear in search engine results. Here are a few factors that could be affecting your Search Engine Optimization:
- Load speed
- Mobile responsiveness
- Bounce rate
- Keywords
Your site is not responsive for mobile devices
According to Oberlo, Google processes over 3.5 billion search inquiries a day — 63% of these searches are made on mobile devices. As our reliance on mobile devices continues to grow, it is crucial that your site is mobile-friendly. If users have issues reading your content or navigating the site on their mobile devices, they will leave within seconds.
Your site is not secure
With the emergence of new cybersecurity threats, it is important that you implement additional security measures. A secure website utilizes HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) to encrypt all data, making it difficult for hackers to intercept the connection and steal confidential information. If your website is not secure, it is less likely to appear in search engine results. Furthermore, users are less likely to make a purchase on a site that is not secure.
Your bounce rate is high
Your bounce rate is the percentage of users who visit your site and leave, rather than visiting other pages. Therefore, your bounce rate is one of the most important factors in Search Engine Optimization. A high bounce rate will not convert visitors to leads or customers.
At Springwood Marketing, we specialize in designing high-converting websites that improve Google ranking and support ongoing growth. Could you use a website update? Schedule a meeting with one of our professionals!
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