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5 Mistakes you might be making on your website

Posted on 10th July 2022 at 15:47

The importance of your website cannot be understated. In digital terms, having a messy website is like having an unclean high street store. People might visit at first, but when they get lost or uninspired, they will leave. Over time, fewer and fewer people come through the door.

For a website you need good speed, good content, and good visuals. Without these, not even Google will pop in for a visit. If you are struggling for traffic, then it might be because you’re guilty of making any number of errors.

Here are 5 mistakes you might be making on your website.

#1: Improper use of headings hurts your Google rankings

Everyone is in the same boat, aren’t they? You want to make sure that you are lightyears ahead of your competition, raking in all their sales, and leaving them in the snow. But sometimes, it pays to be a little bit cooperative.

For instance.

If you are a local cheese shop, imagine the hamper you could put together by working with a local butcher? If you are a clothes shop, what accessories could you recommend from a local jeweller that will make your customer gleam like a shiny tinsel explosion at the Christmas party?

Thinking of the bigger picture can often sway a customer into making the purchase there and then because it saves time and worry.

#2 Google will miss your images if you don't put alt tags behind them

No website would be complete without some form of imagery. It would be a mistake to just present your audience with reams and reams of text without a visual break. Fortunately, most businesses do include imagery. What they sometimes forget to do is to add an alt tag behind it.

In essence, an alt tag describes what is going on in the picture. It is also another place for you to put some keywords that are relevant to your page. Google won’t like you simply stuffing the image full of keywords, but if it is relevant, make sure that your tags help with SEO.

#3 Not enough content or information for Google or your visitors

How much content you should have has always been contestable. There is the school of thought that too much content can be daunting for people who don’t want to spend their time reading a Dostoevsky epic. The other school of thought is that more content is better for SEO and therefore your rankings.

Thing is, they’re both correct.

If you want a page to rank with search engines you really need to be aiming for more than 300 words per web page, preferably over 500 if possible. It will also help you to write from the customer perspective. It might be second nature for you to speak in industrial jargon, however, the reader needs to leave your page with a firm idea of how your services can help them. Adding jargon and large words might sound authoritative, but Google will deem it more difficult to read and that will harm your rankings.

There are still too many sites writing seemingly ambiguous copy that doesn’t directly explain what their business does. This is a mistake. These websites endure a high bounce rate as the visitors leave to check competitors’ websites.

#4 It’s a mistake to not give your visitors a clear way to contact you

The problem with a lot of online businesses is that visitors don’t have an immediate way to contact you. Providing an email is a good idea, but people do get sick of slow response times. They want an immediate way to contact you whilst the question is still burning.

Having Live Chat on your website is always a good idea. However, displaying your phone number at the top of your page, in the footer, or on a clear definable contact page might prompt a call. Make sure you are easy to contact, or they might bounce to a competitor website.

#5 Poor use of whitespace on your website

Have you ever been on website that looks bunched up and messy? It happens a lot. It’s like some businesses have an aversion to whitespace.

Of course, by whitespace simply means the empty space around the words and images. It doesn’t actually have to be white.

The issue with this is simple. If the website is cramped, it looks daunting. If the customer is overwhelmed by your page before they have even read a word, you are likely to see them bounce away.

Make sure you use your whitespace appropriately. It will make your website visually appealing and breaking up reams of text makes a visit to your website look less imposing.

Or email us on info@tj-marketing.co.uk