Want to stand out among competitors online, but not sure how to achieve that goal? Start by optimizing your website. Several small site tweaks can lead to big results. Here are five optimization hacks that you can begin implementing today.
Go Mobile
These days, few online consumers search online only using desktop computers. The world has gone mobile and so must your website. Web sites that aren’t optimized for mobile devices are now being penalized by Google. This means, if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, it likely isn’t ranking as high as it could be ranking in Google and other search engines.
If you aren’t sure how your website appears on mobile devices, start by visiting the site from your smartphone, tablet, and any other available devices. Make note of the load times, how the site appears on the screen, whether the search functions work and more. These simple steps can serve as an important starting point for making the necessary changes to optimize your site for mobile. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, start with the basics to at least get the mobile platform up and running and continue tweaking as needed.
Focus on Local
According to Thought Leader Series: How to Make Your Home’s Inspection Business Site Better Than Your Competitor’s, you should feature local content on your website to cater to the overwhelming number of online searches that are completed for local information. The first action that many consumers now take when looking for or researching local businesses is completing an online search.
If your website doesn’t include local keywords and other pertinent local information, you may be missing out on connecting with the bulk of local consumers. A few basics that can help you connect with local online customers include ensuring your contact information and business hours are accurately and prominently listed on your site and adding local keywords throughout your site.
Include Reviews
The best weapons in your marketing arsenal are the words of your satisfied clients or customers. Optimize your website to transform prospects into customers by sprinkling your best reviews throughout your site’s pages. Ideal website pages to include customer quotes are product pages, contact forms, landing pages and e-commerce checkout pages.
Also, if your site doesn’t yet include a place for customers to submit reviews, now is the time to include one. Adding a review submission form is an easy change to complete on most websites and can be a great feature for helping you build a back stock of customer quotes to use in your marketing materials.
Create At Least One Landing Page
Don’t let your visitors disappear into thin air after reading an article or two. Use a landing page to capture lead information so you can follow-up and start building a relationship that will eventually result in a sale. Here are 25 Landing Page Optimization Tips to ensure you get the greatest return from the most important page on your site.
Track the Data
Of course, you’ll want to make sure that any optimization hacks you complete on your website are working. Do this by tracking the data behind the changes. For example, after adding customer reviews to your product pages, track whether those changes lead to visitors viewing the pages longer, increased purchases and more.
Want to take your website to the next level? From ensuring the site functions well on mobile platforms to including consumer reviews on your web pages, many simple optimization hacks can lead to big results. Get started today and reap the benefits of an optimized site sooner.
