With the sheer volume of articles and books dedicated to the art of creating a solid business website, site owners can easily become overwhelmed with all of the rules they need to follow.
Unfortunately, this overwhelming feeling can be transferred to customers when business owners don’t fully think through their branding and marketing efforts. To stop causing serious customer confusion that impacts your bottom line, follow these simple tips:
–Pick a Message
Customers and businesses alike are looking for turnkey businesses that address all of their needs in a single service. Many businessmen and women have taken this to mean they need to present their entire resume all the time. However, this tactic is confusing to customers and actively prevents sales.
When a client is looking for a freelance healthcare writer, sending them to a page that talks about technical writing, website design and crocheted beanie hats doesn’t make them feel as though they’ve come to the right place. Instead, they stare at the screen wondering how Google got it so wrong and hit the back icon.
While a business may ultimately be interested in a piece of copy and website design, they want the service they searched for. Site owners that attempt to be everything to everyone attract no one.
Instead, business owners need to present one site for one skill with one message. Creating a website with a clear goal and service assures customers they’ve found the right site to satisfy their needs.
–Clean Up Your Content
Filling the blank spaces of a website can seem like a tall order, but it’s even harder for customers to try to read content that doesn’t provide any actual information. Go through your website to ensure that each piece of content has a purpose, whether it’s informing the customer of your services or providing incentive to contact you further.
Too many sites clog up their message with famous quotes, spammy ads and outdated content that focuses on keywords rather than relaying a message.
Internet users are getting savvier about what constitutes good, reliable, trustworthy content, so creating junk content to fill space is only going to drive customers away, even if your search engine ranking increases.
–Present a Unified Theme
Branding is essential to success for a business. A simple swish or a pair of golden arches elicits a reaction of familiarity from consumers around the world because they immediately recognize the brand.
Need three different websites for your writing, website design and crocheted hat businesses? That’s fine, but you should still connect them with a cohesive brand so consumers can easily connect each facet of your business together.
This does not mean business owners need to adhere to a rigid header and layout. Color themes that can spread throughout a range of business sites or a consistent brand logo are often enough to alert customers that they are looking at connected business ventures.
–Keep Them On Task
The Internet is fraught with distraction. From online games to social media, it’s not hard to turn a simple Google search into four lost hours of looking at funny cat videos. Getting a customer on your site is the easy part; keeping them there, however, is key.
Creating a clean site with focused content is a great start, but don’t lose your audience with excessive outbound links. Provide all the necessary content on your site when possible.
While a link to your product in Amazon is great, an online shopping cart is better – not just for your wallet, but also to keep customers focused on your brand instead of the competition.
Customer confusion is a serious problem in the business world, and presenting your potential customers with a clear, concise message can get you heads and shoulders above your competitors.
Take a look at your business site to determine if you’re causing customer confusion, and if you are, take the necessary steps to clear it up.
Author: Ken Myers is a father, husband, and entrepreneur. He has combined his passion for helping families find in-home care with his experience to build a business. Learn more about him by visiting @KenneyMyers on Twitter.
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