Your website can often be the first impression a client has of your business. In our increasingly globalized and interconnected world, having a website allows your company to reach a larger audience. Furthermore, in order to captivate and engage the audience, it is important for your website to be functional and operate smoothly for a positive customer experience and impression of your business.
According to recent statistics from late 2019, 97% of search engine users will search online to find local businesses. Additionally, 91% of consumers who are 18-34 years old will trust businesses with positive reviews and 97% of customers will check a company’s online presence prior to visiting them. This implies the importance of having a good web design and online presence.
To begin your website update journey, you should know what your business objectives are, what your brand’s voice and tone are, and then optimize your site to reflect them. The following are suggestions to easily optimize your website, so you can attract more traffic and clients:
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly
It is estimated that 1 in 3 people will perform a search from a smartphone device prior to visiting a storefront or showroom. Nearly 70% of all internet searches are performed on a smartphone. Since many people conduct Google searches from their mobile devices and tablets, it is important that your website is intuitive to use on a phone, without having to excessively zoom in or out to find the information one is looking for.
It is reported that 61% of people searching on a mobile device are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site. Additionally, 53% of mobile website visits are abandoned if it takes more than three seconds to load the mobile site. In 2015, Google created a mobile-friendly algorithm that will “penalize” sites that are non-responsive. For every one-second delay that it takes to load a site, conversions will fall by 12%. As a result, your website listing will appear further down in search results.
Be concise and use call-to-actions (CTAs)
You have 0-8 seconds to make an impression on a visitor. For this reason, it is important to not have big paragraphs or wordy phrases so your reader may find the important information quickly. Be concise with your message to attract a visitor. According to Neil Patel, 96% of visitors that come to your website are not ready to buy. Once that visitor is on your site, add a call-to-action (CTA) to point the visitor to the relevant part of your site where that visitor can turn into your client. For example, when you reach Spotify’s homepage you are prompted to sign up for a free trial of their Premium package, or you can sample their services for free. It makes it very tempting to want to engage with their business as the visitor is offered a free option. It is then much easier to transition the non-paying customer into a paying customer once they have the opportunity to sample your services.
Boost your sales online
Many business websites are created using common website platforms such as WordPress, Wix, or squarespace. These are easy and intuitive, but have limitations when it comes to advanced online capabilities. An updated website that can provide an online rental experience can serve as a round-the-clock sales representative. Someone who may be interested in looking at the different types of tables your company can offer for their event may only be able to search after getting home from work. That time could also tend to be outside of your business operations. Allowing that customer to do this online allows you to send a quote faster, get a signed contract in place, and receive an online payment quickly.
Rentopian’s WordPress plugin serves two main purposes: enabling synchronization of your Rentopian system data with your company’s storefront (website) and allowing your website visitors to browse your inventory and place orders and quotes.
Slow pages hurt your business
As internet speed has increased, there is an expectation that a website should load quickly. A website taking too long to load has the same negative impact as a sales representative taking a long time to follow up with a potential client after they expressed an initial interest. In both situations, the potential customer will become frustrated and take their business elsewhere. It is reported that for every 1-second delay in loading a web page, the conversion rate is reduced by 12%.
For more information on improving website speed, view Niel Patel’s video below on how to speed it up and in turn, increase your revenue.
Managing a website can be very time-consuming and it is not always cost-efficient to hire a web developer. When you choose to have an online rental store with an updated website, you significantly reduce the amount of time spent working to maintain your website while simultaneously profiting as the quote submissions and order bookings continue to flow!