Common Website Mistakes
Making sure your website is functional and is doing its job is vital to any business.
The good news is there are a whole bunch of organic SEO techniques that you don't have to be technically minded to achieve; some of these are covered below but if you need any help, or have any questions please do give us a call on 01654 702653 and we'll be happy to help.
The good news is there are a whole bunch of organic SEO techniques that you don't have to be technically minded to achieve; some of these are covered below but if you need any help, or have any questions please do give us a call on 01654 702653 and we'll be happy to help.
Mistake Number 1
1) Hidden Contact Information- It has been well documented that website users are naturally drawn to the top right of a web page to find contact information.
Don't put your contact page in the middle of your menu! - Make your website easy to navigate. If a visitor expects the information to be found on the top right then lets just put it there.
Don't put your contact page in the middle of your menu! - Make your website easy to navigate. If a visitor expects the information to be found on the top right then lets just put it there.
Mistake Number 2
2) Not responsive - Over 50% of internet traffic is driven through mobiles/tablets (that's 50% of your potential visitors) . In 2015 Google introduced a significant change in the way they rank websites - If you're not mobile friendly this WILL negatively affect your Google ranking and with over 90% of UK search traffic, and 85% worldwide being driven by Google - When Google speaks... we should listen!
Google now gives you a pass or fail. There's no inbetween! To check whether your website passes, use Google's free Mobile Checker
Mistake Number 3
3) Old information/images - You wouldn't believe the amount of times we speak to businesses that tell us that the images they're displaying on their websites or our websites are old and 'the rooms no longer look like that anymore'.
Make sure your website and your additional marketing channels are showcasing the best you have to offer - you work hard to keep your business standards up - don't allow your marketing to let you down!
3) Old information/images - You wouldn't believe the amount of times we speak to businesses that tell us that the images they're displaying on their websites or our websites are old and 'the rooms no longer look like that anymore'.
Make sure your website and your additional marketing channels are showcasing the best you have to offer - you work hard to keep your business standards up - don't allow your marketing to let you down!
Mistake Number 4
Gallery Page- Talking of images - make sure your website has a gallery page. MWT build a lot of tourism websites and when we monitor traffic flow...90% of visitors go from your 'Home Page' > 'Gallery Page' > 'Booking Page'
Don't hide your images in other pages. Make it as easy as possible for the visitor to get to the information they're looking for.
Gallery Page- Talking of images - make sure your website has a gallery page. MWT build a lot of tourism websites and when we monitor traffic flow...90% of visitors go from your 'Home Page' > 'Gallery Page' > 'Booking Page'
Don't hide your images in other pages. Make it as easy as possible for the visitor to get to the information they're looking for.
Mistake Number 5
No bookability, just have an enquiry form - We often hear businesses say ' We don't want to do online booking because we like to talk to our visitors'. Unfortunately not all visitors like to talk to us (it's sad we know!). We live in a world where the average retirement age is 66, we have 1 click shopping, and superfast broadband; the reality is that most people have busy lives and haven't got time to call around to find out whether a business has availability, and very few can be bothered to fill in a form! If your bookings are down then we strongly advise having online booking.
Make it easy for the visitor. After all, we work in a service industry so make sure you're servicing their requirements. If they want to book their holiday at 2am, who are we to stop them?!
Make it easy for the visitor. After all, we work in a service industry so make sure you're servicing their requirements. If they want to book their holiday at 2am, who are we to stop them?!
Mistake Number 6
Links Page - If you still have one of these, it's got to go! This was a technique used by web developers in the middle part of the 2000's- the idea was that the more links you had back to your own website the better it would be for your Google ranking - Google caught onto this and quickly changed the algorithm - Now in order to gain any advantage from backlinks you have to have links from really high quality websites (e.g Visit Mid Wales, Visit Wales etc)
Somewhere this concept got lost in translation. We see a lot of websites that just end up with links to other businesses and no reciprocal links. This drives business off your website and onto someone else's.
Mistake Number 7
No access to update your own website - In this day and age it's important to keep things fresh.
Google (who as we've discussed, we can't afford to ignore!) have already told us that they're looking for quality content. Every time you update your website a little timestamp is sent to Google. This tells them that your information is regularly kept up to date and that you offer quality content.
Your website is just that, YOUR website. All businesses need take ownership of this so please don't just leave it up to your web developer.
Check your site regularly and if you have access, make sure you tweak it to keep the content fresh and current. Google penalises websites that don't update regularly.
Google (who as we've discussed, we can't afford to ignore!) have already told us that they're looking for quality content. Every time you update your website a little timestamp is sent to Google. This tells them that your information is regularly kept up to date and that you offer quality content.
Your website is just that, YOUR website. All businesses need take ownership of this so please don't just leave it up to your web developer.
Check your site regularly and if you have access, make sure you tweak it to keep the content fresh and current. Google penalises websites that don't update regularly.
Mistake Number 8
Statistics -In one of our roles running the Visit Wales Guestlink Helpdesk , we sometimes we hear from proprietors that tell us "we're not getting any business from the Visit Wales website". Visitwales.com (as with many other websites) don't offer online bookability, but do put links to a providers own website/email/telephone number. This means that visitors are driven to enquire direct with a provider. Without monitoring your stats how do you know whether this advertising is working for you?
This is just one example of why website stats are so important. The other, obvious reason is to monitor how well your website is performing overall. They can enable you to understand how visitors are interacting with your website, find out what other advertising is working for you (referrals) and help you to keep on top of your marketing. Just be aware that Google won't show you all of the referral statistics, but will give you an idea. On sites like visitmidwales.co.uk & visitwales.com where your phone number is published, do make sure you're asking your visitors where they found you.
Google Analytics is FREE and it takes a web developer a short amount of time to integrate into a website. Most web designers integrate this as standard so ask your web designer for your stats and get a better understanding of where your traffic is coming from, and how visitors are interacting with your website. Most web developers are happy to talk to you about improvements which can be made to your website - but often you need to make the first move!
This is just one example of why website stats are so important. The other, obvious reason is to monitor how well your website is performing overall. They can enable you to understand how visitors are interacting with your website, find out what other advertising is working for you (referrals) and help you to keep on top of your marketing. Just be aware that Google won't show you all of the referral statistics, but will give you an idea. On sites like visitmidwales.co.uk & visitwales.com where your phone number is published, do make sure you're asking your visitors where they found you.
Google Analytics is FREE and it takes a web developer a short amount of time to integrate into a website. Most web designers integrate this as standard so ask your web designer for your stats and get a better understanding of where your traffic is coming from, and how visitors are interacting with your website. Most web developers are happy to talk to you about improvements which can be made to your website - but often you need to make the first move!
Mistake Number 9
"I've got a website and that's all I need to do..."
Wrong! Your website is just one part of your marketing. This is your online home - a place where visitors can find out more information about you, get directions and book online - but to get people to your home you have to invite them!
Some of this responsibility (technically) is that of your web developer - but your web developer can't do all the work!
To really make your website successful there is a lot that you, the business owner, can do;
As a member of MWT Cymru you can access a range of business services. If you would like additional information please do not hesitate to contact us on 01654 702653
Wrong! Your website is just one part of your marketing. This is your online home - a place where visitors can find out more information about you, get directions and book online - but to get people to your home you have to invite them!
Some of this responsibility (technically) is that of your web developer - but your web developer can't do all the work!
To really make your website successful there is a lot that you, the business owner, can do;
- Additional marketing - where are you advertising your website address? marketing is a lot about repetition and getting in front of the right visitor at the right time. Make sure your property is where your visitors are looking!.
- Updating content - We've covered this further on the list but it's vital to ensure your information is up to date and correct!
- Increasing repeat business - Sending newsletters to past visitors, linking them back to your website to encourage them to come back.
- Improving your text - You know your business better than anyone. Make sure your text is accurate and that it's sufficient. Don't write reams of text but do make sure there is more than just a few words on each page.
As a member of MWT Cymru you can access a range of business services. If you would like additional information please do not hesitate to contact us on 01654 702653