Happy New Year and if you are already making a list for things to get right for you personally this year then here are our top tips for your website.
- Security – Get your website fully secured preferably with an SSL cert. In simple terms it means getting the little “lock” icon at the top of the screen when your website loads. Google has already changed its algorithm to rank secure sites higher than non secure ones – whether you are selling online or not.
- Take Payments – If you are in business then you are selling and you should be selling online – no matter what. Customer are increasingly preferring selling places where they can search and pay for goods and services online. Customers now want to select, book and pay online at a time that suits them rather than lift the phone, email or call to bricks & mortar stores – so aim to sell to customers who you man never meet in person.
- Go Mobile – On average 75% of all internet traffic is now happening on mobile devices. So make sure your website is mobile responsive – don’t assume it is. Google is separately indexing mobile sites for the first time last year and offering the mobile version to visitors. This means that if your mobile site is poor you will see a drop off in traffic for the first time even if it has been healthy previously.
- Get Assisted – Artificial Intelligence is starting to make an impact online for the first time and companies are already investing in virtual assistants for visitors who comes to their sites. The advantage is that you dont need a real person to bring the customer further down the sales funnel – if you can intelligently give them what they want as soon as they arrive on your website. Adding a chatbot to your website can offer live or automated Q&A to customers who haven’t time to fill in forms or lift the phone.
- Start Marketing – It is increasingly difficult to get the attention of potential customers so you should define a digital marketing plan for the year. Break the year up into segments where you are deliberately intending to spend a marketing budget – even a small one – around holidays, sporting events, weather events, etc so that customers will notice your product. Spread your spending across Social Platforms, Email, Print, Radio, TV etc and see what works for you.
- Get Feedback – Ask you customers what they want. Sounds obvious but it’s a trap all sellers fall into to assume they know what their customers want. So use online surveys or email forms to ask your customers what goods or services they want from you this year. You might be surprised at how easy it is for your company to supply something that you never thought people would pay you for.
