As a business owner, you know that you have to have a website if you want customers to find you. However, as technology evolves and the way people use the internet changes, you have to stay up to date. Otherwise, you will fall behind and become irrelevant.
There was a point in time when your website was relevant and didn’t need to evolve for several years. Now, you are lucky if your website and information stay important for a year. If you’re looking for ways to keep people coming to your business website, then there are some things you’ll need to consider.
Website Design
One of the first things that will attract a customer to your website is how it’s designed. You want to make sure you are offering something that is unique and attractive. You have approximately 15 seconds to grab the customer’s attention, so make sure you are accomplishing that goal.
Some ways you can keep people on your page is to include photos and information that is easy to navigate. If they have to spend time looking for an About page or for products or anything else, they won’t stay on your site. They will go to one of your competitors—especially if that site is easier to navigate and easy to read.
In addition to looking good, your site needs to load quickly. You have even less time for this. If the amount of information and photos bogs your site down, customers won’t stick around to wait. They will move on and find someone else who can give them what they are looking for quickly and effectively.
Optimized for All Devices
The vast majority of people are looking up information while they are on the go. That means that they are using their phones or other mobile devices to look at your site. Thus, you need to make sure that your information displays correctly on all types of devices. There are still people who use laptops and desktops, so your site will have to look good on these as well.
Up to Date Content
You have more than likely heard that content is king, and that is incredibly true in this day and age. If you aren’t regularly updating your blog or social media sites, then you aren’t giving customers a reason to visit your website. Ultimately, this is what will let people know what your business is about and what you have to offer.
How you present that information to those who visit your site is just as important as adding more content. With customer attention spans getting shorter, you have to grab their attention as quickly as possible and hold onto it. That means offering something of value, including videos, infographics, and informational articles.
Not only do you want to stay up to date with the most relevant information, but you also need information on your site that is evergreen. Bear Newman of the Bear Fox SEO company explains that evergreen content is blog content that stays relevant for years, helping improve your search engine results. Having evergreen content is also a good way to create backlinks for your site.
Your Site and Information Should be Shareable
The internet is a big place, and it can be hard taking on the task of sharing information all on your own. That’s why you need your customers to help. If you offer blog posts or other information that people find interesting, they will share that with their friends, family, and followers. This can ensure that your information is getting in front of a lot more eyes.
However, for this to happen, you have to make it easy for people to share your stuff. Adding buttons for various social sites or to share through email can be a great way to accomplish that goal. The less work the customer has to do, the more inclined they will be to share the information with others.
Ways to Communicate with Your Customers
The internet has made it incredibly easy for people to share their opinions with others. This can be a great way to stay connected to your customer base and encourage new ones to give your company a try. Make it easy for customers to send feedback or report a problem by having contact forms or messaging capability on your website.
Not only do you need these communication devices on your site, but you also need to respond to them. Customers need to feel heard and special. That can be accomplished by responding to their messages and helping them correct the problem or thanking them for taking the time out of their day to contact you. This small gesture can have a huge impact and allow you to keep a customer for life. It may even encourage them to recommend you to others.
Good Values and Morals
Having various elements on your site and updating them to the latest trends will ensure that your website stays relevant and keeps people coming back. In addition, as a business, you also want to have good values and morals. More often than not, customers become loyal to a company because of what they stand for and what they do for the rest of the world.
By sharing your passions and letting customers know that there is more to you than just making a profit, this can attract and retain customers. Use your web presence to do more than just sell your products. Create a platform to show off your company’s values and morals.
Stay Up to Date
If you can’t remember the last time you changed or updated your webpage, it’s probably time to take a look at what you are offering by looking at your analytics. There are always small changes you can make to ensure that you are attracting customers to your site and keeping them engaged. The easiest is to offer them fresh and interesting content, but you may also need to change how your website looks. The internet changes rapidly, so stay up to date and relevant by finding ways to change with it.