Top 10 reasons why your website may not be working for you

Many website owners, particularly those who own industrial websites, will complain that their website doesn't produce many leads or sales. They lament that their expectations have not been met with the Internet. However, when pressed about how they are integrating their website with their sales department, customer service or production departments, they are forced to admit that their site is nothing more than brochure ware. The following is a list of some of the top reasons that websites do not produce.

1. Your site can't be found. Oh, the person who enters your company name may find your site just fine. But try doing a broader search on just your products or services. After all, those who know your company name already know your products or services. If you're looking for new prospects, you need to be found under keyword phrases for your products or services. We highly recommend that you have a Search Engine Optimization specialist evaluate your site to insure that first, it can be properly indexed by the search engines and second, that it has been submitted to the search engines. Some designs are invisible to search engines - a specialist can point out these pitfalls.
   
   
2. Not apparent what it is you're offering. Many times the site owner is so immersed in his or her own market that they forget that many visitors outside of their market will see their website. Try having family or friends who are not familiar with your marketplace take a look at the first page of your site. If they can't tell you immediately what it is your company does - rethink your first page. Your first page should say in about 250 words exactly what it is your company does - don't make someone click on the "about us" button to try to decipher it.
   
   
3. No perceived value. For your site to be successful, it must have a perceived value to the site visitor. If the only value your site has is that it sells your product or service, this may not be enough for the site visitor to revisit your site or to send others to your site. Often site visitors do not make a purchase or inquiry the first time they visit a site - for many reasons. Perhaps they are not ready for the product yet and are just investigating their options. Anyway, if they don't bookmark your site, you may not get a second chance. To add value to your site means that you should have something that is useful at your site. Online technical information, opt-in newsletter, calculators that are specific to your industry, are just a few ideas. Give the visitor a reason to bookmark the site and refer others to it.
   
   
4. Poorly written copy. Your site's visitors are always just one click away from leaving your site. Your website copy has to do three things: 1) it has to state what it is that you do, 2) it has to have enough keywords to be properly indexed by the search engines and 3) it has to be compelling enough to hold the site visitor's attention. The last one is the hardest. We highly recommend that you get a professional Internet copy writer for your website - that alone can make a big difference. (An Internet copy writer will write copy differently than an ad copy writer.)
   
   
5. Too little information. This is a common mistake among manufacturers in particular. They are so afraid that competition will see product specifications that they barely get into what their products can actually do. While you may not want to offer complete specifications at your site, you still have to show features and talk benefits (sales 101). Your copy has to give enough information to make it worthwhile for the site visitor to pursue the matter further.
   
   
6. Too much information. This is the flip side of #5. It's not so much that's there's too much information, it's just that the information is poorly organized and overwhelms the site visitor. If you want to put all of your product information at your site (and why not, this is desirable if you want someone to place an order or specify your product), you need to feed it to the visitor in small spoonfuls. For instance, you might have a product overview page with brief descriptions of each product. Once a product is clicked on an expanded description will appear listing the products features and an opportunity to retrieve the full product specifications. Many site owners try to feed too much to the visitor too soon and the visitor just clicks off the site.
   
   
7. Poor navigation. A site visitor should come to your site and immediately know if this is the product or service he is seeking. He then should be able to move around the site going exactly to his areas of interest. Once a visitor begins to feel lost in your site - he's gone. At the very least, you should have navigation to your second tier of items (hopefully your products or services) available on all pages.
   
   
8. Slow load times. Even with many businesses now on T1 or DSL lines, a slow loading page is frustrating. Business visitors are usually pressed for time. They want to do whatever it is they were attempting to do (get information, make a purchase, etc.) and get on with the rest of their work. Forget about forced animation introductions like Flash presentations. Instead use a Flash presentation inside your site to demonstrate how your product works - not on the first page.
   
   
9. Hidden contact information. I know this sounds ridiculous, but have you ever been to a site where you can't figure out where the company is located or how to reach them other than by email? Unfortunately it happens all too often. People have different levels of comfort in contacting a company. Some like the phone, some like the fax, some like to know if you're in the U.S. or overseas. Don't forget this important information - it should be on every page of your site, if possible.
   
   
10. Have you told the visitor what you want him to do? Ad copy writers know all too well that people need to be told exactly what to do - "call today," "mail back this card," etc. is standard ad copy and it should also be standard web site copy. Just a "contact us" button isn't enough. Give your site visitors explicit direction throughout your site.

    Integrating your site with your normal business practices is the best way to get results. Don't think of your web site as an advertising medium, but as a communication medium - a way to keep in touch with your existing customers as well as engaging new ones. Web-Kare can help you design, promote and maintain your site and provide direction for you on how best to integrate it into your daily business activities. Contact us for more information.