In a heavily congested online environment, businesses need to find ways to outperform their competition. They can no longer get away with throwing up a static website and expect visitors to come. Offering a good web experience is of high importance these days, and a major part of this is a taking careful consideration of a website’s design. Sites have to be attractive, engaging, user-friendly and consistently updated.
Examine competitor websites
Do a competitive analysis and see what your rivals are doing so you know what you are up against. Research to see if any aspects of their sites tend to draw more traffic and learn how they’ve accomplished it. That being said, don’t be tempted to imitate your competitors, no matter how successful their business. Keep in mind, what competitors are doing may not necessarily work for you. What you want to aim for is differentiation and giving your customers a good web experience.
Focus on aesthetics and being user-friendly
Visitors generally know within seconds whether they going to stay on a website or bounce to another one. The more user-friendly a site, the higher the chances visitors will linger around to see what you have to offer. Attributes you’ll want to include are easy navigation, visual appeal (i.e. attractive colours and font with easy readability) and good search capability. Be careful not to add unnecessary elements – use only what you need because anything else is a distraction to visitors.
Use a professional web development company
Does the idea of coding, aesthetics, layouts and all the other technical details make your head spin? Or, perhaps you simply are lacking the staff and resources to dedicate to this important task. If so, considering hiring a professional web development company to take care of the details. By hiring experts such as https://designbypelling.co.uk/, you can be sure your design and functionality are user-friendly. Experts are current on the latest trends and will work with you to ensure you get the best design to fit your brand and offer an appealing browsing experience for customers.
Be creative in your content marketing strategy
Content can be a powerful tool to use to compete with other businesses. Even if you have a low budget, achieving a strong content strategy is totally in reach. Why focus on content marketing?
- Builds trust and increases interaction with consumers
- Boosts visibility either in search results or social media
- Grows authority in your field
- Increases conversion rates, attracting loyal customers
Leverage your content to stand out above the rest by using a variety of mediums your target base would enjoy. Examples include news, research/statistics, video, imagery and helpful tips that relate to your product or service. Interesting content also helps your website’s overall aesthetic.
Practise good SEO
Your content marketing will play into achieving better SEO. The days of keyword stuffing or finding other tricks to boost your rankings in Google and other search engines are over. Instead, focus on good organic SEO practises. You can research and do this yourself or hire someone who is skilled and up-to-date on best SEO practises that won’t penalise your website.
Be clear in products, services and pricing
The language you choose to implement on your website matters. On the home page, be upfront and clear in what you are offering. Don’t forget to include a pricing page or section. People typically don’t want to guess, have to make phone calls or jump through any hoops to find out how much something is going to cost. Not being upfront increases the chances of visitors bouncing off to a competitor’s site.
Once you’ve identified ways to improve or build your website, be a cut above the rest and you’ll have a better chance of outmanoeuvring today’s heavy web traffic. Whatever your competitor(s) are doing, strive to do something new to kick it to the next level.