In this week's deep dive, we're exploring a topic that's not just interesting, but also incredibly valuable: website optimization strategies. The aim? To enhance our websites, streamline the customer journey, boost conversions, and ensure that the investment in your website pays off handsomely. We'll be dissecting a couple of articles from highly reputable websites, the ones that appear at the top when you search for website optimization strategies.
However, I'll be adding my own twist to their points. With a decade and a half of web development experience under my belt, I'll assess which strategies stand the test of time and which ones might not be as effective or relevant.
The first topic is the importance of identifying your market with your website. It's a point I believe we can all rally behind. Before you can optimize your site, you need to identify your target audience, which starts with defining your ideal customer.
This is a concept I often underscore, particularly when discussing digital marketing strategies for platforms like Facebook. It's paramount to know who your perfect customer is. I've noticed that when people embark on audience targeting, they often cast their net too wide. They aim to capture all potential customers, from men and women to people as young as 20. While this approach can work for some campaigns, it's more effective to zero-in on your ideal or 'perfect' customer.
Your “perfect customer” is someone who resonates with your brand at a high level; loves it; buys into it; and keeps coming back. By targeting your perfect customer, you'll also attract similar people. You can always broaden your targeting later, but starting with your perfect customer is an effective way to design your site and plan your marketing campaigns.
The articles also underscore the importance of considering what products or services your customers are looking for, how much they're willing to spend, and their priorities when it comes to contacts, contracts, and communications. Your website should provide a solution to your customers. If you're a lawyer, for example, your website should provide information that convinces visitors they've found the legal service they need.
The second point the articles make is about considering user intent throughout the buyer journey. Once you're clear on who you want visiting your website, it's time to chart their journey. If your content doesn't match the needs of your audience, you won't attract the traffic you're aiming for. However, if you understand what your customers need as they progress from awareness to decision-making or purchasing. You can create a more powerful on-site experience.
One strategy I didn't entirely agree with is improving your user experience with A/B testing. This involves creating two versions of a page and testing which one converts more people. While this can be useful for websites with high traffic, it may not be practical for most small to medium businesses due to the lack of traffic over a short period.
Another crucial point is creating a seamless mobile experience. Mobile-first design is how we approach all our web design projects. More than half of web traffic worldwide happens on a phone, so it's crucial to ensure your site looks good on mobile. If your site isn't mobile-friendly, you could be wasting a significant portion of your website investment.
The articles also emphasize the importance of optimizing your on-page content, managing your site's speed, and measuring and monitoring your progress. It's essential to track your web traffic and backend analytics on your site or register your site with Google Search Console or Google Analytics.
Lastly, the articles discuss the importance of schema and markups, which are used to create “rich” cards on Google: These are enhanced descriptions that appear in search results. They also highlight the importance of linking and backlinking. Having links to your website from other resources tells Google that you're relevant and popular, which can improve your search ranking.
In conclusion, while these podcast episodes can provide you with a good starting point, it's beneficial to work with an experienced professional to take your website optimization to the next level. Whether you're studying and implementing these strategies yourself or hiring someone else, it's crucial to monitor and measure your progress to ensure you're not wasting time and that you're making the most of your investment.
