Signs That Your Site Just Isn’t Getting the Job Done
It used to be that simply having a website was nearly a guarantee that you could increase your reach and your sales. But that era of the internet is long gone. A site is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. It’s expected. Every business has one, so you don’t stand apart simply by creating your own. It’s similar to how sites that were optimized for mobile use were once viewed as an extra step, but now they are also expected — and many people do the majority of their searching and browsing on mobile devices. You don’t just need a site; you need a site that really works.
But how can you tell if the site that you have isn’t working? Don’t think of this in the technical sense. The site may be functional, but that doesn’t mean that it works in the way you want it to. Some signs that it has issues that must be addressed include the following:
Your Traffic Numbers Keep Falling
When your numbers are constantly in decline, you must ask yourself why. Is the site no longer meeting users’ needs? People often make this mistake with SEO. They engage in a large content-creation project, see a boost to their traffic numbers, and then simply stop. Over time, those numbers fall again. The key is to have fresh, consistent content. Even if you’re getting traffic, if you’re slowly getting less and less, you need to adjust your SEO strategy.
The Bounce Rate Is Extremely High
No site is without a bounce rate. It’s just the rate at which people arrive on the site, having clicked on a search engine link, and then instantly leave. This can happen for simple reasons, such as someone typing in the wrong site name or search terms, but it often means that the user instantly knew they didn’t want to use your site. Why is this? Does it need a redesign? Are your keywords inaccurate so that you’re drawing in an audience that isn’t really looking for what you have to offer? Do you have broken landing pages? There are many reasons for a high bounce rate, and you always want to get that rate down as far as you can.
Visitors Do Not Go to Many of Your Pages
Ideally, a visitor is not going to come to your site and spend the entire time on one page. You want them to move around the site, investigate different pages and options, and engage with it on numerous levels. This is why linking within your own site is important, and why you want to have a wide range of pages with relevant and helpful information. If you can see that most traffic stays confined to one page, it could be that the site isn’t making things clear or hasn’t been set up with an understandable navigation system. It could be that visitors aren’t able to find the information that they want and they don’t bother to try, instead leaving after reading that one page.
Creating a Site That Works
If you’re having these issues or any others, it’s important to partner with the SEO and web design experts here at Content Customs. We can help you determine why you’re seeing these problems and how to fix them. Let us make your site as effective as it can possibly be.