2. No Conversion
Conversion is when a visitor to your website completes the task that you wanted them to perform. This can take many forms but it is important to establish your goals before anything else so you can measure your results more easily. Whatever your conversion goal ends up being, it is critical to keep this in mind for every aspect of your website. It is better to have 100 people visit your website and five of them book an appointment than 1000 visits with only 3 bookings.
Keeping your conversion goal should be evident when thinking about website design as well. All of your company's webpages should always lead visitors to that main goal of conversion. One common error that a lot of websites make is to have too many distracting elements on the page that moves leads away from a conversion goal. The job of your website is to convert visitors into business and the formatting of your website should lend itself to that. Once again, it is important to have your conversion goal clearly visible and easily accessible for visitors to your site.
3. Low visit time
Another warning sign that your website is costing you money is the amount of time visitors will spend on your site before leaving. First impressions matter when it comes to websites and if you are not making a good one, it is all too simple for people to find another option. Your website needs to give off a professional, yet welcoming feel. Try to avoid using low quality images and personalize your website where possible.
It is also important to consider the visitor’s point of view when first looking at your website. They will ask themselves three questions. The first is “Am I at the right place?”. New clients will wonder if they are at the right type of business's website and returning users will need to know that they are at the correct site. To do this, make sure your logo is clear and easily visible. The second question they will ask is “How do I feel about this site?”. This question can be addressed through website design and displaying positive reviews of your company. By having these elements clearly visible, visitors will feel comfortable about using your services. The final question they ask themselves is “What do I do next?”. This is where your conversion goal comes into play. The users will want you to tell them what to do when they know that they are in the right place, all you must do is make sure that your conversion goal is easily visible. Through quickly answering these questions you should be able to retain people that visit your website for a longer amount of time.
4. Not Committed
One of the frustrating things about digital marketing is that there is not always a quick fix and that you get back what you put in. A common pitfall is when people get impatient that the number of visitors from search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t increasing quickly enough or that the number of conversions aren’t where they thought they should be.
To get the most out of the money you spend on not only your website, but your digital marketing budget, it is important to have a strong plan in place. By following this plan, you can gauge whether your expectations are being met. For example, if you are not seeing the results you want in terms of conversions, you can focus your spending towards website design.
5. Not Running Properly
Of course, the ultimate sign that your website is wasting money is through a test result. Conducting a website analysis test is a fantastic way for you to get a good understanding of any areas of your site that may not be performing at their peak or any links that may no longer be working. These tests can be done online for free and will yield a large amount of data that can be useful in identifying sore spots with your digital marketing.
Getting that first test done should give you a solid baseline of where your company’s site is at, but as technology evolves, so should your website’s functionality. It doesn’t hurt to get this test done periodically in order to stay on top of its performance.
