The Website That Never Ends

The nightmare of over 35 pages on a single site, "un-crawlable" by search engines, and as a result, low traffic and an unhappy customer at a loss for what went wrong. I have been on several website development projects that have gone on for several weeks with no end in sight. The agreed-upon date goes out the window and the customer is left with a robust website with way too many pages and no way to market it. Web designers, SEO specialists, and digital marketers must ask before any project begins "What do you hope to accomplish with this website?" Some small business owners feel pressured to have a website up and running when confronted by friends, colleagues, and customers. They may be obsessed with the look and feel but once we tap into the analytics we see the only person on the website is the business owner themselves. Many do not realize that the website is a multi-packaged deal. All the elements that make a business shine online won't just be the website.

When most people look up a business, for example, "Johnny's Pizzeria", on Google or Bing they don't go directly to the homepage. Organic search results for home pages typically see a high bounce rate and a brief session time. I think a good way to get in the mind of your customer is to monitor yourself the next time you search for something online. A more in-depth exercise would involve navigating one of your favorite e-commerce websites or the website of your competition, and note how you navigate the site. Business owners tend to think about what they want their customers to do. I hear a lot of "and then they'll go here and click this link" during a website build. Information about the exact link click is impossible to know without analytics accumulated over time. You can't know what someone will do next after a Google search, ad click, or website visit without some data showing what people do when they first enter your website.

Did you know that if you don't give someone what they came for from an ad they'll leave in 3 seconds? That's right. Not 30 seconds but 3. The average user which includes you or me will take about three seconds to skim and feel like they have been inconvenienced. The fight for eyes on your website or content has become a break neck speed battle. Only the most effective landing pages survive. When conducting research I like to look at the competition on websites like SEM Rush or Looker Studio to see what social listening can tell us. This is a great way to bring things full circle back to the customer.

Conclusion The website that never ends is a perfect example of too much effort put in the wrong place. Of course, your website should be presentable, easy to navigate with fast loading speed. Landing pages that reflect your business goals with a strong call-to-action should be your primary focus, not the homepage. Remember you want a quick and simple website build because the real journey starts when you want to market that website. Your website isn't just a brochure. You've got to reach far beyond the basics to win in the SEO game.