We recently spoke with a company that had a dilemma. They were paying for SEO services, and it was working…kind of.
They were showing up organically on the first page of Google for most of the search terms that mattered to them. But while those great search results were driving traffic to their website, they weren’t moving the needle on sales. At all.
Once we looked over their website, we could see why.
While they had spent all their time courting Google, they spent none on the user experience. So when someone landed on their site, they found a mess.
It was hard to navigate. It was cluttered. It was really unattractive. Calls to action were buried. Most of all, it was nearly impossible to find what you wanted quickly.
On top of all that, when you did find what you wanted, it was a big letdown. The images were poor quality, and often out of date. The copy was almost boilerplate, and not the least bit engaging or persuasive.
It’s a great reminder that SEO only brings a prospect to your door. You still have to sell them on doing business with you.
Here’s the takeaway. Pull up your own website and ask yourself these four questions:
- Is it easy to navigate? Can I find what I want with a click or two?
- Does it look great? Does the design reflect who you are and what you do? Is it current?
- Does it answer the “why you?” question? Is the copy crisp, exciting and persuasive?
- Are there obvious calls to take the next step?
If it’s been more than four years since you updated your website, it’s probably showing some wear. A lot has changed in that amount of time. And prospects’ tastes and habits change just as fast.
Think of SEO as Uber and your website as the destination. It’s great for your prospect to get to your site quickly and easily. But that’s just the start. Once they arrive, you have to wow them. And you don’t have long to do it.
So as you focus on SEO, spend at least as much time and attention on making sure your site is ready. That’s how you turn clicks into customers.