Your Business Website is Your Digital Marketing Centerpiece, So Make it Great

Today it is hard to imagine a time before the internet when businesses operated without a website. Undoubtedly, your business website is a must-have. But simply having a website is not sufficient. Your website can provide a good first impression with prospective buyers, but only if it’s done right. So, to be sure your business website helps you hit your revenue growth targets, treat it as the centerpiece of your overall marketing strategy, not just your digital marketing strategy. 

There are countless reports available that conclude what any reasonable person should already know. A poor experience with a website scares buyers away.  A recent survey of 800+ people found the top negatives of a bad website to be the following:

1. Poor quality content
2. No phone number displayed,
3. No prices displayed
4. The business not being local enough.

Great Branding –

Your business website’s branding needs to instill confidence that your company is credible. The way your business website looks and feels for first time visitors should convey your core values and assure visitors that they are in the right place. This requires the right blend of colors, images, icons, fonts, and more. Great branding will support and strengthen your business website’s overall message.  

Great Messaging –

Typically, visitors are not shopping to buy a product. Usually, they are looking for ways to solve an issue. So, your message must immediately resonate with visitors. For best results, business websites must have meaningful messaging. Visitors expect to discern what you do and why that matters in a few seconds. First, the headlines must capture their attention. A simple headline structure to follow is patterned as follows, “we do X, so you can get Y.” Next, your message needs to quickly and clearly demonstrate that you understand their problems and that you can solve them.  

Great User Experience –

Effective business websites provide a clear and obvious path to take a step toward solving a problem. So, your website’s navigation menu should be designed to make it easy to find what visitors need. Additionally, proper placement of calls-to-action buttons are important for inviting visitors to proceed on their buyer’s journey.  

Great Performance –

Another element with significant influence on your business website is performance. Poorly performing websites cause visitors to leave. As a consequence, when visitors bounce from your website, they will not return. In fact, 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after an unpleasant experience. You will want to monitor your website’s page speed, load times, bounce rate, and time to interact among other metrics. 

With a harmonious balance between functionality, design, and performance a business website can serve as your digital marketing centerpiece and help you reach your growth plans. Regardless of how visitors find your website, once they enter it, the opportunity to engage them needs to be seized. Otherwise, your business website serves little purpose and will not help you find digital marketing success.