What’s wrong with your website? Improving Visibility, Traffic and Sales (audio replay)

If you spend countless hours staring at your computer screen trying to get your website to bring in more business, I can definitely understand your frustrations. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being the guest expert on Pam Perry’s Branding Superstar University Teleclass series. Every week Pam has an expert on to share smart business tips and I talked about how to have a website like a superstar.

After getting a few wonderful responses from the call and Pam graciously giving me the recording, I decided to post the replay below along with a few key recommendations on how to fix your website, especially if you are struggling with traffic, visibility and sales.

Before I share the replay and a few key tips, let me first say thanks to all of you who were excited about having me on the call. And a special thanks to the young lady who sent me this message:

“Thank you for the critique and the tips. I am the one with the website about dreams. I am so pumped about pulling my website together. I have been attending online seminars and read marketing books, but I could never figure out why my website wasn’t working until tonight. I really appreciate the valuable information you provided.” -D.

Fix My Site Do’s and Don’ts

1. The first question everyone wants me to answer is, “How do I drive more traffic to my website?” Myy response is always “Don’t let website traffic be the first and only thing you focus on.” If your website or blog is struggling to bring in a return, sending more people to a space that’s not working for you will not work. The right question to ask is, “What’s wrong with my website and how do I fix it?”

2. This past week I was reading a blog post on social network for women entrepreneurs, BBWO and came across an interesting link someone posted. Unfortunately the link did not work and at the time it didn’t occur to me to post a comment to inform the blogger that her link wasn’t working. I did like most people do; closed the page and move on to something else. Sharing your business via blogs and or social networks is a great way to drive free traffic, but most people aren’t going to tell you if your links are broken.

This is something we talked about on the call (replay below), always check your links. Broken links mean wasted opportunities for new leads and to impress new people. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so make sure you take the time to go through your website and make sure everything is working currently. I go to tons of websites where the biggest errors are on the social links, which often times don’t work.

3. While I understand some folks like to keep their websites clean and simple, studies have shown that content rich websites like SistaSense and just about all the sites I enjoy building for my clients are actually good for business. Magazine style wordpress sites (for example), allow you to wow your readers with featured content, videos, downloads, offerings and more in a way that keeps them engaged and on your website longer. You don’t want new visitors to visit your website and leave in a few seconds, which means you do want to work on making your site content rich and engaging.

4. Make sure your website isn’t ugly! Seriously. The reason I focus so much of my design skills on creating Pretty Professional Websites is because the honest truth is the only people who sell well on ugly websites are internet marketing gurus who know how to persuade people to buy regardless of looks or actual quality. If you are not a marketing guru, do make sure that your website is properly branded, has an up-to-date design and is well organized.

I offer a 5 Hour Fix My Site Service for those entrepreneurs who are on a small budget, but desperately need to cleanup their websites look and feel. When people look at your site we want them to see that you are professional, on point and have profit potential. People don’t want to buy from sites that are not visually appealing and look like they are not making any sales. One of the things I’ve learned as an online entrepreneur is that people become more comfortable with buyer your products when they can see/feel like other people use and value what you have to offer.

5. Think about one website that you really like. Write down a list of those features you like/ enjoy most on that website. Do you have any of these features on your space? If you do have these features, are you using them correctly? How well are they working for you?

How to Have a Website Like a Superstar (audio replay)
SistaSense Circle Audio Session

Listen to the audio above, leave a comment if you have questions and if you would like me to fix your website, click here to learn more about my 5 Hour Updates package.

Recent Projects – Redesign Examples: