The first thing I do when introduced to a new client is to Google them. I’m sure when you too are interested in a business you do the same.

So why don’t you Google your own business? Don’t you want to know what your potential clients are seeing?

Most times when I start the business discovery phase there are issues. Whether it is something as simple as business hours that display for the Google Business Listing to the business being listed as a completely different category than it actually is. I once found a payroll company listed as a antique vendor.

The problem with a lot of these accounts I find that the owners and managers don’t have access to these accounts to change the incorrect information. Most times these accounts were setup by previous employees or past marketing companies that are no longer around. Anytime a new account is created management or the owner should have access. Regardless if they plan on using it is best to have them on the account in case the account ow

Download a helpful digital platform checklist to see what your clients are seeing. Need help or have questions? Feel free to contact LAB Media for the best solutions.

A website isn’t complete without the following:

1. Overall Design & Usability

Your website is supposed to be a reflection of your business and services; an extension of your storefront. There are so many websites out there that don’t reflect their business properly. Just like a storefront you want to welcome clients when they enter your website with a clear description of your products and services. Easy to navigation of your sites content will help users find what they’re looking for but needs to be done in an appealing way. Having loud colors or too many slow loading pictures doesn’t make for a good user experience.

2. Mobile First

It is crucial to have a mobile friendly website these days no matter the industry that you’re in. The visitors to your website need to have a good user experience no matter what device they are viewing your website on; desktop, tablet or phone.

3. Fast Loading

It only takes a few seconds for users to come to your website and choose to engage or move on. People aren’t patient and don’t like to wait for the page to load when they could already be finding the information they’re looking for. To avoid losing users due to slow loading websites it is important to use images that aren’t too big for the website. The standard website full screen width is roughly 1200px so anything bigger isn’t necessary. A helpful plugin for compressing images in WordPress in WP Smush which allows you to perform a bulk smush of all your sites images. It does just enough to increase the performance of your website.

4. SEO Ready

SEO (search engine optimization) has become an important part of any website. You can have a great website but if no one can find it organically it will get lost in the competition. There are many marketing companies that will guarantee a top listing in search engines but with ever changing algorithms it is almost impossible to guarantee unless this is a weekly or even daily task which can be costly.

There are basic things you can put in place to help your ranking without hurting your wallet too much. For example proper tagging of headers and metadata can increase the ability of search engines picking up your site. The use of links directing users to external website also known as backlinks can also help boost your SEO. The backlinks can include your businesses social media pages and links to credible sites confirming your sites content. Always be sure to have these links open in a new window!

Lastly there is an easy plugin that can be added to your WordPress website called Yoast SEO which is another great tool to help boost your sites ranking. Adding this will increase awareness and your ability to properly tag your sites pages.

5. Analytics

Once you site is running and have basic SEO setup traffic should start increasing. There is no way to truly judge without proper analytics in place to track traffic and what your visitors are doing. There are many ways to implement this but find the best is with a plugin called Jetpack by WordPress which does many things for the health of your website but also includes reporting. The reporting is basic but if you want something more robust I suggest using Monster Insights which is more sophisticated and can be linked to your Google Analytics account.

These are just a few things that make up a great website!

To learn more about how to improve your website, contact LAB Media

1. People Are Online

Unlike years ago if someone was looking for a product or service they would automatically open the yellow pages but not these days. Users can easily use their phones to search for what they’re looking for so you need to be there! It is important that your website is available for users to view your products and services so that the consumer has options. If your website is presented properly it will highly impact the probability of converting to a sale.

2. Enhance Your Credibility

Let people know your serious! Some smaller businesses don’t always have a website and don’t feel the need to have one. Wrong! For example a smaller service based company may rely on on Facebook page or business listing but having an actual website adds credibility to your business. Potential customers will take your business more serious when there is a proper website in place with you products or services, contact information or even reviews.

4. Global Presence

The best part about the world wide web is that no matter where you are you have the world at your fingertips. If your business is selling products you must have a website and more importantly with eCommerce capability to sell your products. That way users can shop your store no matter where they are.

5. 24/7 Exposure

No matter the time of day people are online! There is no telling what people are looking for and when but when they do your businesses website needs to be available to them.