How to improve a website today to generate sales is not always easy. A website should generate traffic and sales once it's up and running, right? That question has come to me several times over the years on how to make sales online.
I will admit - that it has gotten harder to make sales online. Yes, you would think the older your website is, the easier it would be, right?
Not so anymore. Google has made so many changes over the past decade that what once worked well for generating visits and making sales from a website no longer works today.
Not only that but the competition is much greater than it used to be.
Most people are online these days and are looking for answers to their questions and information about companies over the Internet before taking action or making a purchase.
Therefore, learn different ways to improve your company's website so that you can rest assured it's easy for users to find, navigate, and provides all the right information they are searching for.
You'll be glad you took the time to do so once you notice that you're able to increase leads and conversions.
Improve Your Website by Reviewing It For Errors
You should take the time to review your website for errors and mistakes if you want to improve it. It is a simple yet very important task to complete if you want to enhance your company website and your website's credibility.
You want to build trust with visitors and show that you're the expert in your industry and a professional and reputable company. Therefore, you can't have a lot of technical and grammatical errors on your site.
It will not only make the user experience better but it is vital to maintaining and improving your SEO standing as well.
Freshen Up The Website's Content
Another way to improve your company's website is to freshen up the content regularly. You can do so by not allowing old content to stay up for too long.
If you wish to keep some important pieces around then at least take the time to update them according to current times and information. Also, remember to update not only the content throughout your website but also the home page.
This is what users will see first and they may click out of your site if it's old and outdated content.
Enhance Page Speed
Page speed is another critical factor as it relates to your company's website and the user experience. One way to ensure page speed optimization is to work with one of the fastest WordPress provider options out there.
You'll be able to quickly optimize your site's speed and improve core web vital metrics automatically. The support you'll receive and the automatic updates that will occur will help to keep your website running smoothly and fast.
You will begin to see lower bounce rates and a higher average time spent on a page this way.
Improve Your Website Sales by Including a Call to Action
What's most vital as you work on improving your website is that you make sure it has a clear call to action. The whole point of driving traffic to your site is to inform them and get consumers to sign up for your email list, shop at your eCommerce store, or fill out a lead form.
Ask yourself what your top action is that you want visitors to take and then make sure you design your website in a way that encourages them to do so.
You should also add contact information prominently (and on every page) so they don't have to guess and spend time figuring out how to reach you.
People want to know who they are buying from. Finally, they want to be able to trust you before they put in their credit card or Paypal info on your website.
How to Be Found With a Website?
Whether a website is new or old there are always things to be done to be found online. A new site is easier in some ways to get visibility but at other times you must remember Google favors websites that have been around for some time too.
That doesn't mean all old websites rank well. It's just one of the 200+ plus factors Google takes into consideration in ranking a website.
Having an older website, however, shows your website is credible and reliable.
So whether your website is new or old there is always something you can do to help generate sales from the website. It takes time and effort every day! If you want to remake your site be sure to use a website builder to make it better.
Bonus Tip - Be sure to have a Google My Places (business) set up for your website. This helps people find you when they are searching and it can improve your SEO over time.
Whether a website is new or old there are always things to be done to be found online. #websites #InspireToThrive Click To Tweet
Keywords To Generate Sales From Your Website
Use Google Keyword Planner known as Google Keyword Tool - These tools are free from Google. Before you start a website you need to know which keywords to focus on.
When I started my first website, I didn't realize you needed different keywords for different pages and products. Not only that but related keywords too.
Whoops, what a mess that was fixing up later on. It's better to spend time researching before you launch your new website or update an older site.
Some of the keywords happened naturally but others did not. So get organized first with your keywords. Look for at least a dozen. And long-tail keywords are important more than ever before.
Domain Name For Your Website
A website should have a name that is simple, fairly short, and easy to remember. It should make people know what a website is about when they see the name. It should not be a mystery.
Be sure to register your domain name for several years. (Minimum 3 years if not 10 years) If you do it for just one year Google will not like it and think you are a fly-by-night operation.
The longer you register your domain, the more it will help your SEO juice.
Website Builder To Improve A Website With Ease
Which type of website will you use? There are so many website builders to choose from today. It depends on how technical you want to get and how much time you want to spend on your website. You can choose from websites like:
WordPress - You will need to get a self-hosted site if you are selling online. You will need to pay for hosting, an original theme (for the best SEO and site), and some plugins.
Shopify - One of the top website builders today that comes with a lot of tools to make it easier for you to start your online business. According to Gorgias, 4.2 million websites run on the Shopify platform as of July 2023.
Blogger - Free and owned by Google. You will have to add a shopping cart. Beware, Google does own Blogger and your website when you use them. The best shopping blogger site I know is ToothyGrinsStore where Dave has done a wonderful job with that Blogger storefront.
Weebly - Free and paid versions are available. Many items to add to this web builder will cost you. $3.29 to $6.63 per month. You will get a $100 Google credit for an ad campaign too. It appears you can only use Paypal with this builder.
Wix - Free to start. Several different premium packages offer more than the basic FREE version.
Hosting to Help Your Sales From a Website
Once you choose your store builder how will a website be hosted? Some store builders provide one for you but if you go with WordPress, you will have to choose one.
We all have seen what happens with hosting a website when things go wrong. Your website may go down. Now, you know you can't make sales when your website is offline.
I was happy with Hostgator until my site outgrew it. Now I am using SiteGround here on Inspire To Thrive.
Most hosting will cost you anywhere between $5 and $30 per month. Do remember, you get what you pay for.
Go with a hosting provider that can give you the best service and uptime.
Links to Improve a Website
Now, links play an important role in your website to improve your website and generate sales. Many webmasters don't realize the importance of internal linking on your website. This is a high-ranking factor by Google for your SEO efforts.
If you use Yoast Premium as a plugin for a WordPress site, it will show you which blog posts are orphan content so you can link to them on your website.
Images To Help Your Website Sales
Images are now so important with Pinterest generating a lot of traffic for a website. They must be jpeg (png images do not work well on Pinterest or some websites.)
Be sure to optimize your images before using them on your website. Having oversized images may hurt your generating sales on a website. Images that are too big can slow down your website speed.
Speed is another HUGE ranking factor with Google for your website.
Create Videos for Products
Another great way to showcase a product is to have a video for it. Therefore, making a YouTube channel for videos will help your website's SEO along the way.
It's a great way for shoppers to learn more about a product and see it in action.
Products For Sale
What will you sell? How will you write about the products? What makes them different? You must-have products in mind before you start any website.
Do some research on sales and keywords for them before starting a website. It took me months to come up with medical scrubs years ago when I had a retail website.
Also, consider - will you stock inventory or use a drop shipper. Be sure to think about shipping costs and time. Customers don't like to wait too long for shipments anymore.
Payments - Shopping Cart
PayPal is widely accepted but many people like to use their Credit Cards. We started without American Express and lost some orders until we got American Express.
You can pay anywhere from $5-$30 a month for these services. Remember that you will have a percentage of total sales in fees too.
Be sure to read what payment processors can save you money as they all offer different rates and fees. There are many more to choose from today than there have been before.
A Blog To Improve Website's Content
A blog will keep your content fresh with a blog for your e-commerce website. Blogging should be fun and informative for your customers and new readers.
You should also be passionate about it to update it frequently. Moreover, your blog should answer questions about your products or services that other customers have asked.
Answer questions from customers completely in a blog post on your website.
Sign Up Forms For Lead Generation For Your Website
Furthermore, be sure to have a sign-up form for users to sign up for emails. Emails are not dead today and are one of the best ways to generate sales from your website today!
When people leave your shopping cart before purchasing, you can send them an email.
The email can remind them what was in their shopping cart and maybe even offer a discount for them to come back and purchase from your website.
Add A Buy Again Feature
If you have ever shopped on Chewy.com you may have noticed they offer a buy again feature. This buy again feature makes it easier for customers when they return to your site to make repeat purchases.
Chewy also offers an Auto-Ship feature where you can set up how often you want orders to be sent to you. I've seen other retail websites do the same.
That makes your sales easier to generate from a website and keeps your customers coming back for ease of purchase.
This buy again feature makes it easier for customers when they return to your site to make repeat purchases. #onlinebiz Click To Tweet
Make Reviews Easy To Increase Sales From A Website
Reviews on websites also make it easier for new website visitors to see what others liked or disliked about a product. Many users love reading reviews to learn more about a product. Of course, with email marketing, you can ask for reviews from your clients.
According to big commerce:
In today's web-based world, virtually everyone is reading online reviews. In fact, 91% of people read them and 84% trust them as much as they would a personal recommendation. The effects of reviews are measurable, too.
They go on further to explain that customers spend more when they see excellent reviews on a website.
Even if they see negative reviews, those negative ones also increase your sales. Not only that but they spend more time on your site reading the reviews.
The longer they spend time on your site, which helps your SEO juice overall.
Be sure to add a review button on all your product pages of your website!
Keeping A Clean Website Format
Do not make your website cluttered! If people have too many decisions to make, what will they do? They will go away and do nothing. When people feel overwhelmed they cannot make a purchase.
Ever go down an aisle in a store and feel so overwhelmed you can't shop? The same thing happens online.
Offer just a few choices and make it easy for anyone to shop and make a purchase on your website.
Do not have special offers all over your homepage or pop-ups coming at them one after another. A simple and fast website is best for generating sales from a website.
Offer just a few choices and make it easy for anyone to shop and make a purchase on your website. #onlinebusiness Click To Tweet
Social Shares For Your Website
You will need to have the basics, Twitter, and Facebook to start. You can then branch out to Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and other social networks including an alternative social network.
However, be sure to have the profiles filled out completely on each of the social networks you sign up for. And lastly, don't forget to show up regularly on these social networks. Consistency makes a huge difference in social media marketing.
On your website, be sure to have your social share buttons on every product page and blog post. These buttons should also include your handle so you can thank people for their shares on social media. (Don't overdo it as they may slow your website down.)
Hence, you will be able to engage with them on their favorite social media network as well to generate more sales from a website.
Your Turn - How to Improve a Website
Do you make sales on your website? What other suggestions would you add to the list to improve a website? I'd love to know more in the comments below!