Is your website badly designed, outdated or not usable on a mobile device? Then our DIY website audit will help you work out where you need help, either with some small fixes or with a complete website redesign.
It is time to ask yourself some questions.
Is your website bringing you enough customers?
Is the phone ringing ‘off the hook’?
Is your order book bulging?
If you answer ‘yes’ to all three questions, then the rest of this blog won’t be relevant to you … at least, for now.
Or, if you answered ‘no’ to one or more of the above questions, you need an honest audit and website evaluation before it gets any worse.
You can’t afford to miss this article which will take you through an important website audit process, showing you WHERE you are on Google and HOW you can move your way up the Google rankings.
Bloom Digital Marketing in Cheshire can help with website redesign for businesses, taking the worry and hassle off your shoulders so you can focus on what you do best … your business.
Websites that work for you …
Business owners need a website, yet they need a website that will attract leads and grab leads that will in turn convert.
Perhaps your current website is a few years old.
Maybe it’s just not mobile friendly (don’t be fooled … if you need to pinch your website to see it on a small screen, then it’s not mobile friendly).
Chances are it will look dated and look shabby on a mobile device.
However, it’s not all bad news!
Even if your website has seen better days, if you are still getting leads then it is doing something right.
Yet … you can always have MORE leads and get MORE conversions!
Or, if you’re not getting ANY leads then chances are your competitors are getting them all, and that can really knock your self-confidence.
It might be a task that you avoid, but ensure you check out your competitors’ websites, even if it is with gritted teeth.
If they look better than yours, then they will have carried out a website audit already and may have even had a website redesign on the back of their audit findings.
Where do I start?
So as with all projects, you need to start with the basics.
Let’s tackle a few of them in terms of websites.
It could be the current design of your website isn’t up to scratch, of course.
Or maybe your website’s content is truly ancient.
Your website might be considered insecure, and it is slloooww to load.
These are some of the most common and yet sortable problems which can help enormously with your website project. Getting all this correct from the beginning helps pave the way to your future success.
Tackle our DIY website audit now … it will take just a few minutes … and get some handy tips to see how your website can be improved.
Customer journey
As business owners, we’re all guilty of being too close to our products and services and this includes our website.
So put yourself in the place of a new customer.
Of course, we’ve touched upon some problems in the previous section, yet there’s other important elements to consider.
Does your website work and look good on a mobile device?
Have you invested time and effort into Search Engine Optimisation? Or does the very mention of SEO make you want to run for the hills?
Perhaps one of your plucky customers has offered you feedback about your website … and it maybe wasn’t that complimentary …
If your competitors’ websites rank more highly than yours, then an SEO campaign could reap the rewards for you. If you don’t know where to start, Bloom Digital Marketing can help.
Website Audit Checklist
1. Website Security
Check your website’s security. In short, you need to check if your current website has security issues. You can do this via Google Search Console, which we can help you set up and access. Related to this is whether you also have an SSL certificate installed … our DIY Website Audit Checklist will show you what to do …
2. Software
Many websites, though not all, are now created in WordPress, one of the world’s most popular website software platforms.
The problem with all software is that it needs regular updates to remain secure, safe, and working properly.
These updates are in the form of plugins, and you also need to check the version of PHP is up to date.
If you have access to your WordPress dashboard, then you will be able to see if updates are needed.
However, take care with them. You’ll need a full website back up first, particularly if your site isn’t maintained regularly. If you don’t feel confident to do this, contact Bloom Digital Marketing for help.
3. Google My Business
This free tool is ESSENTIAL for your local SEO and let’s face it, many small businesses have a local or regional customer base.
Appearing on local searches will help that phone to ring.
The key is to know how to use it effectively. Ensure your GMB profile is up to date and that you appear on local searches.
4. Leads and where they come from:
An essential part of your local marketing is to check with customers how they found you. Was it from a Google search, social media, or a customer referral? If you’re not getting consistent leads from your website, then we’re back to square one and investing in some online marketing or a website redesign or even a brand new one to help scoop up those leads.
Slow websites (more than three seconds to load) will not be getting you the leads you need as most customer will have bounced off your site.
Check your website page speed and let us know your results.
5. Content
Content is now so many things: videos, photos, downloadable checklists, free e-books. However, Google is also searching one of the most important elements of your website and that is its written content.
Most people would say that people don’t read lots of words … that could true … but for Google to rank you highly, it will need sufficient well-written, relevant content to ‘crawl’ and push you up its rankings.
Writing content suitable for Google, your website and your customers is quite a skill, and it is one of the most time-consuming projects you’ll undertake.
Grammar, punctuation, and spelling are also important and keeping your content fresh is also crucial.
Most businesses don’t have time to spend on this, particularly as the minimum per key page is 300 words.
Google penalises thin content so it worth spending time on this part of your website.
Again, we all know time is our most precious commodity, so Bloom Digital Marketing in Cheshire can help.
So here we’ve dealt with some of the most important elements of your website audit. Most of the above are aspects that take time, skill, and passion to ‘get right’ and it is a bit like painting the Forth Bridge: it’s an ongoing project that never ends and needs lots of attention.
Yet before you even get to the ‘big stuff’, there’s an audit which you can do yourself and then see where you need the fundamental fixes BEFORE you tackle the larger project, such as those listed above.
Our Do-It-Yourself checklist will help you understand how Google ‘sees’ you, and you can build on these basics so you understand how the rest will fit in.
And you can always call us anyway, we’d be happy to discuss your business and your goals.
Get my free DIY Website Evaluation Checklist
By signing you’ll be added to Bloom Digital Marketing email list. You can unsubscribe at any time. Your contact details are securely stored.
No spam or sharing of information. Just good genuine advice.
