Onward Studios

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Here are some simple ways you could boost your website's effectiveness

The online world is exciting because you can make quick, small changes that add up to major business benefits. I've given your site an effectiveness audit to identify some quick wins that could really enhance its ability to convert visitors into loyal, returning customers.

If you'd like to talk through anything in this report, send me a message.


James
Founder, Onward Studios

Ease of Use

Visitors have short attention spans. Making sure that your site is simple to navigate and easy to use is vital for getting good conversion rates.

Onward Studios
Good
There are still a few things you can do to improve your site's effectiveness.
Fair
There are some quick things you can do to improve your site's effectiveness.
Average
There are lots of ways you can easily improve your site's effectiveness.

You've got a good use of strong calls-to-action that are all accessible high up the page, which will encourage engagement.

3 clicks deep
Visitors get bored if they have to click more than 3 times to get to what they need. Think about changing your navigation to allow more direct access to your deeper pages.
To do
3 clicks deep
You can get anywhere on your site within 3 clicks. That's great for keeping visitors engaged.
Primary objective on home page
Whatever the main objective of your site (call, fill in a form, download a brochure), it should be achievable directly from the home page. Some people won't want to browse around and just want to get on with it -- don't lose them!
To do
Primary objective on home page
You've got a way to jump right to the main objective of your site on your home page. This is a great way for increasing conversions.
Calls-to-action in all page headers
The top of a web page is often all a browsing visitor looks at. Having the page's main call to action right up by the headline (as well as after the content) will increase your conversion rates.
To do
Calls-to-action in all page headers
All of your pages start with an easy way to achieve the page's goal. That's a good way to ensure strong conversion rates when people are browsing quickly.
Call-to-action on all pages
Never let a page be a dead end. Check that all of your pages end with a click onwards. Especially check easy-to-miss pages like form thank you pages and news stories.
To do
Call-to-action on all pages
You've got great calls-to-action on all of your pages. This will keep visitors on your site longer.
No more than 2 calls-to-action
Visitors hesitate when they're presented with a lot of options, and this often leads to them leaving your site altogether. Try limiting options to 2 at a time -- that's been shown to have the best clickthrough rate.
To do
No more than 2 calls-to-action
Great, your calls-to-action are nice and simple. This makes it effortless for your visitors to breeze through the site and will maximise your clickthrough rates.

Design

Good design is the difference between looking professional and amateur, between having visitors enjoy using your site and frustrating them. This checklist will make sure you're showing yourself in the best light.

Onward Studios
Good
There are still a few things you can do to improve your site's effectiveness.
Fair
There are some quick things you can do to improve your site's effectiveness.
Average
There are lots of ways you can easily improve your site's effectiveness.

The site is modern, clean and readable. There are some creeping inconsistencies in formatting in some places that could be improved. The site is optimised for mobile devices, but you might want to look at what mobile users are specifically looking for, then put controls for those things at the top of the mobile pages.

Consistent design
Keeping your styles, fonts and colours consistent not only makes you look more professional, it also makes it easier for users to use your site. See if you can simplify your formatting and presentation to get a more consistent look.
See how we can help with branding >
To do
Consistent design
Your site looks consistent all the way through. This not only makes you look more professional, it also makes it easier for users to use your site.
Clean & uncluttered
A modern site needs to be readable, clean and have lots of empty space. People will leave if your site's an effort to read through to find what you want. It might be time to consider a redesign.
To do
Clean & uncluttered
Your site is readable, clean and has lots of empty space to help visitors scan and read it quickly. This will help increase your engagement rates because visitors will actually enjoy using your site!
Mobile optimised
It's not enough just to have a site that squeezes down to mobile size these days. Visitors on their phones will have different needs to desktop users and your site should cater for their user journey.
To do
Mobile optimised
Your site does a good job of presenting the right information to mobile users in a clear, readable way.
Clean & recognisable branding
Online branding needs to be recognisable when it's large, small, in your page header, footer and on social media. It might be worth having a look at your logo and typography to make it work better online.
To do
Clean & recognisable branding
Your branding is strong and works well when it's large, small, in your page header, footer and on social media. It'll work to increase brand awareness of your organisation across the web.

Content

Your content is why people come to your site and it's the reason they'll come back again and again. It also has a strong influence on your search engine ranking.

This checklist will help give you an idea of how you can boost your content's effectiveness.

Onward Studios
Good
There are still a few things you can do to improve your site's effectiveness.
Fair
There are some quick things you can do to improve your site's effectiveness.
Average
There are lots of ways you can easily improve your site's effectiveness.

Great content, presented in easily readable, bitesize chunks of text. This makes your whole site easy for visitors to read and engage with. You may want to think about being more descriptive with some of your text links, which would boost your search engine ranking.

Statement of purpose
You'll reduce your bounce rate by having a clear statement of purpose near the top of your home page. Visitors will get an instant idea of what your company offers them.
To do
Statement of purpose
You've got a good statement of purpose on your homepage that gives visitors an instant idea of what your organisation can offer them.
Problem-solving headlines
The headlines on your marketing pages should be visitor-centric, showing how you could solve their problems. Avoid simply repeating the navigation name (for example the nav might just be the product name, but the page headline should state its key benefit).
To do
Problem-solving headlines
Your site has engaging headlines that help draw visitors into pages by outlining their key benefits.
Brief, chunked content
People scan web pages rather that read every word, so you'll get better engagement rates if you break your content into short chunks and use headings to make it easy to scan.
To do
Brief, chunked content
Your site content is well divided into short chunks. This helps readers scan through the content to see if there's anything they want to read. This will increase your engagement rates.
Amount of content
The best performing amount of content for a page is however much supports what you said in the headline. Make it convincing without being longwinded and put detailed technical information onto a secondary page or into a download.
To do
Amount of content
Your pages balance the amount of content well, giving enough to support the headline without overloading visitors with information.
Keywords in headlines
To get the best out of your content and climb the search rankings, your page headlines should include the search keywords you're targeting. Adding a short intro line under the headline gives you an extra chance to use those keywords, but make sure it doesn't seem artificial -- write for humans first.
To do
Keywords in headlines
Your headlines are good at including relevant keywords, which will help them perform well in search rankings.
Informative text links
Rather than generic links and buttons like "Click here", try being more descriptive, like "See how PRODUCT X can help". This will increase clickthroughs and boost your search ranking.
To do
Informative text links
Your text links are varied and informative, which will increase clickthroughs and boost your search ranking.

Credibility

To stand out from the many other companies on the internet, you need to present yourself as experienced, established and popular. This checklist will cast an eye over your site to see how you could improve your credibility.

Onward Studios
Good
There are still a few things you can do to improve your site's effectiveness.
Fair
There are some quick things you can do to improve your site's effectiveness.
Average
There are lots of ways you can easily improve your site's effectiveness.

To build up your credibility on the site, consider adding customer testimonials and case studies. This will help provide social proof to your visitors and make them more likely to engage with you. Also, add an About Us page to involve people in your story.

Results-focussed testimonials
Testimonials are a great way to add social proof to your pages. You'll get best results if they're short and interweaved into other content, rather than having a separate page for them. Make sure the quote talks about the result you delivered for the customer.
To do
User stories
Adding in some quotes or stories from people who've used your service is a great way to get visitors to connect with your mission.
To do
Results-focussed testimonials
Your testimonials provide excellent social proof and make it much more likely to take the next step.
User stories
The stories / quotes on your site provide a strong way for visitors to connect with your mission and makes them much more likely to engage with you.
Award / Membership logos
If you have membership of any accredited bodies in your industry, or if you've won awards, make sure those logos are in pride of place. Towards the bottom of your home page is a good place to start, and having them in your footer will make sure they show on every page.
To do
Award / Membership logos
Your award / accreditation logos are easy to find and show your organisation's experience and credibility nicely.
User-friendly case studies
Case studies are a great way to show off your client list and explain the way you work at the same time. Consider having a case studies section with short descriptions of how you solved specific problems, and if you can, get hold of some quotes from your customers.
To do
User-friendly case studies
Your case studies are detailed and are a great way to show off your client list. These will help to up your credibility and also provide a boost to your search rankings.
Video on home page
Having an intro video on your home page can increase customer engagement and ranking by 50x. They're also incredibly popular to share on social media, which would give you a lot of coverage. Consider getting one on your home page.
To do
Video on home page
The video on your home page is working well to increase customer engagement and ranking. Videos are also incredibly popular to share on social media, which gives you a lot of coverage.
Compelling About Us page
An About Us page is a powerful way to show visitors why your company is a great fit for them. Don't dwell on the details, but focus on your mission to help customers. And try to introduce some of the people and personality of your business -- it will help to form a relationship with your potential customers.
To do
Compelling About Us page
Your About Us page is a great example of how to get over your passion, personality and pedigree. Make sure you keep this page prominent on your site as it will help form a relationship with your potential customers.

Lead Capture

Your website is a machine, and for most companies that machine is built to capture leads. Here are some ways you could boost your lead capture performance.

Onward Studios
Good
There are still a few things you can do to improve your site's effectiveness.
Fair
There are some quick things you can do to improve your site's effectiveness.
Average
There are lots of ways you can easily improve your site's effectiveness.

Your site has good, clear ways to connect with your customers. You can consider offering some free content to entice people to sign up, and adding social share links to your blog posts would boost sharing.

Multiple newsletter opt ins
Building up your email list is still one of the most powerful ways to communicate with your customers. Make sure it's really simple to sign up on your site with mid-page banners and navigation links.
To do
Multiple newsletter opt ins
There are several easy ways to sign up to your newsletter across your site. That's going to increase your sign up rate and make it easier for you to communicate with your customers.
Offer free content as an enticement
People are more likely to give you their email address if they feel they're getting something in return. Consider putting together a free downloadable resource (tip sheets and presentations are usually a good bet) and offer them in exchange for a visitor signing up for your newsletter.
To do
Offer free content as an enticement
Great, you're offering something tantalising to get people to sign up for your newsletter. This will boost your sign-up rates. Offering different freebies in different places will help maximise the numbers you get signing up.
Obvious contact details on every page
Your site is there to start a conversation between you and your customer. Make it easy for them by keeping your phone number, email address or contact form clearly visible on every page. Use your top navigation and footer to cover all your bases.
To do
Obvious contact details on every page
It's easy to see how to start a conversation with your organisation, wherever you happen to be on the site. This will help make it effortless for visitors to take that first step.
Enquiry form on home page
Contact forms on the home page have higher completion rates than anywhere else. Consider adding one for those visitors who have an immediate enquiry.
To do
Enquiry form on home page
The form on your homepage will help visitors with an immediate enquiry to get in touch right away. It's a good way to get some quick wins.
Social media links
Having links to your social media accounts on your site (and not just hidden in the footer) will really increase traffic. Try to find ways to show the value of them -- getting the latest industry insights, hints and tips, that sort of thing.
To do
Social media links
You've got great publicity for your social media accounts on your site. This will help traffic flow to your social media and back to your site.
Social media sharing buttons
Consider adding share buttons. Website content like blogs gets shared almost 20x more if you've got share buttons on the pages.
To do
Social media sharing buttons
Good stuff -- your social sharing buttons will help you get your content out into the world and remind people that sharing is a good idea!

What more can you do?

I hope you've found this checklist useful. If you get everything ticked off, your site will be well on its way to becoming a powerful lead generation machine.

If you'd like to talk through your online marketing and find out how we could help you win more customers, drop me a line at [email protected]


James
Founder, Onward Studios

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