Improve Your Website, Get More Sales

Recent studies have revealed that many small businesses do not pay enough attention to their website, mistakenly believing that once it had been set up, nothing more needed to be done. How wrong those hapless business owners are!

In times such as these, when most people are finding their economic situation is a little more taut than usual, it is crucial for businesses to do all they possibly can to engage, attract and facilitate sales. With increasing use of smart phones and other internet-enabled mobile devices, the company website is more important than ever, thus it must be used to its best advantage.

Remember that a website is in effect the shop window. If it’s slow or difficult to navigate, potential customers will be put off and go elsewhere. Don’t fall at the first hurdle – make sure you are using a fast internet service. Consider switching to a cloud-hosted service which could guarantee quicker speeds and reduced latency.

Next, consider your website’s design. Is it attractive and clear? Or does it bombard browsers with information? Think about simplifying the site, organising content into separate pages. Big blocks of text on a landing page can really put people off, so think about revising your wording. More detail on specific products can be added on a related page.

Work through your site as if you were a customer wishing to buy a product or service. How easily can you progress from item description through to check out? Is it clear or convoluted? You really need to make sure there is nothing obstructing this part of the process. Is easy for people to pay and are there sufficient options available? Using financial merchant services to improve your online payment facility – allowing for several different payment methods and accepting international ones – could make a real difference to your bottom line.

Lastly, for the sake of improving your Google search rankings and reputation as a ‘brand leader’ you must add fresh content regularly. This could be a blog, news items, photos, etc. Don’t forget to include links and sharing buttons to the business’s social media profiles (or set up, if as yet non-existent).

Take advantage of technological advancement and its increasing integration into every day life: let people shop on your site easily while they sit on the train or wait in a queue for the cinema. People can shop any time, anywhere, so make sure you have a website which can accommodate.

Author Bio: Jack Anderson has spent most of his life in the financial industry. He is an expert in developing and implementing strategies in leadership development, operations, marketing and sales.  He also deals with payment management, online payment as well as e-business. To know more visit http://www.firstatlanticcommerce.com/