THE 12 BIGGEST WEBSITE MISTAKES YOU CAN EASILY AVOID

Inklyo.com outlines the 12 biggest website mistakes and how you can avoid making them

WEBSITE MISTAKE #1:NOT OPTIMIZING YOUR WEBSITE

PAGES FOR SEARCHING

Optimization: the act, process, or methodology of making something as perfect or functional as possible. In terms of the "inbound world," website optimization mainly refers to SEO.

SEO: the process of making your website as functional as possible to get the most traffic on search engines such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo. When your website is optimized, you'll show up higher in search results, which will make people more likely to click on your website link.

HOW CAN I OPTIMIZE MY WEBSITE?

REMEMBER:

When optimizing your website, you'll have to focus on using the right keywords, gaining quality

inbound links, and employing other SEO tactics to get the top spot.

WEBSITE MISTAKE #2:NOT OPTIMIZING YOUR TITLE

TAG AND META TAGS

To truly optimize your website in terms of SEO, your title tag and meta tags must also be optimized.

Title tag: an HTML element of a webpage that describes the content of the page. It's one of the primary elements search engine crawlers look at when evaluating a page's relevance to a particular search term and when indexing pages.

Meta tag: a line of code contained in the background of a webpage. Search engines look at meta tags to learn what a page is about.

REMEMBER:

Both title tags and meta tags should contain keywords that will help increase your page ranking

in search results.

WEBSITE MISTAKE #3:NOT HAVING ANY QUALITY

INBOUND LINKS

According to HubSpot, an authority on inbound marketing and sales, "An inbound link is a link coming from another site to your own website.” The website that the link directs users to is therefore the one receiving an inbound link. Inbound links are necessary for search engine optimization (SEO) and referral traffic. The more inbound links you have, the higher your website will rank in search engine result pages.

WHAT'S AN INBOUND LINK?

When you search for something on Google, are you more likely to click the links at the top of the first page or the links on, say, page 5 or 15? I'm guessing you’ll click on the links on the first page. This is why it's so important to have quality inbound links; they will help get you the top spot in search results, making people much more likely to click on your page.

WEBSITE MISTAKE #4: NOT HAVING A PROFESSIONAL,

CONSISTENT DESIGN

Now you have a website andtraffic—yay! Your next order of business is to make sure these visitors stay long enough to consider buying your products or services. This means having a modern, professional, trustworthy website.

As we mentioned earlier, your website

gives potential buyers the first

impression of your business, so it's

important to make it look good and

reflect the quality of whatever you're

offering. Your website must look nice

and be easy to navigate, so it's

important to be consistent with colors,

images, layout, and navigation

messaging. You want your website to

have a certain flow to it, and going from

one page to another or searching for

things on your website should be

seamless.

WEBSITE MISTAKE #5:BEING MORE FLASHY THAN

HELPFUL

Along with having a professional, trustworthy website with

consistent design elements, you should also avoid being too flashy

and over-the-top.

• The key is to strike a balance between form and function. While your website must look appealing and professional while being user friendly, it's important not to make the mistake of going overboard with colors, images, fonts, and graphics.

• You don't want to overwhelm your customers and scare them away; you want to invite them to explore (and stay on) your website.

• To avoid making this website mistake, focus on content first (that is, being helpful) and design second. While a pretty website might attract potential buyers, they won't stay if there's nothing of substance for them to take away.

HOW SHOULD I DESIGN MY WEBSITE?

WEBSITE MISTAKE #6:NOT HAVING A BLOG

WHY HAVE A BLOG?

A blog is a great way to communicate with potential buyers and those browsing your website. Your blog should reflect the real, personable side of your business, and it should offer original, value-added content that can't be found anywhere else. A blog is an additional way for you to complement your website and connect with your target audience.

The takeaway? Blog often (and not always about yourself), be transparent, and offer value-added content with each post. Be interesting, and show the real side of your business.

create fresh content (and

more pages of content),

which is great for SEO

become established as

an industry authority and

thought leader

drive more traffic and

leads back to your

website

converse and engage

with your audience and

customersreceive valuable inbound

links.

Having a blog

allows you to:

WEBSITE MISTAKE #7:NOT ANSWERING THE BIG QUESTIONS: WHO, WHAT, AND WHY (AND WHERE, IF

NEEDED)

You have a website to help answer your potential customers’ questions: who, what, and why (and where, if needed). You can't just stick information on your pages, hoping your message will make itself clear. You need to know your target audience and write for them. You also need to know what you can help them with and whythey need your products or services. They've come to your page for a reason, and your job is to offer a solution to whatever problem they're having. But you can't just answer one of these questions; you need to answer them all, and these answers need to work together to focus your potential buyers’ attention on what you have to offer. Otherwise, potential buyers will leave your page once they realize they can't find exactly what they're looking for.

WHAT ARE MY CUSTOMERS’ QUESTIONS?

WEBSITE MISTAKE #8:ONLY SELLING INSTEAD OF

SELLING AND EDUCATING

Ah, here's a big one. Today's buyers want to be educated, not sold to. They don't want products or services shoved in their faces. They want to know about what you're selling and why your product or service is best suited to fill their needs. When they're considering your product, they're thinking, "What's in it for me?" To tell them, you need to offer more than just product content on your website.

WHY MUST I EDUCATE MY CUSTOMERS?

While product content must be product-specific, you should also offer educational (and valuable) forms of content, such as ebooks, videos, and infographics, which will nurture prospects through your marketing and sales funnel until they are ready to buy. These days, it's about more than just a sales pitch; it's about offering unique and valuable information as well.

WEBSITE MISTAKE #9:USING JARGON AND

CORPORATE GOBBLEDYGOOK

You've heard the phrases: "think outside the box," "ducks in a row," "core competency," "window of opportunity" . . . the list goes on. Gobbledygook consists of those eye roll-inducing terms and phrases that have been overused and abused, rendering the words meaningless. You know how annoying such jargon is, so avoid using it on your website.

WHAT'S GOBBLEDYGOOK?

Huh?!

WEBSITE MISTAKE #10: USING ONLY ONE FORM OF

CONTENT

Have a website with only one type of content? Yikes! That's simply not enough to reach your target audience and expand beyond it. Since you're probably an avid consumer of various forms of media yourself, you know how interesting and engaging they can make content.

HOW MANY FORMS OF CONTENT SHOULD I USE?

Successful webpages use multiple forms of content, including videos, images, and podcasts. Your goal is to reach a wide audience, and the best way to do so is to appeal to a diverse array of people. This means you need to include various forms of media on your website, as simple webpages don't appeal to everyone.

WEBSITE MISTAKE #11:MAKING YOUR WEBSITE

STATIC INSTEAD OF DYNAMIC

WHAT'S A STATIC WEBSITE?

Static websites are boring; they're just not relevant to today's Internet culture. They represent the bare minimum of what a website should be. They're very basic and plain, maybe with a few Flash graphics and a campaign—not much to get excited about. On top of that, their content isn't shareable, so it doesn't go very far.

• A dynamic website incorporates search, social media, content, and blogging.

• A dynamic website is multifaceted and creates a positive and interactive user experience.

• Users of dynamic websites are able to do more, not less, than they were expecting to on your website.

• Dynamic websites add variety and interest to the information they present. Since users want to be educated, traffic from blogs, social media, and organic and paid search results can be converted into leads or sales on your main website through its engaging style.

WHAT MAKES A WEBSITE DYNAMIC?

WEBSITE MISTAKE #12:BEING CLEVER INSTEAD OF

CLEAR

When engaging readers, it’s important to ensure that you're getting your point across clearly and not focusing simply on being clever. While being clever can help attract potential customers to your page, it won't keep them there.

Remember, they need clear information that will help solve their problems and tell them why your product or service is the best for them. Being clear also conveys that you are trustworthy and professional, which will only improve your image in the minds of potential customers. While you can be both clever andclear, first and foremost, make sure your content is flawless, specific, and transparent—then add a touch of wittiness.

HOW CAN I MAKE MY WEBSITE ENGAGING?

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Do you want to learn more about how to avoid making mistakes on your website? Visit the experts at Inklyo.com,

the leading online content writing company.

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