Test Your Website 101

I specialize in Digital Marketing, but over the last 30 years I've also hosted, developed, and marketed thousands of websites. During that time I've seen businesses spend thousands of dollars trying to fix the wrong problem. My goal with this article is to help you identify some of the most common problems before you spend money chasing the wrong solution.

I'm going to stick with the basics here and not get into the more complicated issues. My experience has been that over 90% of companies don't even have the basics down. I don't want to overwhelm beginners with advanced topics. Here are the four main moving parts that are a must for a successful website today:

• Website Function

• Marketing of the Website

• Content on the Website

• Lead Handling from the Website

  
  

I'll address each of these areas and explain how to identify problems with each. Think of your website like a four-legged table. If one leg is weak, the whole table becomes unstable. Each of these areas is just as important as the next. If any one of them is weak or fails, it can cost your company thousands of dollars in lost business.

Website Function

A website has to work properly before you spend money trying to market it.

Load Time – According to Google, 53% of mobile users will leave a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. As load times increase, so do the number of people who leave. Slow websites are site killers. Google offers a free PageSpeed Insights test. Test your website often.

Broken Links – Test all the links on your website. Nothing leaves a worse impression than clicking on a page that doesn't work.

SSL Certificate – If your SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate is expired or missing, visitors may think your website isn't secure and leave before they even contact you.

Poor Navigation – Make it easy for people to find what they're looking for. Don't overcomplicate your menus or make visitors guess where information is located.

Mobile Friendly – More people browse websites on their phones than on desktop computers. Make sure your site is easy to navigate on a mobile device, buttons are easy to click, and forms are simple to complete.

Bad Code – This can be harder to identify. Your website may work perfectly in one browser but have problems in another. Test your site in Chrome, Edge, Safari, and Firefox, especially if it's a new website.

Marketing Your Website

Recent research shows that 99% of consumers use the Internet to find local businesses. Only about 20% to 30% will send an email or complete a contact form. Most people will call or simply walk into your business. With almost everyone using the Internet to find products and services today, it's more important than ever that people can actually find your website.

Are the Basics in Place?

• Have you claimed and optimized your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)?

• Are your Meta Titles and Meta Descriptions relevant to each page?

• If you're paying a marketing company, have you tested your website to verify their work?

• Are you reviewing your website analytics every month?

• Are you creating landing pages for your PPC and other marketing campaigns?

• Are you showing up in Google Maps?

• Is your phone number, address, and business hours correct everywhere online?

  
  

Content on the Website

First impressions are important. Your home page is your opportunity to convince visitors to stop looking and start contacting you.

Your website should be clean, professional, and clearly explain your products or services. Every page should answer a question or solve a problem for your customer. There should also be a clear call to action that encourages visitors to contact you.

Many business owners tell me they don't want to list prices on their website. Sometimes that's understandable because every job is different. But if you're selling products and your competitors are showing prices, not listing yours is one of the fastest ways to lose customers. I ask business owners this question all the time. "What do you do when you visit a website that doesn't list prices?" Almost every one of them gives the same answer. "I leave."

Of course, every business is different. A lawyer may convince someone with large settlement results. A doctor may highlight a specialized procedure. A contractor may showcase before-and-after photos of completed work.  The key is to identify what motivates your customers to contact you and make sure it's easy to find on your website.

Lead Handling

This can be a sensitive subject for both website companies and marketing agencies. More than once I've been told the website wasn't working or the marketing wasn't producing results. After reviewing the analytics, I found the traffic was there and leads were coming in. The problem wasn't the website. It was what happened after the leads arrived.

In one case I had to mystery shop a client just to prove that product inquiries weren't being answered. My partner told me I was going to make the client mad and they would probably cancel our services. I told him that if I didn't prove where the problem was, we'd end up taking the blame anyway. He was partly right. The client was upset that I mystery shopped them. But he was furious with his BDC department. The end result was they fixed their lead handling process, sales increased, and we kept the client.

A website can be working perfectly. The marketing can be producing traffic. The content can be excellent. If phone calls, emails, and contact forms aren't handled correctly, it's all wasted money.

Analytics

If you feel you're not getting the amount of business you should be from your website, don't put on a blindfold and throw a dart hoping to hit the bullseye. There are free tools available that can help point you in the right direction.

Website Analytics are your best friend. This is not something you should take lightly. At a minimum, review your analytics once a month. They are often the first warning that something has changed and allow you to correct problems before they become expensive.

Key Things to Watch

• Overall Traffic – Is your website attracting enough visitors? Every business is different, but you can usually find industry data that gives you a good benchmark.

• Traffic Sources – Where are your visitors coming from? This is valuable if you're advertising on other websites or running PPC campaigns.

• Bounce Rate – If your bounce rate suddenly increases, investigate why.

• Time on Site – Are people spending enough time reading your content?

• Conversion Rate – Visitors are great, but are they becoming phone calls, emails, or customers?

  
  

What Your Analytics May Be Telling You

High Bounce Rate

Ask yourself:

• Did you launch a new advertising campaign?

• Are your ads misleading people?

• Did you change your home page?

• Is something broken?

• Has your website become slow?

  
  

Visitors Spending Less Time on Your Website

• Is your content becoming outdated?

• Did something change?

• Are competitors providing better information?

The more familiar you become with your analytics, the easier it will be to identify problems before they become serious.

Test Yourself

Give yourself one point for every "Yes."

• Does your website load in under 3 seconds?

• Are you listed in AI results in your markets?

• Is your SSL certificate current?

• Is your website mobile friendly?

• Are leads answered quickly?

• Are you in the top three GMB listings in all you markets?

• Have you posted new original to your site this month (Not Products)?

• Do you review your analytics every month?

• Have you received positive reviews this month? 

• Do you regularly test your search rankings?

  
  

9–10 Points: Great job. Keep improving.

7–8 Points: You're doing well, but there are areas that could be improved.

5–6 Points: Your website probably needs attention.

Below 5 Points: You're likely losing customers without realizing it.

In Closing

Don't become complacent with your website or your marketing. The Internet changes every day. Google changes. Your competitors change. Customer expectations change.

The businesses that continue testing, measuring, and improving their websites are usually the ones that continue growing.

Don't assume your website is working because it looks good. Test it. Measure it.I mprove it.