For your small business or startup to effectively reach new customers, you need to meet them where they already are: online.
But it’s not enough to merely have a website. You also need to make sure that your website is easy to find.
Typically, that’s accomplished by optimizing your website for search engines. Search engine optimization, or SEO, can improve your online visibility and drive traffic to your site on a more consistent basis.
But as any white label SEO company will tell you, you can’t simply add some keywords to your site and call it a day.
And if you fail to update your website regularly, all of your optimization efforts might be for naught.
That’s because Google cares about user experience (UX). In fact, there are a number of user experience considerations that are considered to be ranking factors.
In other words, your website’s design could have a negative impact on your ability to compete online.
On the flip side, SmallBizGenius reports that improved UX design can come with website conversion rates of up to 400%. Achieving impressive results in easier said than done though. Unless you have a team of professionals on board, it’s advisable to hire a UX agency.
It’s clear that having a user-friendly website is a must.
But how do you know if your website needs an upgrade for better SEO and overall performance? Look out for the three signs below.
It’s Not Mobile-Friendly
According to Google, more than half of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices.
But there are countless businesses that think they can ignore mobile visitors.
Unfortunately, that comes with a major cost.
If your site isn’t accessible on mobile, you’ll make it much harder for consumers to choose your business.
When customers can’t easily find the information they need, they’ll quickly abandon your site and look elsewhere for solutions.
Not only does that mean you’ll be missing out on an infinite number of sales, but it can also mean major consequences for your ability to rank in search engine result pages (SERPs).
Because Google wants to provide the best possible results for web users, Google won’t reward sites that leave mobile customers in the lurch.
If you’ve never even looked at your site on your smartphone or it’s been more than five years since it was updated, there’s a good chance your site isn’t mobile-friendly.
It’s best to conduct a mobile-friendly audit to assess whether your site will welcome or repel users and fix any issues that impede accessibility.
Your Bounce Rate is Abnormally High
There are a number of metrics you can track that can help you discover what customers think about your site.
Bounce rate is among them – for good reason.
This metric refers to the percentage of website visitors who leave your page without performing any other action. They simply hit the “back” button or close out the window.
In other words, they bounce.
Having a higher bounce rate isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But generally speaking, an ideal bounce rate is somewhere between 25% and 40%.
If your bounce rate is in the 70% to 80% range, you’ll want to figure out why.
In many cases, it could be due to your website itself. Alternatively, it could be your server or your CMS.
When your page load speed is abnormally slow, your navigation is difficult to figure out, or you simply aren’t providing the information customers want, you’ll end up driving visitors away.
It’s best to talk to a web developer to conduct an audit, identify the issues, and revamp your site to prevent further problems.
Your Rankings Took a Hit After an Algorithm Update
Google updates its algorithm all the time in an effort to provide users with more relevant results.
Although we don’t always know when these updates are coming, Google did inform us almost a year in advance that its Page Experience update would further prioritize UX principles.
This update finally started to roll out in June 2021.
Google’s Core Web Vitals were a big part of this update, meaning that issues like page load speed, interactivity delays, and unexpected layout shifts might impact your ratings more now than they did before.
Additionally, having mobile-friendly design, prioritizing site security, and eliminating full-screen pop-up windows (known as intrusive interstitials) were recommended prior to this update.
If your site’s rankings took a nosedive after the Page Experience update (or after any broad core algorithm update), don’t panic. Remember that correlation does not equal causation.
Still, you’ll want to take a look at any Google penalties you might have acquired and conduct a site audit to see what might be holding you back.
Whether it has to do with user experience or some other hidden issue, taking action now can help you recover and set your business up for success later on.
Not only will your customers be a lot happier, but so will search engines.
Web Design and SEO Go Hand-in-Hand
We may sometimes forget that web design and SEO have a symbiotic relationship.
Investing in your site’s design can have a positive impact on your ability to rank in search engines. Conversely, putting the work into your SEO can add value to your site.
As an entrepreneur, you deserve a website that supports your ultimate aims. If any of these signs seem familiar, take a closer look at your website to achieve your business goals, reach new customers, and compete in a crowded marketplace
