Small Business Websites: Five Quick Fixes to Improve Your Website for the New Year
If you want to increase your business revenue, gain brand awareness, and build a reputation that precedes you, then you NEED a website, and one that works hard for you with effective SEO.
Over the year, surprisingly we have met and spoken to retailers who think selling on their social media platforms is enough and suffices as a website. We have spoken to coffee and bagel shops who think websites won’t increase foot traffic, consultants and coaches who think word of mouth is sufficient, and even some businesses that say, they don’t want or need any additional business, so there is no need for a website presence. To this small group we wish you well in 2023!
For everyone else, here are five simple tasks to help improve your website functionality and improve search engine results to increase business and build brand awareness.
For those small business owners who know the true value of having a digital business and website, here are FIVE QUICK FIXES to get your website ready for the new year.
1. Update Your Website Content Regularly
2. Make sure your website is mobile friendly
3. Use keywords in your page headlines to improve SEO
4. Alt Image Descriptions
5. Create a “Google My Business” profile
1. UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE REGULARLY:
The term “regularly” may mean something different to each business owner. Let me define what we mean: Update your website at least once per month. This can mean updating with blog posts, new banner images, updating hours, and adding new content.
The idea is to keep your website current and relevant. Google web crawlers look for content that is authoritative and useful to the viewer, so outdated material or broken links will dilute the relevance of your website. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use free tools like Google Analytics to check for old broken links in your website content.
You can also use the analytics from your host platform to understand what popular content your viewers value, and build additional new content around those statistics.
2. MOBILE FRIENDLY WEBSITES:
Most DIY website designers offer you the ability to design for mobile viewing. Make sure you look at your website from all device perspectives, desktop, mobile and tablets. Search algorithms look at many factors and signals, including the words of your query, relevance, and usability of pages.
3. KEYWORDS IN YOUR WEBSITE HEADLINES:
While using keywords in your headlines on each page of your website is important, “keyword stuffing” won’t improve SEO, truth is, it will be a detriment to your search results.
For example, if you are a local hair salon in the town of Bridgewater, NJ, your home page headline may look like this for a higher ranking in Google Search:
Elite Hair Salon: Contemporary boutique hair salon in Bridgewater, New Jersey
Keyword stuffing might look like this:
Elite Hair Salon: Haircuts, blowouts, manicures & pedicures, facials and more in Bridgewater, NJ
4. ADD ALT IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS
Google searches all content to make relevant recommendations to those who are searching on the web, including images.
It is easier to add these alt image descriptions as you insert photos and graphics to your website, rather than going back to fix all of them after. If your website is older and outdated, your images most likely never had descriptions added in the first place. You may want to consider a complete overhaul and start with a brand new website design.
5. GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PROFILE:
This is such an important step for small business and one of the easiest to accomplish!
When you have set up your profile correctly, Google will include a description of your business, show your business reviews, and give viewers information about your business, beyond the simple Google search listing. Here is a step-by-step guide to setting up your Google My Business Profile