I can’t tell you how many websites I have looked at, many designed by ‘professional’ web design / development companies that don’t even have the most BASIC pieces in place to prepare them to be found, to generate traffic, or EVER come up in the search engines!
Knuckleheaded mistakes I see ALL THE TIME:
- Thick, dense bodies of text – unless you’re writing for a highly dedicated and specialized intellectual market or something, this is a big no no.
- No clear direction as to what visitors to your website need to DO next
- Poor writing or writing not geared to the target audience
- It’s boring. Doesn’t clearly communicate a competitive advantage
- It is missing the most BASIC items that any site that ever wants to rank well needs.
My friends, your website is competing with millions of others – MILLIONS. The least you can do is make it easy for Google to understand what you do and I implore you, PLEASE, before you consider working with ANYBODY to build a website for your business or do any kind of marketing online you read this page and take a look at the factors below.
First of all, what is their core business?
Are they an I.T. company, design firm or advertising agency?
If building websites that are designed to rank well and bring you RESULTS isn’t their core business, I would keep looking. They might not be a bad choice to work with but it’s critical you ask questions and are comfortable that they understand and have a plan for your website to generate RESULTS (not just look pretty).
1) How attractive and user friendly is their website?
2) Is their site linked to Facebook, Twitter, Google and other social media?
If they aren’t, or they are but only have a handful of “friends” and “fans,” I would be highly cautious about doing business with them. In this day and age, there is no excuse for not connecting via social media. It speaks to their reputation and commitment to quality if they are willing to allow past customers and new customers interact.
3) They should be more than willing to share testimonials and references from long term, satisfied clients.
I would suggest contacting those references and politely asking them if they are happy with their results.(Make sure their testimonials aren’t 4 years old!)
*** Another trick I fell for (trusting testimonials that were real but 5 years old)
4) How would your web site traffic be monitored and measured? What type of reports will you get and how often will you receive them?
Ask to see a sample of a clients recent reporting. Very important.
5) Do they have detailed case studies to show you with verifiable results of search engine positions they’ve achieved for clients?
Ask to see a sample of a clients recent reporting.
They don’t have this? RUN. You are better off with an attractive, FREE website you can build yourself vs. one that doesn’t bring you traffic, help build your brand or puts money in the bank.
6) Will they perform an analysis of your competitions’ websites to understand why they are ranking so highly?
This won’t be free but it can be incredibly helpful in identifying opportunities. Ask for a sample copy of a competitor’s report they produced for somebody else so you know what to expect. If they can’t or don’t know how to do this – find somebody else.
7) Do they differentiate between “traffic” and “qualified” traffic?
Bulk unqualified traffic arriving at your site for irrelevant keywords does you NO good.
8) Never do business with anybody who claims to have a “special | secret | affiliation | relationship” with Google in any way.
This is a LIE. Worse than just losing your money, there is a good chance you may end up with your site penalized and possibly removed from Google all together.
9) Are they versed in email marketing, video marketing, social media? Can they help design an effective call to action that will appeal to your target audience?
My guess is you don’t just need a website, you need a website that HELPS you achieve your business goals, right? That means you need to work with somebody that knows how to deliver results.
10) Never do business with anybody that GUARANTEES a #1 ranking on Google or any other search engine.
If ‘keyword research’, ‘qualified traffic’, ‘conversions’ are not words you hear PLEASE, give us a call at Saw Web Marketing! The last thing you want to do is join the legions of business owners with websites that just ‘sit there’ doing NOTHING!
SEO takes time, patience and a determined, focused effort. You need somebody who is committed to your long term success.
If your website is not built with SEO in mind, then you might as well spend thousands of dollars on flyers with no phone number, and spend all month passing them out.
The only thing that a poorly designed website does for you is look good on a business card. That’s it. If you want a consistent stream of phones calls, leads, sales, subscriptions, and appointments, it’s critical your website has the tools to succeed.
We invite you to read more blog articles. Feel free to print them out and take them with you when meeting with website contractors. If they can’t discuss the subjects on this blog in a way that’s easy to understand Our number is 316-285-0729. We would love to partner with you.
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