Strategic Connections: Tips for Refreshing Your Website

A website that’s easy to find, readable, and informative is key

By: Ashley Clemons

Now more than ever consumers depend on the internet to have all the answers to their questions. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. Whatever the case, having your website easily findable, readable, and informative is crucial to providing potential and existing customers the information they are searching for.

Ease of Information

Consumers want answers, and they want them now. Ideally, they don’t want to read through a lengthy paragraph with filler material to get the information they’re looking for. Making sure your services and products are easily listed in a concise manner provides the quick service many consumers are looking for.

While keeping things simple is important, it’s also essential to keep the consumer’s interest. This can be done by adding interactive content to your website. Interactive content could be a Q&A section or a quick video explaining a product, service, or offering.

Make sure your website doesn’t require consumers to bounce between too many pages when searching for information. Once consumers have found what they’re looking for, they need to know what’s next. Having a call to action on each page is imperative to keeping consumers on their journey to finding you.

Self-service Options

With almost every product or service out there today, accessibility to that product or service is crucial. While some consumers still like to discuss in person or over the phone, many are moving away from this interaction if at all possible.

Having self-service options such as online account opening, applications, or fillable forms is essential to providing the best website and online experience. Giving consumers the ability to choose which avenue they use to interact with your business is a sign of excellent customer service and shows your commitment to your customers.

Staying Up to Date

Keeping your website up to date does not have to be an overbearing idea. Check in with each department on a schedule that works for you to make sure all information is still current and what consumers are asking for.

Use Google to Your Advantage

The first place a consumer will go to find answers is Google. Being at or near the top of search results is vital to directing consumers to your website as many consumers will not look past the first four search results. Make sure your website is using key words in multiple places that consumers search for. This can be done ‘behind the scenes’ by giving titles to your pictures that are uploaded and links to blogs or other helpful webpages.

Google is a great space to track how consumers are interacting with your website. Google Analytics will show which pages consumers are interacting with most and is a great starting point when deciding which of your webpages to focus on updating first or most often.

Clemons is vice president – marketing at The Peoples Community Bank, Mazomanie, and member of the 2022–2023 WBA Marketing Committee.