BEST PRACTICES/COMMUNICATION
HOW DOES YOUR WEBSITE SCORE?
48 TCBusiness.com
Beverly B. Jones is the owner
of PD/GO Digital Marketing
of Stuart (www.pdgostuart.
com, 772-600-8330). She
is also a public relations
professional and has been
in business on the Treasure
Coast for 25 years.
BEVERLY B. JONES
No matter whether you’ve just launched a new website or
have had one for many years, your website should showcase
your business professionally and build your reputation 24/7.
There are many best practices for building and maintaining
your website as well as additional advanced concepts,
including:
THE BASICS
• Do you have a properly installed SSL certificate? This
encrypts your data during transfer and can help Google
rankings.
• Is your website mobile responsive? More than half of today’s
web searches are on a mobile device, not a desktop.
• Is there a clear call-to-action or call-to-action button?
• Can the viewer quickly understand what your product or
service is and how you can help them?
• Do you have a Google My Business profile and is it properly
claimed and configured? This is a powerful tool for reaching
customers with relevant information that you should use.
• Does your website load quickly? Be sure that your website
loads within five seconds or your visitor may leave. Make
sure the photos and image files are properly optimized so
they don’t slow down page loading time.
• Is your website easily found on a Google search?
• How did your website score? If your website failed on any
of these items, you may want to seek a professional web
developer for assistance.
Here are two other areas that are very important for you
to consider but are not talked about as much.
ADA ACCESSIBLE
Is your website accessible by people with disabilities? The
Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) require that businesses and organizations that offer
goods and/or services to the public must make sure that
these services are easily enjoyed by those with disabilities.
In recent years, this law has been interpreted to apply to all
web-based and electronic content as well, requiring that
websites be easily accessible for those who are blind or have
low vision as well as deaf. Businesses whose websites fail to
comply with this standard are vulnerable to legal claims that
can cost a small fortune in court costs and legal settlements.
Statistics show that 71 percent of web users with a disability
will leave sites that are not accessible. That is potentially a
lot of lost revenue.
Getting your website in compliance could help you get
favorable rankings with Google and other major search
engines.
STATISTICS SHOW
THAT 71 PERCENT OF
WEB USERS WITH A
DISABILITY WILL LEAVE
SITES THAT ARE NOT
ACCESSIBLE. THAT IS
POTENTIALLY A LOT OF
LOST REVENUE.
Your website is an extension of your business and
represents who you are as an organization or service.
Your brand will gain more credibility when you are able
to demonstrate that you aim to serve everyone without
discrimination.
REVIEWS
Does your business have more online reviews and a
higher star rating than your competitors?
Is your business likely to get the first phone call by an
interested party?
Online reviews are the equivalent of word-of-mouth
recommendations. In fact, 84 percent of people trust
online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.
Fortunately, there are review acquisition services available
to increase the number of reviews you receive on
Google and Facebook.
Businesses can easily utilize their customer database
to reach out and ask for reviews. If you have a large
customer base, you have the potential for garnering
hundreds of reviews in a matter of weeks.
Your website is like an employee working for you 24/7.
Be sure you are keeping it up to date and on track with
the latest trends and technologies. v
/TCBusiness.com
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