| Do you know if your website is working as
hard as it could be? Do you know where to look to find out? You could check your web
traffic logs but that just gives you raw numbers, it doesn't tell you how to fix the
problems.
This checklist will show you how to troubleshoot your
website by finding and fixing potential sales-busters before they have a chance to do
damage.
Interestingly enough, these problems usually aren't big
ticket items. Often they are copywriting, design, or usability flaws that can be patched
up quite simply with a little effort and know-how.
So, here we go... this is what I look for when I conduct a
website content writing and design analysis for visitors to my copywriting website:
Copywriting Factors
Grabby headings and subheadings.
People are looking for an anchor, a place for their eyes to
land when they arrive at your webpage. Help them by providing a heading that demands their
attention and offers a solid benefit.
A customer-centric writing style.
Talk more about "you" than "us" and
answer your prospect's main question: "What can you do for me?" Aim for a tone
that's personal, warm and inviting.
Inverted pyramid.
Your key points, the meat and potatoes, should appear early
in the copy with secondary selling points lower down.
Calls to action.
Never assume that visitors will pick up on your navigation
scheme and find their way around. Tell them right in your copy what they should/can do to
accomplish their goals and provide links to those pages.
Prove it.
Back up your pitch with evidence of past performance,
testimonials, case studies, whatever it takes to prove you're as good as you say you are.
(And be sure to use the full names of real people for your testimonials. Bogus
accreditation like: "- B.R., Boston" abounds on the net and has no credibility.)
Dispel objections.
Ignoring people's reasons for NOT buying doesn't make those
reasons go away, it just makes the people go away. Instead, address their objections and
deflate them.
Flaunt your uniqueness.
Example: A visitor to a web hosting site already knows the
benefits of hosting. What he/she really wants to know is why YOUR hosting service is
better than your competitors'. That's your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and your
business should clearly identify one or more of them in your copy.
Eliminate spelling/grammar mistakes and excessive
punctuation!!!
Proper search engine optimization.
Title tags, description tags, and content should contain
your top keyword phrases. Red flags start flapping if I see a keyword phrase repeated in
your content that doesn't appear in your title tag, or vice versa. I also check to see how
many incoming links you have. These days, link popularity and proper content optimization
are two of the most important SEO strategies.
More good words.
Pages with only a line or two of copy have a much harder
time gaining solid rankings for their chosen keywords not to mention communicating with
their prospective customers.
Design Factors
Professional image.
Your business site should have a pleasing appearance, a
well-designed logo, and a generally grown-up look. An expensive custom design isn't
necessary but anything that looks amateur or homemade diminishes credibility.
Consistency of style.
I look for fonts, page layouts, color schemes, and menus
that stay the same from page to page and within each page.
Unity of design and message.
Does your design style match your message and target
audience? Example: A bold color scheme embellished with cartoon characters and cutesy
fonts might not be suitable for a health care site that caters to adults.
Usability Factors
A tagline and/or statement of purpose in an obvious place.
How long does it take a new visitor to figure out what your
site does? More than a few seconds and your usability score starts to tank.
Text layout.
Replace those long blocks of copy with short paragraphs,
lists, highlighted areas, tables... anything to break up the page into easily-digested
bites.
Navigation labels that make sense.
Don't say "storefront" or "index" when
you mean "home".
Tell the whole story.
Plugging your product or service is only the beginning.
Make it easy for visitors to learn about your guarantee, shipping fees, returns, and other
policies BEFORE they click the buy button, not after.
Short and sweet menus.
Do you have one of those 20-item menus on your home page?
I'm looking for a short, logical menu with a linking structure to internal pages that
shows you put some thought into how visitors will use your site.
This list doesn't cover every potential trouble spot but it
does touch on the main snags that frequently crop up in small- to medium-size business
sites. I hope it helps you determine how well your website is working and how to tweak it
for better performance.
© 2005, Heather Reimer |
