You want a website that will convert prospects into contacts. You want your website to be profitable, and you want a website that will further the goals YOU define. So, how can you tell if your website is working?
A lot of people look at the number of site visits or clicks each month as a measure of success. However, those traffic numbers alone are a bad indicator of how well your website is working for your business. Believe it or not, you can have a TON of traffic coming in that doesn’t actually result in clients, cases, or referrals!
If you really want to know if your website is working for you, forget about traffic and number of clicks. Below, we’ll talk about ten things to look at instead.
1. Does your website look great in comparison to other sites?
The internet is a very visual medium. So, if your website looks shoddy compared to the sites your potential clients visit before and after, you’re probably losing business.
This isn’t a small consideration! While some readers might climb over a clunky design to get to your content, that isn’t the “norm” online. Let’s face it—most people won’t stick around if your site looks cheesy, crowded, unreadable, or outdated. Instead, people WILL move on to a site that looks more professional and accessible.
Does your current design leave a lot to be desired? Find out how often you should redesign your law firm’s website or your medical practice’s website. If your site looks bad, you could be immediately chasing away all the traffic that you’ve worked hard to attract.
2. Does your website load fast?
Site speed isn’t THE most important factor, especially compared to some of the other things that made it onto this list. However, it IS something we get a lot of questions about, and it does have an impact on your website’s overall performance.
Web users aren’t really known for their patience, and they’re not going to wait for a site that’s bogged down with graphics and widgets or takes more than a few seconds to load. This is another situation where someone might come in from a Google search, but leave before your page has even loaded—and that doesn’t help either of you.
Find out how to make sense of the site speed/SEO connection.
3. Is your website chock-full of relevant content?
Ultimately, people use search engines because they have questions and are looking for answers. That means great content will always be king!
Interesting blogs, helpful articles, and compelling videos are great “bait” for attracting organic traffic to your website. However, that rich, relevant content serves as way more than just a traffic generator; it’s also your best chance to make a real connection with potential clients.
When your content strategy is working well, you’ll see lower bounce rates and more engagement on your website. People will visit more pages, and they’ll be more likely to take action while they’re there.
Don’t leave people to search through your website on their own, though. There’s a lot you can do to motivate people toward your most relevant content and goal pages. If your content offers real value to them, and you’ve optimized your content with internal links and calls to action, then you’re driving valuable relationships to your business—not just traffic.
Find out how to promote your content to attract more readers.
4. Does your website give you good leads?
Now, here’s a big question: are you getting quality leads through your website? If the answer is “no,” then your website isn’t really working for you. It’s that simple.
The whole goal of creating and maintaining a website for your law firm or medical practice is to attract quality leads. Ideally, the people contacting you through your website should be people that fit your “perfect client” avatar and are a good fit for your services. If, on the other hand, you get tons of contacts from people that don’t need your services or aren’t a good fit, it’s tough to say that your website is truly effective.
5. Do visitors stick around?
This is something we touched on when we talked about content above, but it’s worth digging a little deeper. Lots of lawyers and podiatrists have trouble with high bounce rates, which indicates that people are coming to their websites—but they’re leaving just as quickly. Those visitors aren’t digging around for more information. They aren’t engaging with a lot of your content or messaging. It can be infuriating because they’re clearly coming to your website—they just don’t like what they see.
Without laying eyes on it, it’s tough to say exactly what might be causing a high-bounce-rate situation on your site. There are a lot of things that contribute to it, and finding the right solution usually means looking at each affected page of your website individually. However, the good news is that a lot of the fixes are fairly quick and easy.
Worried about people suddenly leaving your website? Find out everything you need to know about bounce rates.
6. Does it work seamlessly on mobile?
Not all website designs work well with mobile devices. If yours is one that doesn’t, it’s safe to say that you’re missing out on key clients, contacts, and conversions. And, since your mobile audience is often your local audience, too, you risk shutting out exactly the people and cases you built your website to attract.
Mobile search is such a huge part of the market that this is absolutely not optional. Your website has to be built to adapt to whatever device people choose to view it on. That starts with the code of your website, but it reaches into lots of other design decisions you have to make. You want to provide an optimized mobile experience that’s easy, seamless, consistent, and convenient.
Need to improve the user experience for people using mobile devices? Check out these mobile marketing essentials for your website.
7. Does your website match your business?
This one is a little subjective, and it’s a question only you can answer. Does your website really match how you think about your business today? Is it moving you toward your current goals? Have you “outgrown” the design or content you started with? Do the tone and “feel” of your website match the experience people have when they call you or come into your office?
Your website is often the very first place people learn about you, your services, and your brand. If the first impression they leave with doesn’t match the actual experiences they have with you, they’re going to be confused. And, if the experience falls short of the expectations your website set for them, then they’re going to be disappointed.
If you’re someone that depends on referrals, word-of-mouth excitement, or repeat clients, a mismatched website can be a disaster in the making—ESPECIALLY when it’s getting tons of traffic! Instead, your website needs to succeed in being a natural extension of your brick-and-mortar office.
8. Can you easily track website data and contacts?
This might sound a little circular, but one measure of how well your website is working for you is if you can easily measure how well it’s working for you!
It’s amazing how many lawyers and podiatrists maintain their websites without looking at the wealth of performance data available. Sometimes, it’s because some web companies make it tough to access those numbers. Sometimes, though, it’s just fear that holds people back.
You need to know if leads are coming in from your website, and you need to be able to track your contacts and campaigns. You need to know how to get your website’s performance data and how to get answers on what each of those data points means for your business. If you can’t, then you’re just groping around in the dark!
Need a better plan for tracking your leads and performance data? Check out what you can do with our marketing automation software: DSS.
9. Do people already have answers when they call?
Your website can do a lot to educate incoming leads and new clients about what you do and what they should expect. So, when people do eventually call you or make an appointment with you, they already have a lot of the answers they need.
This is a great indicator that your website is working well for you. When people are informed, they’re better able to self-select the services that fit them best, meaning you get leads that are a better fit for your business. People are able to formulate and ask better questions when they’ve already had an introduction to major concepts, and that means your clients can be more engaged in working with you on a solution. As you can imagine, using your website to inform can also save you and your staff a ton of time at intake.
Your website’s design can highlight the most helpful and important information you offer, so new visitors can quickly find the answers they need. You and your content writing team can create useful FAQs, articles, and videos that explain the basics and get new visitors up to speed.
Think about the questions that people really ask, and put those answers front and center on your site. You want to be the business that is there for your perfect clients in the critical “micro-moment.”
10. Do you look forward to updating your website?
If you dread updating your website, it’s probably not working for you. If you hate your content management system (CMS), you’re probably not able to keep your website as current and effective as it could be.
This goes beyond leads and numbers and gets into real quality-of-life considerations. Your website should be something that works to make your life easier. You shouldn’t have to fight the software to make simple updates. It shouldn’t be painful to complete routine marketing tasks and maintenance. You know you’re working with the right developers and software when managing your website becomes easy—and even fun!
At Foster Web Marketing, we know what it takes to create website designs that will convert prospects into contacts and clients. If you’re ready to level up or take your website in a new—and more profitable—direction, give us a call at 888.886.0939 or schedule a website design consultation with our award-winning team.
Are You Wondering If Your Law Firm Or Medical Practice Website Is Standing Up To The Competition? It's Likely Time For A Website Redesign.
If you're convinced your website is outdated, chances are it is. Help is available, however. Please contact us online or call our office directly at 888.866.0939 to schedule your free website redesign consultation with our experienced marketing team. We have been helping clients throughout the United States and internationally since 1998 and are confident we can help you not only reach, but exceed your goals.