We sell great websites, so of course we’re going to tell you they’re good for your bottom line. But if you’re looking for percentages and dollar amounts to benchmark what a “great website” is capable of, this is the list for you.
Every marketing campaign — whether it’s in print or online — is about grabbing people’s attention, convincing them you’re the best at what you do, persuading them to buy what you’re selling, and bringing them back for more. Some websites do that better than others, and we’ve got proof.
#1. No SEO optimization = no site visitors
Marketing consultants and SEO experts have a saying: “The best place to hide a dead body is on the second page of the Google search results.” Unfortunately, that’s more than just a catchy quote based on anecdotal evidence. Advanced Web Ranking calculated the click-through rates for over two million keywords and found that 30% of users clicked on the first search result…and less than 1% clicked on the 11th (or the first result on page two).
Has a website ever reached out and invited you to visit? No, because that’s not how the internet works. A great website’s primary focus is not on generating leads — it’s on capturing them. To capture leads, your website needs to be one of the first options searchers encounter.
#2. Site performance dictates conversions
Another statistic that gets thrown around is average user attention span. We’ve written about that topic in the context of email newsletter campaigns, but what about other website performance metrics? User attention spans don’t just affect how long your content should be, they also affect the importance of page load speeds.
The efficiency of your site’s CSS code and the speed of your web server may only affect load times by a fraction of a second, but we live in demanding times. SOASTA monitors the performance of multimillion dollar eCommerce websites and in one case study found that pages that were just one second slower to load suffered a 27% reduction in conversion rates. If you’re aiming for “great” status, make sure the backend of your site is finely tuned.
#3. Design matters
In its The State of Content report, Adobe stated that 38% of users will leave a website and never return if the content/layout is unattractive. You don’t need Don Draper to solve that marketing mystery, but you will need an accomplished web designer to stay ahead of evolving trends in website production. The overarching look and feel of your site may remain the same for a couple years, but to get the most out of it you need to regularly add content.
Every time you change the content on a page, the layout and design shifts. If you don’t want 40% of site visitors to immediately hit the Back button, double-check that the changes are in line with your design goals.
#4. Content marketing is cheaper…and more effective
A lof ot experts use fear to sell the importance of web design. “You need a site because 90% of customers start their search online!” Although that’s true, websites are also great because of how efficient they are at marketing your business. Digital content marketing costs 62% less than traditional strategies (e.g. print ads, TV commercials, etc.) and are three times more effective.
Regularly producing blogs, eBooks and newsletters establishes your business as a subject matter expert and gives prospects, customers and promoters a reason to keep coming back for more.
In short, great websites translate into better, cheaper marketing opportunities. As we see it, there are three ways to go about creating and managing a great website:
- You do it in-house, which even with a low-budget do-it-yourself platform will require 1-2 full-time staff.
- You outsource some or all of the website creation to individual designers, coders and writers.
- You hire a website management company that provides a complete solution.
With route number three from Pronto Marketing you pay a flexible one-time build fee based on your custom requirements and a low monthly website support fee starting at just $99 per month. In one year’s time that adds up to just 25% of a Marketing Coordinator’s annual salary. If you’re in the market for a great website, call Pronto today.
