Find and Remove Hidden Barriers to Your Website’s Success
Your business website is not “just a website.”
Neither is it an online billboard.
Or a digital brochure… Those days are long past.
Now, it’s a multifunctional platform that helps visitors discover what makes your service or products unique to them!
The “to them” part is essential.
Some people are looking for a dentist who is exceptionally skilled at treating people who are afraid of the dentist, and some are looking for a dentist who employs only the latest technology.
What makes your business special to you will usually only be important to your customer much later in the process. You know, things like, “We’ve served the community since 1958!”
Your prospect won’t care until they believe your unique service or product will solve their problem.
The Critical Oversight
However, many businesses fail to understand this basic principle, so many underestimate their website’s potential despite its strategic importance. They build a website but forget that it requires ongoing SEO and neglect UX best practices altogether.
By neglecting SEO and UX best practices, companies risk:
• Losing potential customers
• Falling behind competitors
• Missing critical conversion opportunities
The Bottom Line
An unoptimized website isn’t just a missed opportunity—it’s a competitive disadvantage in today’s digital marketplace. Here are four more ways you can find yourself at a disadvantage:
1. You’re Invisible to Your Target Audience
Visibility is key. Without SEO best practices, your website is like a needle in a haystack. Your target audience uses search engines, and search engines rely on the quality of your SEO to rank your site. It is a waste of your money if it doesn’t rank well.
Are you aware that 70-80% of searchers ignore paid ads? They choose to focus only on organic results. If your website isn’t optimized with the right keywords, technical SEO, and content that answers searchers’ questions, you’re missing out on free, highly targeted traffic.
What’s at stake:
- Losing organic traffic and potential customers.
- Falling behind your competitors.
- Needing to pay for traffic that could be free
2. You Could Be Penalized by Google for Poor Practices
Google and the other search engines are constantly evolving. Sites that don’t keep up risk being penalized. If your website uses outdated SEO practices or fails to meet Google’s standards… it can drop in rankings—or worse, be de-indexed altogether.
What’s at stake:
- Significant drops in search rankings and organic traffic.
- The potential for a manual penalty that removes your site from Google’s index entirely.
- Increased costs for paid ads to compensate for lost organic traffic.
3. Accessibility: Creating an Inclusive Online Experience
Accessibility is more than a cultural buzzword—it’s a legal and ethical necessity. Ensuring your website is accessible means everyone, including people with disabilities, can use it. By overlooking accessibility, you alienate potential customers and could also face legal repercussions.
According to the CDC, 28.7% of adults have some form of disability. That’s a significant portion of your potential target market! How much stronger would your business be with a market 25+% larger?
A Web Content Audit evaluates how well your site accommodates diverse users, such as those with visual impairments, hearing loss, or mobility challenges. It examines elements like alt text for images, color contrast, and screen reader compatibility.
What’s at stake:
- Excluding a significant portion of your audience.
- Legal liabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to provide accessible digital spaces.
- Damaged reputation. A website that isn’t inclusive may reflect poorly on your brand’s values.
4. You Risk Not Being Ready for AI
Humans can set aside their frustration with a website to search for the necessary information (though we know they often won’t). AI can’t. Humans can look at a picture and interpret it. AI can’t (at least not yet).
More than 77 million US households are estimated to have smart speakers, and 52% of smart speaker users report using them almost daily. And that number doesn’t consider all the voice searches initiated via mobile phones.
Outdated or Vague Content Confuses AI and Your Audience
AI tools rely on well-structured, accurate, and up-to-date content to provide meaningful answers to user queries. If your site’s content is outdated or unclear, AI will struggle to interpret it, leading to misrepresentation or exclusion from AI-driven search results.
What’s at stake:
- Disappearing from voice searches.
- Being ignored by AI algorithms that favor sites with straightforward, current content.
- Misinforming potential customers due to outdated or inaccurate information.
Act Now Before It’s Too Late
The risks of ignoring a Web Content Audit focused on SEO and UX best practices are far too significant for any business to overlook. Fortunately, a Web Content Audit is an easy process.
Once your audit is complete, you’ll have a roadmap that helps you:
• Improve search rankings.
• Enhance user experience.
• Drive more conversions.
• Stay ahead of the competition.
Don’t let your website become a liability.
Make the smart choice and invest in a Web Content Audit today. It’s the first step toward creating a website that doesn’t just exist—but thrives, grows, and drives results for your business.
Have you already tackled these challenges? Stay ahead by exploring more ways to optimize. Check out the first part of this guide – 4 Ways Your Website Could Be Holding Your Business Back – to see if you’re missing anything critical.