Small Business Website Audit: 6 Essential Fixes to Prevent Costly Mistakes
In 2016, Wells Fargo made headlines for failing to oversee its account-opening practices. This costly oversight damaged its reputation and customer trust. Similar issues with oversight can have a similar impact on small businesses. This is true even in seemingly small areas like website performance. The consequences can be dire if customers struggle to trust […]
6 Proven Headline Hacks to Skyrocket Your Click-Through Rates Today
Have you ever walked up to a business and thought how inviting the place looked? Or maybe you started up the stairs only to have a snarling bouncer step up to block your way. In the world of websites, that’s the job of the headline. If you craft the wrong headline, it doesn’t matter what […]
From Solitaire to Sales: Rescuing Your Neglected Website
“I don’t get it. The people who built my website did SEO and said I’d be all set, but I’m not getting any sales!” It’s a common complaint. Most small businesses hire someone to build a website for them. A few do it themselves or have a relative build one. Eventually, it is launched, and […]
The Power of Proof: How to Build Credibility and Win Over Customers with Evidence
The ads looked great, and the trailer was hilarious. The cast was a fantastic collection of comic actors, so my buddies and I were at the theatre on opening night. We had our popcorn and soda, and we were ready to laugh. Then the movie started… And to our surprise, it wasn’t funny at all. […]
3 Steps to Improve the Writing on Your Website
Most business owners are not writers and do not want to become writers. However, unless they can afford to hire a writer, they are often left to supply the text (what the industry calls ‘copy’) on their website. So they stare at a blank page and eventually write something like this little blurb: When T.D. […]
Don’t Be That Guy: The Website Investment That Pays You Back
You know the scene. You’re sitting at your desk trying to go unnoticed when your name is called. You’ve been summoned to the front. All eyes are on you as you are asked to explain the subject to the crowd. Except… You don’t know the answer. Now everyone knows you don’t know. And you feel […]
Title Tags: Don’t Suck Here!
I had finished my last set of squats at the gym when the woman working on the rack beside me exclaimed, “I’m so weak!” Her trainer grinned at me and chuckled. The woman is anything but weak. He shook his head, “You’re not weak, your technique sucks!” It’s true in so many things. You will […]
Demystifying USP: How to Craft Your Unique Selling Proposition
What is a USP? Is it an Undersized Sandpaper Project? It might feel like that if you don’t understand what it is. Especially if you find yourself on the spot trying to explain your company’s USP. Right about then, you’d want to explain why USP stood for United Spectacled Panthers or Untied Shoe Possibilities. USP […]
Beyond the Surface: The Critical Role of Alt Tags in Web Design
I’ll call him Mark. I didn’t know him well. He was tall, gangly, and awkward. He couldn’t catch a football, and you never saw him at a school dance. Of course, I don’t blame him. The girls either avoided him altogether or mocked him. He hung out in the library, a teacher’s classroom, or the […]
No More Escape Room Websites: How to Keep Visitors Engaged
Is your website a portal to the products or services your visitors seek, or is it an escape room? Escape rooms have been amazingly popular over the past decade or so. If you’ve never been in one, you and the rest of your team are “locked” in a themed room and are challenged to solve […]