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Maybe I am not  your target audience, but I want to share a few things that drive me crazy when I am on a website. These are  things I see daily and have even removed a few from my own website (once I realized how annoying they were). Is your website a dealbreaker? Let’s find out!

Keep in mind, you want lots of visitors to your site and you want keep them there as long as you can. This is not just for the opportunity to pick up a new client, Google is watching that stuff! If you are keeping your readers engaged for longer periods of time it affects how you show up in search engine results.

Ads Are Everywhere

If you are a blogger and you have content that I am interested in, I am going to visit your site to read that content.  I know before I get there that you are going to have some ads, maybe some affiliate links, etc., that is how you make a living.  Yes, I get that.

However, if I get there and you have banner ads, pop up ads, sidebar ads and ads in between every paragraph of copy, I’m leaving. I don’t want to show up to read a 700 word blog post on cleaning or repairing my Keurig and have to wade through 12 different ads.

The Dreaded Pop-ups  

I know there is a guru out there somewhere that is telling you that you need to add a popup to really get the reader’s attention, so you can grow your list. You’ve spent all this time creating a workbook or checklist that you really want to give them for free, so that sounds good right?  I say Nay Nay!

There is nothing wrong with putting an opt-in within a blog post.  If I like what I am reading and getting value from that, then I want to sign up. Heck yeah, I’m all in. If I go to your website to read a post and before I can get 5 words in there is a huge pop up covering the screen, I’m leaving. I don’t care how good your content is and I’m not sorry. Put that opt-in in the middle or end of your blog post or even in a sidebar. I can deal with that, I know it’s there if I want it.

Where Are YOU?

Maybe I’ve seen you around hanging out in the same Facebook groups. Then I think, ‘you know they always give good advice, I wonder what he/she does’?  So I click on your profile to find your website. I get there and it looks nice, the colors don’t clash, and there aren’t any popups to drive me away. But I can’t find you…..I mean YOU.  I have to really dig to see what you do and I’m a little confused.

But even worse, there’s nothing there to tell me who you are.  

Do you like animals? Have a sense of humor? Know all the words to my favorite songs?  

You need to inject some personality into your website.  This is the only way to start building a relationship with the people that are showing up on your site. I want to know you, like you, and trust you before I hand you my money and start working with you.

All The Mistakes!

I was in the corporate world for a long long time.  It’s hard sometimes for me to be casual in my communications; i.e., emails, blog posts, FB chats.  I get a lot of grief from a good friend of mine for this very reason. And I get it. I am ok with others that are laid back, I don’t care if you swear, drink wine at 2 in the afternoon, or work in your pajamas (like for days).  

When your website has a ton of mistakes, I can’t take you seriously.  I mean everyone has typos and slips, we can’t catch them all. I know I’ve read back through my own stuff and found mistakes and was horrified.  A typo, messed up spacing or a missing or broken link is not a deal breaker for me.

But when I find multiple mistakes on every page of your website, then I feel like you are not the type of person that is big on attention to detail. So, no offense, I still love your PJs but I’m most likely not working with you.

So do us both a favor, after you read and read again all your content, have someone that you trust read through it for you too.  When we read our own junk, we often see what should be there and it can be really easy to miss those mistakes.

Say Goodbye to 1999

Keep your website updated!  If you’ve been using the same website for the last 5 years, it is most likely time for an update.  

Of course you always want your content up-to-date, but you should also pay attention to your design.

I had a prospective client reach out to me through my facebook business page when I first opened my online business.  When this happens I like to check that person out before I hop on a call. I want to see what they are all about. I want to know what they do and how well they do it; this lets me know how I can best support them.  Well, this particular person did have a website and it looked like a 1980s infomercial. Just a basic ‘here’s what I have, you should buy it for $XX.’

Trying to stand out these days in a competitive online world can be tough.  Make sure you are doing everything you can to keep people interested and learning more about you. Your website is a great place to start!

Take a look at it today, does it still represent who you were in business a couple of years ago?  What type of journey do your potential clients have when they enter your site? Do you have a clear call to action on each page so they know the next steps? Do you have too many distractions?  Is it confusing?

So how did you do? Is your website a dealbreaker? Maybe it’s time to do a little cleanup?

Is it time for a redesign or a whole new website? I have two options to help you get there (if you need it).

Option One

If you want help with this you can connect with me here and we can talk about what you have, what you want, and what you need!

Option Two

Maybe you are the DIY type but need a little more knowledge to do ‘all the things’ to your WordPress site?  You should check out Julia Taylor’s WP Rockstar course – this course will teach you some WP basics, coding tricks, etc. If you are looking for a little more, her Zero to WP Hero course teaches you how to build from the ground up.  This course also includes the Genesis Framework and a Child Theme ($129 value) free with course purchase! You can find her courses here!

This is seriously one of the best courses I have ever taken.  It is so full of content and extras it should be 3 times this amount (and probably will be soon). Julia knows her stuff!