Small business owners are the engine of the U.S economy, and as a group, they rightly have a great deal to be proud of. When it comes to their company’s website however, their past success can be a hindrance.

As someone who often works with small business owners, below are the 3 most common mistakes we correct on their websites.

Mistake #1: Too much information on the home page

Because they have so much personally invested in their company’s accomplishments they place everything, including the kitchen sink, on their home page. Every service, every product, every press item, they want to find a way for it to all be front and center. Unfortunately, that leaves a home page where nothing stands out and users have no idea where to look.

A properly designed home page creates interest and drives users further into the site. That’s it. The rest of the website provides additional detail in the areas, products, or services that interest the user.

A home page should introduce users to the company, and tell them quickly (within 3 seconds):

• What this company does
• Why they should spend more time on this site (Point of Difference)
• Where they should click to get more details for whatever product or service they are interested in.

Mistake #2: Pride and emotion driving website decisions

Many small business owners are emotionally invested in and proud of their businesses, as they should be. They have had to trust their instincts on the road to success.

When it comes to their website, for many it is outside their area of expertise. This is not true only from a technical standpoint, but from a business standpoint as well. This is one area where industry knowledge, instincts and knowing their customers may not be enough.

Understanding how users behave online is a critical component when making decisions that affect a website.

• Gather data (through Google Analytics or other analytic tool), analyze the data, and understand how people are interacting with your site.
• Do an online competitive analysis. Know who your competitors are when potential clients search for the products or services you provide. You may be surprised to find your online competitors are different from your offline competition.
• Get to know your online competitor’s websites. Are theirs easier to use, or easier to understand?

Armed with accurate data and not emotion, you can make decisions that are right for your business and your website.

Mistake #3: Website content written using internal company language

The best use of a website is as a place where potential customers, who are looking for products or services like yours but who don’t know you exist, can find you. The website will introduce your business to potential customers. If it speaks to users who have never heard of your company, you can rest assured it is useful to those that have.

In order to write content that speaks to complete strangers make sure you do not use:

• Internal company language (every business has some forms of short hand)
• Industry acronyms (you’ll lose out on those new to the industry)
• Colorful language that is cute or funny to those who know you (outsiders may not get it or find it cute)

Read your website content and ask yourself, if I were speaking to a total stranger at a party, is this exactly how I would describe my business? And if so, would they understand it or would I need to explain further. If you would need to provide additional explanation, then the content will not be clear to a new user. Unfortunately, online you will not have the opportunity to clarify, because the user will have already clicked off your site and on to a competitor’s.

Take some time to look at your website with fresh eyes the way a new visitor would. If you find your site has any of these common mistakes, rest assured that you are not alone. Then, create a plan to fix them. Once you have tackled these problems, you will see how much more powerful a business tool your website can be.

Digital Marketing, Website Design business to business, competitive analysis, Content, Online Content, Online Marketing, Small Business, Website Content, Website Design, Website Usability

You shouldn’t be sending leads to your website, your website should be sending leads to you.

“The thing is our website is where we send leads to get more information. It’s basically like a digital brochure.”

The next time you hear anyone in your marketing or sales department utter those words, let them know if that’s how they view the website, it would probably have been less costly to create some printed collateral to give potential customers then to invest in a website.

The Internet is the best way to let people you don’t know and who don’t know you, but who need what you have, find you.

Create a website so that it’s helpful to users who know nothing about you, and keep in mind that they will be stopping by your competitor’s sites as well. Help them understand what you do or sell and why they should consider doing business with you. For B2B sites (especially those with complex sales cycles), you don’t need to put every tiny detail about your business front and center.

Remember that for B2B sites that don’t have an e-commerce function (like selling white paper downloads, for instance) the goal of a website isn’t to close a potential sale, it’s to create interest. The website should introduce your company to the user in a way that gets you on their short list. You simply want them to say, “I should get more information from these guys.”

That’s why if you’re investing in a website, it should be more than a high-tech, high-priced, brochure. Brochure’s are generally given to people following some sort of interaction. They are given out after a sales person has provided some background on the business. Even a 30 second conversation can put the information that’s in the brochure into context.

That process is backwards. Rather than using a person to provide initial information and sending leads to your site for more information, create a website so it can be easily found and write it so it provides the necessary introductory information.

It will act as your best salesperson, working 24/7 to get your business in front any potential customer looking for what you provide. Done correctly, the website will lead them to you for more information.

Marketing, Website Content, Website Design B2B, business to business, Lead Generation, Leads, Online Content, Online Marketing, Small Business, Website Design, Website Usability