How User Friendly is Your Website?

Marni Weinberg - October 21, 2009

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is and always has been a core competency of MoreVisibility. We have been advising companies’ for ten years how to make their sites more SEO friendly. That being said, it is also imperative not to forget the importance of ensuring that your site is User Friendly.

When was the last time you looked at your site from a visitor’s perspective? We all get busy with day to day nuances and before you know it, a year has passed since you completed a thorough review from the standpoint of a user. I encourage you to take the time to visit your site and go through it page by page. Really read through your content; does it read the way you want it to or should it be updated? Are there new offerings that should be included? Perhaps different or updated calls to action would be appropriate?

Important items to take note of:

Make sure your pages load quickly and without errors.  Did you know that Google will penalize you if your pages have slow load times? In other words, if an advertiser’s landing page loads slowly once an ad is clicked on, the ad position and minimum bid for keywords will be affected, as will your Quality Score.

Is your site easy to navigate? Think like a customer; make it seamless for your visitors to maneuver through your site and find exactly what they are looking for. For example, if they click on “Newsletter Signup”, you will want to ensure this brings them to a simple and user friendly form to complete.

Does your site have clear calls to action? What is it that you want your visitors to do? Here are some examples of calls to action that are clear and to the point: Call Now, Act Now, Click Here, Enter Coupon Code for Discount, Enter Your Email Address, etc.
Remember, your website is a representation of you. Make sure it says exactly what you want it to say.