Things I keep seeing when reviewing a website

Grouped by the steps people take from finding you to recommending you. Green is what to keep doing, amber is what to watch and red is what to fix.

Awareness

This is when people find out you exist.

Posting regularly helps people find you on Google and keeps your socials interesting. The more content you have, the more ways people can find you.

Telling people what you are doing. You need to tell people. It won't happen by itself.

Being on every social platform but active on none. Five half-empty accounts look worse than one you actually post on. Pick the one your customers use.

Letting AI write your content from scratch. It just looks fake. Write it yourself first, in your own words, then use AI to tidy it up. Not the other way round.

Consideration

This is when people check you out.

Regularly adding new content keeps it interesting. Regularly adding new content makes it feel like something is happening.

A website that has never changed since it was set up. People build trust from what they see. An out of date website can look like you don't care, even if you do. People often visit more than once before deciding, so new content shows you're interested in sharing what you do.

Comment boxes with no comments. It makes it look like a ghost town that no one has visited.

Incorrect business hours on your Google page. People use Google search to see what is open and what is closed. If your hours are wrong, they might not visit even when you are open. The trap is not doing the free thing right, otherwise you could lose business.

Decision

This is when people choose you and get in touch or buy.

Make it easy to get in touch. A phone number, email or booking button on every page, so nobody has to hunt when they're ready. A number they can tap on their mobile to start the call is simple to do and makes it easy to talk to you.

Pages on a website that have been hacked. It suggests you don't take security seriously, which people might assume is true elsewhere too.

The trap of getting a friend to set it up. A friend or family member setting it up is fine, but can they support you next month and do you know what they did? It saves money, but if it's important, make sure it's sustainable.

Retention

This is when customers keep coming back.

Email brings people back because they are not always ready. If they've visited once, you've already done the hard work and perhaps spent money on promotion. Email is a cost effective way to stay in front of people who are interested.

Only getting in touch when you want a sale. If every email is an offer, people stop opening them. Don't make it all about you, make it about them: share a story they'll be interested in. If they want more, they'll know what to do.

Advocacy

This is when happy customers tell others.

Encouraging your loyal supporters to share. It's the good old tell a friend. There's no better marketing than an endorsement.