It's not just about page one of Google

Many business owners believe that having their website on page one of Google is the holy grail - the be all and end all - and is the one thing that will guarantee them success and future growth, but there is more to it than this alone.

In many cases, this is true, but there is a very important element, that goes hand in hand with a high Google ranking. This is the need to have a website that engages visitors, keeps them interested and converts them into leads and new sales.

In my role at Total SEO & Marketing I see hundreds of different websites in many different industries and I am always astounded at some of the basic errors I find on professional business sites.

It is all about making the website appear credible, trustworthy and professional and it can only take a small issue to turn a potential sale into someone hitting the back button.

Below are the 10 most common issues I see on websites that can lose a sale:

1. The website has no testimonials from past customers - what better way of showing how brilliant your business is than showcasing comments from happy customers?

2. Stock images - I hate these. They look unprofessional, and do not make businesses look credible...avoid at all costs!

3. Lack of personality - websites often miss the trick of showing the people behind the business. Remember, people buy from people and potential customers want to see the smiley faces of all the people involved in the business.

4. Contact details are hard to find (or non existent) - make sure phone numbers and email addresses are easy to find onsite. Put them in the header, footer and on a well laid out contact page, the same with social media links.

5. No 'About' page - this is another common one. Statistics show that the 'about' page is generally the second most viewed page on a website. Potential customers are bound to want to find out about the business before they commit, so why would you not have one?

6. No call to action - many businesses seem to think having a submission form on their contact page is enough. Every single page of a website should have a compelling call to action. As an example, if you run a driving school, have a submission form that says '10 Things You Need To Know Before You Book Your First Driving Lesson', get visitors to put in an email address to download the PDF (yes, you will need to write it), in return you get a lead which you can follow up on a day or two after (you can also add them to your newsletter database). This is a tried and tested method of getting more new business.

7. No live chat system - maybe you like them, maybe you hate them, who cares! They work and your website should have live chat, there are loads of different systems out there. We love the one provided by Snap Engage due to the huge array of options and reasonable pricing.

8. Lack of video content - the longer you keep visitors on your site, the longer your brand and offerings are in front of them. Video content makes your site more 'sticky' (this means people stick around longer) and are more likely to convert into a lead or a sale.

9. No tagline - in some cases, businesses have a fairly generic name. This brand name may mean something to people in the know, but to a new potential customer, it can mean nothing. As an example, 'FD Supplies' is meaningless and a visitor to the website may take a quick glance at their logo or header and think they are in the wrong place, and leave the site. With a tagline 'FD Supplies - Food Direct to Your Door' it all becomes very clear, very quickly.

10. Slow loading pages - there is nothing more frustrating and a sure fire way to make visitors to leave your site, if your site loads slow. Get it sorted! This can be done with some speed work (usually compressing images) or worst case, move to a new host.

So, it isn't all about being on page one. It is all about being on page one with a website that converts visitors into leads and new business. You need to look at your website as a machine that is designed to fulfill a function, all business owners should know what percentage of their visitors turn into leads - and then sales, and then take steps to get this figure higher.

If you are struggling with website conversions, or need to get your site ranked high on page one of Google, visit our website www.total-seo.co.uk for a free review and advice.

Simon Chapple is Director of Search at Total SEO & Marketing. He has been in the search marketing industry for over 10 years and prides himself on helping businesses get more new business from being found online.