Is your website actually working? Here's what to look at.

Is your website actually working? That's what I wanna talk about in today's episode. See, we design websites to look good, to make us feel all those butterfly feelings when we land on it. We're really excited to launch it out into the world, but that doesn't mean it's actually working for your business.

Your website's #1 job is to funnel people towards working with you

[00:00:28] So what does a website actually working mean? Here's how I see it. Your website should be the number one marketing tool in your business, which means it should be the place where everybody is funneled to and then moves through the process to work with you.

[00:00:52] Anybody coming from social media or a referral or an email is going to end up on your website. And when they do, when they land on that site, they need to then continue the process of working with you if they're the right fit.

[00:01:11] So your website's job is to let people know if you can help them with the thing they are struggling with right now, and then to move them towards hiring you.

[00:01:25] Now, that might take longer for some people than others. Your website working doesn't mean that everybody who lands on your site is going to pay you five figures the next day. It just means that you are getting people interested in your services and they are being warmed up. They're moving along the process towards eventually working with you.

[00:01:49] So that's the ultimate goal of your website. And if your website is actually working, you should see that process happening. You should see that somebody is coming to your website from Instagram or from an email you sent, and then they're checking out your sales page, applying to work with you, and paying that invoice so that you can work together.

[00:02:14] But there are a lot of little things that can get in the way. So as we are wrapping up this year, 2022, I want you to take a look at the little details of your website to make sure they are working. So that that big picture is also working for your business. Here's a couple of things I want you to take a look at as we end this year and start the new year.

Preview your website on desktop and mobile to make sure the design looks good

[00:02:42] Samantha Mabe: Number one is just do an overall preview of your website. Go to your site, see it load, check out every page on both your desktop computer and on your mobile device. That's your first step, because if that doesn't look good in either of those places, then you're going to have to start with really rethinking the design.

[00:03:12] If that does look good and everything is working, it's loading quickly, the images are right. Then I want you to take a look at the copy. So is everything up to date as far as what you offer, and the people you work with, and your pricing? Is all of that reflective of your business right now and where you want to go? If not, those are the updates that you need to start.

Set up analytics to make sure people are finding your website

[00:03:40] Samantha Mabe: The next thing I want you to evaluate is make sure you have analytics set up on your website and then just take a look at them. You don't have to dive into this really deeply, but you want to make sure that people are coming to your site, that they're not leaving as soon as they land. You're really looking to see that your website is working as far as getting people to your site.

[00:04:10] And then you want to make sure that your website is connected to Google Search Console, which is basically how you tell Google to take a look at your site, evaluate it, and add it to its search engine results. There's not a big step there, it's not complicated, but that's just one of those things you have to do, and you should double check every once in a while to make sure that there are no issues that are coming up so that Google isn't punishing you for something that you could go in and change really quickly.

Plan for the upcoming year and any changes or additions your website will need

[00:04:48] Samantha Mabe: The next thing I want you to take some time to evaluate on your website, after you've looked at the overall design, the copy that it reflects your business, is just to take a moment and plan out any updates that you need to make. So do you want to write a blog that needs to be added? Or do you have a new course coming out and you need a sales page?

[00:05:17] Take some time to think about those things now so that you can plan for them down the road. Whether you need to set aside time to do it yourself, or you need to find a designer to hire, look towards the future to plan for your website as you are wrapping up this year.

Test all your links and forms

[00:05:37] Samantha Mabe: And finally, the last thing that you want to do as you are evaluating whether your website is working, is to test everything. Go through your website and click on all the links. Make sure that they go to the right page. Fill out that contact form and make sure that it's getting to the right place. Fill out your application and make sure that it's getting to your CRM and your inbox. Use your scheduling link to schedule a time with yourself.

[00:06:08] Just make sure that all of that is working correctly so that when somebody comes and lands on your website and is interested in working with you, they're not hitting a dead end or getting lost and confused. That's a really, really easy way to improve the results you're seeing from your website without a ton of effort, because all you're doing is making sure your website is working for you.

Work with Lemon and the Sea to get a new website that's designed to convert clients before the end of Q1 2023

[00:06:36] Samantha Mabe: As we wrap up 2022 and we start Q1 of 2023, if you are looking to upgrade your website and find new clients, please apply for my VIP day. I am happy to talk to you about that process.

[00:06:54] Or if you're not sure if there are things on your website that could be changed and might need some tweaks, you can submit for a free website review at lemonandthesea.com/review and I will go through your site in a Loom video and walk through the thing you are struggling with most so I can answer some questions and give you some suggestions that will improve the conversion rates on your website, improve the design, and you can have all of that ready to go as we start 2023.