How to get quick web wins

We know that making small, effective changes can have profound effects on traffic, sales and enquiries.

Here, we have collated a number of simple tips which can be quickly implemented by you or your web designer, which can deliver noticeable results if they¹re not already in place.

1) Look at your homepage with a customer’s eyes
Read your homepage, starting at the very top. Do you make it clear to the customer what you do well, or what you sell ¬ or do you get excited about the year your business was founded and other non-essential facts?

2) Install Google Analytics
Learn to understand your traffic. how many visitors, where are they coming from, for which keywords? Set up goals, and allow Google to measure how many of your visitors fill in the enquiry form, for instance.

3) Streamline your enquiry forms
Remove unnecessary field - do you REALLY need that fax number or postcode just to call a potential customer back - or will these fields act as friction to reduce enquiries? Reduce the form to the bare minimum necessary, and enquiries should increase. Also - introduce the form with a short description, explaining what will happen - will they receive a call back in 24 hours, for instance?

4) Get keyword clever
If you¹re not already working on search engine optimisation, think of the prime keyword or phrase for which you want to rank well in Google. Does this appear at least once in your homepage, and the relevant pages on your website? If not, make it so...

5) Get listed in Google Places
If your business will be found by a local search (eg 'plumber in Preston') then it is imperative that you are listed in Google Places. (This takes 5 minutes, just Google it!) By implementing one or more of these simple tips, it is likely that you will see a noticeable difference in the way that your website serves your business.

Leon Calverley
Door4