Top Website Mistakes Small Businesses Make
Recently I’ve had the good fortune of doing search engine optimization for small businesses–working in conjunction with a great web design team.
But one of the things I’ve noticed is how many mistakes small business owners makes when it comes to their websites and when working with a web design team.
So what are those mistakes?
- Ignoring the professional advice of someone who does know.
This is not just an online mistake because I see people hiring professionals and then ignoring their advice. But when you do this online it actually sabotages the success of the online presence of that small business. When working with a professional web team–take their advice as it will save you time and money.
- Don’t put everything in the hands of staff.
Many people want to hand off their online presence to their staff after the initial work is done.
However, the problem with this is that most staff members are already overwhelmed and most are not web specialists. The Internet and the nuances of working in it and the algorithms for traffic change constantly.
For instance, in my sphere of influence, I recently had someone ask about page rank. That person did not realize Google dumped it at the end of 2009. (We are waiting to see the new model that is likely to raise its head sometime soon.)
Also, during a recent crawl through an extensive website being handled by an in-house design team, I discovered it was not only hard to navigate but also not optimized.
Why? Because the in-house team listened to the owner (their boss) who had no idea about the Internet and how it works.
- Vary from the advice of the designer.
Looking great and working well are two different issues.
Some people want something that looks pretty but if it is not search engine or visitor friendly, it is a waste of time and money.
For example, a lot of blogs have huge headers that simply take too much valuable space when something less splashy would work more to their benefit and also put that space to better use.
It is one thing to get your website looking good and another to get it working well. Hopefully you can merge the two and benefit with the help of your web design team.
- Alter or change the configuration of the blog/website.
I periodically check up on my former clients and take a look at their websites. Some that stay with the team benefit because I regularly check the stats to see how they are doing and make alterations to help with their ranking.
In many cases, those who no longer work with me (or their original team) start adding pages where they shouldn’t and begin using terms that were not identified as proper keyword terms or phrases.
Ultimately this drops their rank and messes up their optimization which results in poor exposure and less targeted traffic.
- Believe they know what works.
Sometimes despite coaching or direct advice, people ignore it because they believe they know what is best.
When they ignore the advice of their web professionals (and insist on certain aspects) this can result in a poorly designed website and only fair results if they are lucky–and poor results and little or no traffic if they are unlucky.
- Try to micro manage.
Most web professionals cringe when people try to micromanage or overwhelm them with information. A web professional will ask for what they need and it works best when you send it all at once upon request. It also helps if you just give them what they need and do not overwhelm them with notes or additional materials.
- Don’t participate in the process.
On the opposite side of the spectrum are those clients who fail to participate. They don’t help the web team at all. This is a huge mistake because small business owners are the only ones that can tell the team their unique selling position and pass on the proper terms or reveal the products and services they offer.
Participation makes the project go quicker and get completed faster when they do participate.
Participation and information also gives their online presence a huge advantage over competitors.
- Attempt to pick different brains and then try to put together a project from that information instead of working with a good web team.
There are some people who shop around, talk to different web design teams and then try to put something together from what they have compiled from those discussions instead of hiring a professional to tackle the job.
Unless you have a good solid strategy, this type of behavior ultimately makes a bigger mess and a bigger job when that project is handed off to a good team.
- Assume they know the “right” keywords.
Since I’ve been contracted to enhance the work of a team, my job is to identify the right keywords for each small business so that they are incorporated into the blog design.
I recently did extensive research on what terms would get a site to rank and bring in traffic. The client insisted that they knew the “right” keyword but were totally off base.
This is common because most small business owners do not understand what words will actually result in the right traffic–it isn’t always the words they think are appropriate or that will convert.
Also, some keywords get a lot of traffic but also have intense competition and websites that are securely ranking for those terms already. It is hard to take over and move a longstanding, successful site from a number one position.
So, don’t assume you know the right words but do send in what words are associated with your industry and what you think your customers or clients would use.
The purpose of this post is to encourage small businesses to cooperate with their web team because they are in business to help you succeed online.
Do you have any other mistakes to add? If so, leave a comment below.
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