NOTE: I try to make my articles short so you can read them quickly, in one visit. I was writing this one on a flight and when I had finished it was about twice as long as my typical post, an indication that I’m particularly passionate about this topic. So, to respect your time I’ve split this into two parts. Here’s part I. Click here to read Part II.
NOTE: I try to make my articles short so you can read them quickly, in one visit. I was writing this one on a flight and when I had finished it was about twice as long as my typical post, an indication that I’m particularly passionate about this topic. So, to respect your time I’ve split this into two parts. Here’s part I. Through my speaking and consulting I get to see a lot of websites. It’s not unusual for me to see hundreds of sites in a month, so I truly get to experience the good, the bad and the ugly. Fortunately for most of you, the bar is being set so low that it’s easy to have one of the nicest sites, even if you haven’t updated yours in a while. However, that’s not an excuse to stick with what you have. On any given day a new competitor can appear or an existing business can update their site and then, just like that, you’re playing catch-up to their newer, nicer site.
When I’m doing a website review I look for 5 key things on your site:
1) Who are you? I know this sounds simple, but many sites do not make it clear on every page, not just your homepage. Search engines might land someone on an internal page, so they have to be branded and clear.
2) Where are you or where do you do business? Either your actual address or where you do business.
3) What do you do? This is really what’s in it for me, the visitor? If you use generic words like “entertainment”, “productions”, “event planning”, you’re not being clear as to what you do.
4) What do you want me to do? What’s the key action you’d like me to take? You probably didn’t make any money by them landing on your site, so what do you want them to do next?
5) Does the site look and feel current? This is more of an aesthetic, than a tangible thing, however we all get a feeling as to whether the site seems current and up to date, or if it feels stale and dated.
In this article I’d like to address #2 – Where are you? Very often when I get business cards with no address or location information I’ll look at their website to see where they’re located. All too often the sites give little or no indication of where you are. I can certainly understand that if you work from a home office you may not want to list your actual address. I can also understand that most of you do business in a much larger area than just your hometown and you don’t want to get pigeonholed into the smaller territory. That said, I see way too many sites that give little or no indication of where they are or where they do business.
Myth – not putting my address casts a wider net
A few years ago there was the prevailing thinking that not putting your address would open you up to inquiries from a larger trade area. The theory was that you were saying, “I work anywhere!”. Photographers seem particularly averse to putting an address or trade area on their sites because they’re chasing the prized, but often elusive, destination wedding (in a tropical or exotic setting, no doubt).
Say it loud, say it proud
In addition to couples feeing more comfortable when they know where you are located and giving your business more credibility, here are 3 really good reasons to list your address or trade area on your website:
1) Say it for SEO – Search engines read the words on your website to determine where you’re located. If you’ve done a Google or Bing search recently, you know that local search results seem to often be floating to the top of the list. Local search has been the fastest growing part of search results for a while. The search engine can’t look at the pictures and recognize where you are. In the early days of search engines, sites would try to trick them by listing all of the major cities and towns at the bottom of their site, usually in text that was close to the background color so only search engines could read it. These days those tactics can easily get you banned from search results.
2) Say it for your prospects – If someone is looking for a wedding planner, DJ, band, officiant, floral designer, or any company that doesn’t want to list their physical address, when they first visit your site they’re going to be looking to see where you are, to know if you do business where they need. You don’t have to list your actual physical address, rather use the familiar words and phrases that they would use to describe where they live, where they’re getting married, or having their event (i.e. the Tri-State area, the Triangle, The Bay Area, Four Corners, DC Metro, etc.).
You don’t want to alienate your core customers to try to get the occasional client outside your normal trade area. Unless you only do destination weddings in Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii, etc., your core local prospects won’t know where you are unless you list your trade area. You could be losing way more business by not listing your area, than you’ll gain by saying nothing. So sure, say that you travel and that you can help them wherever their wedding will be. Just say that in addition to where you normally do business. One of my social media profiles says “Serving the world from Kendall Park, NJ”. Of course in my line of work (speaking, training, consulting) I rarely work near where I live.
3) Say it for your customers and referrals – Current and past customers know where you’re located, and where you’ve worked for them (their home, their venue, their company offices, etc.) but they may not know where else you do business. If they want to refer a friend or colleague, or possibly use you for an event in another location, they may look at your site, before contacting you, to see if you work in that location.
This is the end of Part I – click here to read part II
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Want some professional help?
No, I’m not a psychiatrist (although it feels that way sometimes when I’m consulting), but I can help you see and understand the tweaks you need to make to your site. In a 90-120 minute website consultation we’ll look at yours, and other sites, and discuss specific steps you can take to make your site more friendly and navigable.
This is done virtually, so it doesn’t matter where you are. I’ve done consultations with folks just like you, all over the world (US, Canada, Mexico, Ireland, the UK, Spain, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Caribbean…). I can even record the entire session, what we see and what we say, so you can review it later. For more information or to schedule your website review contact me via email or call 732.422.6362. For international enquiries 001 732 422 6362.