{"id":1287,"date":"2020-05-12T18:27:37","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T22:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/is-your-website-working-for-you-or-against-you\/"},"modified":"2025-04-10T15:56:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T19:56:57","slug":"is-your-website-working-for-you-or-against-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/insights\/is-your-website-working-for-you-or-against-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Your Website Working For You Or Against You?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Digital marketing requires a combination of tactics in order to be successful\u2014starting with an engaging website. You can\u2019t just stand up a DIY website, run a few Facebook ads, and expect to see meaningful results.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But that\u2019s exactly what many businesses do, then wonder why their marketing isn&#8217;t paying off. We like to call that wish\/hope marketing because you can put forth a good bit of effort without the assurance that what you\u2019re doing is actually going to work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is Your Website Working For You or Against You?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Successful digital marketing strategies begin with engaging websites. But many websites simply aren\u2019t getting the job done because they are missing key components that limit the site\u2019s success. Here are five ways to know if your website is working for or against you:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>1. Is your website user-friendly?<\/h3>\n<p>You may think your website is well-made but if it\u2019s not producing leads, it may not be designed with the end-user (your customer) in mind. If the website takes longer than five seconds to load or information is difficult to find, your visitors will not stick around. User experience, or UX for short, guides every aspect of how your customers engage with your website. This includes things like wireframes, sitemaps, and information architecture that work together to ensure a seamless experience for visitors to your website.<\/p>\n<p>A user-friendly site is also a responsive site, meaning that the website looks and performs correctly across all platforms (e.g. desktop, tablet, or mobile device). If the technical aspects of this makes your eyes glaze over, we\u2019d be more than happy to take a look and <a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/lets-talk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">give you feedback<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on your website\u2019s UX. Also, be sure to check out our blog posts dedicated to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/thinking\/part-i-the-alphabet-soup-of-marketing-terminology-websites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">defining website marketing terms<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/thinking\/terms-part-v-demystifying-web-development-and-hosting-terms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">demystifying complicated tech speak<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for more information on the technical side of website design.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>2. Does your website look stale?<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/thinking\/next-level-series-the-truth-behind-why-your-website-is-underperforming-part-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poor branding<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a major reason why many websites are failing. Most people will search for a business online before visiting in real life. so your website is your chance to make a great first impression on potential customers. If it looks old or feels outdated, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/thinking\/5-signs-your-website-needs-an-update\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">your visitors may bounce off your website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to a competitor\u2019s site that looks more current. It\u2019s important to give your website a refresh every 1.5-2.5 years to keep the design current and avoid losing customer\u2019s interest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Maybe your website looks stale because your entire <a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/thinking\/brand-basics-five-fundamentals-of-a-strong-brand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">brand needs a facelift<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If this is something you need help with, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/lets-talk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">let us know<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. We specialize in branding and ensuring that your overall design look and feel is relevant and consistent across all digital platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>h3&gt;3. Does your website clearly communicate the value you offer?<\/p>\n<p>Confusing websites will cost you business. Don\u2019t make it difficult for customers to understand who you are and what you do. Clearly state the steps customers need to take in order to do business with you and include a clear call to action so your visitors know how to take the next step. We\u2019ve written <a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/thinking\/to-story-or-not-story-that-is-the-question\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">several<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">posts<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/thinking\/the-powerful-impact-of-a-compelling-story-on-our-brains\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">why it\u2019s important<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/thinking\/make-your-brand-story-epic-with-this-straightforward-approach\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">make the customer the hero<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the story and we will talk more about effective content marketing in a future blog post.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>4. Is your website content updated regularly?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s helpful to think of your website as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/thinking\/so-you-just-launched-your-new-website-now-what\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a hub<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for continually useful and up-to-date information. You would be surprised how many websites have broken links and outdated information\u2014sometimes even incorrect contact information! Make it a habit to regularly scan your website for any updates that need to be made. If visitors are clicking around your site and keep hitting <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/HTTP_404\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">404 messages<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, they will not stick around. Publishing fresh content on your website will also give you a search engine optimization (SEO) advantage.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>5. Is your website optimized?<\/h3>\n<p>Search engine optimization (SEO) is the primary way customers will find your website. There are a myriad of factors that contribute to a well-optimized website that we will upack in a future blog post in this series. But keep in mind that if you are not doing anything to optimize your website for search, you will lose business to your competitors.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a better way to build websites.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Establishing an engaging website for your business that communicates clearly, converts leads, and looks great is the first step toward digital marketing success. You don\u2019t have to wait and wonder if your hard-earned investment in your website will pay off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Creating websites is where our strategies begin and an effective digital marketing strategy cannot exist without a strong website. But having a website isn\u2019t enough. In order for digital marketing to work, your plan must include intentional effort in each of the following areas:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> An Engaging Website\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Search Engine Optimization\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Content Marketing<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Email Marketing\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Social Media Marketing\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Pay-Per-Click<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If your <a href=\"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/thinking\/what-to-do-when-your-marketing-isnt-working\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">marketing isn\u2019t working<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and you aren\u2019t sure how to fix it, you\u2019ve come to the right place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We want to help you fix your marketing and make a positive impact on your target market. Over the next several weeks we will take a close look at each of these elements, give you practical ways to assess how you\u2019re doing, and where you may need to make improvements. Get in touch with us if you would like us to take a look at your website and provide some actionable feedback. We would be glad to help in any way we can!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Digital marketing requires a combination of tactics in order to be successful\u2014starting with an engaging website. You can\u2019t just stand up a DIY website, run a few Facebook ads, and expect to see meaningful results. But that\u2019s exactly what many businesses do, then wonder why their marketing isn&#8217;t paying off. We like to call that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1288,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-web"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cacpro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}