A lot of small-business owners are too busy to worry about updating their website. They got a new website design 5-10 years ago and it seems to work fine (at least, they hope). However, in reality, the website has likely become worthless over time due to outdated design, poor functionality, and lack of optimization.

In this post, I want to share with you a case study of a website I recently analyzed. As I went through the analysis, I found the same problems I find in 90% of small-business websites.

Watch this video to learn some tips:

Title & Heading Tags

As I have stated before, building a new website will not guarantee you will be listed in the top 10 of popular Google searches for your industry. It may take some additional SEO work to get there. But, it is essential that Google at least understands what you are. If you are a property management company you don’t want Google thinking you are a quilting shop. If they think you are selling fabric swatches then you don’t even have a chance to be ranked on the 10th page of Google, let alone the first page.

Audit your title and heading tags for each page of your website and make sure you are clearly communicating to Google strong keywords for your industry.

What pages has Google indexed?

Here’s a fun exercise to try: go to Google and type in “site:[your business URL].” This search will display all the pages that Google has indexed from your website. You might be surprised by the results. You may see pages you didn’t expect, including duplicate content or pages that shouldn’t be listed at all. This is a quick and easy way to get an overview of what Google has registered from your site.

By cleaning up the pages that Google has indexed, you improve your chances of ranking appropriately in search results. If you spot any irrelevant or duplicate content, take the time to remove or update those pages. Ensuring that your website only contains high-quality, relevant information helps optimize your site’s performance in Google’s search rankings. It’s a crucial step to better visibility and search engine success.

Again, your website should answer questions!

This is the biggest opportunity many businesses miss on their websites. Too often, websites focus on generic content like “here’s our mission statement” or “let me tell you about us,” when, in reality, users aren’t interested in that. Visitors come to your site with specific questions in mind, and if they don’t find the answers they’re looking for within the first 10 seconds, they’ll likely leave and head straight to another website—possibly your competitor’s.

I’ve written about this before, but it’s worth emphasizing again: make it a priority to address your visitors’ questions immediately. Structure your content to be user-centric, providing clear and concise answers upfront. This not only keeps potential customers on your site but also builds trust and improves user experience, increasing your chances of conversion. Make sure your website engages users quickly by focusing on what matters most to them.

SCROLLING is better than CLICKING (importance of mobile websites)

A good indication of an outdated website is if they have a slider image. These were cool back when Bush was in office but now they are worthless. Over half of the internet is viewed on a mobile device and when users are on a mobile device they would much rather scroll than click. Using a theme that is build around a 1-page format make your site look fresh and up-to-date. A good example of this is the FiddlerStudios homepage.

Consistent Content

I’ve said it ten other times and I’ll say it again. Consistent content will do more for your business than few other activities. Schedule the 30 minutes a day and get it done! That’s how long it took me to write this post. 😉