Creating an effective e-strategy for your business. Part one - Foundations

Your website is often the first point of contact a potential customer has with your business. If not found through direct search it is arrived at after 'brand browsing', the action taken after someone has seen your name, been referred to your business, or perhaps having met you at an event and then Googled your company name. How important is it therefore to create a positive first impression? It is a fact that you get on average 8 seconds of someones attention when they land on your website for the first time and if they have not been immediately impressed, they will leave; if they feel that what they are looking for can't be found, they will leave; if they are confused or put off by too much irrelevant text, they will leave; if they can't find your contact details or are unable to work out your navigation, they will leave.

We are all time poor and as a result we want our time to be used efficiently. If your website is not giving users the experience they want this will have a negative impact on your business and will be driving your potential customers to your competitors.

The first brick in building an effective e-strategy is getting your website and in particular the landing experience right. There is no point spending time and money trying to direct traffic to your site if it just bounces as soon as it arrives (do you know what your bounce rate is?).

Reducing your bounce rate and increasing your conversions does not need to be a lengthy or costly experience. Some situations may require drastic surgery, such as a new website but in our experience most require a little bit of thought and a few tweaks to make considerable improvements to the user experience, resulting in improved engagement and increased conversions.

Before you spend any more time and effort on SEO or PPC campaigns take some time out to review your websites' landing and user experience. Get a better understanding of the user behavior and take a good look at your competitors and see what they are up to. Smarten up your act so as to give your business the best chance possible of winning more work through your website.

Once you have addressed the landing experience and overall usability of your website you will be in a much better position to start the online conversations through the various channels that the internet affords. You will be much more confident in the knowledge that the first impression potential customers have of your business will be the one you and they want leading to a positive business relationship.