A lot of times, we focus on the blog content and product pages. And forget about the web development and design of our sites.
Especially when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO).
(Don't get us wrong. Those are still very important for marketing.)
However, it's frustrating reading good content and seeing a great product on a poorly developed and designed site.
And, unfortunately for business owners, this could detract from your sales.
Which is why we created this article.
From it, you'll know:
Why your site needs to be mobile-friendly
The cost of having a dead end page (or pages!)
And how quality web development and design can lower your bounce rate
From learning about these things, you'll know what questions to ask your web designer and developer.
And you'll be able to hold him/her accountable for their work. (In other words, making sure you're getting the best bang for your buck.)
1. It pays to have a mobile-friendly website
This is one digital marketing trend you'll be seeing for the next couple of years.
We'll show you why...
A 2012 Google survey states there are more searches from mobile devices than computers in 10 countries, counting Japan and the United States.
Also, 74% of users are more likely to revisit mobile-friendly sites than their non-mobile-friendly counterparts.
That's not all...
The same survey indicated that 61% are likely to leave a site if it isn't mobile-friendly—yikes!
Most importantly though, users are more likely to purchase a product or service from a mobile-friendly site.
On top of this, you get SEO benefits.
Mobile-friendliness is factored into Google's algorithm. Meaning, you'll get a better ranking for incorporating it into your site.
Plus, when a user conducts a mobile search, Google will display the mobile-friendly sites before the non-mobile-friendly ones.
This is why you need to have your website developed and designed not just for computers, but cell phones as well.
2. Dead end pages destroy SEO
Google's algorithm also factors in the navigability of your website.
This included dead end pages.
In case you don't know, a dead end page (or orphan page) has no internal links. This means the user would have to press the back button to navigate your website.
Which is not recommended.
So, your website designer and developer needs to ensure there's at least one internal link on every page.
This is especially important since dead end pages can lower your rank.
3. Decrease your bounce rate with quality web development and design
Bounce rate means how many people left your site immediately after clicking on it.
The higher the bounce rate, the lower your ranking.
Common causes include poor landing pages, slow load times, and outdated information.
And there's one more consequence most marketers and business owners don't consider...
How a high bounce rate reduces the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
How?
Let's say you spend a significant amount of money on an extensive email campaign. The good news, you have a high open rate.
This causes several prospective customers to view your site.
Once they view it, they either witness a poor landing page, slow load time, outdated information, or all of those.
Which then results in them "bouncing" from the website.
To prevent this scenario from happening—and to get the most out of marketing campaigns—ensure your website is well designed and developed.
For more information about web development and design, contact us! And be sure to check out our blog.