There are two critical functions a website must perform:
- It must attract visitors, enticing them to follow a link, and then
- It must retain them onsite once they get there.
Failing in either of these two functions can result in a lack of visitors, or visitors who turn tail and run at the sight of a poorly crafted, unprofessional website.
Neither of these functions 'rely' on the other to be operational, however they are two sides of the same coin and work cohesively to give potential customers an overview of your business and help them decide if yours is the one they wish to transact with.
Search Engine Optimisation
The first critical function is search engine optimisation (SEO) which is the process of getting eyeballs TO your site. This is done by making your website suitable for search engines to crawl and understand the content. Search engines don't 'see' images or text as humans do; they read the code of the website and follow the internal links to get an idea of what it is about and how it is structured.
The better optimised your website is, the better the understanding a search engine will have. And the better a search engine understands your site, the better placed yours will be when it comes time for that search engine to show results to a search user.
In essence, SEO generates TRAFFIC for your site, and that traffic is equivalent to feet through your shop door, or bums on seats, or whatever metric you use to determine the number of leads and opportunities you have in your business.
Website Design
The design is what people see once they reach your website and is all about the look and feel. No matter how a visitor reaches your site, those first few seconds are all you have to make a great first impression.
How a visitor feels when looking at your website, and how easy (or difficult!) they find it to navigate and use, will determine whether they stay on the site or hightail it and look for another option.
Have you ever backed out of a website because it didn't look trustworthy, or looked unprofessional? Great web design becomes the catalyst for CONVERSIONS; the number of leads or visitors you turn into paying customers.
Which is more important?
Neither of these critical functions is MORE important than the other; they are BOTH important, for different reasons.
When we develop websites, we focus on getting the structure right, to drive traffic to it, then ensure the design is optimised for conversions so your business gets more opportunities to be seen and closes more sales.
Step back and assess your website
Is your site properly optimised for search engines? Is it receiving traffic and generating leads for your business?
Look critically at your website; does it look professional and well designed? Does it give the impression you want people to have of your business?
Free SEO & Design Audit
Want to find out how your website performs and receive actionable information on how to improve your site to increase traffic and improve conversions?
For the next month, we are offering a FREE SEO and Design Audit, valued at $450.
* Offer ends 28th February 2019.