Your company website is (probably) a complete waste of time

Okay, I feel a rant coming on…

I am amazed on a daily basis at just how bad most business web sites are. And I’m not talking about graphic design (although that is often pretty bad too!). I’m talking about the actual code behind the pages and the text content that makes up the pages.

Try to answer the next few questions honestly:

• Do you generate a significant amount of new business from your website?

• Do new customers constantly tell you: “I found you in Google”?

If not, then your company’s website is likely a complete waste of time. I say that because potential customers are constantly searching Google and Yahoo! for the services and/or products that you provide (you would be amazed). If these potential customers aren’t discovering your website in their search results then why did you spend all that money on it in the first place?

The fact is, most business websites are really very badly designed by people who really don’t know what they are doing.

The vast majority are so badly designed that they don’t have a prayer of generating significant visitor traffic. Its almost as if the designers were actively trying to ensure that Google would shun the site and guarantee that nobody would every find it! I wish I were making this up. It is really quite astonishing.

If you are like most businesses, there is a very good chance that your website contains a number of grievous errors which are significantly affecting your ability to generate meaningful and relevant visitor traffic to your web site. In fact, the vast majority of sites that I visit are so badly designed that the owners should probably considering asking the website designer for their money back.

The bottom line: Is your site visible?

Visibility in Google and Yahoo! is EVERYTHING for your website. If you aren’t highly visible in the search engines then I would argue that you might as well not have a site at all.

• People are not going to type your website address into their web browser.
• They won’t remember it from the back of your truck or car.
• They aren’t just going to stumble upon your site.

The fact is, most people don’t go to the search engines to find you. They go to find people like you. They search in order to find a product or service that you just happen to provide. If your website is designed correctly, the odds of them stumbling up your website and becoming your customer improve astronomically.

A (futile) search example

I’ve been trying to research an upcoming home renovation and I’ve been trying (in vain) to find information on local suppliers and contractors. I’m pretty good with Google but I’m having a very hard time finding helpful local sites. I know there are hundreds of local companies, and I know that the majority of them have websites because the ads in the Yellow Pages list them. So where are they in the search results?

Let’s say you have a business that sells hardwood flooring in Calgary, Alberta. If I type “Calgary Hardwood Flooring” into Google, and your site doesn’t show up on the first 3-4 pages of results, then your website is officially a complete waste of time. Sorry, but it is. If somebody like me can’t find your website, then the average web surfer is NEVER going to find your website. You might as well just turn it off.

Google and Yahoo! are everything

Google and Yahoo! are the reasons to have a website. Over 90% of the first time visitors to this site arrive via a search engine. If it weren’t for the search engines, the only way anybody would ever get to my site is if they randomly typed my address into a browser or stumbled upon a link somewhere. Not too likely.

• Search engines are the chicken, and your site is the egg.
• No search engine = no visitors.
• No visitors = no point in having a site.

Meaningful inclusion in the search engines has become virtually the sole reason for businesses to have a website at all. In fact, if you aren’t generating significant traffic to your website via Google or Yahoo! then you could probably shutdown your website and its unlikely anyone (including you) would ever even notice! Good thing you spent all that money on building and designing your site!

Where to go from here?

Do a little test. Go to Google and put yourself in your customer’s shoes. What would they type into Google if they were looking for the products and services that you provide but had no idea that your company exists. Try it. Do you show up? I’m guessing that you’ll be disappointed with the results. No wonder it seems like nobody ever visits your website! Remember: your potential customers aren’t looking for you. They are looking for companies like you.

If your results are disappointing, you should really get your site evaluated by somebody who has some search engine optimization (SEO) experience. A quick browse through your site and its underlying code is all it takes to determine whether your site is up to snuff. If the consultant is any good they will ask a few questions about your industry, business and customers. With this information they will be able to make a few recommendations on what can be done to improve your sites visibility in the search engines

Stay away from anyone who makes promises regarding results. There is no magic formula to search engine placement. The search engines change too frequently for anyone to be making guarantees. There are also no “special tricks” for improving your placement. Well, actually there are, but they can result in your site being blacklisted by Google and Yahoo! Altogether. You don’t want to go there.

My advice is to build a simple, standards compliant, website with excellent content, avoid the big (and very common) SEO mistakes, and then ethically promote your site. An SEO consultant can work with your website designer to ensure that your site design isn’t impairing your search results. You may not get onto the first page of Google’s results, but your traffic will increase dramatically and that means more business for you.