Overheard in the office this morning: “The sun’s out so I can’t complain.”
After a few grey days and long months of winter, that pretty much sums up my feelings exactly.
Spring has officially sprung in the British capital!
Even if I’m still in boots and a jumper (hey, it’s London) the sunnier weather signals a fresh start — a chance to dust off those landing pages, make your social media shine and brighten up the ole blog.
The best part? They’re easy, and dare I say, fun updates to make.
So let’s roll up our sleeves and breathe some new life into your online business.
These five tips will tidy up your digital space in no time and give it that glow other websites wish they had.
1. Revamp Your Headlines
Headlines and page titles play a huge role in attracting visitors to your site.
They’re not only the first words people see when they land on your website, but they also tell readers exactly what they will gain by clicking on your content. Or at least, in theory, that’s what they should do.
To see if your headlines are providing as much value to your community as possible, open up your blog or a landing page on your site and ask:
- Is the benefit clearly stated?
- Do you want to click to read more?
- Can you easily understand what the article, video, landing page, etc. is about?
Every title on your website should pass this three-part test with flying colors.
In fact, you can even apply this “rule” to your social media posts too.
Because headlines are THE chance to pull your reader in.
If you’re feeling stuck or not sure how to craft a compelling headline, look at magazine covers and newspapers. Try to incorporate their bold punchiness into your titles.
The Onion is a master of this, although I would say it takes a certain brand to pull off this type of headline:
Think of the benefit your reader will receive by clicking on your page and put it right into the headline.
Above all, keep your audience top of mind when writing headlines. Because if it’s meaningful and relevant to their lives, it will catch their attention.
2. Perform Better on Google
Wouldn’t it be awesome to know which search terms are taking people to your site?
Google Search Console is a free tool that tells you just that and more.
Once you connect your website to the Search Console, you can see:
- The search terms that pulled up your company’s pages during an organic search on Google
- How many times one of your pages showed up in a user’s Google search results (the tool calls these “impressions”)
- How many times a user clicked on your URL via a search
- The click-through rate for each URL (i.e. the percentage of impressions that received clicks)
- The position of your URL on the search page
This is a wealth of information about how users are finding your content through search, so how can you use it to your benefit?
As digital marketing guru, Neil Patel, suggests, you can use it to zone in on search terms that aren’t resulting in clicks.
Jot down the search terms that have a high number of impressions but a low number of clicks.
Then try searching for the term yourself and seeing how your webpage appears in Google.
For these underperforming search terms, that can mean your SEO title and meta description aren’t clear and compelling enough.
Like your headlines, the Googler should know exactly what the content is about just by skimming it: short and to the point.
Next, make sure the description below the SEO title is also crystal clear. By giving the reader a bit more context while piquing their interest, your meta description can be the difference between them visiting your site or not.
No matter how you choose to use these insights, this tool is a quick and easy way to see which keywords are bringing people to your site. That’s gold.
3. Read More Tags & Widgets
I recently noticed it was next to impossible to discover new content on my website.
At the end of my blog posts, there was a small clickable link to the next post, but even I had trouble seeing it.
For websites built using WordPress, Squarespace or Wix, the title of the previous blog post will typically appear at the bottom of a post, under a “Recent Posts” section or via a link to “Newer” or “Older” articles.
If this is difficult to find on your blog, try making the link bigger and more visual.
If your website is built using WordPress, you may also be able to add a widget to your footer to give visitors another way of discovering fresh content.
This update, made by adding a “Recent Posts with Thumbnails” widget or “Read More” tag to your website, is one of my favorite tricks because it’s a small change that makes a big impact.
Plus, it extends the shelf life of your content. What’s not to love, right?
4. Boost Your Instagram Profile
With 1 billion people using Instagram each month, it’s easy to see why businesses choose to grow their community on the app.
It’s not a one-way relationship either; people interact with brands on Instagram.
According to Hootsuite, 60% of users discover products on the platform and 75% take action, like visiting the business’s website.
This is why upping your Instagram game is so important.
Here are two simple ways to do that all within your Instagram profile:
- Add Linktree to your bio so you can share multiple links to your website at one time
- Use Highlights, or curated Instagram stories that do not disappear, to draw in your followers
Both of these tools are free and easy to use, not to mention a quick way to share more of your brand with your community.
What type of links can you add to Linktree?
The beauty is you get to decide. It could be your latest blog post, newest product, About page or even a music playlist. All you have to do is upload the link and switch it out whenever you see fit.
Highlights, on the other hand, are much more visual.
These permanent Instagram stories can be made up of photos, videos or both and can be a window into many aspects of your business: events, blog, services, tips and inspiration, ambassadors. Even the office pet.
Most importantly, they give your brand another dimension, a more personal one. Because what’s the point of social media if not to connect on a personal level?
Now, give Linktree and Highlights a go and watch your Instagram profile come to life!
5. Revive Your Blog
We’re not talking a full overhaul here, just some fun keyword search to give you new topic ideas for your blog.
I say fun because you sort of feel like an undercover detective when you find out what people, in general, use the web to search for.
Let me show you what I mean, with the help of two free tools:
- Google Trends tells you how often a keyword was typed into Google over a period of time.
- Wordtracker is similar in that it estimates how many times a keyword was searched for over a set time, but it also shows you how competitive that keyword and related search terms are.
Google Trends is a helpful way to identify seasonal trends, dig up relevant topics that people are interested in right now and see which geographical regions are seeking out your content.
Alternatively, Wordtracker’s value comes from the competitive analysis it performs on a keyword.
It effectively tells you how many businesses are paying to get that keyword seen by as many people as possible.
That means you should focus on keywords with a high search volume and low competition. Those are the topics people are interested in but aren’t being overly covered by other brands.
Once you start plugging in your own keywords and getting a feel for these tools, you’ll see how handy they can be for producing fresh and relevant content for your audience.
And with that, you are well on your way to giving your digital storefront that special springtime glow — one that radiates sunshine and success.
Looking for help to achieve that glow? Drop me a line at celeste@cbacontent.com.