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Can you really improve your website content in 5 minutes?

Surely not.

Can you? Really?

“But wait!” I hear you cry, “I’ve never got 5 minutes to spare!”.

Of course you haven’t.

You’re far too busy:

• Selling your products or services
• Sending out orders or brochures
• Saving your clients time or money
• Sending emails, or invoices

But what if you do have have 5 minutes to spend on your website content …?

Perhaps whilst you:

• Wait for the kettle to boil?
• Wait for a phone call?
• Wait for a client to turn up for a meeting?

Then you could use this time productively and improve your website content.

Here’s how.

Depending on your business, the size and complexity of your website, and your industry, you might want to concentrate on improving:

Every page

Most important pages

A single page

OK…Can you improve your website in just 5 minutes? Here goes…

Every page

If you only have a few pages on your website, then you could spend your 5 minutes:

• Looking at every page
• Identifying issues
• Fixing them

For example:

You might only have 5 pages to look through, and so it’ll be immediately obvious to see if something stands out like:

• Typo’s?
• Wrong names, addresses or phone numbers?
• Out of date information?
• Missing content?

Typo’s

The problem

Typos (I did it on purpose!) can be caused by incorrect spelling or grammar, or simply accidentally pressing the wrong key on the keyboard.

Unfortunately, the human eye picks up on ‘mistakes’ quickly, so any glaring issues like typos stand out like the proverbial sore thumb.

The solution

There’s never been an easier time to ensure that your content is spelled correctly, and follows appropriate grammar rules.

If you’re not sure, check the spelling.

Pro Tip

Wrong contact details

The problem

It’s infuriating when people ask for a former colleague, send things to your old address or ring the wrong phone number, isn’t it?

So do something about it.

The solution

Regularly check that all the basics are up to date, so your customers and colleagues can contact the right people all the time.

Check things like:

• Phone numbers – numbers can change as people move desks
• Names  – in case of marriage or divorce, or starters / leavers
• Job titles – people change roles or get promoted, and are not the right person now
• Phone numbers – numbers can change as people move desks
• Names  – in case of marriage or divorce, or starters / leavers
• Job titles – people change roles or get promoted, and are not the right person now

Pro Tip

Out of date information

The problem

Out of date information can:

• Lose you sales
• Make your business looks unprofessional
• Leave you lagging behind your competitors

We’ve all chuckled at summer sales being advertised in winter, or seen a “new for 2018” product in 2020, or noticed the latest blog post is from 2017.

This can leave a bad impression, no matter what size your company is, what you do, or who you do it for.

The solution

Check things like:

• Sales – are your summer / winter offers 6 months out of date?
• Services – is the “new for 2018 we now offer…” service prominent?
• News – is your latest news from February 2020?

Pro Tip

For example, ‘Christmas’ is out of date by 27th December really, whereas other time sensitive content, like:

• Summer
• Winter
• Halloween
• Valentine’s day

Has a longer shelf life.

Missing Content

The problem

We’ve all clicked on a search result, that we hoped would give us the answer to our problem, only to be disappointed, even from market leading brands or organisations.

It could be something simple, like:

• Deleted pages
• Broken links
• Published / Draft content that should(n’t) be showing

Or more complex like:

• How to guides or installation information
• Opening hours, delivery charges and brands stocked
• Case studies

The solution

Think like your visitors.

If you’re struggling, ask somebody else who doesn’t know what you do, or look at other websites in other industries. for inspiration.

Maybe your visitors don’t know much about:

• Buying a boiler
• Setting up probate
• Choosing a nursing home

So your content needs to:

• Demonstrate your expertise
• Explain what you do
• Answer common questions

Pro tip

This is a big one. Get ready…

Try looking at websites in completely different industries from what you do.

Keep an eye out for things like:

• Sympathy – understanding why and when people need you 
  • Divorce solicitor, funeral home, car breakdown service
• Brochures – the information on your desk not on your website
  • Sales literature, manufacture provided information, company overview
• Explanations – “if your car is pre 2015, then you’ll need an ABC123 tyre…”
  • What to look for – sizes, shapes, colours, locations, model numbers
• Comparisons – what do people already know the details of
  • Smaller than an apple, quicker than making a cup of coffee, less than £2 per day
• Installation guides – detailed, and helpful
  • For professionals as well as amateurs
• Images –  useful, close up, detailed
  • In use, in context, features and benefits
• Easy vs difficult – What you can do yourself, vs hiring a professional
  • “takes just 10 minutes and a screwdriver to fix” vs “years of courtroom experience…”
• Specifications – how big is it and what’s it like?
  • Size, weight, colour, material, compatibility, delivery times, availability
• ‘Hand holding’ – guiding you through every step of the way
  • First time needing a employee solicitor / architect / computer programmer
• Reassurance – not everyone is a litigation solicitor, plumber or dentist
  • Upset, flooded kitchen, crippling toothache 
• Videos – can provide a lot of information quickly and easily
  • Size, installation, your premises, how you work, what to expect when choosing you

Pro tip 2

What do you away from work, that might help.

Think about:

• Buying a new boiler if you’re a dentist
• Choosing a distant nursing home if you’re an accountant 
• Fixing an old garage door if you’re a solicitor

This will make you think less like a business, and more like your website visitors.

You could also try finding out something you know nothing about, perhaps you could look for: 

• New indicator bulbs for your car
• The nutritional information in your favourite restaurant meal
• Which attractions are open on Bank Holidays in another city

Chances are you’ll soon be:

• Out of your comfort zone
• Forced to learn new jargon
• Looking for all the help you can get

Those are the same sort of frustrations and inconveniences your website visitors experience too!

Bigger website

If you have lots of pages on your website, you might want to spend your 5 minutes: looking for typos, wrong names numbers and addresses, out of date information, and missing content for your most visited pages.

Important pages

The problem

You might not be able to read through all of the pages on your website in 5 minutes, so why not prioritise the main ones?

These could be:

• Homepage
• About Us
• Services, and individual services

The solution

 Check to make sure that the information is right for the 5 or so pages that attract the most visitors, and are likely to help (or hinder) visitors the most.

As well as typos, out of date contact details or content, you might find that:

• Your new services aren’t listed
• You’re promoting a brand you don’t use anymore
• You’re recommending an obsolete product

These issues may take take longer than 5 minutes to fix, but you’ll have made good progress, all in just 5 minutes.

You can also see how far you got in 5 minutes, and arrange another 5 minutes tomorrow, or next Thursday to look at the 5 next most important pages.

And so on until you’re done.

Product and Service Pages

As well as the above tips for your most important pages, you’ll want to ensure that your product and service pages are accurate.

Product Page

Problem

If you run an e-commerce site with thousands of products, you’re not going to easily be able to update every product, or add a better product description in 5 minutes.

Solution

So, you might be better off spending your first 5 minutes:

• Looking at an individual product page
• Reading the product description and specifications
• Checking the images are useful, and convey necessary information
• Finding the calls to action, and ensuring they are compelling
• Trying the checkout process to make sure it’s efficient

And seeing what needs to be done.

Pro tip

If you identify you need to add specifications, or should add weights, or the delivery cost, then you can add it to your website to-do list. 

Service page

Problem

You might be so engrained in your services, or be the person who actually does the work, that it might not be obvious where explanations are needed, or what the steps are from start to finish.

Solution

If you sell your services rather than products, then try:

• Reading through a service page, and see if it’s helpful
• Noting what’s missing or stopping you from buying 
• Seeing what would make the page and information better

Pro tip

• Where could you add a testimonial or link to a case study?
• Where could you put in a price range or project cost?
• Where could you add images? 

Conclusion

Even if you can’t fix any of these issue in 5 minutes, you could make a note of each page, and what needs to be done, then the next time you have 5 minutes spare, you know where to start and what to do. 

You now know what to look for, and what difference it will make to your visitors, and your business.

Know that you won’t have time for any of this?

Why not contact me today, and tell me how I can help you.

The post Can you really improve your website content in just 5 minutes? appeared first on Matthew James Writes.