Your website is your most important sales channel
Imagine walking into a shop with blurry signs, unfriendly staff and a messy presentation. You'd probably turn around and look for a better shop, right? That's exactly what happens when your website is slow, impersonal or not mobile-friendly.
As an experienced digital marketing agency, we have seen numerous Swiss companies increase their turnover by 50 % or more through simple website optimisation. In this article, we'll show you how you too can get the most out of your online presence!
The most common mistakes on company websites - and how they cost you sales
1. slow loading times
I remember a customer, a car dealer from Zurich, who complained that his website was hardly generating any enquiries. After a quick test, it turned out that the loading time was a whopping 8 seconds! Studies show that 53 % of visitors bounce if a page takes longer than 3 seconds to load. After optimising his website loading time to under 2 seconds, his enquiries doubled.
Here I show you a list of reasons why your site might load slowly:
- Large or unoptimised images: High-resolution images with large file sizes slow down the page load.
- Too many HTTP requests: Each file (images, scripts, stylesheets) requires a separate request to the server. Many requests slow down the loading time.
- Slow hosting server: An overloaded or inferior web server leads to long loading times.
- Too many or slow plugins & scripts: WordPress or CMS pages with many plugins can slow down the loading time considerably.
- No or poor caching strategy: Every time a page is loaded, it must be completely regenerated
- Unoptimised or slow databases: Large, poorly optimised databases lead to longer loading times - especially for dynamic websites (e.g. WooCommerce, WordPress).
Quick solution: Spend a few francs more on good hosting, use tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights and optimise your images, activate caching with e.g. WP Optimise and rely on a Content Delivery Network (CDN).
2. poor mobile user experience
Did you know that over 80 % of internet users in Switzerland visit websites on their smartphone? If your site is not optimised for mobile devices, you are losing a large proportion of potential customers. A client from Basel with a law firm had 60 % mobile visitors, but an extremely high bounce rate - after switching to a responsive design, this was reduced by 40 %.
Important: We place adverts for most of our customers on Google, YouTube or in Social media. These platforms are used almost exclusively on mobile phones. That's why a mobile-optimised website is all the more important in this case!
Tip: Test your website with Google's Mobile-Friendly Test and rely on a flexible layout with optimised font sizes and touch operation.
3. no clear call-to-actions (CTAs)
Many websites in Switzerland are informative but not very sales-orientated. Visitors don't know what to do next. A simple, well-placed button such as "Book a free initial consultation now" can increase the conversion rate by up to 30 %. It is also important to repeat this button again and again on the page or to place it fluently.
Solution: Place clear calls to action on every important page / header and test different variants with A/B tests.
4. SEO mistakes that ruin your Google ranking
A hotelier from Lucerne wondered why he was hardly getting any bookings via Google. The reason? His website had no meta descriptions, poor internal linking and was not technically optimised for search engines. After a professional SEO strategy, he jumped from page 5 to page 1!
Common SEO mistakes that happen during website creation:
- No or poor keyword researchCompanies choose keywords based on gut feeling instead of data. They rank for terms that nobody searches for or that have too much competition.
- Missing or incorrect meta tags: No or poorly optimised meta titles and meta descriptions. This leads to a poor click-through rate (CTR) and ranking losses with Google.
- No or poor internal linking: Pages do not link to each other or use incorrect anchor texts. Important content is not indexed correctly by Google.
- Ignore Google My Business & local SEO: Companies with a physical location do not optimise for local search queries and miss out on customers who are looking for services "nearby".
- No or incorrect use of header tags (H1, H2, H3): Heading structure is unclear or there are several H1 tags on a page. Google does not understand the content correctly and ranks the page lower.
- No regular SEO analysis & monitoring: Companies implement SEO once and never check the results. Ranking losses due to algorithm updates or technical errors go unnoticed.
5. a personal video of the offer is missing
A personal videoin which you present your offer is one of the most effective marketing tools for your company. It creates trust, increases the conversion rate and makes your company more tangible for potential customers. Here are the most important reasons why you should definitely have a video on your website:
- Create more trust and a personal connection: Customers prefer to buy from companies they trust. A personal video not only shows your offer, but also the people behind it. When customers see and hear you, they build a relationship more quickly.
- Increase the conversion rate: Studies show that a landing page with video can increase the conversion rate by up to 80 %! Why? Because videos convey the most important information quickly and directly.
- Better user experience & fewer bounces: Many visitors don't want to read long texts. A video summarises the core message in just a few seconds and ensures that users stay on your site for longer.
- Videos increase visibility on Google & social media: Google favours sites with videos! A well-optimised website with embedded video can improve your SEO ranking and thus ensure more organic traffic.
- Make customer enquiries & sales calls more efficient: A good video answers many common questions in advance so that potential customers are better prepared. This saves you time in sales meetings and ensures more qualified leads.
- Competitive advantage: Set yourself apart from the competition: Many companies in Switzerland do not yet use personalised offer videos - this is your chance to stand out! A video shows that you are modern, innovative and customer-orientated.
And now I would like to summarise once again how we take our customers' websites to the highest level:
The 5 most important website optimisations for more sales
1. optimise website speed - every second counts!
- Use good hosting and a content delivery network (CDN)
- Compress images (max. 300Kb per image)
- Use caching techniques for faster loading times
2. mobile first - your smartphone is your new shop window
- Test your website on different devices
- Use touch-friendly buttons and fonts
- Reduce unnecessary pop-ups and exaggerated animations
3. SEO for Swiss companies - How to land on page 1
- Use local keywords: "hairdresser Zurich", "tax consultant Basel"
- Optimise Google My Business
- Use structured data for better presentation in search results
4. conversion rate optimisation - how to turn visitors into customers
- Rely on strong CTAs such as "Request a quote now"
- Show customers your added value clearly
- Use heatmaps such as Hotjar to identify vulnerabilities
- Test different colours and placements of your buttons
5. building trust - more customers through social proof
- Place customer reviews and testimonials prominently
- Show seals and certificates of trust (e.g. "Swiss Made" quality mark)
- Provide references and case studies
- Integrate an authentic video into the website
Conclusion: Your website is your most important sales channel
- Your website should Fast, mobile-friendly and strong selling be
- Small website optimisations can bring massive sales increases
- Use the latest technologies to stay one step ahead of the competition
Don't want to do everything yourself? We offer free website analyses and professional website optimisation for companies. Let us find out how much potential your website has. Now without obligation Contact us record.