32 things to check your website for in 2017

32 things to check your website for in 2017By Chris Henshaw | loppysmile.com

website health-checkThere are more sophisticated ways to check your website, but I like this list.

It covers some of the key things you should consider if you want your site to be effective in 2017.

If you want to learn more, contact me at loppysmile.com

1.credible?Basically, does it look good?Does it look credible? Function is crucial, but crappy design will make your business look bad.

2. device-responsive?It’s 2017. So make sure your site is mobile-friendly. This is now crucial from both a UX (user-experience) and search engine perspective.

3. easy to read?Check your type-face and font size. Teeny-tiny is no good.Remember to check it on mobile too.

4. amp?Does the site have Accelerated Mobile Pages?They offer super-fast loading to mobile-users. If Google likes AMP, so should you.

5. page-speed?Do your pages load quickly? Test with tools like Pingdom and Google Page Speed Insights.Fast loading is important for both UX and search engine performance.

6. navigation structure?Structure your site in a way that makes sense to the customer - and funnels them towards the key content you want them to see. Keep it simple and intuitive.

7. browser-tested?Test your site on different browsers and devices.Does it look OK on Chrome, Safari, Explorer, Android devices, iPhone and so on?

8. 404 page?Set up a 404 page to deal with broken links.

9. cms?A content management system makes it easier to (you guessed it) manage content on your site. You’ve heard of Wordpress for example? That’s a CMS.

10. cookie disclaimer?Include any relevant disclaimers about cookies.Particularly if you’re based in the EU (look-up EU Cookie Law).

11. copy?Is the copy clean, concise and well written, with strong CTAs (calls to action)?Get the tone of voice right. Does it reflect your brand? Will customers dig it?

12. blog?Content-marketing is about creating content that brings your audience to you.So if you’re into ‘inbound’, you need a blog.

13. shareable?Make it easy for users to share your content on social media.Try adding ‘share’ buttons to your blog posts for example.

14. rich content?Images and words can be awesome. But consider other content forms too.Like podcasts, video, ebooks, downloadable reports and infographics.

15. ugc?Done right, user-generated content can encourage customer advocacy and engagement.Think reviews and comments, social media posts, images and so on.

16. landing pages?Your most important pages. They have to be tip-top.Include a clear promise and CTA. Align them with the messages in your PPC (pay-per-click) ads, social posts and other key traffic drivers.

17. customer journey?Make sure your site supports the customer journey you’re trying to encourage.Does it funnel people towards the key actions (conversions) you want them to take?

18. easy conversion?Make it easy for customers to take those key actions / conversions.Buy a product, sign-up for a newsletter, request a demo etc. Make it really easy for them.

19. re-marketing?As people move through your site, try to capture data that will help you re-engage them in future. Use PPC re-marketing cookies or capture email addresses for your newsletter.

20. social media?Think about the relationship between your website and social accounts.Are your accounts set up to drive traffic? Will embedding posts make your content more engaging - or just create leaks?

21. key topic strategy?I don’t really use SEO (search engine optimisation) keyword strategies anymore. I focus my content on key-topics instead.Does your content support the topics you want to rank for?

22. serps?How does your site rank on search engines under your key-topics?Remember that SERPs (search engine results pages) vary based on user-intent, location and so on.

23. meta-data?Check your page-titles and descriptions. Try to align them with your key search topics.Check alt-descriptions on images.

24. xml site-map?Help Google understand your site. Use Search Console to submit and check your site-map.

25. indexed pages?Use Search Console to check how many pages are being indexed.Consider reducing low-traffic pages to create a higher percentage of high-traffic pages.

26. robots.txt file?If you don’t want search engines to index every part of your site, create a robots.txt

27. pop-ups?Using pop-ups? Manage them carefully.Obtrusive ‘interstitials’ can damage UX and search engine performance.

28. highlighted data?Help Google understand your site with structured and highlighted data. Use the features in Search Console.

29. https?https is an increasingly relevant search ranking factor.Consider implementing a secure protocol.

30. google analytics?Is your site connected to GA (or a similar tool)?Check your tracking code. Link GA to Search Console and Adwords. Set goals and measure conversions.

31. analytics filters?Filter-out relevant IP addresses (e.g. your own devices) and ghost spam where possible.Keep your data as ‘real’ as possible.

32. search console?Connect your site to Google Search Console.Use it to see how Google is crawling your pages, and to help the search engine understand your site.

distance provides perspectiveWant me to check your site?

Learn more about my writing services at loppysmile.com