It’s been a while since I have posted about this particular topic (well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted about any topic!), and this is always a good one to address…
I’m talking about your website! Who is it about? This is an important question because who it’s about demonstrates who you care about.
Who Is Your Website About?
If I ask you, “Who your website is for?”, you will likely respond that it is for your clients, or maybe your future clients (aka, your prospects).
And if your business is like most businesses, you’ll also say that you care about your clients. And it may be true, but in many many cases business websites tell a different story! Your website might not show you care as much as you would like.
You may not realize it, but if your business is typical, your website is not about your clients or prospects at all. It’s about your own business! And if “who your website is about” defines who it cares about, then this means your website only demonstrates caring about your own business. Yikes!
Now, this probably isn’t your fault. Most people copy the idea of what a website should be from other websites they see, and there are so many bad examples to follow. Besides that, you cannot leave the words up to your website developers. Most website developers don’t really care who your site is about or for. They want to get paid and will say whatever you want it to say.
Just Like Your Offline Experience
What happens if you meet a person for the first time, and that person never shuts up about himself? How long do you want to remain in that conversation? Not long! You’re not listening, you’re looking for a way out.
Now think about a time when you have gone to a search engine looking for the solution to a problem. You do a search, a particular link seems okay, so you click. Then you get to the page and it’s got we-we all over the place!
We do this, and we do that. We have been around for this long. We have all these awards. We, we, we, blah, blah, blah…
Fortunately, when you land on a website that boasts about itself, you have a “back” button so you can quickly get out of there. You’re not trapped. When you see the we, we, we, blah, blah, blah, you can leave and look for another solution to your problem.
So, if that’s our reality, then why would any business build a website that is solely focused on the business? Everyone knows this sucks, but for some reason they continue to put up new sites with the same major prospect-repelling language.
And that’s a huge problem because if prospects come to your site and leave, there’s no way they can buy what you’re selling. The only chance you have to convert them into a paying customer is to keep them on your site long enough. They must decide that you can help solve their problem. And that only happens when you talk about them, their problem, and their needs.
A Tool Saves the Day
Fortunately there’s a tool called the Customer Focus Calculator that can help you out. Go ahead, click the link. You can use the tool on any page of your website, but start with your home page.
To use the tool, enter the website address. Then put in your business name, along with any other ways your business is known (separated by commas). Click the “Calculate Customer Focus” button. Moments later you will see some numbers showing how focused that page is on your business and how focused it is on your clients. You want to make sure that it’s more focused on clients than on you.
Steve, of Steve Scott SEO, recently posted a “Cool Tools” video at YouTube showing how to use the Customer Focus Calculator, step-by-step. Take a look…
Now I’m not saying that you can never talk about your business on your website. You can, and you must! The problem is that most websites do it too soon and too much. Save the we-we for your “about us” page or your “in the news” page or somewhere that demonstrates your solution or expertise. This way your prospects can find the information they need when they are looking for it. If they are looking for the solution, it’s obvious. If they need more about you, they can get that too.
But I assure you, if they are trying to solve a problem that your business addresses, they want to know you can help them way before they want to know how long you have been in business or that you proclaim your business to be the best one of its type in town.
If the Customer Focus Calculator helps you discover that the focus of your website is pointing in the wrong direction, then your next task is to make some changes. Make the site talk to your prospects about their problems. Return to the tool from time-to-time to make sure you’re on the right course for every entry page of your website.
