Congratulations! You just launched your redesigned website. The images are refreshed, the copy is updated, the pages load faster and it’s mobile responsive. So why aren’t you seeing a dramatic impact on your business?
While it’s vital to redesign your website regularly – on average every two to three years – to ensure that content and function are up to date, the results of a site redesign aren’t immediate. In fact, more than 40 percent of marketers say that it takes weeks to start seeing results from a website redesign.
For most businesses, the goal of a redesign is increased conversions. Depending upon the type of business, this takes time, typically a few months. That’s why in addition to conversions, you should keep track of contact forms submitted and similar actions that indicate that a customer has a serious interest in your company. These are signs that your redesign is working.
You’ll also want to monitor your Google Analytics for positive trends such as increased sessions per user, increased pages per session, longer average session duration and lower bounce rates. These trends all point to an improved user experience and also influence conversions. When comparing any data, look at three-month increments or year-over-year for a more-accurate picture.
A word of caution: When reviewing analytics, don’t panic if you see your organic traffic decline immediately following the launch of your redesigned site. That occurs because Google and other search engines need to re-evaluate and update their trust and score of your website by crawling and analyzing content, user engagement, page speed and hundreds of other factors over the weeks following your new site launch. In time traffic should rebound and, ideally, increase.
Driving More Traffic to Your Redesigned Website
Reaping the full benefits of your redesigned website isn’t going to happen overnight, but there are things you can do to accelerate visits to your site.
1. Invest in SEO. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the ongoing process of making sure your website’s content matches what your target customers are looking for and delivering that content in a way that search engines will recognize as relevant to searches for your products or services. It’s valuable to consider as part of your website refresh. There are many facets to SEO, such as keyword ranking and meta descriptions. (Learn more about SEO.)
2. Publish blogs. Publishing a blog on your website helps establish your brand’s authority in your area of expertise. In addition, it can improve your site’s organic ranking if people are searching the topics you’re writing about.
3. Maximize your social media. Introduce your refreshed site in your social media posts. This is a great way to drive visits.
4. Run an SEM campaign. SEM ads, which are also referred to as pay-per-click ads, are a useful short-term strategy for driving traffic to your site. These ads are placed as “sponsored” results at the top of the search results. You also can place paid ads in social media feeds. SEM ads are highly targetable but competitive categories can be costly and you pay for every click. (Learn more about SEM.)
5. Use QR codes. QR codes show up everywhere today – on product packaging, print ads, restaurant menus, even on TV. The beauty of a QR code is that you can direct it to any page on your site. Customers simply snap a picture to get to your site without having to memorize a URL. The performance of QR codes is measurable too. (Learn more about QR codes.)
Conclusion: What to Expect from Your Redesigned Website
Your redesigned website probably won’t result in sky-rocketing conversions in just a few days, or even in a couple weeks. However, in a few months’ time a well-designed site with an improved user experience will help improve your organic ranking resulting in more site visits and increased time visitors spend exploring your site.
Is it time to redesign your website? Read more in our blog “7 Signs That Your Site Is Ready for a Redesign.”
