Our podcast and blog aim to help you and your station generate more visitors and revenue. So, it’s only fitting that we list out several website mistakes that could cost you both.
1. Outdated/No Website Strategy
What’s the goal of your website? Has your website lost sight of it? If you don’t have one or it’s unclear, go back to the planning stage and re-align your website with your objectives. Is it to increase your newsletter subscribers? Get more online listens? Inform the community? Ensure it’s still checking these boxes properly.
2. Not Focusing on the User Experience
Your website is the online storefront for your radio station or group. So, ensure that it aligns you’re your station audience and that it provides a positive lasting impression. It should also properly inform, entertain and even solve problems for your listeners and potential advertisers. If it doesn’t do any of these, adjust accordingly so that it aligns with your strategy.
3. Slow Load Times
According to Google, 53% of visitors to mobile sites will leave if the page takes longer than three seconds to load. Optimizing your images for mobile devices is one of the best ways to improve your page speed. Large images are one of the biggest website mistakes that radio stations make. Every image should be optimized before uploading.
You can use simple tools like Pingdom Website Speed Test, GTmetrix, and Google PageSpeed Insights to check your website’s speed.
4. Not built for Mobile
Mobile devices generate over half of all global website traffic. Your website must use responsive design practices to look great on every device. You write off half your potential audience if your website is not mobile-friendly. Beyond that, a mobile-unfriendly website hurts SEO and will likely hurt it a lot more in the coming years.
5. Too Much Content
How can too much content be among website mistakes? Visitors who can’t understand your site’s content within a few seconds of arriving will likely leave frustrated. Website owners often try to cram too much “above the fold.” This can confuse your visitors. Remember the website strategy and focus on the most important calls to action for what you want visitors to do.
6. Weak/Too Little Content
Websites with very little content are on the other end of the spectrum. A homepage with a logo, “listen live” link, and form for advertising information isn’t sufficient content for return visitors. Very little content can leave the visitor wondering why they are there. Give them a reason to stay and reasons to return often.
Proper content creation is a marketing activity that can provide the highest returns on investment. Helpful, easy-to-consume information is perceived as more authoritative and helps to build brand loyalty and trust.
7. No Calls to Action
What do you want visitors to do once they land on your website? Do you want them to subscribe to your e-newsletter, stream the station, or sign up for a contest? Tell your visitors what you want them to do. Your content should answer the question, “what’s in it for me?” The calls to action will tell them what to do next.
8. Poor Navigation
Don’t frustrate your visitors with hard-to-navigate menus that can sometimes lead them to dead ends. Strong navigation is intuitive and simple, making it easy for visitors to quickly find what they need and return to where they were. Keep everything clear as possible and put your most relevant options up front. Many navigation issues can be corrected by observing actual users explore your website in a usability test.
9. Not Following SEO Best Practices
Many stations do not put enough emphasis on being found in search engines. Being found in search is one of the best ways to generate more website traffic. You’ll also want your station to be found when someone searches for advertising opportunities in your area. If you’re invisible in search results, it can equate to lost sales.
10. Overusing Stock Photography
Stock photography, especially free images, is tempting to use but avoid overusing them. Mix in local images that you or your staff have taken. We’ve seen several corporate websites overuse stock photography, and it was clear that the people in the photos did not work for the company. Using more photos that you have taken will make your radio station or company feel more real and add credibility in a big way.
11. No Image Alt Tags
Search engines do not “read” images. Instead, they scan text. Fortunately, you can associate text with an image with the alt tag. Considering that around 33% of Google’s search results now show an image, you’re losing out on a ton of traffic if you don’t add alt text to your website images. Unfortunately, too many station content creators are making this website mistake.
Alt text also helps you make your content accessible to users and improves the user experience in addition to helping you gain more traffic. When writing alt text, use proper sentence structure and be as specific as possible when describing the image.
12. Lack of Video
Over 87% of marketers who have used videos on their websites say that it’s improved their B2B traffic and conversions. Avoid this website mistake when marketing to new advertisers by including a video presentation to drive your message home.
13. Too Many/Too Little Ads
Advertising is necessary for our business. However, too many ads or noisy/flashy ads will frustrate your visitors and make you lose visitors. Analyze your ads like a hawk; if they annoy you even in the slightest, they’ll do the same to your visitors. Losing a sale by turning down flashy ads is better for your website in the long run.
Radio station websites with too few ads can appear unworthy to new advertisers. So, even if your ad spaces are bonused, which we never recommend, ensure your websites appear “sold” to make them appear more attractive to other advertisers. Do not fill empty spaces with “Advertise Here” banners. It’s better to have empty/hidden ad spaces.
14. Not tracking your Analytics
Web analytics are essential because they help you better understand your visitors and how they interact with your site. Unfortunately, 75% of smaller business sites do not use analytics tools to track performance. Think of your website as an investment. One of the most important things you can do to protect this investment is to analyze progress and measure success.
Focus on metrics that align with the goals of your website. For starters, track and analyze unique page views, time spent on page/site, number of returning visitors, and traffic sources.
15. No Ongoing Optimization Plan
Your website might be effective now, but what about tomorrow? A neglected website gets old fast. Search engines are constantly tweaking their algorithms, and if you have no plan for ongoing website optimization, any early gains you’ve made can be lost over time.
Develop a clear ongoing plan that adheres to your corporate strategy. Create monthly goals with key metrics and ensure everyone knows their role in the plan.
Are you Guilty of these Website Mistakes?
This isn’t a comprehensive list, but it’s a great place to start examining your website. If you are guilty of any website mistakes, make a plan to resolve them immediately.
Need help with your radio station or corporate website? We’re here to help.
