Getting your website message clear enough for your audience to understand is crucial to getting people to stay on your website long enough to see if you’re the right business for them. This is often one of the biggest challenges business owners face with all their marketing – is my message clear to my ideal customer?
Who is your audience?
As with all aspects of your business, this is the most fundamental part of all of your marketing – offline and online. Without a clear picture of who your audience is, you won’t be able to accurately use the right language for them to know you’re talking to them.
There’s lots of ways of getting really clear about your target audience, and we recommend Thoranna’s “Target Groups Untangled“, for a step by step guide. If you prefer to listen, then my interview with Thoranna has some excellent pointers for getting really clear who your target audience is.
How do I keep my website message clear?
If your website message is clear, your audience will know they’re in the right place and continue to see what you offer, and if it’s right for them. During my conversation with Tim Gray, we spoke a lot about keeping it simple, from your website structure, to the words you use on your website.
Tim spoke about colours on your website too, and his article about the psychology of colour is fascinating, and well worth considering when you’re reviewing your website, and if it’s talking to your ideal audience. It’s not only colour that can be off putting for a reader, but the images and videos you use too.
Let’s look at an example:
If you’re a holistic therapist serving an area local to your home, then your website message needs to include the following:
- Who are you & why do you do what you do
- What you do
- How it can help
- Who you help (be really clear who your ideal audience is. If it’s women, say it. If it’s teenagers say that)
- Where do you help people
- How do you do your treatments
- Your price
- How people can contact you and also book an appointment
Think about it, and apply these questions to your own business:
- Does your ideal customer know exactly what they’re looking for? they may not know that your treatment can help their particular health issue
- Is your ideal customer scared or unsure about their current situation? you may need to reassure them with a story of another customer you’ve helped
- How have other customers found you? What were they looking for? Were they your ideal customer? use the analytics you have access to & your records to see if your website is attracting your ideal customer, or someone else. Do you want to change the words you use?
- Can your customer find what they’re wanting easily from any page they happen to arrive at on your website? Does the menu make sense to a lay person not fully aware of the terms you may use in your business or industry if they are totally new in searching for help in this area?
Tips for keeping your website message clear
Just like for all your marketing, get others to help you and sense check what you’re doing. Do you have a group of friends, or a network of business owners who understand your target audience enough to be able to give you good feedback? Use them. We’re doing this all the time in the Business Cheerleading Club, sense checking each other, and giving honest feedback.
Keep it simple. From the structure of your website, to the words and images you use, and the twiddly bits you add. What does your ideal customer like to look at and read? Do they like watching videos, or are they more readers to glean information before they make a decision? Are they busy and need to find what they’re looking for quickly? Keeping all your marketing simple will ensure that everything ties together when your customer sees your message in other places.
Ensure your website structure is easy to navigate, using terms your target audience use themselves in their everyday language.
Use words and phrases that your audience will understand without jargon they may not have heard of yet. Be explicit in your language. Remember you are writing your words for a HUMAN reader, not a search engine robot.
Use headings and sub-headings to make the information easy on the eye and easy to find what you’re looking for as you scan text quickly.
Does your website look inviting and friendly? Is that what your ideal audience is looking for? Or are they looking for clinical and factual?
What questions do you get asked most? What questions are your audience looking to answer? Add these questions, and their answers to your website to help your ideal audience find what they’re looking for more easily.
Be yourself. You are your business, so you want to ensure the audience knows who you are, so they can relate to you and your business.
We all know that businesses grow and things change all the time. If you sell products you may have some products which sell out that need removing, and new products going on to your website. Keeping that up to date can feel like a full time job in itself, let alone checking your website message is still clear for your customer.
Yes, your website message is important, just like all your other marketing messages. And marketing is just one part of your business. Yes, your not alone in thinking this is feeling a bit overwhelming. So, get your friends and network to help you. Find the right people to check your website message with you. The Business Cheerleading Club is a great place to ask for that support, and work with others to make any changes you may need.
Or, you can work one to one with me to Get your Website Working.
What have you done, or are doing, to get your website message clear for your target audience? Let me know in the comments below.
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