With 2022 quickly approaching (we only have 4 months left of this year – yikes) I wanted to take a moment to talk about the most important “must haves” in 2022 to perform well in Google search. These are website design trends that are quickly becoming basic necessities. The unfortunate reality is that many businesses still have websites without a majority of these elements in place. In this blog post I am going to break down all five in basic terms.
Table of Contents
HTTPS/SSL Certificate
Google cares about user experience. They want people to keep using their search engine after doing searches. This means that they are going to prioritize websites that keep users safe. One of the best practices you can easily implement on your website is having an HTTPS/SSL certificate.
SSL is a web protocol that encrypts all data that is received and sent to and from your website. By having an HTTPS/SSL certificate in place, you are boosting the confidence of your website visitors and Google alike that your website will be safe for them to browse. Most likely you have already seen an HTTPS/SSL certificate before. If you have ever visited a website and seen a padlock icon next to the URL bar, that’s an indication the website has a certificate.
While it may seem technical to implement an HTTPS/SSL certificate, most web hosting companies will implement a certificate for you if you ask their support. It is included standard now in most entry level hosting plans.
More users are actually being taught to look for this, so it’s only going to become more important in the future.
Scroll To The Top Button
A scroll to the top button is pretty self-explanatory. It’s a button that appears on the left or right side of your website. As users scroll up and down the page, it’ll pop up for them. If they want to scroll all the way back to the top of your site, all they have to do is tap the button.
This is a huge way you can easily improve user experience on your website. People love convenience and providing it to them is a great way to get people to stay on your website longer (a signal that Google sees as “authoritative.”
Live Chat (Connect To A Human)
At the end of the day, people just want to talk to a human. Having a live chat may sound like something out of the typical for small businesses, but it’s easy (and free) to implement. Live chat has been proven to increase revenue. In fact, 38% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company if they offer live chat support.
MyLiveChat is a free service that allows you to easily set up live chat on your website without having to have any programming or coding experience. They have a mobile app so you can chat with your website visitors on the go. They have a paid plan if you need advanced features, but for most small businesses their free plan is enough to meet their needs.
Phone Number In The Upper Right
Like mentioned above in the last point, people want to speak to a human. Putting your phone number right at the top of your website makes it easy for customers to get in contact with you. This is becoming standard practice and is widely considered as good design. Again, making it easy for users is key.
Pro Tip: You can use tel: in your link to make it a clickable phone number link (meaning users can tap it on their smartphones and have your number open up in their dialpad with one click, fancy that!)
A Blog With Content
Google really wants to rank websites number one that are an authority in their niche or industry. So naturally you must ask, “how do I become an authority?” The answer is surprisingly simple: demonstrate your authority!
You need to show you know what you are talking about. Blog posts like this one are a great way to showcase your expertise, and build trust with your prospects before they convert into paying customers. In fact, having a solid blog can do a lot of your selling for you. Forbes has a great article on how content boosts brand trust.
The really awesome thing about having a blog is that each blog post has a chance of ranking in Google. You can use this knowledge to your advantage and capture potential customers during the research phase of their buying journey. For example, we have all most likely used Google at one point in time or another to do research on a product we were considering buying.
Most likely during those searches we pulled up online articles (in other words blog posts) and read what people had to say. That’s right, you can use blog content to bring traffic into your website. But it doesn’t stop there: this is warm, interested traffic you can convert into paying customers!
You can include a call to action at the bottom of every blog post you write, directing people on what you would like them to do. Whether that be contact your phone, subscribe to your email list, or stop in your store…the sky is the limit.
I often get a lot of pushback when I try to explain to business owners why they should have a blog. Most people don’t realize the significance and value of content marketing. Content does a lot for you. It doesn’t sleep, and it can sell for you 24/7. If you have a sales team in your business there is a good chance content could work wonders for you and your company.
Conclusion
It is important to keep your website up to date with what search engines like to see when deciding how to rank sites. If you want to rank #1, you need to set yourself up as an authority in your space. At E-Man Ink, we offer goal-oriented Search Engine Optimization as a service. We’ll get your website ranked without charging you an arm and a leg! Stop in today or give us a call at: (716) 297-5073.
Gabriel Miller
Gabriel is our website designer and search engine optimizer here at E-Man Ink. He takes great pride in his work and puts our clients first. He is passionate about technology and the internet of things (IOT).
Leave A Comment