Suggestions, please?

[andersonwd]

Hello,

A few months ago, I redesigned my website and since then have not gotten any inquiries. I even have a few Google campaigns going and am getting clicks, but no inquiries.

I'm leading the horses to the water, but I don't seem to be making them thirsty. I'm wondering if people here would please look at my site and make suggestions for ways to increase lead-generating inquiries. My URL is www.andersonwebdesign.com

Any suggestions and constructive criticism are fully welcome.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Sherry

[ronburk]

Suggested additional information to include when asking a question like this:

How many visits did you get to produce 0 inquiries (maybe your conversion rate expectations are unreasonable)?

Where are the Google ads (maybe the ad text produces poorly qualified visitors)?

But anyway, let's think about this. The last time you needed to hire someone to provide a critical deliverable for your product, did you locate the person/company by just looking at whatever Google turned up? I suspect most buyers do not work this way, and they instead rely heavily on word-of-mouth.

If I were trying to make it in this very tough market, I would not look at the website as a major source of new leads. Instead, I would try to make it support my "real" marketing efforts, which would be things like pressing existing customers for referrals, networking in the local business community, and so on.

[andersonwd]

Thank you for the response.

I'm not a "newbie" to the industry. Just to this board. I've been reading, but have never had a reason to post before. Usually answers to questions have been provided by the time I read them. I also like to get ideas from forums like this. Now, it's me who's looking for help and decided to ask folks for some feedback.

The reason I have started some Google campaigns is because with the redesign, I've lost my Google positioning and am working to get it back. In the meantime, I've gone the route of Google AdWords to compensate for the lack of presence on the search engines. My traffic is just as good as it's been in the past, but for some reason, I'm not generating ANY inquiries from the site. Before, I'd get 3-5 per month. So, no, I don't believe that I'm being unrealistic and expecting the floodgates to open via my website. As web developers, we should all realize the importance of making our websites perform to their full potential. I don't feel that mine is, so I'm looking for critiquing and feedback from other professionals who may have gone through this same thing.

Basically, I'd like people to visit my site as if they are a potential client and then tell me what they feel I could do to entice them to contact me to discuss their project.

Thanks again for your response, ronburk. And, thank you in advance to anyone else who will take the time to help me.

[zingmatter]

I'm inclined to agree with ronburk. While getting a good google ranking and therefore hit rate you need to ask exactly who is visiting your site. Is it people actually looking for a possible web designer or is it just casual browsers/interested competitors..etc...?

I think you should really think about a more traditional marketing route, such mailshots, magazine/newspaper/radio/tv ads, seeking out businesses with dire web sites and cold-calling them. Lastly, people you know, though previous work (or any source for that matter) can often get you a pointer to any work that might need doing. In each case you want to get your URL about so that the people who visit are genuinely interested in your services.

With that in mind, you might want to trim down the complexity of your site on first arrival. Since they're already considering your services then something less demanding might be more appropriate, rather than having to persuade them from cold that you are the one they want to hire (against 20 other competitors). In fact, in either case I wonder if you site could be simplified a little.

Certainly your problem isn't that your sites aren't good enough (I'm amazed how bad some supposed 'web design' companies actually are). Indeed, your sites all pretty good. And you do more than just html/graphics so there's nothing wrong technically.

To sum up (if you're still awake after all that), it's a fiercely competitive market and you just can't expect clients to walk through the (virtual) door. Think of your site more as a resume for those you've already made 'contact' with.

Hope this helps and good luck.

[andersonwd]

I'm sorry if I was vague. My offline marketing is not the issue. Since that was not my question, I didn't clarify, but silly me for assuming that the question would be taken at face value. I am NOT simply expecting my website to be the only source of leads. Y'all have just assumed that I am an amateur and that I'm not marketing my business outside of the internet. As I tell my clients, a website is not a "Field of Dreams" - if you build it they will come. You have to promote it. I also clearly stress to clients that a website is simply a marketing tool and that you must treat it as such. With mailings such as brochures and pamphlets, once they go out, you really can't track the interest that it generated, just response. With a website, you can guage a campaign's interest vs response. My interest is still there, but the response is not. Therefore, I am simply looking for suggestions regarding my website and how I can make it more productive.

Thanks for the feedback regarding the site. That is what I am looking for...objective views. I've looked at my site for so long that it's hard to look at it objectively, which is why I wanted some fresh eyes who know nothing about me and can form an opinion about me from my site. And...thanks for the compliment on my work. :)

[zingmatter]

Sorry if I gave the impression that I thought you were an amateur cos I didn't think you were.

As for a fresh look at your site, my only thought was that it was a bit 'busy'. There's a lot of links and graphics and stuff and I wonder if it's worth simplifying it. Also, it goes right to the top of the browser window which makes me feel a little uneasy. Dunno if that would make it more productive - does anyone know what can make a site more productive?

Just some thoughts any way.

[andersonwd]

Thanks again, zorn. I took your advice about the page loading at the top of the screen and centered it.

Also, I will try to think up a simplified version of the site. I was hoping that my site would give people an instant impression of my work and prompt them to look further into my site and hopefully contact me. I also didn't want my customer sites to be higher quality than my own. It always amazes me when I see a web designer's site that looks amateur. I was trying to avoid that syndrome. :D

[philaweb]

andersonwd,

First, I would like to compliment on your different designs. :)

Secondly, I find the white square in the middle with assorted links a bit.... eh, plain, compared to the rest of the layout. Perhaps a nice clickable imagemap with the font type you're using in the Flash logo would do the trick (to make them stand out like the "Featured Project" to the right).

Your website is quite dependent on javascripts. Have you tested it on Mozilla (in my case FireFox 0.8) with javascript disabled?
I have, and the result is very different than the design you intended.

Also, you have 21 nested tables in your design. The navigation bars for example can be done using pure CSS, but I guess you know that and it's more a preference of mine. :)

[philaweb]

*sheesh* Forgot to write my initial thoughts. :rolleyes:

When googling your domain for referral links I come up with 16 results from 12 domains. 7 of those domains have designs created by you - your signature hyperlink tells me. :)

Well, I know you've got testimonials from satisfied customers on your own website, but I always find it interesting when googling a link referral how few customers do an online "mouth to mouth" (or as I prefer to call it a "mouth to ear") recommendation of your work.

Perhaps that would be worth considering? :)

[HotShot]

As philaweb was saying, your site uses a lot of javascript. Take a look for yourself what it looks like in internet explorer and other browsers without javascript.

Here is a site that explains how to disable javascript in most browsers: http://www.buymebuyme.com/retail/help/javascript.html

Not what you thought?

[the tree]

O.k. having never designed a site profesionaly it's not too hard to look at your site as if I were a potential client. The first thing that I'd want to see would be... a portfolio, some price lists and then a site map. But the first thing I see is not to be too harsh, a lot of links to single sentences. And as for the site map, it actualy took me 2 minutes to spot! I think if you reddesigned the homepage then people will be more willing to look into your website in more detail.

[andersonwd]

Thank you to everyone for your feedback. It really does help.

[philaweb]

Originally posted by andersonwd
Thank you to everyone for your feedback. It really does help.

You're welcome! :)