The Two Most-Overlooked Pieces of Information on your Website- Friday Fix

I spend a good portion of my day reading blogs, visiting websites and interacting over the social sphere. I have Google alerts set up to notify me when someone is “talking” about my chosen keywords. Sometimes a post snippet catches my fancy and I’m transported to a website I’ve never before visited. In these situations,  I know nothing about the organization, other than the URL and the description intrigues me. As I’m connecting, I hope that I’ll see two things but all too frequently they’re missed.

1.   Where are you? Gone are the days when you’re giving your phone number to a local merchant and you rattle off seven digits knowing that they’ll automatically just add the local area code. The same can be said for your web visitors. You need to prominently list your location (city and state) and not just on your homepage. If you have a special event or post about the event make sure this is added. Yes, of course your members know where you are but what about those people who are “magically transported” to you from another link or a write-up of your event and referring URL? Columbus Chamber may seem like enough of an identifier but there are twenty-two cities/towns named “Columbus” throughout the United States and who knows how many others have Columbus in their names (Columbus Township…Columbus Junction….Columbus Heights?). A fun weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida will attract a very different crowd than one in St. Petersburg, Russia. Let’s just agree that specifics never hurt, especially on an events page.

2. How can I connect with you? I really love your content. I’m so glad Google directed me to you. I want to know if you have any social media profiles that I can follow. Please don’t make me go on a wild goose chase to find you. Place your Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc., prominently on your homepage. Please don’t hide it under a sub menu item. I may not take the time to hunt it down.

I like you. I want to know more. Don’t overlook these quick additions to your web content and events. Make it easy for me to become a part of your world.

What other key information do you find is frequently left off or hidden on websites?