The journey to the number one ranking on Google differs across cities, towns and industries. But generally speaking, it’s safe to say that proper keyword placement, quick page load speed and quality content are the best bets for SEO growth. These strategies make it easy for Google to match searchers with results that are most relevant to them.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are a few strategies you need to avoid if your goal is to improve your ranking.

When building your Website, it’s important to accurately represent your company’s identity. Your Website is your #1 Marketing resource, after all. While branding and credibility are important, don’t forget the primary goal of your Website: to turn people searching for a service into customers. User experience is the key to a successful Website, which is why it needs to be revisited on a consistent basis.

Even though most companies like yours do the majority of their business over the phone or in person rather than online, having a Website is an essential step to getting in front of potential customers in your service area. Nowadays, your Website is your most valuable marketing tool.

Companies that don’t have a Website lack credibility and miss out on the growing number of customers that do online research before hiring a provider. In one report, researchers found that 63% of consumers primarily use a business’s Website to find and engage with a local service. In other words, businesses without a Website are missing out.

Your end goal when structuring your Website should be to optimize user experience. Your site needs to be structured in a way that guides users through certain steps you want them to take. Whether it’s filling out a consultation form, learning more about your product or service, or signing up for a newsletter, you want them to be able to do so as easily as possible.

Lead generation should be a top priority when building your Website. While you may be able to attract visitors, you won’t be able to get any new customers unless you convert those visitors into leads.

As more and more companies build their online presence, it has become increasingly difficult to engage potential customers through the likes of landing pages. An average or sub-par experience just won’t cut it anymore. When visitors come in contact with your landing page, are you seeing a high bounce rate?

Calls-to-action (CTAs) play a key role in lead generation because they help customers get from one step to another. They help guide Website visitors toward a purchasing decision. Optimizing your CTAs for maximum conversions is one of the best ways to create sales. A CTA that compels is a CTA that sells!

User experience is one of the most important factors when evaluating your Website. If you’ve tested your Website’s usability and seen poor results, here are some simple ways to improve it:

With the New Year upon us, be on the lookout for revamped Websites with new design practices in 2018. Here are 5 new trends to watch for this year: