As you sat down with your team at the end of 2014, I am sure that many of you made plans to decrease the number of customers you have and cut your profits in 2015. Decreasing conversion rates, driving bounce rates higher, and keeping time on page under 5 seconds are also likely to be high on your priority list.
Some of you may be saying "that is the complete opposite of what I want." Unfortunately, it is not what we say that matters it is what we do. If you actually want to attract more clients and keep them on your site in 2015, here are some of the problems you need to identify and the free tools to do so.
If you are not sure whether your site is mobile friendly or not, Google has a tool for that. Just plug in the URL of your site and the tool will tell you if you site is mobile friendly or not. This is a big deal and we will revisit this in the near future here on Website Magazine.
Having a slow website can cost you conversions and result in lower search rankings. Find out how your site stacks up using the free Google PageSpeed Insights Tools. If your site has issues you will also get more information about how to fix the problems. Remember, it is not about being perfect, it is about improving.
Making sure you have a diverse and quality back-link profile is very important. Google Webmaster Tools is yet another free tool that you can use to gain valuable insight into how they see your site. You should be checking your back links periodically so you can identify and remove any bad links before they can harm your site.
You have been working hard to get your site mobile and user friendly, now you are dying to know if people love, hate, or even talk about your company. But how? Google Alerts is another freebie to add to your toolbox. All you have to do is setup an alert for your company name and you will get emails when new mentions are found. This also works great for staying on top of your online reputation.
By the time you go through the above tools you should be feeling pretty good about your site. The bad news is, if your content sucks and you don't have any traffic, this may all have been for nothing. The only way to know if your efforts are working is to track them. Google Analytics is the free solution for your tracking needs.
While many of you know about the five tools mentioned above, many of you are not using them to their full potential. Before you worry about adding expensive tracking tools to your arsenal, take some time to get familiar with the free tools Google offers.
For those of you who have been putting off needed updates or have not started tracking your Web properties, set up the tools above and find out what is really happening with your website.
What about you? Do you have a favorite free tool?
Author Bio
Travis Bliffen is the founder of Stellar SEO, a digital marketing agency specializing in search engine optimization. If your business is ready for more leads and sales, it's time to get #stellarized. Connect with him on Twitter @theseoproz or Facebook.