What more can you do to boost traffic to your website and increase conversions? We tried to answer this question plus more in our latest #SEMrushchat where we did a real-time site analysis for the website, gulfphotoplus.com. During the chat, the participants spotted certain aspects of the site that needed to be changed immediately. In case you missed out on the session, here is what our chat participants had to say; you may get some helpful tips for your own website, too!
Q1. After the first glance, what is the one thing you would definitely change about Gulfphotoplus?
Gulf Photo Plus has some great photos on their site. However, there are a few elements that still need some work:
1. A Clear Value Proposition
The best websites are those that highlight the value proposition to the visitors the instant they land. The faster the users understand what benefit they can get from the site, the easier the conversions will be. However, with this website, we see that this is missing entirely.
A1: Well...since I've been staring at it for the past 90 seconds and still have no clue what this company does, I'd change...well, a lot.#semrushchat https://t.co/g5SgNoscG2
— ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) July 11, 2018
A1: I don't really know what this company's about when landing on the homepage. There is just an image & a menu. No CTA & an image that doesn't mean anything to me. That all needs clarified.#semrushchat
— Heather Harvey (@Fizzle_Up) July 11, 2018
Adding a good H1 title, a better image that defines their value proposition, and changing the site layout will help.
A1: If they moved the info they have in the pink banner from the 'About Us' page to above the fold on the homepage it would at least give users a better understanding of what the company is about.
Some beautiful images throughout but too cluttered.#semrushchat
— Heather Harvey (@Fizzle_Up) July 11, 2018
2. Better UX
Another indicator of a good website (that converts), would be a simple UX where the user is able to navigate very easily; this means one clear value proposition that draws the user’s attention on a page that is clean and has good design elements. Unfortunately, Gulf Photo Plus needs to look into that as well.
A1 The site is overwhelming at first glance, giving the viewer no sense of direction. Also lacking a clear value prop! #semrushchat
— Perfect Search Media (@Perfect_Search) July 11, 2018
A1: I'm not sure where to start. A lot of the pages hurt my eyes as in my eyes can't focus and literally hurt trying to figure some of the specifics of what they do out. A customer would just bounce within seconds in confusion. #semrushchat pic.twitter.com/znOs9molbn
— Annette Sugden (@Annette_Sugden) July 11, 2018
A1: I think this site needs a complete UX overhaul. The mobile version is too condensed with elements #semrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) July 11, 2018
Their mobile version is also way too condensed with lots of elements, and their website is just way too busy. It has too many colors and too many images that are vying for the users’ attention.
A1. There are a LOT of places to go here and I feel a little overwhelmed. I'd want to simplify the page and have a single most prominent CTA. #semrushchat
— Kim Doughty (@Howdy_Doughty) July 11, 2018
A1 Header image on the shop page isn’t great quality, being a photography site I’d expect excellent photos across the whole site to be a priority☹️#semrushchat
— Emma Lambert? (@Emmaaa_95) July 11, 2018
A1: It's been mentioned by several people (@Howdy_Doughty, @ThinkSEM, @dannyraylima), but there's a LOT going on, what with the large boxes of color. The site could do with more simplification and a UX rehaul, to start. #SEMRushChat
— Marccx Media (@marccxmedia) July 11, 2018
3. No CTA (Call-to-Action)
Gulf Photo Plus doesn’t have a clear CTA, which is essential. Having a clear CTA, a good H1, or even an image that defines what exactly the purpose of the site is could help users to convert better. Like @feanAD stated, “The homepage is kind of overwhelming with all those boxes/grids. It is a lot. A simple clear theme would be great.”
A1: First glance thing would be to sort the user journey - there is a lack of CTA and a lack of direction as to purpose of the website. A good H1? Something to define the site. Although the image is fab #semrushchat
— KhooCommerce (@KhooCommerce) July 11, 2018
A1. The page is overwhelmingly busy. There is no natural path to navigate the page. I would simplify the layout and limit the number of items vying for the user's attention. #semrushchat
— Sarah Weissberger (@skweissberger) July 11, 2018
4. Better Navigation For the Blog
The blog has older posts that are pretty interesting, but quite hard to access. It requires way too many clicks to reach, and new content buries the evergreen content that was published earlier. The site needs better internal linking structures to make it easier for the visitors to navigate.
A1 the blog - older posts are too far away from the home page - too may clicks so each time a new post is added the good evergreen posts sink further. Need some better internal linking structures.#SEMRushChat
— Simon Cox (@simoncox) July 11, 2018
5. Page Speed
A page that loads slowly is a definite conversion killer. According to SEOptimer, Gulf Photo Plus ranks among the last three of all sites for website speed; this can cost them a lot of traffic and conversions and should be changed as soon as possible.
A1: First thing I did was put it through a site speed test. Number one thing would be to reduce server load time. It ranks in bottom third of all sites for speed ? #semrushchat
— KhooCommerce (@KhooCommerce) July 11, 2018
To increase the site speed, @HustleLegends suggests that they change the menu and the layout to increase the speed of the site.
A1. I would definitely change the menu of the website and perhaps the layout too. At the moment it's eyeing busy and chaotic. Plus having a layout like that also slows down the website by creating a huge page size. Slow website = less conversions. #semrushchat pic.twitter.com/19FSNoIpSY
— ?Hustle⌚Legends? (@HustleLegends) July 11, 2018
In case you are looking to improve your site speed as well, check out site speed optimization techniques that can help.
Q2. Out of these issues we detected with the SEMrush audit tool, which one should @gulfphotoplus.com fix ASAP? Why?
There are at least 40 technical SEO mistakes that your site could be guilty of. Since it can be tedious to manually check the site for each of the 40 plausible mistakes, SEMrush’s Site Audit tool is a great way to identify SEO elements that need to be fixed. The SEO analysis of Gulf Photo Plus' website using this tool yielded three major issues:
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Mixed content, which is when both HTTP and HTTPS content are loaded and displayed on the same page.
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Duplicate Content, which is when content is repetitive across multiple pages; this actually confuses the search engines and can be detrimental for SEO. If it is crucial for you to repeat your content, then you should add a rel=canonical tag to the original page to help the search engine differentiate original content from other pages.
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Temporary redirects, which is when the user is sent to a different URL than originally intended. Having the correct redirect can make a huge difference to the site speed and is an important aspect of SEO.
Out of these three, the majority of our chat participants felt that mixed content was the most important issue to fix since users will not visit an unsecured site.
A2: Given the domain is HTTPS, the mixed content issue would make the most sense to fix ASAP for the sake of security. #SEMRushChat
— Marccx Media (@marccxmedia) July 11, 2018
A2: You need to prioritize mixed content as the number one issue to fix. User safety should always be the priority for any website. #SEMrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) July 11, 2018
Google Chrome adds a warning about all unsecured sites, so, this can most likely stop users from visiting your site, which is clearly not the best way to win their trust.
A2: Out of these, I think the mixed content issues needs to be fixed first. Especially since chrome is adding the warning for all non-secure sites. This can prevent users from converting #semrushchat
— James Leisy (@theJimmyB0b) July 11, 2018
A2: The mixed content issue seems like the biggest one. Might as well get your teeth into that to start with as the other issues are small and easily fixed.#semrushchat
— Heather Harvey (@Fizzle_Up) July 11, 2018
A2 The fact that 49 pages have issues with mixed content signals something needs to be done on their end -- fast. Figure out the big stuff, then move onto the minutiae! #semrushchat
— Perfect Search Media (@Perfect_Search) July 11, 2018
Next would be to fix duplicate content since there are only 3 pages being affected by this. In some cases, this may be more of a priority, but since more pages have mixed content, it is not as pressing.
A2 - only 3 Dupe pages so the answer there is to concentrate on the 49 issues with mixed content.
But speed is an issue, as others have said.
Perhaps some above the fold css rendering and lazy load.#semrushchat pic.twitter.com/fsm4c79DYh— Simon Cox (@simoncox) July 11, 2018
A2: 2 or 3 pages of dupe content or temp redirects is no big deal; 50 pages with an issue should get priority.
Then fix the small stuff.#semrushchat https://t.co/0dm5oPwf1C
— ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) July 11, 2018
Lastly, fix the temporary redirects. Since the site has over 300 pages with 301 and 302 redirects, it definitely needs to be fixed. However, the number of pages with duplicate content issues and meta tag descriptions is higher.
A2: 302 redirects 101 pages, 301 redirect 229 pages & 618 pages with canonical issues, 82 pages with long chain redirects, 326 pages with duplicate titles and 2225 are too long, meta descriptions 398 are duplicated & 219 are empty
#SEMrushchat #SiteAudit @gulfphotoplus @SEMrush— Alexis Huddart (@Flexoid) July 11, 2018
Q3. What purpose should their blog have? Does the existing blog match it?
Their blog’s purpose should be to demonstrate their expertise in their niche area, attract traffic with relevant content, and to educate and inspire their audience. Although they do a good job of meeting these objectives, there is definitely room for improvement.
A3. Their blog should (1) demonstrate their expertise and (2) provide quality content that draws in their target audience. Currently, they do some of both, but there is room for improvement for each purpose #semrushchat
— Sarah Weissberger (@skweissberger) July 11, 2018
A3: The blog should work on a few levels, it should work from an information standpoint about who they are, the audience they represent and provide inspiration. The categories are a good start, but I would move the "loan programs" away from the blog as well. #semrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) July 11, 2018
A3: Blog should: 1, highlight their expertise, 2, provide value (tips etc) 3, showcase their customer's work? (build community and repeat traffic). #SEMrushchat https://t.co/XZPUZ0uH0K
— Dean Brady (@deanbrady) July 11, 2018
Here is how they can improve:
1. Have A Better Layout
Despite having great content, the layout of their blog is a big turnoff. It can be improved by tweaking the format of the text, testing out various fonts, and also experimenting with different page layouts to see what works best.
A3. The content of the site seems good but the layout is awful. Bigger images, text format and font. Cover more industry topics. #SEMrushchat
— 24F (@feanAD) July 11, 2018
Paying attention to design elements is also important. All of the great content is lost due to overlong line lengths (poor legibility) and poor quality images.
A3: The purpose I would think would be to be an expert in photographic training etc. The content looks to match this but when you click through to the story, the design kills it. Overlong line lengths make legibility poor and the images aren't good enough quality #semrushchat pic.twitter.com/nWPsVA6nLy
— KhooCommerce (@KhooCommerce) July 11, 2018
The blog can also be a quick way to improve the layout of the whole website. All unnecessary content on the homepage (that is not focused towards the value proposition), can be moved to the blog.
A3: I still don't understand who and what the company is. Some of the menu items could go in the blog (and clear up the website header), but it also depends on what they want to prioritise over the other. Now, they seem to be desperate to prioritise everything. #SEMRushChat
— Narmadhaa (@s_narmadhaa) July 11, 2018
2. Improve the Structure
Adding categories to the blog could help the site visitors to sort through various blog posts, improving the structure of the page.
A3: They do state what the purpose of thei blog is at the top of the blog page, however it doesn't seem to have much of a structure.
They don't appear to have thought out clear goals for their posts such as what they would like readers to do. #semrushchat
— Heather Harvey (@Fizzle_Up) July 11, 2018
A3: a lot of the blog pages are on 301's so fix this first and put in titles!!!
Then look at categorising content with subjects, content type so its filterable by subject #SEMrushchat #SiteAudit @gulfphotoplus @SEMrush— Alexis Huddart (@Flexoid) July 11, 2018
Similarly, the H1 tags are missing for a lot of pages.
A3: Title tags (h1) are missing for a lot of pages @semrush #semrushchat
— SEOtog (@SEOforPhotogs) July 11, 2018
They can also add descriptions or short snippets for each post so that visitors can get an idea of each article quickly; this could be a huge boost to their UX.
A3: I think they have the right topics. My main issue though is still U/X. It looks like there are no descriptions or snippets of posts. I only figured out how to reveal them accidentally - by mouse rollover. #semrushchat
— Annette Sugden (@Annette_Sugden) July 11, 2018
3. No Focused Conversion
While the content on the blog is certainly targeted, it is not compelling enough to encourage the user to convert. So, focusing more on educative content like tips and guides, instead of articles on photographers can help.
A3: Photography tips or guides, cameras recommendations and maybe less articles about photographers (I find it very niche-specific ?♂️) #semrushchat
— Carlos Castro ? (@carloscastro_4) July 11, 2018
This not only makes the content more engaging but also adds more value to the user who visits the site.
A3. They should use the blog to provide value for potential customers. It looks like their content is targeted correctly but I'm seeing a high proportion of photographer profiles to informative articles, and I'd want to flip that so the content is more engaging. #semrushchat
— Kim Doughty (@Howdy_Doughty) July 11, 2018
Once they attract a visitor to the blog articles, it is also necessary to find a way to capture the said visitor as a lead. That means a clear conversion path has to be outlined.
A3: The blog topics look good to me. They're making themselves a resource for photographers: top places to shoot, how to's, and photographer profiles are all easy to share and bring in visitors to the site. However, once on blogs, there isn't a clear path to convert #semrushchat
— James Leisy (@theJimmyB0b) July 11, 2018
Understanding the user journey will also be useful in making the content more relevant to identify what topics to focus on. This strategy will help them to create articles and titles that are more enticing and publish them more frequently to improve conversion.
A3 Blogs should be all about bringing in and informing potential buyers. Provide users with relevant and timely photography-based content, topped off with a clear title. Current blog titles don't entice us as much as they could! #semrushchat
— Perfect Search Media (@Perfect_Search) July 11, 2018
A3 the blog has a great strap-line “Discover new photographers, learn essential photo tips, access UAE photo resources, and stay abreast of the latest news at GPP.” - thats enough to ‘focus’ on.
If they want more then they need to think about what the site is for.#SEMRushChat— Simon Cox (@simoncox) July 11, 2018
A3: Their site itself is focused around photography workshops, exhibitions, services, and more, so focusing the blog around tips, tricks, profiles, etc. would make the most sense. They're already doing so, but they could publish content more frequently. #SEMRushChat
— Marccx Media (@marccxmedia) July 11, 2018
Q4. What features/UX/Content mistakes could be setting them back?
Website features, site UX, and the content online are all crucial elements that impact traffic and conversion. Here are a few things our chat participants felt could be holding Gulf Photo Plus from achieving its full potential:
1. Features – Each page on the site is exceedingly large and slows down the site speed drastically. Reducing page size and boosting site speed are both a top priority. This can be done by compressing image sizes, rectifying 404 error pages, and trimming down pages larger than 3mb.
A4: 404's not set up right, 480 pages are over 3mb so i'd look at trimming them down, the images could be compressed and then given the option to view full size as studio pic's are many meg's, poor for phone user, ZZZ #SEMrushchat #SiteAudit @gulfphotoplus @SEMrush
— Alexis Huddart (@Flexoid) July 11, 2018
To make the website more conversion centric, the CTAs could be defined better. Similarly, the typography in the design hierarchy, like using one font and gradually changing the size for each header can be modified as well.
A4:
1. Site speed and page size - sort this first as a priority!
2.Typography Design Hierarchy: Use type to lead the user journey
3. Use of white space on content pages
4. Clearer Calls to Action
5. Better clearer navigation#semrushchat pic.twitter.com/lW35Pw72gU— KhooCommerce (@KhooCommerce) July 11, 2018
A4: in 280? Focus my attention on what they want to prioritize. I count at least 6 font sizes on the home page..?? #SEMrushchat https://t.co/aJvZzlXDck
— Dean Brady (@deanbrady) July 11, 2018
2. UX – The user experience of the website definitely leaves a lot to be desired. The website is complicated, with too many competing elements to provide optimal UX for every visitor. So, stripping it down completely to focus on one value proposition, simplifying it, and providing clear CTAs can help to improve it.
A4: From a UX point of view they really need to strip the site down & simplify it. Clear CTAs & company information would be a good start.
As others have said, start with your goals. What do you want to achieve from your website & work from there. #semrushchat
— Heather Harvey (@Fizzle_Up) July 11, 2018
A4: A HUGE part of UX is helping visitors know what you do/how you can help them. This home page doesn't do any of that. Someone on this chat said they closed the tab b/c they just couldn't anymore. That's called a UX fail.#semrushchat https://t.co/nHF9qkDPfu
— ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) July 11, 2018
Having the most critical CTAs and content above the fold will save users from having to scroll down every time to find the content they are interested in. This is an important aspect of UX that the website has overlooked and has to correct.
A4: Off the bat, the header drop-down menus and the carousel are the detracting above-the-fold UX issues. #SEMRushChat
— Marccx Media (@marccxmedia) July 11, 2018
A4: I think the biggest take away for me is they are trying to be an E-commerce site, but lack any E-commerce optimization. They don't have any CTAs above the fold, no real emphasis on booking classes. For an E-comm site that's bad. #SEMrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) July 11, 2018
If you are having the same issues, use these 4 UX principles of SEO to help you nail the right UX for your site.
3. Content – Good content and good UX go hand in hand. For example, changing the hero image, adding some text to it, and compressing it will improve UX drastically (and also the page load time).
A4: The hero image is pretty confusing ?, changing it and adding some text about who they are will improve UX ? #semrushchat
— Carlos Castro ? (@carloscastro_4) July 11, 2018
The above recommendation will also ensure that there are proper CTAs above the fold, giving the users something to click on.
A4 Pretty much every page opens to a large picture consuming the entire upper fold. Move important content and CTA's above the fold. Give me something to click on! #semrushchat
— Perfect Search Media (@Perfect_Search) July 11, 2018
Likewise, the content that is on site has to be mobile friendly and compelling enough to convert, which are two aspects that influence the UX of the site.
A4. It's clear that this site was not designed for mobile first. And the last place I'm drawn to click from the home page is the services page. :/ #semrushchat
— Kim Doughty (@Howdy_Doughty) July 11, 2018
A4: Neglecting your mobile site. The sheer amount of mobile users should make your mobile site good.#semrushchat pic.twitter.com/47IUfYPDBj
— Kieran Ledger (@KJLedger) July 11, 2018
Ultimately, it boils down to what the clear goal of the website is. Choosing one aspect and focusing on it on the homepage can be the quickest way to solve all the three-pointers mentioned above.
A4. I don't think there's an issue with any one feature/mistake, it's just that they're choosing to have all the features, which is the mistake. As everyone has been saying from Q1, simplify! Choose your favorite features, highlight them, and do them well. #semrushchat
— Sarah Weissberger (@skweissberger) July 11, 2018
If in doubt, using A/B testing to make data-driven changes in UX and content can be the quickest way to optimize conversions.
A4 I would focus on CRO - we can’t see whats stopping people convert, to services and workshops etc, but I’d bet that some UX A/B testing and different images would point the way to more ‘success’. The competition is not very good.#SEMRushChat
— Simon Cox (@simoncox) July 11, 2018
Q5. Which creative link building or link earning technique should Gulf Photo Plus be using?
SEMrush’s Backlink Tool found that Gulfphotoplus.com already has 4,675 backlinks from 357 domains. While this is not a bad number, the quality of the links should definitely be checked.
A5: Pinterest is a no brainer, 4675 backlinks from 357 domains is not bad. Many from the gulf & they get a fair amount of traffic from US (not being utilised) so link build with relevant sources in photography/education/hardware etc#SEMrushchat #SiteAudit @gulfphotoplus @SEMrush
— Alexis Huddart (@Flexoid) July 11, 2018
Here are a couple of ways they can expand their backlink profile:
1. Community Engagement – They have a good number of photographers’ profiles on their site. Encouraging this community to engage, participate, and link back to their site will automatically build high value and relevant backlinks.
A5: Well, I think they can start with their Photographer Profile, this might be the quickest way to gain earned and organic links. To be honest, they can run a whole sub-series on this alone and it can be "bank "in terms of getting links #SEMrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) July 11, 2018
A5: Community. If I need a photog for a (fill in the blank) do they have connections, profiles etc? Get some of those photogs to guest write. If they have a pro on staff, get them to write for other sites as well.. #semrushchat https://t.co/8rJ0ZjoboP
— Dean Brady (@deanbrady) July 11, 2018
A5: Obviously guest blogging sharing expertise but mostly aiming towards building their own quality content. I'm thinking of the old https://t.co/vGvadSfQCI - that was killer content and he ended getting poached by Google #semrushchat
— KhooCommerce (@KhooCommerce) July 11, 2018
Encouraging these photographers to guest blog on their site and share their expertise on other websites via guest blog posts can be great ways to win backlinks.
A5. They've got a good thing going by featuring other photographers on their blog. Use this as an opportunity to tap into their communities and acquire links that way. #semrushchat
— Kim Doughty (@Howdy_Doughty) July 11, 2018
A5: Create "shareable" content that gains backlinks easily (podcasts, accept guest posts) and maybe try to get some external reviews of their workshops #semrushchat
— Carlos Castro ? (@carloscastro_4) July 11, 2018
2. Diversify Their Channels - Gulf Photo Plus is on many social media channels, but one that they are missing is Pinterest. Since Pinterest depends highly on images to share stories, this could be a highly relevant channel they could use to gain quality links. Similarly, harvesting all the unlinked mentions from social media can also increase the backlink profile.
A5: As a matter of fact, I am trying to convince them to harvest all the unlinked mentions they have in local media, mostly radioshows' appearances in the near past #SEMRushChat
— Борис Крумов (@SeoKungFu) July 11, 2018
A5: Pinterest is a no brainer, 4675 backlinks from 357 domains is not bad. Many from the gulf & they get a fair amount of traffic from US (not being utilised) so link build with relevant sources in photography/education/hardware etc#SEMrushchat #SiteAudit @gulfphotoplus @SEMrush
— Alexis Huddart (@Flexoid) July 11, 2018
A quick way to find unlinked/unmentioned material that they own is to do a reverse image search. This option will help a company identify their content that is being used but isn’t being linked to. Once that is done, they can reach out to the content creator and request a backlink for content that they rightfully own.
A5 Not so creative, but simple and effective. Reverse image search, see if/who are using their images. Quick polite and firm email requesting attribution virtually guaranteed a link. More pics = more opps = more links #semrushchat
— Brett Downes (@tterbsenwod) July 11, 2018
Since they also conduct quite a variety of exhibitions and workshops, creating promotional backlinks to each of them could actually work in their favor – even if the said events are not regularly conducted.
A5: Building promotional backlinks to their workshops or exhibitions would be worthwhile, but exhibits change and workshops might not regularly recur, limiting the effectiveness of those campaigns. #SEMRushChat
— Marccx Media (@marccxmedia) July 11, 2018
An important aspect to keep in mind while link building is to see whether it is worthwhile to spend resources on that activity when they have already outstripped the competition.
A5 Not sure they need any more links - there are 7.5k already (worth checking quality) but spending money on link acquisition might be not be the best use of resource while the competition is behind. Else go for academic links on where to shoot in UAE.#semrushchat
— Simon Cox (@simoncox) July 11, 2018
Also, focusing on internal linking and improving navigation is more important than fixing external backlinks, since it is the former that will improve the UX and conversion rate of the site.
A5: The sensible one first. They need to fix their navigation for proper internal linking. And then focus on the blog to drive both internal and external links. I like that they're already doing a bit of this in their top photographers posts. #SEMRushChat
— Narmadhaa (@s_narmadhaa) July 11, 2018
Remember, creating excellent content that people will want to link to isn't easy, but it is often easier than building links.
A5: Same as anyone else -- they should be writing stellar content (the blog would be great for this) to naturally acquire good links, vs "building" them.#semrushchat https://t.co/EiWbMekQNm
— ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) July 11, 2018
What do you have to add to the site audit of Gulf Photo Plus? Do you agree with our chat participants? Leave me a comment and let me know!