5 Common Branding Mistakes

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While you are trying to create you online presence, you may be trying to identify your site as well. Branding is an important aspect of SEO that gives your site meaning and feel. If nobody knows what your site is about, it may be hard to find people willing to visit. Here are common mistakes many websites making when trying to create their brand that are easy to avoid if you take the initiative and use caution.

Can’t Remember Your Domain Name:

Even if your website is about the longest words in the English language, you don’t need to use one of them for your domain name. Many websites fail from the start just by having a domain name that is too long or doesn’t even make sense. Be cautious when choosing your domain name and make it easy to remember and find in their bookmarks.

Design Fails:

With the ease of using templates and new drag and drop software, web design is becoming easier for amateur site owners to create. However some are still trying their hand at creating their own sites that in most cases lacks appeal. Utilizing the easier designing options can create a site that people will actually want to visit. You don’t have to be a professional designer or spend hundreds of dollars hiring a design company if you take the time to explore your options.

Content or the Lack There of:

I have run into many websites that had a great start, back in 1999. Keeping your content fresh and relevant is an important part of owning a site. If your site hasn’t been updated, has only a few interesting posts, or still has “Coming Soon” notes on it, then it is time to update it. People who visit your site expect a reason to come back to it. You don’t have to update daily, unless promised to your readers, but once or twice a week will keep your traffic returning and new traffic coming.

Too Much of a Good Thing:

All website owners have images of grandeur that drives them to create the best site they can. However, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Many sites that fail are hard to load or cluttered with resource intensive apps and widgets. Though it is kind of cool to see every word flying across your page and creating a mosaic of words, it is impractical and loses its appeal when your visitors are unable to load your site. Keeping your site simple, easy to load, and even easier to navigate will prove more successful.

Inconsistencies:

This is a broad term, but one of the most common mistakes made. Many site owners have an idea of what kind of content they want before even launching the site. However, after launching the site they lose focus of that meaning and things begin to get jumbled. If you are running a tech website, be sure to stick to tech, even a few posts on traveling to Bali or giving tips for pregnant women can confuse your audience and make them question why they are there.

This also covers the time frame between posts. If you plan to post daily or weekly, stick to it. Getting your audience in the habit of checking your page for new posts is what you want to do. That is hard to achieve if you are skipping days or weeks of posting. The same can be said for email alerts and newsletters. If you start off strong and fizzle to posting or sending every now and then, your site too will fizzle away.

There is a lot of planning that goes into creating a successful website. When you are trying to create a reliable brand, there is even more to consider. Websites rise and fall on a daily basis, however, with proper initiative, hard work, and consistency, your site can be successful and your readers will remain dedicated.

Nate Dorcett has been in the marketing business for over 20 years. He consults businesses small and large on the best experiential marketing agencies to use for their needs.

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