Website strategy trends are in a constant state of flux. What worked last year might not prove as effective this year. It’s a frustrating, yet completely logical, reality of the digital marketing arena where your business competes for your target’s attention.
Now that we’re more than halfway through 2022, it’s a good time to review the tactics that worked and which need to be adjusted.
Let’s take a closer look at the key elements to reconsider on your website.
Prioritize People-First Content in your Website Strategy
Google recently rolled out its helpful content update, an SEO algorithm update that aims to reward search results users with more original and helpful content “written by people, for people.” It will simultaneously de-rank content that has low value.
The release primarily suggests avoiding content that is written to attract people from search engines. It also discourages using extensive automation to produce content for many topics.
What does all this mean? It
simply enforces the idea that people-first content should be a priority regarding website content strategy. You could adjust your website strategy in a few different ways:
- Create more original content rather than constantly rehashing what’s already out there.
- Write for your audience first and foremost, not for SEO. Focus less on hitting keywords and more on creating helpful content that visitors will likely appreciate.
- Don’t stray too far from your website’s primary purpose. Find your niche and create content around it instead of dipping your hands into different topics in an attempt to rank higher in the search results.
Provide Authentic Imagery
Using beautiful, high-quality photos isn’t a new trend. It’s a common practice many businesses use by subscribing to stock photo platforms. But as 2022 trends emphasize customer trust, it’s time to provide more authentic imagery.
Customers are getting better at spotting stock photos these days. I’m sure you have spotted the repetitive smiles and overly orchestrated poses yourself. Featuring overused stock images causes a lack of trust and makes it difficult for customers to truly connect with a company.
Instead of defaulting to stock photos for every page on your website, invest in real photography where it matters: photos that capture your products, services, workplace, or even employees.
Incorporate a Hyper-Personalized Experience in your Website Strategy
Personalization is not enough. To meet the needs and wants of customers, businesses must now deliver a hyper-personalized experience, one that extends beyond understanding a customer’s purchase history or knowing their name.
Hyper-personalization is about creating a user experience that is unique to each individual and relevant to their specific interests. Think Software Skincare, the brand that creates a totally personalized skin routine for your specific needs, or even the latest updates to Uber Eats, where the app tracks which foods you regularly order at certain times of the day. This still applies to B2B businesses, just maybe not as much.
Achieving hyper-personalization requires UX and UI expertise. UX and UI is the process of designing your website with your customer in mind (UI). And then designing the visual flow, navigation, and experience so that your website (UX) provides a positive experience that keeps your target customer engaged.
For a hyper-personalized user experience, you need to design an interface that is easy to use and visually appealing while also ensuring that the content served is highly relevant to each individual user. This is very hard for most businesses because you probably lack objectivity when it comes to your products.
To make these UX and UI adjustments, more data must be collected to deliver elevated personalization. Here are ways to implement hyper-personalization for your website strategy:
- Use website personalization tools like Clearbit or AB Tasty to dynamically change the content and design of your website based on a visitor’s profile. This could include showing related products or recommended articles on your website or providing a personalized message when someone reaches out through your contact form.
- Implement voice search SEO to make it easy for customers to find your website using voice search. You might optimize your website content for long-tail keywords and create FAQ pages that answer common questions people ask when using voice search that relate to your products.
- Use location-based marketing to deliver hyper-personalized messages and content to users based on their current location. Send a push notification about a special offer when someone is near one of your stores, or provide relevant information about local events and attractions on your website.
These strategies can be 
difficult to do on your own unless you have a high level of expertise in coding, analytics, and design. With 86% of companies reporting an uptick in business thanks to hyper-personalization, it’s wise to seek professional advice for this aspect of your website strategy to stay ahead of the curve.
It’s these hyper-personalized experiences that keep customers returning to your site – not the fake human chatbot in the corner! To keep customers engaged with your website, you need to go the extra mile.
Go Big and Bold
In terms of website design, this year is seeing a trend in larger, more eye-catching elements, in keeping with the idea that users want to be able to consume content quickly and easily.
For instance, you may have noticed features like these on updated websites:
- Key messaging in big, bold typography surrounded by plenty of space
- Images in full-width and high-resolution
- Calls to action (CTAs) in large buttons that stand out from the rest of the page
- Contrasting colors that make the above features stand out even more
- Alt text, captions, and transcripts for all video and audio content for ADA compliance
If your website strategy includes a revamp of your website’s look, don’t be afraid to think big – literally.
Focus on Smarter Digital Ad Spending
LinkedIn’s latest stats reveal that
only 5% of B2B decision makers are “in market” per quarter, meaning the rest are not looking to buy new services immediately. This research proves that digital ads should now focus on building their brand rather than solely acquiring leads.
This is where the popular 95-5 rule comes in. It suggests investing in in-lead generation for the 5% that’s “in-market” today while putting the majority of your spending into brand advertising that will pull in future buyers.
However, LinkedIn is just one of the many walled gardens businesses have to navigate when it comes to digital ads. Since these platforms limit targeting data to comply with government regulations, it’s even more crucial to focus on smarter ad spending to drive quality traffic to your website.
Get Perspective for Your Website Strategy
Updating your website strategy can be a challenge if you’re unsure where to start or which changes to make. But why rely on your own knowledge and biases? While expertise in web design and development can get you to a certain point, such specializations still need an over-arching strategy to be effective.
Thus, it’s important to have a professional perspective on all aspects of your website strategy: from design to content, to branding, and to funnel conversion.
One of our goals at Pollock Marketing Group is to be objective and focus solely on how to get our clients from where they are now to where they want to be. We stay current on all the latest twists and turns that digital marketing has to help your business understand all the options and updates you may need. We’re available to discuss your specific needs anytime.