Horizon Funerals is an existing customer of mine. They are a local funeral director and have been operating for many years. As part of my maintenance program, I supply customers with monthly statistics on the performance of their site. This information is sourced from Google Analytics and usually includes information like:
- initial landing page hits
- time on page statistics
- total page views
- exit pages
COVID-19 has impacted almost everyone and Horizon Funerals have also been affected. The number of incoming calls dropped off significantly so they simply wrote that off to COVID-19. However, when they received the latest monthly statistics, they realised that the web site was still getting significant hits. But that web site traffic was not converting into phone calls.
So the decision was made to re-design the site. And there were some very specific ideas around what the new site should look like.
Consider Your Audience
The original version of the web site was contemporary and well designed. However Ian and Carol thought it didn't convey the sympathetic and caring nature they provide their customers. So we discussed the colour palette and decided to make changes to softer and pastel colours. The content was completely overhauled too and an concerted effort was made to again try and convey the care taken by Horizon Funerals with all of their customers.
This is a fantastic example of the importance of having a support agreement and reviewing your web site statistics. Regularly check your web site statistics and look for patterns or reasons why you might not be getting the results you expect.
Search engine optimisation is not a difficult topic as long as you stick to some simple rules. Structure your site well, add compelling content and review your progress regularly.
Below are some examples of the web site before and after the changes we made.
