5 Must-Remove Items from Your Website That Cost You Engagement (+ 1-Week Action Plan)

Let’s keep this simple, and remove needless stuff.

A few small cuts can make your website work harder for you. Here’s a straightforward, one-week action plan. Remove one item at a time, in any order, and watch as your site becomes cleaner, more effective, and better optimized for SEO. Ready?

Refine Your Navigation to Drive Action

A quick improvement on your website is to make sure your navigation isn’t just functional but intentional. Even with a simple site, each item in your menu should guide visitors toward taking action, whether it’s exploring your services or contacting you.

Action: Review your menu to ensure each item serves a purpose. Highlight high-value pages, like “Services” or “Contact,” and remove anything that doesn’t directly support visitor action.

SEO Tip: Use action-oriented, keyword-rich labels (like “Get Started” or “Work With Us”) that attract clicks and guide visitors to your most important pages.

“A messy menu is like a messy room—nobody wants to go further”

Make Your Content All About the Client

One of the best improvements on your website you can make is to shift the focus to the visitor. People come to your site for solutions, so make sure you’re clearly addressing their needs.

Action: Rewrite key sections of your main pages to focus on your clients’ challenges and how you help solve them. Keep it simple, direct, and client-centered.

SEO Tip: Use keywords that align with your target audience’s pain points or goals. Google rewards content that matches what users are searching for. If you’re looking to go deeper, check out my guide on hiring an SEO expert to improve your website’s SEO impact.

Remove Social Links

One of the simplest improvements on your website is eliminating distractions. Social media links often lead visitors off your site, taking them away from your main goal of conversion.

Action: Remove links to social profiles on high-priority pages. This keeps visitors focused on exploring your content and services, not your social feed.

SEO Tip: Use internal links in place of social links to guide visitors (and search engines) to other pages on your site, improving both engagement and SEO. For more ideas, check out my simple SEO wins for small businesses.

Swap Out Overused Stock Photos

Another key improvement on your website is to replace generic stock images with something that feels real. Authentic photos help visitors feel a connection and build trust.

Action: Replace any overly staged stock photos with more natural images, ideally of your team or work. If that’s not an option, choose higher-quality stock images that feel genuine.

SEO Tip: Add alt text descriptions to all images with relevant keywords. This boosts SEO and improves accessibility.

Add a Clear Booking Option

A traditional contact form can leave visitors unsure about next steps. A clear improvement on your website experience is to add a booking tool to streamline client engagement.

Action: Swap out the standard contact form for a booking tool like TidyCal (our affiliate link to a great product we use). This lets visitors see your availability and book a time directly, removing any guesswork.

SEO Tip: Use a call-to-action with keywords, like “Book Your Free Consultation,” which appeals to both visitors and search engines.

Remove and Win

There you have it: five essential improvements on your website that make it cleaner, more engaging, and more SEO-friendly. By removing these elements, your site will become easier to navigate, more client-focused, and primed to convert. For more insights on optimizing your site, check out my simple SEO strategy for small businesses. And if you’re ready to discuss personalized improvements, get in touch here to explore how we can make your website work harder for you.

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