Want to Get More Out of Your Website? Put More into It!

Every business owner understands that in order to succeed in today’s crowded marketplace, they must have a website. After all, if someone is looking for your business, or a product or service that you offer, the first place he or she will turn is online.

While getting your website up and running is a great accomplishment, it is only the first step in making sure that your website is doing all that it can for your business. Unfortunately, many business owners don’t even know what they want to get out of their website. Is it lead generation? Brand awareness?

Whatever you want your website to achieve, it is important to remember that what you put into it is going to have a direct effect on what you get out if it. To ensure that your website is doing all that it can to advance your overall business strategy, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is it easy to find? You can have the most impressive website in the world, but if no one can find it, it won’t matter. If you want your website to be noticed by all the major search engines – Google, Yahoo, Bing – and appear as high as possible in the organic search results of those search engines it must be optimized for search, including mobile search results. This is accomplished through fresh, relevant content that is updated regularly. Such content encourages engagement by compelling people to leave feedback and share it with others.
2. Is it easy to update? One of the biggest reasons why businesses don’t update their website more frequently is that it is too difficult. This is common when businesses maintain their websites in-house without a dedicated staff that really understands the ins and outs of website maintenance. It also occurs when a business farms out their website maintenance to a huge company – sometimes overseas – that is impossible to reach and has very little interest in customer service once a contract has been signed.
3. Is it easy to look at? Does your homepage reflect the personality and culture of your business? Is your contact information front and center? Is there a good mix of white space, text and visuals? We’ve all visited websites that are so far from user-friendly we simply move on. A quality website is easy to navigate because it is organized in a logical, user-friendly manner.

Like every other aspect of your business, your website must constantly evolve to meet the needs of your business. Unfortunately, many business owners mistakenly believe that if they build a website, people will find it. The truth is, websites must be built, maintained and kept fresh and up-to-date. Only then will customers and prospects visit your site, and keep coming back for more.