What is your website for?
Many times I am asked by clients to refresh or update an existing website. The first question always has to be, what is your objective? What is your website for? Quite often I get blank looks in return and the response is, 'we just need a web presence'.
Of course, the answer to that question is 'yes, you do need a web presence' but what is the objective of having that web presence? Is it to create brand or product awareness, is it to collect consumer data, is it to generate sales leads (either by email, phone or driving to an outlet) or maybe another reason?
It’s essential to establish a purpose. Recent research shows that clients that have a clear objective of what they want their web presence to achieve are considerably happier with the end result.
When it comes to websites, there are only two kinds: Those that work, and those that don’t. The ones that work get found by search engines, create awareness and generate sales leads. The ones that don’t work just sit there not really doing much, just hoping someone will pass by!
If your website is the latter then it's time to transform your website into a true business asset.
Begin by understanding the fundamental purpose of a business website: to create awareness and generate leads. Browsers will be attracted by great content, great content will generate great SEO then it is a simple job of converting the browsers to leads. Capture the browsers data and offer a clear and concise CTA (call-to-action). Web analytics will assist you in working out what is working and what isn't working and furthermore will provide a ROI measurement.
Content is king … useful, valuable, interesting content. If you cannot generate content in house then it is time to think about out-sourcing. Good content attracts browsers, holds their attention, develops advocates and brings them back time and again. Remember, content is not just for browsers, search engines and social media also love new and fresh content. Learn to publish everything you can as long as it is high quality, valuable and RELEVANT. Once published on your website you can then promote it via social media.
Recently Mike Volpe published his '71 secret tips for website redesign projects', well worth a scan. These tips are just as relevant whether you are redesigning or rebuilding!
Tags: Building a website, redesigning a website, website content, website SEO