by Will Williamson on 28-Nov-2012 15:06:00
An effective website is one of the most vital tools that every business should have.
Your website should also bring you new enquiries from people who find you online. Many marketers and directors can become fixated on ‘traffic’ and appearing at the top of Google’s search results.It is the hub of all of your marketing and will often be the first place people go when they are considering working with you, or buying from you.
However just being found and getting the traffic alone is not enough to win the business.
In other words, your website must be designed, developed, and managed in a way that will help you convert that visitor into an enquiry. A profitable website is one that attracts great leads, consistently, with minimal investment in online advertising.
So here is a quick 11-point checklist – see how many you can confidently tick:
- Calls to action – Does EVERY page of your website have at least one call to action? Are contact details clear and easy to access from EVERY page?
- Blogging – Does your website have a blog that is being regularly kept up to date with fresh, good quality content? Are these articles ranking in Google, being shared in social media and attracting enquiries?
- Unique Selling Points – Your potential customers have lots of choice. Are you communicating clearly why you are a better choice than any of your competitors? Are you giving potential customers compelling reasons to choose you?
- Video – Are you using video effectively on every important page of your website? Are there links to your YouTube channel? Do the videos look and sound professional?
- Analytics – Do you have web analytics software which tracks the number and source of all website visitors, as well as user behaviour – for example Google Analytics? Are these analytics being reviewed every month to make decisions to improve results?
- Copy – Is the copy on EVERY page well written, informative, easy to understand and (most importantly) persuasive? Does each page fully answer your prospects questions?
- Social Networking – Is it easy for web visitors to connect with you through your social media accounts?
- Professional Design – Does your site pass the ‘blink test’, giving first time visitors an instantly good feeling about your business?
- User-Friendly – Is your website navigation consistent on each page, clear and easy to use?
- Trust – Are you using testimonials, case studies and examples to show how great your products and services are throughout the site?
- Mobile – Is your website easy to use on a smart phone without ‘pinching’ the screen to zoom in?
So what did you score? Use the comments to let us know how you’ve got on – we may be able to give you some tips - for help on any of these points there are lots of useful videos on our YouTube Channel.
We can also send you a free critique of your website, simply complete the form on this page and we will review your site at no cost.
Or, talk to one of our experts who can review your website with you personally, as well as providing a full digital marketing audit – reviewing your mobile marketing, search marketing and social media marketing as well as your website - click here for more information.
photo credit: Daniel*1977 via photopin cc
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