Does your website work? For many (probably most?) businesses, your own website will be the one that you see the home page a lot but use least. This can give you a false impression of your site – you get bored with it! I regularly hear this…
My website is looking tired, I think we need an update
This can just what many web companies are waiting to hear; you are bored of your site and want an update, a new look. Maybe it is just that you see your site more than most? My response is: STOP! Your website is a business tool so don’t look at it from a point of view of whether you like it (OK, that is important but bear wlth me.), look at it from a business perspective and ask yourself these questions:
How does your site compare to those of your competitors?
Take a look at the websites of some of your competitors and compare them with your own site. Ideally, ask others (colleagues and customers) for their opinions too. This will give you a more objective view of how your site sits in your marketplace. If the consensus is that your you do need to refresh your own site, so be it, but taking an objective approach is likely to give you the most meaningful answer.
Does your website work?
As well as what a site looks like, the other focus of many business owners is Search Engine Optimisation and Pay per click: Can my site be found? While having a site that ranks well in search engines is clearly important, there is often so much emphasis on SEO that the other critical part of the picture is ignored: What do visitors find when they get there? Getting people to your site is one thing but just as important is their experience when they arrive. Does your website give them what they are looking for and can they find their way around?
In short: does your website work?
To answer this question you need to look at 2 things:
Content
Does your website tell people what you do? Does it demonstrate your expertise and show how you deliver value? Dies it give people reason to do business with you rather than your competitor? Is your site up to date? A site that shows it has been updated and added-to recently sends a great message that you are an active business. A news or blog section that has dated articles is an easy way to achieve this. Grammar and spelling are also important considerations. Your site may have compelling content but poor grammar and bad spelling can distract from your message.
Functionality
Is your site easy to navigate? Do the links work? Do all images display? Similar to poor spelling and grammar, broken links or missing images detract and distract from your message.
Free Site Review from BSA
Want to get the low-down on your website? Drop me an email to davidw@bsamarketing.com with your website address and we will prepare a personalised report for your site covering:
- Spelling
- Broken Links
- Page by page keyword analysis
- ..and much more
Engagement
Any article about website effectiveness wouldn’t be complete without a word on engagement. Your aim should be for your website to reach out and talk to your target market, customers, prospects and contacts. Remember, no business website is truly working unless it engages your audience. Monitoring and managing engagement opens up the world of website analytics. Look out for an article on this in the near future.
