Is your website a little more than an online placeholder? Is it effectively drawing visitors, keeping them on the site, and converting them to customers? It is time your website start working for you and help you grow your business.

With millions of searches being done every day, you should start to take advantage of the huge potential consumer base for the online market. Review this checklist to help you make sure your site is doing what it should for your small business. The 10 things your website should do for you:

1. Present a professional image of your company. A sloppy, plain or homemade looking website is a turnoff for the visitor. Also, an old, dated website can present a less than professional image of your business.
2. Tell visitors what you do or offer at a glance. Put key services or products in attractive graphics or in (short) bullet point lists. Long paragraphs on the home page will be a turnoff for the visitor. In a few seconds, they should be able to understand what you do or offer.
3. Provide in-depth information about your business. Yes, there is a place for you to go in-depth about your process, history, or philosophy. Remember though, it’s not about you. It’s about the customer. Be sure it answers WIIFM – What’s In It For Me?
4. Make critical business information easy to find. Clear navigation, a search bar, an FAQ page all provide opportunities for visitors to find information quickly. Remember if they can’t find the information, they will go search for it elsewhere. That could include an online forum which may include negative reviews.
5. Highlight your unique selling point. What differs you from your competition? Why buy from you and not the store in the next town over (or online)? Highlight those key differentials throughout your website.
6. Boost your SEO efforts. You’re trying to stay on top of the search results. Your search engine optimization (SEO) of the site will help your results. Check those search results regularly. Update your content frequently. One way to do that is with a monthly blog. Check for broken links. There are SEO tasks you can do. Contact a consultant for additional help.
7. Make it easy to contact you. And not just on the Contact Us page. Include your phone number and address in a header or footer on every page. Also include links to your social media accounts. They may want to contact you through messenger or Twitter.
8. Inspire customers to take action. Contacting you is one call-to-action. “Call for more information.” Connecting on social is another. What are other CTAs you can include? Download our catalog. Download our whitepaper on best use of widgets. Schedule an appointment or initial consultation. Email us your questions. Download our coupon. There’s dozens of other CTAs. Include one on each page of your website.
9. Show off customer testimonials. Clients love you! They like the work you do or your product! A testimonial will go a lot farther than your bragging. Include testimonials throughout the site. Sure, create a Testimonials page. Just know that it will be the least visited page.
10. Collect data. Is your site utilizing Google Analytics? It will tell you what products or services visitors are frequently visiting. Also, collect contact information of those visitors. Offer an incentive – a whitepaper, free consultation, coupon, etc. In order to download the content, they must provide an email address. That adds to your marketing efforts.

Your website is no longer just an online brochure. It’s your most powerful marketing and business tool. Be sure your site is working for you. Call us to review your site and see if a new site needs to go to work for you.