So, you decided that it was time to put your business online, and got a website. Fantastic! But, now that you’ve got one, how do you figure out how much, if at all, your business is benefiting from that website? To get some insight into that, ask yourself these questions:

Question 1 – does my website look professional, so that it will engender confidence in my company?

Question 2 – does my website tell users what’s special about my product/service/company, compared to competitors?

Question 3 – does my website answer the questions that people wanting to use my product/service/company would typically ask? Where I’m located, what hours I’m available, how I can be reached, what services/products I offer (in detail), and at what prices?

Question 4 – does my website enable me to regularly add current content, so that previous visitors will have a reason to come back? Does my website offer visitors a free newsletter subscription, with which I can tell them about new products/services, special offers, and so forth?

If you’re feeling pretty good about your answers to all of these questions, then you can move on to the followup questions:

Question 5 – are people visiting my website?

-> If you aren’t tracking this, then you should start. If you are tracking it, and aren’t happy with the results, then you should speak with a web development service that offers search engine optimization, to see if there’s some reason why you’re not getting more visitors.

Question 6 – are visitors to my website acting on what they find there (depending on your business, that might mean asking for a quote, or making an appointment, or placing an order)?

-> Again, if you aren’t tracking this in some way, then you should start. If you’re technologically inclined, then Google Analytics can be very helpful in this area. If you’re not so technologically inclined, and would rather focus on growing your small business than learning how to use this sort of tool, then you should speak with a web development service that offers ongoing support of this sort, and can help you act on any findings by making targeted modifications to your site.

Question 7 – am I taking advantage of what all these (potential) customers visiting my website are telling me, both by tracking which pages they’re visiting, and by prompting them to provide feedback as to whether they found what they wanted, and whether it was helpful?

-> if you’re not already doing this, start by tracking which pages visitors are visiting (remember Google Analytics?). Then consider adding feedback forms to the more popular pages, to find out whether you’re meeting your customers’ needs. Also consider looking at the less-visited pages, to figure out why people aren’t going to them. Perhaps your site navigation isn’t very intuitive, and people can’t find what they’re looking for even though it’s there.

Bonus Question – does my business regularly get new customers as a result of my website? If so, congratulations! If not, do not abandon hope – a few minor changes may be all that’s required for you to start reaping the benefits of a professionally developed website for your small business.


 

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