What should I expect from my website?

Image by Michael Giuffrida about marketingWhile it may seem obvious to people in business today that they need a website, many don’t understand exactly why or what they should expect from their site.  As is true with most business tools the answer to this question depends upon your business and your target audience but here are some goals you should consider when building and maintaining your web presence.

Visibility for your product or service

People shop on the web today, even if they still buy in person.  Be available to them as an option for whatever it is that you do when they are looking online.  Make sure that your product appears when people are searching for the keywords that your consumer would use to find you.  Use their terms, not yours if you want to get the most visibility.

Set you apart from your competition

If the content on your website is designed properly, you can set yourself apart from your competition.  You should focus on the things that make your organization special. Draw out all of your competitive advantages so when you are being compared to others, you stand out as the clear choice.

Demonstrate that you are an expert in your field

One of the most powerful things you can do if you employ techniques such as inbound marketing is to establish that you are the defined expert in your field.  Show your expertise specifically as it relates to your experiences.  You can use case studies, white papers, and even testimonials from your clients.

Business leads

Again, if you employ inbound marketing techniques, you can use your website to generate leads for your business.  By collecting a little information about your visitors when they download one of your whitepapers or case studies you can followup to see if there is a fit between your offerings and their needs.

Sales

Ultimately, this is what you want to achieve, but actually generating a sale from your website requires that you have a product that can be shipped or a service that is defined enough that consultation is not necessary.  If you are in this situation, you can and should expect your website to drive revenue directly for your organization.

Regardless of what stage your business is in or how evolved your web presence is, you should be considering what you hope to get out of the web.  If you don’t, you will never know how well you are doing at achieving your goals.


Michael Giuffrida from Southington CT has been operating businesses since 1997.  He is an experienced entrepreneur in business management, profitable growth, business valuation, mergers and acquisitions, and information technology managed services

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