There are two types of people that are going to read this post: the individual that knows the importance of websites and wants to improve their grasp on them and the individual that just doesn’t care.

In some cases, a website is an afterthought.  In other cases, a website can be the number one revenue source for a company.

The six tips I’m about to share are going to prove invaluable to you- as an individual, small business owner, or executive- to understand the core of what your priority should be.

1. Identity

Before you go ahead and try to market yourself online, it’s important to evaluate yourself as a brand. Think about the core values of the business or service you’re marketing. What makes you special? What kind of impression do you want to leave in the minds of the public? Think about your target demographic and what might attract them to stay on your website and, ultimately, to pursue their initial interest in you. One of the most effective ways to do this is to simply research your competitors. For instance, maybe you’re about to run a fitness studio. Take some time to scour through the websites of successful gyms and really take note of what they’re focusing on in their content. Another way would be to actually invest in some market research or work with a professional marketing firm that will do that work for you. Make it clear what you offer, what your goal is, and that should be the focus of the website.

2. Keep it Clean

Now, I’m not talking about cleanliness in content (not every industry thrives on clean content, after all.) I’m talking about the visual tidiness of the site itself. Nothing turns potential clients away faster than disorganized, hard-to-navigate clutter. Keep your homepage light and well spaced out. Focus on your goal. Make sure to lay out and emphasize your key points without getting too verbose about them, at least on your home page. Save your text-heavy content for side pages or blogs that are built for that sort of thing. Don’t forget to keep your color schemes, text fonts, images, and videos in a complementary and uniform fashion. Solid content will go unnoticed if garish colors and distracting side media keeps tearing their eyes away from it. Content is one of the most important aspects of a website, it helps focus on your goal, is a fundamental piece of Search Engine Optimization (Ranking your website online,) and helps convert visitors into leads.

3. Imagery

There are two huge points that I want to make about this tip. The first is legality. Do yourself a favor and learn about copyrighting and licensing laws. Stealing images from photographers is no different from any other kind of theft. Adding photos you find on Google is typically a big no, no. I always recommend using your own photos (high quality) or purchasing stock images from websites like Adobe Stock or ShutterStock.

The other point is to keep your tone and purpose in mind at all times. Choose models who embody your mission. Would it be appropriate for a law firm to showcase photographs of young surfers in their swimsuits? Sure, it may confuse folks enough to take a second look, but the answer is a strong NO. Save those photos for a summer sale promotion at a teenage-targeted clothing shop. Remember, your website is your most accessible tool. You want it to accurately reflect all you’re working for. Focus on your core goals, don’t provide too many images and keep it simple to help focus on driving results.

4. Activity & Frequency

Now that you’ve got your website going, you need to remember to keep it active. Nothing sucks content’s credibility in the eyes of the public like a website that clearly hasn’t been updated in 3 years. But it goes beyond keeping things relevant and current. Adding new content regularly keeps the interest of your regulars piqued and it can attract more web traffic. Use tags and keywords that are attractive to the average consumer. As stated previously content is king. It is a major driver in your websites ability to rank on search engines. Focus on adding new pages, new blog posts, and new landing pages that focus on specific keywords can help in multiple ways. A website that has more activity and more frequent posts will almost always generate better results, especially when the brand, goal and, audience are kept in mind.

5. Call to Action

This is the action that the user on the website is inspired to take. Whether it’s signing up for an account, subscribing to your page, or giving the company a call for more info, a good call to action is one that gets the visitor to do what you want them to while a great call to action is one that gets the visitor to do what both they and you want them to do. In either case, the action itself isn’t forced.

A contact form, download form, phone call, or even just reading information that drives an action that you can measure ads value. Call to actions are predetermined and measurable. Identify what your action or actions are and make sure that there is a purpose for everything on your website.

Here is a basic but great call to action on Square.com.  It is clear this what they want you to do. Start accepting credit cards by giving them some information. The entire website supports this call to action. It is clearly defined. The text here is minimal and the image focuses on the call to action.

6. Measurements & Analytics

Just like a store manager would want a cash register to keeps track of sales, you want to keep track of the visitors, the actions, your goals and metrics to your website. You want to identify how many individuals visit your site, what pages they tend to go to, where they come from, and if your call to actions were successful.

So meet Analytics! Setting up analytics is important and is easier to do than you’d think. For most businesses using the free out of the box version of analytics is enough to measure everything you need to focus on improving your website over time. Setting up the analytics is fairly easy but having a professional do it is easier. Measuring the analytics and making improvements is a bit more challenging to do. However, focusing on the tips mentioned throughout this article – specifically focusing on the brand, simplicity and frequently adding new content will show results in the near term.

Want tips tailored specifically for your business or website? Email me@joerussori.com

CONCLUSION

These tips allow you to better identify what the experts focus on and where the time goes prior to the development and design of an effective website. Once that website is up, remember to update the content frequently, monitor your analytics and make improvements based on the information that you have.