{"id":2107,"date":"2010-05-13T05:33:13","date_gmt":"2010-05-13T12:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/?p=2107"},"modified":"2017-09-18T22:59:01","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T05:59:01","slug":"seven-questions-to-ask-about-your-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/2010\/05\/seven-questions-to-ask-about-your-website\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions to Ask About Your Website"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>People usually call me for help setting up and optimizing their social marketing programs. But in the early stages of our engagement the conversation almost always takes another turn.<\/p>\n

In about two out of three cases, in fact, we start by focusing on the web hosting in the UK<\/span><\/a> because so many basic issues still need attention.
\nClients are sometimes frustrated by this. After all, they want to get started with the cool new tools and usher new business in the door. But if the most important source of new business \u2013 the website \u2013 isn\u2019t doing the job for them, the new tools are a waste of time. After all, why would you want to bring new visitors to a site that does a poor job of telling your story?<\/p>\n

Websites are developed by people who work at the company and who are very knowledgeable about the business. It\u2019s natural for them to assume more knowledge on the part of the visitor than the typical visitor actually has. Messages are often focused on selling a solution rather than solving a problem, but people don\u2019t care about your product; they care about what\u2019s troubling them right now. That\u2019s a fine distinction, but it’s critical to conveying an effective message.<\/p>\n

A well-crafted message communicates understanding of the visitor\u2019s needs and frames the solution in the context of relieving pain or creating opportunity. Focus on results rather than process.
\nHere are some questions that can help you determine whether your website is hitting the mark:<\/p>\n

Is the message clear and succinct?<\/strong> Ask a few people who are familiar with your industry but not with your company to spend exactly one minute on your website. That\u2019s about the amount of time an average visitor will grant you. Then ask them to tell you what your company does, what problems you address and who the target customer is. If they can\u2019t answer those three questions after one minute, then your message isn\u2019t clear enough.<\/p>\n

Are you optimized for search?<\/strong> Navigate through your website and look at the page titles at the top of your browser. Do they include the keywords that customers use to find you? Do some of your pages have generic titles such as \"\"\u201cAbout\u201d or \u201cServices?\u201d How about PDF documents? Are the titles and meta-tags clear or do they still have gibberish file names that machines generate? Are your images and videos tagged? These are simple things that mean a lot to search engines.<\/p>\n

Does your message communicate understanding of the visitor\u2019s problem?<\/strong> Put yourself in the shoes of a typical prospect visiting your website. Think about the problem that person is trying to solve. Does your message demonstrate that your solution was designed with that problem in mind? Or are you selling aspirin when you should be selling headache relief? Does your choice of words show that you\u2019re committed to easing the visitor\u2019s pain?<\/p>\n

Are you using all the available tools?<\/strong> Many business websites are heavy on text, which may have been all that was available when the site was built. But 65% of people are classified as visual learners. If you\u2019re not using all the media you can, you\u2019re under-serving your audience. I\u2019m not talking about stock photography but rather about illustrations that clarify and explain. Today it\u2019s cheap and easy to point a camera at a product manager or engineer and ask the person to explain a product. Voice-annotated screen shows or PowerPoint slidecasts are also inexpensive ways to illustrate complex concepts.<\/p>\n

Is it easy to join your list?<\/strong> Every page of your website should have an invitation for visitors to become prospects. These can be in the form of newsletter sign-ups, white paper downloads, requests for more information or invitations to view a webcast. Why would you want to miss any chance to turn an interested passerby into a lead?<\/p>\n

\n\"\"Are your pages easy to share?<\/strong> Every page should also have embedded widgets that make it easy for visitors to e-mail, bookmark, tweet or otherwise share your content. In most cases, these are easy to add to a template and there\u2019s no downside to having them. <\/p>\n

\nDo you humanize your company? <\/strong>This is particularly important for b-to-b companies, which establish long-term relationships with their customers. Does your site include faces, biographies and personal messages? What do you do to create personal connections that increase a visitor\u2019s comfort level with the people behind the product? Does your website have personality or does it read like a research paper? If you\u2019re interested in social marketing, start with the social part. Let your people go.\n<\/p>\n

\nI\u2019m sure I\u2019ve missed some things, so let me know your own thoughts in the comments section.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People usually call me for help setting up and optimizing their social marketing programs. But in the early stages of our engagement the conversation almost always takes another turn. In about two out of three cases, in fact, we start … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[260,18],"tags":[278],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pTy95-xZ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2107"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3760,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107\/revisions\/3760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}