My Website doesn't Work for Me Like I Want it to?
Making a Website is not the End Game
Unfortunately this is common in small and large companies alike. At the corporate level the problems usual stem from internal politics or structuring. In the small and medium sized business it stems from a lack of internal capabilities, motivation, or perceived need. Unfortunately most websites are developed by people taught in computer engineering and not in marketing. The end user of the website is usaully not thought about until the final stage. They build a great technical websites but it does not serve the user that would search for your company’s products or services. Let us correct that problem for you.
The One Question Never Asked
Who will Search for my Product or Service Online?
This simple question usually isn’t asked before creating the website. What would make someone search for my product or service? The prevailing assumption is that once a website is placed online everyone will search for it, find it, and then send sales upwards. Most websites are not built to suit the person that would actually search for it. Instead it is built with too many bells and whistle trying to attract consumers. In reality is does the opposite. Most sites don’t allow the consumer to find the solutions that they are looking for and thus they leave the site for another.
I put my website online; people can find it right?
Publishing your Website is the First Step but not the Last
The answer is simple, NO. Of course, the consumers that know of your company will be able to find you because they will be looking for you. You did not build a website for the consumers you currently serve to visit. You made a website to get new consumers. You made a website to grow your business and it is not doing what it was designed to do.
Think of your website as a brick and mortar store for a moment. If you built a store with great products and services in the middle of the desert or cornfield consumers would not come to it because they wouldn’t be able to find it. The same principle holds true for websites. If you merely build a website and launch it without giving it another thought than your company’s website will not be successful. You have to make sure that you are driving traffic to the site, improving the consumer experience, and gathering information on the users just like your company would do if it had a physical store.