Nathan Yerian
Ok, useless may be a little harsh, but not that much of a stretch for many of the websites I see. Too many websites are old and outdated, or use old and outdated strategies for their most important asset...their content.
The content of your site is the best way for you to differentiate yourself from the competition, make a connection with your audience, and begin new relationships. If your content is useful, then your website is useful.
Here are 3 reasons your website may be useless & what to do about them:
1. Your website content is self serving
Everyone has been on that date where the other person goes on, and on about themselves, never taking you into account. Was there a second date, or a relationship? I doubt it.
Many websites fall victim to this same end. A visitor comes, consumes a few lines of self serving content and moves on to find something of greater value (usually from your competition).
Go ahead...click around on a few pages of your site. Is the majority of your content talking about you, or is it focused on showcasing the value you bring to your customers? If it is all about you, it is time to go back to the drawing board.
Take every page of your site and ask yourself, "what is the value point of this page?". Craft your content to reflect that value point in terms of the reader (hopefully your future customer).
2. You provide no continuing value
Having value based content on the main pages of your site lets potential customers know that you are there for them, and it begins the bonding process. To further engage your visitors, you must continually provide additional points of value.
The two best ways of continuing to give to your visitors are an actively maintained blog, and downloadable content (e-books, presentations, podcasts, instructional videos, white papers, etc.).
If you are an expert in your field, and I assume you are if you are still in business, you have knowledge that can help your audience with a problem, or inform them about something useful to them. This will position you as a valuable resource and a trusted solution provider. Can you think of a better way to be viewed by your target market?
3. You have no calls-to-action.
Your "Contact Us" page is not an effective call to action. Unfortunately, this is the only avenue that many company's websites give their audience to engage with them.
Instead of using boring old "Contact Us" buttons, why not use something that actually engages the visitor in what they are trying to get accomplished. Decide why your visitors are coming to you in the first place and give them a way to move the ball forward.
Call-to-action buttons will change depending on the company and audience, but a few examples are "Request More Information", "Request a Proposal", and "Start Your Free Trial".
Also, if you are creating valuable offers as downloadable content, creating calls-to-action buttons that lead to this content is a must. Potentially interested visitors need to know that the offers exist.
Sure, some visitors will still click on the "Contact Us" button to reach you, but now you are giving more options and reasons to interact with your company and offering.
The wrap up
Maybe your website is not using one, or all of these components to maximize the benefit of your online presence. The good news is that there is no time like the present to start.
The web is where many potential customers will find you first. If you are not differentiating yourself, making a connection, and starting new relationships from this starting point with valuable content, your site is definitely not as useful to you or your visitors as it should be.
Have questions about starting a blog, or creating value based content? Download our inbound marketing e-book. Inside you will find tons of useful information to help you get the process started.
