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Top Seven Ways to Tune up your Website

By Philippa Gamse, President, CyberSpeaker^SM

It’s always a good time to take stock of what’s working for your Website, and what needs some attention. Here are my suggestions for a great tune-up audit – take a fresh look at your site and your promotional strategy with these pointers:

1. Is your site appealing to all your markets?

Do you have different potential audiences for different aspects of your services? Is there content on your site that’s designed for each of these? Have you considered whether your Web audience might be different from your traditional markets, and if so, whether you can exploit that?

Are there visitors to your site who are not potential members, but who are looking for information about your industry or profession? Might there be some possibility for non-dues revenue from these – for example, through online product or booklet sales? And don’t forget the public relations aspect of your site – if you are looking for media coverage, a press center can also be a great addition.

2. Does your content engage your visitors?

Your site should be written from your visitors’ point of view, not yours. Does your home page clearly recognize why the reader might be there – what’s in it for them, and why they should care? What are the problems or issues that they might have, and how will you solve them?

Do you have different categories of membership – such as regular, vendor or associate, overseas or virtual memberships? If so, does your site clearly distinguish between these, and does it easily direct them to the benefits and relevant content available to each group?

3. Can you make your case?

If you talk about the advantages of belonging to your association, do you have clear content on your site that substantiates this? Do you provide testimonials from members giving clear examples of how they’ve benefited from joining? Third party endorsements are worth far more than your own promotional text, and they should be spread throughout your site, not relegated to a separate page that few visitors will go to.

Ask your satisfied members for some great quotes about their experience and results of being part of your organization. Obviously, you’ll need to respect any confidentiality issues, but for the most part, people love to see their name on your site – and their words will really add credibility to your benefit statements.

4. Do you position your organization's expertise?

One of the most effective ways to get exposure is to publish articles, and white papers around your industry or professional area. Search engines will pick up the content on your site, and you can also offer articles to publications that your target markets read – always with a link back, or reference to your site, of course.

Your members will also benefit from content on your site that helps them in their professional development, such as sample contracts, or the latest regulations governing your industry. Consider adding online discussions to allow members to network or mentor each other.

5. Do you ask for the business?

Whatever the outcomes that you want from your site, you need to ask for them. Too many Web pages end weakly, with no clear calls to action. Don’t make your visitors have to work to decide what to do next – they won’t! Every page on your site should have a strategy – invite the visitor to interact with you, or go to the next page, but make it easy and obvious.

So, at the appropriate place in each page, include a link to your contact form – that says “join us”, “register for this meeting” – or whatever invitation may be relevant. Include a map and directions to your event locations.

6. Do you have a diversified promotional strategy?

Don’t depend on free search engines to get you traffic. Are you exploring other ways of promoting your site – such as using your content and articles, advertising in e-zines, appending signature files to your e-mail, regularly sending updates to your membership, and ensuring that your traditional marketing is integrated with your online activities?

Investing in a good contact management database, such as Outlook or ACT! can really pay off. If your members and prospects are willing to give you their e-mail addresses, you can record details such as their annual renewal dates, birthdays and other occasions, and send out greetings, news items, legislative alerts, reminders and referral incentives to generate more business.

7. Are you reviewing your traffic analysis?

Last, but really key – your Website traffic reports will tell you what’s working and what isn’t. Without this information, you’re really shooting in the dark – what if you were to find that the majority of your hard-earned visitors never go beyond your home page?

Ask your Web designer if you can get traffic reports, and find out what’s popular on your site, as well as the places that your visitors rarely go to. You may make some very valuable discoveries!

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a good start. I hope that your Web site passes the test!

Philippa Gamse, CyberSpeaker^SM, is a Web strategy consultant and professional speaker. Check out her free tipsheet for 23 great ideas to promote your Website: http://www.CyberSpeaker.com/tipsheet.html Philippa can be reached at (831) 465-0317.

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