A website is one of the best tools your business could use. From generating leads and sales, to marketing your services, to creating a platform for your brand, a website does it all from the comfort of your living room on a laptop! The trick to running a successful website is to treat is as an extension of your business. Most businesses get their website made, and treat is like a poster plastered on the street. That’s a surefire way to make your online marketing efforts a waste of money. The trick is a simple 20 minutes a day:
There are three daily tasks that should not take more than 20 minutes a day, on average, which will turn your passive website into an active marketing machine!
Engage With Your Website’s Inbox
I know it seems like a no brainer but you will be surprised at how many businesses check their business email and, for whatever reason, they don’t read the messages and rather mark them as read, and forget about them. That’s one of the dumbest things to do when running a business. Imagine someone walks into your store, asks you a question, and you completely ignore them like they’re not there. That’s the equivalent of not responding to a message.
The first thing to do each morning is check your inbox. It’s become a lot easier with smartphones, so make sure that you have your business email linked to your phone so you can check it all the time. Engage with your leads. Answering questions about products WILL increase your sales. A customer who has a question about your product or needs help will recommend your service to friends. Your inbox is also an indication of frequently asked questions and lets you update your website better for the future.
Check Your Analytics
Take a quick look at your statistics. Are you gaining traffic or losing traffic? Is your traffic bounce rate high? Which pages are users visiting frequently? How is your conversion rate? Are people easily able to navigate your website? Where is your traffic coming from? These are all just a few questions that are answered while checking your analytics. This is one of the best ways to figure out what to do next in your business. Ask yourself why. Why is your traffic low? Why are your users spending most of their time on your frequently asked questions page? Why are your users all coming from London, when your business is in Miami?
We call this optimization. By asking yourself these questions, you strategize what you should be doing next and you know what’s working. This is essentially how you will expand your business, save time and money, and increase sales and customers.
Market Your Website
A website is interesting because it’s both a sales AND marketing tool. It’s the only marketing tool which needs marketing. You’ve probably heard about search engine optimization, but that is just one of the many ways you can market your website. From using social media websites such as FaceBook and Twitter, to posting on forums where your potential customers hang out, to running a paid marketing campaign on Google, there are numerous ways to market your website and increase your traffic. This is something you should turn into a daily task similar to brushing your teeth. It should bother you on days you don’t market your website, the same way morning breath does.
These tasks are just the beginning of it. There are tons of daily tasks that successful websites conduct which ultimately decide the success of the website. I know it’s a lot of work to do anything more than check your email, especially when you have a business to run. That’s what we’re here for!
