So you’ve just launched your website. Or maybe you got it up and running months or years ago. Hopefully you haven’t forgotten that you actually do have a website!

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Are you guilty of the ‘launch and forget’ mistake that many business owners make?

Given that 80% of consumers hop online to do their product and services research, this makes your website a crucial marketing and lead-generation tool. With that kind of potential, it is important that you think of your website as a revenue generating asset that needs to constantly evolve and improve, and not a one-trick pony.

I often compare a website to a car – they’re both assets that you need to take care of, in order for them to perform optimally and to enhance your life/business. There’s lots to consider after your website launch, but let’s keep it simple.

Keep It Shiny And Polished

How would you respond to a potential vendor or a job candidate who shows up in a grotty and unkempt car (both inside and outside) with bird poop all over it? I doubt it would be a positive impression!

The same goes for your website – pop in from time to time and check that it’s up and running, looking neat and tidy, and that there are no discrepancies. Other things you can do to keep your site presentable:

• If you do a fair bit of content updates or outsource this task, make sure that the tone of voice in your copy and graphics used are consistent and on brand
• Do some spring cleaning and remove any content that is no longer relevant
• If you have a blog but don’t update regularly, consider removing the timestamp (date of publishing), so it’s not so obvious that your last post was eons ago

Tune That Engine And Have It Purring Like A Kitten

A car needs to be serviced regularly in order for it to perform optimally. Regular servicing helps you to save in the long run – consume less fuel, eliminate the need to replace parts that are worn beyond repair, avoid breakdowns and inconveniences, etc.

Your website needs that same TLC, especially if it is running on an open-source CMS like WordPress. Having a sluggish and slow site will affect your Google search rankings and also cause visitors to lose patience and drop off from your site. Maintaining the technical aspects of your site also helps to decrease your risk of a website hack or crash.

Things to be aware of:

• An open-source CMS and its plugins/extensions need version updates to fix technical bugs, enhance performance and security of the platform
• Optimise images and files that you upload to keep file sizes as small as possible; don’t clog up your webspace by using huge 2MB images meant for print use
• Ask your website vendor to do a spring cleaning of your website database from time to time, this will clear the database of any junk or old logs that aren’t needed anymore

Soup Up Your Ride

Now that your car is looking and working great, how about some enhancements? Your website may not need chrome sport rims but here’s what you can do instead:

1. Monitor your web traffic and tweak your site accordingly. Check out your Google Analytics dashboard to learn which pages are doing well, and which aren’ By comparing and observing your statistics, you can find out what works and adjust the low-performing pages. This includes reviewing your call-to-actions, website page titles and SEO descriptions – are they working well, or can they be tweaked to be more relevant? Remember to rinse and repeat! Enhancing your website performance is an on-going effort.
2. Add new content regularly; consider writing your own articles/insights and posting them on your website blog. Share your content on social media to drive traffic to your site – this will establish you as an expert and drive traffic to your site to improve your search rankings.
3. Is there a feature you can add to your website to enhance productivity for both you and your customer? Perhaps a booking calendar, or a form/questionnaire to help qualify leads?
4. Ask your customers and close business associates for feedback. They may have some insights on how you can improve your site coming from a fresh angle or through actual use.

Just remember that your website is your online rainmaker, so be persistent and look at how you can enhance it for higher leads and conversions.

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