Can potential customers find your site?
Imagine you’re a potential customer and perform several keyword searches on Google, which currently commands 42% of the market. If your company’s website does not come up on the first page of search results, there’s a good chance that your website is not “search engine optimized,” or structured for maximum visibility, making it difficult to find your company online. Likely structural trouble spots include heavy use of copy graphics, scripted links and the incorrect use of pop-up windows and Flash. We recommend you select one to two major search engines and review their criteria for submitting your site. For example, Google has a comprehensive tutorial at www.google.com/webmasters.

Is your home page fresh?
If visitors do not see fresh content on your homepage, often they will not dig deeper to find updated information or, worse yet, will leave the site with no intention of returning. Even if you don’t add new content, periodically highlight different areas of your existing site. Use tracking software to determine how often an average visitor returns to your homepage and put an editorial, or “update,” calendar in place. In addition, track which homepage links are getting the most traction and tune them to ensure audiences are reaching important information quickly. Although there are a number of effective methods for highlighting current information, strive for a structure that is visually clean and easy to navigate. For example, on the Taylor Guitars homepage, Mires uses tabs titled Taylor Today, In the News and Latest Features to prompt visitors to explore the site.

Are you maintaining a dialogue with customers?
The Web is an ideal platform for establishing a dialogue with your customers. Although it requires effort and planning, regular outbound communication keeps your organization top-of-mind and builds a valuable sense of community around your brand. Create multiple “opt in” opportunities on your site and adopt a content-driven outreach model. Instead of sending out e-newsletters and announcements on a set timetable, you can always wait until your organization has amassed enough information to interest your target audience. Update your homepage in tandem with all outbound communication and encourage recipients to visit your website for more details. Whenever possible, incentivize visitors to refer friends to your site and make it easy for this new audience to sign up for e-newsletters and announcements. With each member you add, your online community grows stronger and the value of your outreach efforts increases.

Finally, as you are developing new marketing programs, always investigate opportunities to leverage your company’s online presence. The more fully integrated your outreach, the better ROI you can expect.