My website has been up and running for over one year now, but, despite all the work that’s gone into it (and continues to on my side – e.g. the monthly updates), I’ve yet to have a single business enquiry from it. What do you think we’re doing wrong?

This is a big topic from such a simple question!

We need to start by analysing what role the website is playing for you.

1. Have you set it up to gain you new leads?
2. Or have you set it up to nurture existing contacts and give people you gain through other networking channels a chance to ‘check you out’.

Knowing the objectives means you can decide on how to track success.

If you are looking to generate leads you need (a) a good number of visits and (b) a reasonably high conversion rate from visitors to enquirers.  You’ve already stated you’ve had no enquiries via the website, so we know the conversions aren’t happening.
But are we getting the traffic in the first place?

Look at your Google Analytics to see if you are getting traffic and from where.

Think of your website as if it were a shop on the high street. If you’re getting plenty of people through the door, but no sales, then you’d evaluate your stock, the layout of the goods and how you interact with your potential customers.  You’d change things around until you could see improvements.  This is what you need to do with your site.  If the number of visits is sufficiently high but the enquries not, fix the site!

When looking at your analytics, find out if those that are visiting your site are engaged with what you have to say. You can generally tell this from how long they stay and how many pages they look at.
If they are, then your content is well targeted.
If they are not, you’re missing the target and you need to look at what you’re saying to your visitors (or perhaps you’re getting the ‘wrong’ visitors in the first place).

But if you’re not even getting them through the door in the first place, you need to find ways of enticing them in – megaphone, advertising, competitions, vouchers etc.  No matter how wonderful the products in your ‘shop’ are, people don’t just get drawn to them like a moth to a flame.  You have to tell them you (and your products) exist, and how they can find you.  In Internet terms this means one or many of the following:

• Writing a blog
• Answering questions on other people’s blogs
• Twitter
• Online PR
• Adwords
• Online networking
• Directory listings
• Links with associates
• Sponsorship & banner advertising
• Offline marketing – containing a reason to visit your site

My gut feeling is that you’ve done a good job with the website, but you need to shout about it a bit more. The internet is a great place, but it is a massive marketplace and you’re getting lost. So you have to explore other avenues to get the website noticed & visited. Build a strong reputation for yourself online, take part in the community and all that it has to offer.

And if you don’t (or won’t) do that then you need to set your sights for your site a bit lower – without you marketing your website you will not be able to use it to generate you business.   But it could live a happy and fulfilled life as an online brochure for you.

The choice, as they say, is yours!

Cat Young
STW Online
www.stw-online.net