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Is Your Website An Asset Or a Liability?
By Nick Yorchak (c) 2007

Remember back in the good ol' days when having a website was
something every company needed and wanted? Websites were the
wave of the future, and the dream of transitioning to conducting
business online filled our heads with visions of a revolution in
the way commerce was conducted. With a website, a company could
reach clients and interact with potential customers on a global
scale. A website was indicative of a company's technological
prowess, symbolic of the desire to innovate and evolve with
developments in the industry.

Today, this mindset has changed drastically. We all know that we
need a website, but many of us think that simply having one is
enough. In fact, there is research indicating that many firms
with an online presence haven't touched their websites in years.
They haven't spent any time improving functionality and
appearance, and they have yet to consider the basics of website
usability and the inherent potential of search engine
optimization. Of course, we all recognize by now that having a
website is an essential business asset, if it's done correctly.
It's easy to see that if your site is an outdated eyesore, it
becomes a liability that hurts you more than it helps you.
Conversely, a well-designed site can make all the difference.
It's the first place users go to research your products and
services, serves as a lead generator, a CRM tool, and even to
make purchases.

We've all heard the adage about first impressions, and it's no
secret that they're the most important factor in the way people
remember their first encounter with you or with your website. On
one hand, a well-designed, user-friendly website will showcase
your business and your brand, impressing clients. On the other
hand, an outdated and otherwise bad website can hurt you far
more than it can help you. Potential customers will eliminate
you as a possible vendor after interacting with your brand and
substandard website for only a few minutes.

I'll utilize a real estate analogy here to expand upon this
thought. You'll impress guests when they arrive at your home if
it's clean, well-kept, landscaped, painted, and overall
welcoming. But, if you arrive at a home that's dilapidated and
falling apart with chipped paint and an overgrown lawn, you'll
think a lot of less of whoever lives there. Are they lazy slobs?
Maybe. Or maybe they just haven't had time to take care of the
property. Either way, your first impression is less than
positive. We all try not to "judge a book by its cover," but in
an online atmosphere, a company's website is their cover, the
digital face they present to the world, so in that case you
can't not judge the book by its cover. After all, that's all you
have to go by.

So this must leave you wondering: Is my website an asset or a
liability? By answering the following questions, you can find
out if it's time for an overhaul or just some simple changes. Or
maybe your site doesn't need any work at all. Ready to find out?

Home Page

  * Can visiting users tell immediately who you are and what you
    offer?

  * Is your site organized in a clear fashion that promotes
    navigation?   

  * Is your home page an information destination or just a messy
    landing page?

  * Does your home page give a good first impression that entices
    users to click through your links?

Performance Issues

  * Do your images, videos, and pages load quickly?

  * Does your site utilize clean, un-bloated code?   

  * Does your site have a "search" function? If so, is it fast
    and useful?

  * Have you performed quality assurance testing to ensure your
    site looks the same across different browsers?

Content Is King

  * Is your content written clearly and persuasively? Does it
    speak to your target market?

  * Have you included useful and relevant resources like case
    studies, white papers, articles, or links?   

  * Does your content effectively describe your products,
    services, and benefits?

  * Is your content keyword focused to cater to users and search
    engines alike?

Links & Navigation

  * First and foremost: Do all your links work?

  * Are your links clearly marked?   

  * Do your links utilize descriptive and enticing anchor text?

  * Is your navigation menu or framework consistent throughout
    your site?

  * Does your navigation menu provide access to your entire
    site?

Critical Pages

  * Is there a top-level page that describes your products and
    services?   

  * Do you have an "About Us" page to describe your company?

  * Is the "Contact Us" page clear, informative, and thorough?

  * Do you have a page where users can ask questions or answer
    their own?

  * Do you have a Testimonials section?

  * Do you have a blog that you update frequently?

  * Do you have social bookmarking buttons to take advantage of
    Web 2.0 technologies?

Usability

  * Is your site organized so that information is easy to find?   

  * Do you have a site map that wireframes this organizational
    structure and links to all your pages?

  * Is your site "user-friendly?"

  * Is your type scannable, easy to read, and written for the
    web?

  * Do you utilize bullets, headlines, and other stylistic
    elements to organize and present content?

  * Do you have calls to action that prompt users to take
    desired actions?

  * Are you using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to control the
    layout of the site?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

  * Is your site search engine friendly?

  * Have you optimized your site for specific and relevant
    keywords?   

  * Have you acquired a network of high-quality, relevant
    links?

  * Have you utilized online PR or social media marketing for
    its SEO benefits?

  * Does your navigation menu provide access to your entire
    site?

Now that you've answered all of these questions, you need to
decide what to do next. Start with some competitve analysis to
see what your competitors are doing and what you need to do to
catch up. Then, survey users to see what they think and act upon
that feedback; don't wait, evaluate and reciprocate.

So make as many changes as you can to improve your website,
turning it back into a business asset instead of a liability,
and watch as your web presence creates leads and ultimately
sales that impact your bottom line.
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Nick Yorchak is an SEO expert and Search Engine Marketing
Specialist at Fusionbox, a full-service Denver Internet
marketing (http://www.fusionbox.com/service/5/), web design,
and web development company. He can be reached at his Fusionbox
email (nyorchak@fusionbox.com) or at (303)952-7490.
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