Graduation time does your website get a Passing Grade?

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Dave Westfall

I've found that graduation time is a good period to sit down, evaluate and measure the marketing effectiveness of your business website.  What letter grade would your small business website get?  Would it be an A or an F?  Or something in between?

Do you remember "grading on the curve" from your high school report cards and courses?  Well, in my opinion, you could use that same scale to evaluate the letter grade that your website should get for marketing effectiveness.  Some website grading tools create scores that go up to 99, so those results could be scored on the same scale that we learned back in high school:

90-99 = A
80-89 = B
70-79 = C
60-69 = D
< 60   = F

Now, I know that there is some controversy out there in the blogsphere about whether or not website grades are a valid measurement tool or "crap".   But for the purposes of this blog and from my personal experience as an Internet Marketing Consultant, they do appear to have at least some validity and provide a valuable guide to what needs to be fixed on your website to improve its marketing effectiveness. 

After all, why do you have a website?  Isn't it to generate traffic, leads or sales for your business and to help you make money?  Maybe it is like the vast majority, could be as high as 99% of all websites, because they don't get a passing grade on marketing effectiveness or page rank.  As you've probably heard, if your website doesn't show up on page one of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP), then the majority of web surfers will never find you.

Now, I'm not talking about how "pretty" your website looks or if it has a "flash intro".  Yes, those things could be important too.  Or could they be "part of the problem"?  I'm talking about marketing RESULTS!  But here's the question we're asking you to consider in this blog:  Is my website a lean, mean, lead generating machine?   

In Ajay Prasad's When Should You Fire Your Website Designer article posted in the www.SiteProNews.com  newsletter over the weekend, he says:  "Always Remember Your Website is your Marketing Machine

It is all about driving people to your website. This is more than "being found" for the right search terms. This is about having a comprehensive strategy that links your offline and online marketíng together to create leverage for your business and to get maximum results.

You need to be sure your online partner can:
    • Create a site that entices visitors to convert from information seekers to paying customers
    • Generate a stream of online and offline leads
    • Show you what functions of your business can be automated to save you dollars...and put those savíngs to good use...getting more customers 
    • Show you the secrets of capturing information and how to utilize it for easy access and follow up 
    • Show you how to make more sales with your existing customers
    • Help you set up marketing campaigns that get real results and build customer loyalty
    • Help you use marketing with email ethically and effectively

Seriously, if your web designer/dungeon master/graphic Zulu cannot do ALL of these things and more, FIRE them now. You are wasting time and money. And time is often worth more than money."

In my opinion just as importantly, if your website can't do all of these things for you; then isn't it time to FIRE your "starter" business website and upgrade to an affordable Small Business eCommerce website solution that can?

Using website grading tools, I've been able to help my Internet Marketing customers improve their website grade from an F to an A (from <60 to 96.8 in one case) and significantly increase their website lead generation traffic by 4X to 10X and its marketing effectiveness.

Over the next month I'm offering a series of workshops and webinars that will help you improve your website grade and marketing effectiveness:
1. Using Social Media for Better Marketing and Publicity Workshop May 29th 1-5pm MDT Denver
2. Does Your Website Get a Passing Grade? Webinar June 4th Noon Eastern
3. Turn your Website into a Lead Generating Machine Webinar June 18th Noon Eastern 

Please click on this link to ask for your FREE website grade.

Dave Westfall is a Internet Marketing Consultant and Business Coach who provides solid advice and proven solutions that work to help you achieve your vision and goals.  Dave was recently quoted in this Wall Street Journal New and Improved Small Business Turnaround Article.  

Click on these links to follow Dave on Twitter or connect with him on Facebook or LinkedIn or for more information please visit Dave online .   

All the best,

Dave Westfall, MBA
DewPointe Ventures LLC

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