There are several reasons brands need a digital footprint. If you're serious about your business and attracting interest in your brand that translates to increased revenue, you need a place that tells your story. The only thing worse than not having a website is having a poorly built website. With the digital landscape in constant flux, and the discussion of what constitutes an ad view continuing, companies and brands should get serious about updating their site and digital marketing plans every 6 months (faster in recent years).

"Outdated sites receive outdated results."

The first quarter is the perfect time to maximize the potential of your business by completing a quality check on the current website and web marketing plan.

We’ll start by breaking down the key elements that make websites successful:

1. AETHESTICS.

This seems like a no-brainer, but the first thing a company should do is make sure the website is pretty. Employees are customers as much as they are members of a business. When designing a site our primary question is always would we want to look at this site? This is also a question business owners should ask when reviewing current, or planning for future, sites- DO I WANT TO LOOK AT THIS SITE? And, would I really spend time on your site if it wasn’t my site?

There shouldn't be a seamless color palette throughout the site , functioning buttons and no overlap. I f you're utilizing older versions of HTML/CSS, then you'll want to have that updated to the industry standard HTML5/CSS3 that is currently recognized by all search engines. Is your site enabled to be shared on social media with a site explanation? That's the 2-3 sentence blurb about what people can expect to view on your site, usually accompanied by an image you'd like associated with your business.

2. ACCESS.

Can people find you EVEN if they don’t know they are looking for you? Sure, having a budget to run advertising campaigns across multiple search engines is great- but, it’s also time consuming and a lot of trial and error (mostly error) goes into becoming an expert on what content ranks. What if there was a way to limit the number of ads you run per month and increase viewability across these search engines? There is- it’s called Search Engine Optimization, SEO for short. SEO has absolutely nothing to do with running costly ad campaigns and absolutely everything to do with optimizing the keyword usage within your Metadata (the backend framework of a site that communicates directly with search engines). Industry standard websites have 500-1000 keywords located within the framework of their website. Most template based platforms limit the number of keywords a programmer can enter (roughly 30-40, depending on what site you use) and force consumers to go the secondary route of generating traffic via CPM advertising, which can be a waste of money in the long run.

3. ANALYTICS.

Check the data - it doesn't lie. If you had analytics implemented on your site when it was initially created, or at any point after, check the Bounce rate to identify the total number of people accessing your site on a daily basis. How long do they stay? Where do they go? This trail will start to tell a story. If your bounce rate is over 60%, and users stay for less than 5-6 seconds, they aren't interested in what you're selling or the content you use to sell it. So, it's time to make some changes.

4. RESPONSIVENESS.

Is the current site able to be viewed across multiple platforms WITHOUT the need for additional plugins? Hopefully the answer is YES. In 2013, 996 million people accessed data using their mobile phone. 996 MILLION! That number was up 19% from 2012 and an exponential increase for 2014 is expected once data is reported. In short, a website should be functional to someone using their tablet, cell phone browser or desktop. It’s no longer a maybe, it’s a definitive requirement. That’s different than having an app, which is my next point.

5. INTEGRATION.

Does the website easily interact with other applications? Is the current platform prime to have an iOS or android application added should the company need to expand in the future? The answer should be YES. Because the future is NOW. As more and more clients access their data via phones and tablets, businesses with application-enabled sites are poised to increase revenue. Spending money on a site without this capability now, will cost down the road when (not if) an app is built – why? Because a new site will also need to be built. Save time and Money by investing in this NOW rather than later.

These are just a few of the items business owners will want to review when assessing the current website.

If the answer is YES to all the questions above, you’re in great shape to flourish.

If the answer is NO. Call Us. Now. We specialize in BIG PICTURE BUILDS – that is, building from DAY ONE, the framework required to support the growth of a business down the line within the digital sphere. We've pioneered "client-side optimization" which focuses on comprehensive designs that take the guess work out and create demand generation platforms that increase brand awareness and revenue.

We focus on doing the work, so you can focus on creating.