Is Your Website Underperforming? Answer These 10 Questions

Websites today are more complex than ever before. They carry the weight of both messaging and SEO, and a hidden structure of tools designed to enhance analytics and promote lead generation. At least that's how it is supposed to work. But how do you know if your website is just limping along, or if it's a lead-generating machine?

Take a look at these 10 questions to find your answer.

1. Do you have your website analytics connected to other digital marketing tools?

Tracking your website performance is a great first step, but if you don't have it connected to a marketing automation tool, you're only getting part of the story. When you're able to track a prospect's web activity as well as their engagement with your marketing campaigns, that website data tells a much larger story. It's also important to gather where people are converting from unknown to known traffic so that you're able to identify your highest value website pages and content offers.

2. Is your website traffic similar to rush hour traffic or sleepy weekend traffic?

Analyze your website visits year-over-year. Your website SEO needs to engage the eyes of bots that roam the internet and grab links to content that is then indexed for search terms. If the number of visitors to your website is trending downward or flat, you may need to refresh your keywords and add long-tail search terms. 

3. Does your website have engaging content covering all stages of the sales funnel?

Your prospects are out there searching. Do a content audit to determine if you have the right mix on your website to engage TOFU searches (white papers and blog articles), MOFU searches (case studies and infographics, checklists and Best Practices), and BOFU searches (offers, promotions, demos).

4. Are your CTAs worth clicking?

CTAs are just that: content offers that encourage website visitors to take action. Examples of CTAs can be a sign-up for a demo offer or to download an asset. CTA buttons are designed to quickly build curiosity and connect visitors to compelling content. 

When done well, these buttons begin the process of driving leads into the sales funnel. You should have at least one on every page, and its location should make sense about the information around it. 

Look through the eyes of your buyer to see if your CTAs are compelling enough to spark action. Better yet – A/B test! Try different colors and words in each offer and change their placement. See what gets the most "click-through" activity and make changes accordingly.

5. Does the website design support the story of what you sell?

Evaluate whether the colors and images still look fresh. Those stereotypical avocado green appliances from the seventies look funny for a reason. They're out-of-date and out-of-use.

6. When is the last time buyer personas were updated?

Buyer personas should be refreshed regularly. New decision-makers and influencers emerge that can impact your market position. Making sure your messaging is tailored to resonate with the right audience is crucial to seeing successful engagement from the right website visitors.

7. Have there been substantial changes to your organization?

Take a look at your "About Us" section. Does it reflect your current company culture and personality? Is it reflected in quick and engaging copy? Does your copy say what your company does and why visitors should care? Sometimes growth happens so quickly that these important changes get lost.

8. Have your products and services changed?

Sit in the prospect's chair and see if what your website tells you is an accurate reflection of what is being sold. Scrub your site for old services and products you no longer offer. Make sure your website messaging and product/services section are telling the true story of what you offer. It's easy to take a set-it-and-forget-it mentality, so make sure to conduct regular website audits.

9. Is sharing your content an easy task? 

Buyers shouldn't have to get out a map and flashlight to share content or sign up for your blog. Make sure your social media buttons are prominently displayed and give some thought to which ones to feature. Choosing the right ones goes back to your buyer persona. Is your buyer likely to engage on Facebook to share info on your content? If not, don't include the button.

10. Is your website designed mobile-first? 

People search for information on smartphones and tablets. If your website isn't mobile-friendly, you're missing out opportunities to drive leads. Your website should have a responsive design that makes the experience interactive and viewer-friendly on a variety of mobile devices. Many companies are going the next step and creating dynamic mobile apps for their services.

A thorough evaluation of your website will likely bring you to a decision point: refresh, renovate, or start over. Whether you decide to bury the old site and start fresh or simply improve the website you have, answering these questions before starting the process will help ensure that the changes you make are not just cosmetic. Meaningful changes aimed at lead generation take a lot of planning and research before a word of copy is written, or an image is chosen.

Want more insights on how to make your B2B website better?
Check out this blog on How to Analyze Your B2B Website.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on August 2015 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.