Launching a website for your business is just the beginning of your work, not the end. There are some business owners who would like the website to do all the work as they sit back, watch the visitor numbers rise and count the cash, but unfortunately, this is unrealistic. Keeping your website up to date and effective still requires ongoing hard work in order to drive sales.
1. Make time for fresh content
A first, and important, step of website upkeep is to keep it relevant and updated. To do this you should include a blog on your site and make sure you are scheduling regular blog posts that are relevant to your site and provide useful information to users.
This helps Google to know that your site is not stagnant, and that it is providing users with useful and timely information that will help with their search queries. To further boost your content efforts, you should also be sharing the blogs across social media channels which your intended audience are using.
If there are any company updates, then these should be included on the website too whether that be via a blog or on the homepage.
2. Utilise a CRM database and email marketing
Keep track of your customers as they come in and utilise a CRM database to do this. Once you have collated details from clients, use newsletters to keep them in the loop with any offer or development on your website or in your business. To have the best chance of enticing customers with email marketing, make sure you send an email with a good subject line and good-quality content.
If someone has bought from you, in theory, they already trust you as a business and like the products or services you’re offering, and so it is worth utilising this. For certain businesses it is also worth offering loyal customers incentives to shop with you. Four repeat customers – each with 20% discounts for loyalty, can harvest more ROI than one individual new customer.
3. Be Available
If you are inviting visitors to email you or call you, then make sure you pledge a bracket of time to return an answer to their question. If you tell customers that you are 24 hours, then make that happen by utilising systems such as social media messaging. If you say you will respond within 48 hours, then make sure you are sticking to this and that you make it clear in any email auto-responses.
People are busy, and they want to know that businesses are going to keep up the standards that they have outlined in previous communications.
4. Analysis Is Key
As is the case with most things, analysis is key for good website upkeep. You should keep track of the way visitors interact and use your website, so that you can better understand the path they are taking. This will help you to understand any pain points, and any points where they may stop and where you lose a conversion.
You can also monitor the performance of emails, social media and blog posts so that you can better understand the type of content that your customers are and are not interacting with.