Why Website Goals Matter (Michael Slater)

When creating a website, it is important to start with the business (or organization) goals, and then move on to craft design and technology strategies to achieve those goals. Many sites have multiple audiences and multiple goals, and it is important to elucidate all of them. It’s all too easy to end up with website features and designs that are not well aligned with the goals.

If the goal is to find new customers, then SEO is critical, as are lead capture forms and some kind of source-tracking system. If the goal is to drive customers into retail locations, then creating an appealing impression and providing hours and directions is most important.

If the goal is to serve existing customers, then providing a complete library of reference information may be called for. If the goal is to generate sales directly from the website, then ecommerce is a central feature.

If the goal is to advocate a point of view, then a rich set of articles and videos, organized by topic, is essential. This talk will give a variety of examples and discuss the technologies and vendors to consider.

Transcript

1. Aligning Your Website with Your Goals michael@webvanta.com 888.670.6793 Michael Slater michael@webvanta.com 1
2. About Me • President and Cofounder of Webvanta • Originally a hardware engineer, then software developer, writer/editor/ publisher (Microprocessor Report) • Startup Fotiva sold to Adobe 2001 • Involved with the web since its inception 2
3. What is the purpose of a website? • Sell products or services online • Drive traffic into retail businesses • Generate sales leads • Build a brand • Create a following • Further a cause • Serve employees and partners 3
4. Strategy • What is the foremost purpose of the website? • What approach will best serve that purpose? 4
5. Tactics • Beautiful pages • Easy interactions • Effective business systems • Search engine optimization • Content marketing • User-generated content 5
6. Selling Online • eCommerce is the most direct way of using a website to generate revenue • Every imaginable product or service is a candidate • Worldwide reach • Beware of lurking complexity 6
10. eCommerce Implementation • Simple transactions are easy to do, with PayPal, etc. • eCommerce is very complex at the level of a mainstream consumer company • Hosted platforms such as Shopify and Big Commerce often a good choice 10
11. Driving Traffic Into Retail • For many businesses, the most important goal is to drive people into retail locations • Mobile sites play a critical role in this process • People expect to find detailed product info on the web, even if they only buy through retail 11
15. Generating Sales Leads • Big-ticket items are typically sold only after a long interaction ‣ Homes, cars, boats, enterprise software • Website can’t generate commerce, but can be a powerful marketing tool that delivers sales leads 15
19. Building a Brand • Website may be the first or most frequent experience customers have with a company • Compared with consumer advertising campaigns, the biggest website project is a small expense 19
23. Creating a Following • If you are passionate about something and able to write compellingly, you can build a following • Once you have a following, it’s much easier to promote products, services, and causes 23
28. Furthering a Cause • Now everyone has a printing press with worldwide reach! • Publish articles, aggregate content, promote events, organize groups 28
32. Resources for Employees & Partners • Intranet and extranet • Content available only to a select audience • Streamline internal business processes • Better serve distribution and sales 32
36. Stay Focused on Goals • The web is such an infinite canvas, there’s always a million things you could do • Everything that doesn’t serve your primary goal takes away from it 36
37. We’re Here to Help • Webvanta specializes in creating content-rich sites that deliver on business goals • I’m glad to help with free advice ‣ michael@webvanta.com ‣ 888.670.6793 ext. 802 • We publish lots of resources ‣ www.webvanta.com/blog ‣ www.webvanta.com/webinars ‣ www.facebook.com/webvanta ‣ @webvanta 37