One thing that most successful small business websites have in common is that they all have a reliable website strategy. Not every site will have the same approach, but there are some everyday things that you should consider if you want to increase sales or drive new customer acquisitions.

Define your audience

Of course, this seems rather obvious, but you may be surprised at how many small businesses struggle will defining their best audience. The most common mistake is thinking they have a much larger audience than they have. Take the time and narrow it down, so you target customers who are most likely to engage with your site. Define the target age, gender, and geographical locations. Target interests as well, do your customers share a common interest? If you are selling boats, do you target fishing as well? That is just one example. Once you start narrowing down that audience, you can begin to tier them as well.

Establish Goals

Just like other aspects of our daily lives, goal setting plays a role in our websites. As a business owner, people should be used to defining goals. The same goes for your website, what is it you are trying to achieve? Is the site being designed to get as many eyes as possible (views), does it need to increase sales (conversions), or is it intended to drive people to a physical location? These goals will help you develop a better site with a focus on reaching whichever goals you have defined.

Content Plan

Once you have established the two things above, you will need to define your content plan. The content should resonate with your “target audience” and assist in reaching the goals you have identified. The project includes your about page, product descriptions, services offered, and your blog. Proper content planning will help you reach your audience and goals; it will also improve your overall SEO.

Although these tips may appear to be self-evident, they often are overlooked. Sites tend to start going sideways when people regularly update parts of their websites or pages. They begin to lose the flow of the site. If you are building a new site or evaluating your existing one, our recommendation is to consider these three tips in your process.