Gotten any business from your website lately?

It’s easy to forget why we have websites for our businesses. It’s not just because we have to, or because some guru at some conference that you went to a couple of years ago said it’s a good idea.

You have a website for your business for one reason: to get more business coming in.

So you’ve got a website. Here’s the $64,000 Question: are you getting any business out of it?

If your answer is some version of I don’t know, then let’s assume that you’re not. Because you’d know if you were.

So now let’s look at what you need to do to make it so that you do get business out of your website.

• Content: This one’s probably obvious, but you need to make sure to cover all the bases necessary to tell people who you are, what you do, what areas you serve, etc.
• Branding: Also probably obvious, but your website should reflect visually whatever it is you do in terms of newspaper, TV and radio advertising, storefront and service-van signage, that kind of thing.
• Call to action: You can’t just tell people who you are, what you do, etc. You have to remind them that they need to call you, and not the other guy. And maybe give them some reason to call you and not the other guy, like some sort of website special coupon. Incentivize action.
• Facebook: A link to your business Facebook page gives people a chance to like your Facebook page, and then you can talk to them again later whenever you have reason to.
• Email signups: In the same way you use Facebook to get people to come back, email news from your website can tell people what you’re up to, what specials you have to offer, whatever excuse you can come up with to talk to people on some kind of regular basis.

Chris Graham is the president and CEO of Augusta Free Press LLC, a full-service marketing company based in Waynesboro, Va., that offers web design, graphic design, video production, social media implementation and related services. More information online at www.AFPBusiness.com. Email AFP at [email protected], and call for more information at (540) 949-6574.