Your website is your centerpiece – make it noticeable

What does your web page say about you?

This is a very broad topic and one that I will span over the next few days.   Personally, I really feel a company’s web site says a lot about the company – many times it is the first impression that a person will have of a business.  I know that everyone has pulled up a web site and thought about placing an order, then you realize their site hasn’t been updated since 2006 – great, you really needed what they have but its a gamble at this point.  Most people will go online and check a company out before they do business with them and once they find your site, it will take 10 seconds or less to decide whether they will want to do business with you or not.

• Do they look reputable?
• Do they have what you need?
• Is their site updated and relevant?

In the early days of the Internet, it was prestigious to have a web site and when you did, they were merely electronic brochures.  That same standard doesn’t hold quite as much weight now as it used to.   Why?   Everyone has websites now and with our smart phones we are all connected and transact business over the Internet.   Your main purpose to having a web page should be to bring in new business leads – not just be a brochure.

I am going to show you two web sites (I have masked the agency names).  I have worked with both of these agencies and will tell you that they are both very capable of handling my insurance.  Since I know them, it is a different story.  Imagine if you are comparing the two agencies – what would you think from comparing their websites?  Is one site better than the other?  Do you think one is more capable than the other? It is really a matter of opinion, again I know them both and both are extremely capable.

So the most important thing that you can do is not only have a web site, but have it current.  I wont get into it now, but to simply say that a stale and stagnant site will just drop off of most search engines because they will appear as irrelevant.  Here are some other indications of outdated web pages:

• Static content
• Hit counter
• Inability to be viewed on mobile devices
• Annoying animation or graphics
• Old copyright dates
• Includes people or products you no longer have
• No social sharing buttons

Just to recap, the two main takeaways about your web presence:

• Update your site
• Make a good impression

The next post will touch on the ideal design elements.  This will be important and will help you plan your site updates.  Thanks for reading The Sales Plan and be sure to subscribe so that you will receive all the automatic updates.