Interestingly that is a question that I rarely get asked after I’ve completed a website for a small business.  But it is a question that everyone with a new website should be asking.

Why? A website in itself will not do anything for your business because it is a marketing tool and like all tools it has to be applied in order to be effective. As such, that website that you’ve just had built and launched has to be used as part of your marketing efforts.

How? Firstly, by continuously working to attract potential customers to it. Such as getting it visibly listed on search engines either by search engine optimization or by using pay-per-click advertising. Also, by using social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook etc. to reach to reach people.

But attracting customers to your site is a waste of time and money if they are simply clicking away from the site as soon as they arrive on it. The site must capture people’s attention and cause visitors to take action, such as contact you or buy from you, whatever is your desired outcome for visitors to the site. To do this effective, the site needs to be modified and updated regularly.

In this regard, it is interesting to look at sites such as Amazon and Ebay. The general perception of those sites is that they don’t change very much. But this is a misconception. Site such as these are being continually monitored and tweaked to improve effectiveness. In the same way, albeit not necessarily on the same scale, a small business’ website should be subject to similar improvement.

So, what next after your website has launched? In the same way as you use company brochures and literature in your marketing, be prepared to use your website in a similar fashion. This means investing some money and time in it, after it has been developed, if you want to get a return on that investment.