I wanted to put up a blog post for everyone that's made the investment  into a new corporate website and isn't sure if it's producing the ROI they expected on purchase. The first rule of thumb to remember is a website much like a web application, is never done. It continues to grow and evolve as your business changes or you get additional feedback from your client base. The purpose of any website (especially in the small to mid sized businesses) is to usually automate resource sharing with clients and convert new visitors to clients. So after building a website with all the bells and whistles, what's next?

1. Constant Review and Additions. Audit your website at the minimum on a weekly basis and setup a regular schedule for integrating news and insightful information about the products or services you provide. I'm not talking about a cleverly disguised sales pitch. I'm talking about real value such as your stance on how the particular services you provide should be delivered to the client or an industry news story that would be relevant to the clients that would retain you.
2. Chances are you are NOT a Designer. Unless you have very web skilled people on staff it's important that you except the fact that  you can't make new pages have the same impact as a professional in the industry. There is no tool that does a better job than the skilled hand or creative eye. Don't be afraid to spend additional resources with your web firm in maintaining and increasing the overall blue print of your website. Plans with firms are usually pretty affordable (monthly or in blocks) and keeping your website up to speed is much more valuable than some of the more traditional marketing vessels that cost double.
3. Become Part of the Process. Expect your web firm to be proactive but you need to also be invested in the process of making your website a success. Discuss new ideas and talk about new functionality with your web firm. They should be able to consult and guide you in the right direction in terms if the decisions your making are correct. Remember it's very RARE that somebody understands your business better than you!
4. SEO is a Recurring Effort. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn't just working because you've made a new website. A technically correct website with W3C compliant standards may go a long way but remember that search engine ranking is a zero sum game. For you to move up, someone else has to move down. It's best to have strong management in place for this and talk to your trusted team about a firm that can help you continually grow on the web in terms of external visibility.
5. Review Analytics Weekly. It's important to understand what's most important to the people that visit your website and how they arrive at their end destination. Do you know how long they stay on your site? If you have a particular service that's popular is their a simple call to action available on that page for people to reach out to you on? Look at setting up funnel goals and how the sites architecture is getting them to the services and information you want them to see.

Many people have different expectations in terms of how they feel the website fits into their respective organizations overall marketing. Look beyond the brochure and try to understand how your website can become a powerful tool for generating new opportunities and adding value to your existing clients. Anybody that  wants to understand more don't hesitate to reach out, we'll be happy to explain more.