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15 Minute Small Business Website Performance Review Checklist
Your Website Should Be One Of Greatest Business Generation Tools Your Small Business Has In It’s Marketing Arsenal.
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We’ve written a bunch of articles that go into great depth on some of these topics, but I want this checklist to be something you can use immediately. There are 5 key areas we’re going to cover in this website self assessment.
These are the critical factors’ for small business websites. There are literally hundreds of other factors we consider with our clients, but if you’re a fan of the 80/20 rule, then this list will get you a handle on the most actionable items that will get you 80% of results.
Here’s what you’ll be testing for:
Mobile Experience
Site Security
Site Speed
User Experience
Competitor Analysis
Ok, our goal is to allow you to do a complete and thorough assessment in 15 minutes or less. Once you’ve been through this once, you’ll be able to do routine check-ins in about half the time to check your small business website performance. The first round is simply learning what to look for.
So Let’s Get Started With Your Small Business Website Performance Self-Assessment!
Step 1: Mobile Experience
60-80% of website visitors to your site will be – you guessed it – on their phones or a similar mobile device. This is such a relevant fact, that Google has started using “mobile friendliness” as a ranking factor for websites – meaning if your site isn’t mobile friendly, it’s not going to get found. Here’s how to audit this quickly.
- Check your site on your own mobile device – or for a more thorough audit, use the Chrome Inspector (see video)
Step 2: Site Security
Review this article, and verify not just your home page, but the major internal pages of your site as well. Google has started using site security as a ranking factor for websites, so having a secure website is crucial to showing up on search engines.
Step 3: Site Speed
You can use either GT Metrix or Page Speed Insights to check your page speed, and to get insights about what might need to be addressed. Improving your site speed will help your small business website’s performance and help your business rank better in search, since site speed is now a ranking factor for websites.
Step 4: User Experience
Take just a few minutes to go through your website from the perspective of being a completely new prospect to your business – unaware of what products/services you offer, or what makes you the best choice to work with. Take what you discover here, and outline a plan for needed improvements.
Note: If you have someone who truly doesn’t know your business, have them go through your website and play prospect and review your small business website performance for you and provide feedback.
Step 5: Competitive Analysis
- Figure out the top 2-3 search terms that you want to be found for online (the most important terms for your business – those likely to drive the greatest revenue).
- Play “prospect”, and do a search for those search terms on Google (be sure you’re not logged in to any personal or business Google accounts as it may skew your results)
- Look into the top 2-3 competitors that come up for those terms, and compare your online presence and user experience to their sites. Be honest here – this is critical to having a website that converts. Getting visitors is one thing – turning those visitors into new customers is another.
Congratulations!
You’ve completed the initial audit of your small business website and should have a good idea of how you stand, and how you stack up. If you find you’re in need of some improvements, then I’d encourage you to reach out and book a free strategy call with a member of our team here at NH Strategic Marketing. There’s no cost, and no pressure. Our passion is helping NH’s small businesses succeed, and I’m sure we can help you as well.
Not To Toot Our Own Horn, But... *toot toot*
