This is a question we hear from time to time, and it’s somewhat akin to asking when a steak is done – there just isn’t any one guideline that’s going to work for every business owner. Still, even though some Milwaukee companies will want to change business websites frequently while others will wait five years or longer, there are some times when it makes sense to move ahead with the redesign of a new business website.
Here are a handful of indicators that a new business website is probably worth the investment you’re considering:
You aren’t making online sales anymore. If your business website used to be a source of revenue, and now it’s just a source of frustration, then take that as a good sign that you could need a new layout, and possibly an improved marketing plan to go with it. Deciding how much of a decrease in sales is cause for alarm depends a great deal on what percentage of your revenue comes from your website, but we would advise taking any major dip seriously.
It isn’t generating leads at a consistent rate. Likewise, if you don’t sell products or services directly from your website, but count on it as a source of new leads, then don’t wait too long to upgrade or redesign if they start slowing down. In fact, that’s good advice for almost any kind of company: If your business website isn’t somehow helping you to find new customers and move them into the sales process, then you aren’t getting your money’s worth, and you’re probably missing out on an enormous marketing opportunity.
Your search engine rankings are suffering. Poorly designed business websites, and those with missing pages or a lack of content, tend to be penalized very heavily by Google and the other major search engines. In some ways, a high search position is the ultimate sales advantage, since it can bring you new buyers at an exact moment when they are thinking about making a purchase, or at least doing their research.
At a minimum, your site should rank highly for the name of your company, along with your most important keywords combined with your city or state. If it isn’t, then it might be time to look at making an investment in a new business website.
All of your competitors have passed you by. There comes a point when you know you need a new business website simply because all of the other businesses that would love to have your customers have a much stronger online presence than you do. That sends a very poor message to buyers, so make sure you don’t come off looking like a business that can’t compete or keep up.
Obviously, the decision of whether or not to spend money on a new business website is entirely up to you. If you find yourself in one of these obvious situations, however, give Brew City Marketing a call today and see how easy it is to change the look, search engine position, and profitability of your company with a new design.
