![The Balcony [Thomason]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2675/4129383342_d059742b18.jpg)
There are millions of small business websites on the web. It really is a crying shame that so many of them are useless.
The Goal
The goal of any small business website should be to produce results. And since it is for a business, those results need to either be leads the business can follow up on or actual sales. Big companies have the money to waste on brand awareness, but not small businesses. A small business website does not have to be fancy or expensive. It just needs to be useful.
In order for a website to be useful to a small business, it has to accomplish a couple of main goals.
Search Traffic
First of all, it needs to be able to attract search traffic. This isn’t the only way to get business through your website, but having strong search traffic is going to help a small business bring in more leads and sales. With that in mind, every single small business should have at least some search engine optimization going on.
The best kind of SEO for a small business to focus on is creating targeted content. This is done in the form of articles that talk about topics or keywords that ideal customers are likely to search for online. Showing up in the search results for these specific topics and keywords will help attract qualified search traffic to a site.
Convert Visits to Leads
The second main goal of a business website, and this is a big one, is that it should be able to convert visitors into buyers. This means someone who knows nothing about a business should be able to visit the website, get all of the information he needs, and then decide whether to buy from or request further information from the business.
This is accomplished through a variety of means, including site layout and calls to action. But the primary component for converting leads is the same component used to get visits from search engines. Good content will help small businesses generate leads from site visits.
Too often, small business websites have terrible content. This includes having no content at all. A business website should be able to educate visitors and entice them to become buyers. Ideally, the content is organized and easy to navigate.
Useful Information
A website needs useful information in order to be useful. If the only information provided is instructions to call or visit a store, that is not very helpful. Instead, a site should show visitors why they should become buyers, and give them easy ways to start that process.
I am sick of seeing small business websites that fall woefully short of these goals. I have decided to go on a mission. My goal is to help small businesses overcome their useless website and get them seeing results instead. On a regular basis, I will take a look at a real, live, small business website right here on this blog. I will point out what is wrong, what is right, and how to make improvements.
If you would like me to take a look at your small business website, email here or fill out the contact form here. I will be offering discounts to any site I review, so it might be worth considering.
Meanwhile, take a look at your website. Is it accomplishing anything? If not, lets work on improving it.
Contact Broad River Creative
photo credit: rawheadrex
Bradford Shimp is the President of Broad River Creative, a blogger and blog designer. He designs blogs and websites for small businesses, and teaches small business owners how to use the web to grow their business.