In fact, you probably have very specific goals that your web site is helping you to achieve for your company.
If you do have goals, are you measuring them? We often ask people, "what are the objectives of your site?" Answers usually vary from "our site is supposed to provide information about our company’s products", or "the site is supposed to effectively convey our brand to our audience."
In actuality, those are very rarely the TRUE objectives; but rather the MEANS to accomplish one's objectives. A website's objectives will, in most cases, be to drive sales and revenues or generate qualified leads.
The first step to building a winning strategy on the Internet is to identify your exact goals and set your website’s objectives to achieve those goals. Here are two examples:
Web Site Goal: Lead Generation
If the main goal of your website is to generate more leads for your company, your website’s objectives should be geared around two things…
increase the quantity of your leads
increase the quality of your leads
By focusing on these website objectives, you can identify what your website needs to do to accomplish them. For example, if you want to increase the quantity and quality of your leads, you can identify that your website should be re-designed to
Attract more qualified visitors from search engines.
Display the benefits of your product or service.
Educate your visitors and prospects on how to make a smart buying decision.
Overcome the objections your visitors may have about your product.
Encourage them to take action so that your sales staff can contact them later on.
Website Goal: Drive Sales & Revenues
If the main goal of your e-commerce website is designed to generate sales for your company, your website’s objectives should be geared around two things:
Get more visitors to shop for and buy your products.
Get visitors to buy larger orders.
Get visitors to return and buy more often.
As you can see from these two examples, setting specific goals and objectives for your website will allow you to set your plan for improving your results. Now that you have your goals and objectives, you’re ready for the next step which is increasing your website’s conversion rate.