Why Do You Have a Website?

A business today needs a website. Right? Yes. But why do YOU have a website? Have you defined the goal of your website and does the structure and content support that goal?

I was evaluating a website the other day. There were pages of information, but two things were missing:

1. The website did not tell me what the organization was all about.
2. There was nothing on the site that engaged me with the organization, other than passively reading their content.

Your website needs to work hard for you! It should tell visitors about who you are and why your website helps them.

Positioning Text: State Your Value

Just about every website needs clear, up front positioning text. Who are you? What value do you bring? Why is your website worth visiting.

A great website positioning statement clearly tells your audience who you are and what you do. It uses the words they use (aka keywords) to speak to their needs and interests. It sets the tone for the engagement you want to create with your website.

Great positioning text is short, long-term and reflective of your products or actions as a business. Make sure to focus on the value that your products, services or blogs have for users.

Questions that Get You to the Right Positioning Text

Use these questions to create the right positioning text for your website:

• What can people do with the products or information you’re offering?
• What makes your products or business unique?
• How can your products/services enhance your clients’ lives?
• Why should people buy your products/services and not your (e.g. cheaper or better known) competitors’? Or why should people read your information and take your advice instead of information on another website?
• What’s the reason you’re offering these products/services or information, besides making money?

Once you have these thoughts, combine them with keyword research. What questions does your audience ask search engines? What words to they use. These should rise to the top of your positioning.

State Your Position

Give your positioning statement front-and-center placement on your website. This is usually well placed on the home page. There may be other places that make sense as well. This is your chance to grade the visitor’s attention and tell them why they are in the right place.

Reinforce your positioning throughout the website. Every page should support your website goal. That’s how you build a connection that makes a visitor stay, and moves them from awareness to purchase.