We are all looking at websites on a regular basis these days as a part of our everyday life, but have you reviewed your own website lately from a user's perspective to check that it is compelling to your audience?

To improve your website’s performance and usability you must have some idea of its current performance and be able to identify issues which may impact on search engine rankings and user experience (usability). The following is a basic list of what should be included in your website review:

1. Check how many pages are cached with Google. This can be achieved by typing the following into the Google search bar - site:(followed by your domain name). The resulting pages will list all pages within your website that are currently cached with Google. The more the better!
2. Check how many links you have listed with Google by typing the following into the Google search bar - link:(followed by your domain name). This will list all the sites that you have linked.
3. Content check. Does all your content makes sense and flow easily throughout the page and contain enough keywords to ensure maximum uptake from the search engines?
4. Have you created text links on your pages to allow users to quickly click through to content that interests them?
5. Are all your images clear and optimised to the search engines?
6. Are the sales-based messages on your website compelling and do they sell the right message based on the page they are on? Remember softer calls to action are common on the home page and more compelling calls to action are ideal on product pages such as 'Buy Now'.
7. Check your PR (page rank). If you do not know how to do this, download the Google toolbar and it will show you the PR on every page you visit. The higher your page rank the more Google respects your website and its content.
8. Does your website load fast enough, not sure? Try this tool - http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze. It is vital these days to have a fast loading website as Google penalises websites with pages that load slowly.
9. Check that you have page titles, meta data and keywords listed in every page of your website and that they contain keywords, and are pertinent to the page that they are listed on!
10. Is the sales funnel clear on your website? If one of your goals is to gather new subscribers to your eNewsletter then have you created enough interest and reason for the user to subscribe. If the purpose is to sell a product, have you given the user enough information for them to be able to make an informed choice? Do you have a live chat facility or FAQ's section to answer users' queries?
11. Check your Statistics to see where your sales funnel may be failing you and review those pages to understand why users are abandoning at that point.

There are many other aspects to consider. The above is intended to provide a high level review of a website and is not focused on any particular industry or user demographic. For a full indepth review and analysis of your website including user trending, geographics, demographics and marketing information, contact your Aspedia consultant today. This information is invaluable for any web-based business to be successful.