With HubSpot’s popular ‘State of Inbound’ annual survey showing that 55% of companies state that growing traffic to their website is their top priority for the next twelve months, the competition online is sure to get tougher.

Whether your website is failing to deliver, or you think it has more potential than it is currently offering up, the tips below can help ensure that your site is fighting fit, and make the most of your B2B website.

1 – What is your website’s purpose?

Whether it’s becoming a driving force for ecommerce sales, an effective customer service tool, or an introduction to the services your company can offer – the best websites have a clear purpose, and this is at the heart of everything from design to content.

Having a clearly defined strategy behind your website will help ensure it works effectively for your business for years to come and really resonates with your target market, encouraging them to take specific actions in-line with your marketing and business goals.

2 – Think about your visitor journey

Once you understand the purpose of your website the next consideration is how people will be using your site. If you’re giving information does one piece of content flow easily to the next? Do you have relevant calls to action for visitors? Can people easily find key information and navigate around your site?

It is also worth looking at when people are visiting your website and factoring that into the different features. For instance, while it can be helpful to have a live customer service chat feature, if most of your customers are visiting your site during the evenings when the feed isn’t manned, is it still worth having or would a request a call-back option be more practical?

3 – Make ALL of your site mobile

Whilst most companies have now got the message that the majority of people access websites via mobile, and so sites need to be responsive, there are still key areas to consider to ensure your site is truly mobile-friendly.

Can people click to call your contact number or send an email, or does it require visitors to copy and paste? Do forms on your site have mobile-friendly versions? Are videos easily accessed without complicated additional Java downloads?

Anything that requires additional work for your customers can be off-putting so ensuring your site’s user experience is as smooth and hassle-free as possible will stand you in great stead.

4 - Give (knowledge) to receive (data capture)

While we're sure you’re familiar with the idea of handing over some basic details (name, business title, email address) in exchange for some free content, it can be a tricky line to tread. You need to leave enough easily accessible information to achieve your online aims while ensuring the protected content is ‘juicy’ enough to justify handing over precious personal information, usually for additional marketing purposes.

The key to success is understanding which content is most valuable to your audiences - and often it’s about taking your brand out of the equation. Rather than key messages about your business, think about what people would want to understand about your industry; whether it’s a whitepaper on the problem your company helps other businesses solve, a series of e-books that offer practical tips, or downloadable templates. Offering your target audience with relevant and useful content that will support their business goals means they will be much happier about providing you with their contact and company information – but remember that your data needs to comply with the upcoming GDPR regulations.

5 – Learn to love analytics

Many would argue that pouring over reams of data can be time-consuming and not the most exciting of tasks – we disagree! There is a wealth of data to be mined from analytics; from seeking out new potential markets to understanding the effectiveness of marketing campaigns to discovering pinch-points that are driving customers away from your website.

Taking the time to understand the stories behind the stats can help your business to flourish.

Following our tips can help make your website an important part of your 2018 marketing strategy – to find out more about why a great web presence is so vital, please contact our digital experts on 0191 499 8415 or request a call back.