The New Year is always a time for change, and this year is no different. 2017 is the beginning of a new era. You and your business must be ready to keep up with the changes as they occur and stay ahead of the new trends. Therefore, it is essential to assess your most important marketing tool, your website, and make sure it is ready to keep up with the changes this year and to come.

The Necessities

Over the past five years, the Internet has changed dramatically. More importantly, online marketing and the way in which people use the web has changed. The world has become a mobile place. Everyone and everything needs to be available on the go at the touch of a screen. Whether you are looking to work with other businesses, senior citizens, or the teenage generation, no two customers use the web in the same manner. Therefore, your website needs to be ready for every type of user.

Two key issues which must be evaluated in 2017 to make sure your website is working for you is its responsiveness and its SEO strategy. Your website must be mobile friendly, or what is called responsive in today’s terminology. The trend in the upcoming year is that being responsive is directly linked to your SEO and the more responsive your website is, the higher your SEO rank will be. However, that is not the only key feature for SEO. In the upcoming year, utilizing social media and condensing your data appear to be other key points that aid in increasing SEO. As you analyze your website to see if it is ready for the New Year, evaluate these key points to determine if you have any issues that require immediate attention.

The Wish List

The second part of your analysis should be the wish list pieces. These pieces are helpful to help increase your visibility and improve your user experience. However, they are not necessities if they don’t occur. The wish list is related to how your site looks. This includes whether you have a sleek, modern design that keeps up with the way in which the web has changed over the past few years. While this may appear superficial, it is actually more important than most people realize. While design aesthetics may not affect SEO, they will impact the effectiveness of the website. An outdated website that looks like it has not been touched in years will lose the interest of the reader quickly. Your products are updated regularly to keep up with the changing market. As a result, your website should be updated as well. Your website is your number one marketing tool. All other marketing drives traffic back to your website. If it looks antiquated, so do you and your business.

If you are ready to analyze your website for the New Year, contact the marketing experts at Skol Marketing at (612) 787-7565. They will be able to help you conduct a proper analysis and make the necessary changes to your website to help you stay relevant.