Ask Nile: My Site is New. How Do I Figure Out if My Site is Doing Alright?

This Ask Nile post is about those who recently started a website. They asked, “My site is new. How do I figure out if my site is doing alright?”

Ask Nile: My Site is New. How Do I Figure Out if My Site is Doing Alright?

The first question is whether or not the website is actually producing a return on investment. I always ask what the website is about, what the target audience is, and what’s the website’s goal? If any of the information is missing, then that’s a key indicator that something is wrong. If you can’t give a clear and short summary about your website, identify your target audience, or tell me what your website’s goal may be, then your website is probably broken.

If you can answer all three questions, then you have to look deeper.

• Does your website actually indicate what it’s about?
• Do you have clear calls to action that are being clicked?
• Does your website actually cover the topics and keywords your site can properly be found?

Sure, when I ask someone the basics of their websites, most can rattle off information, but I’ve found that when I finally get a chance to look at a website (and this isn’t just a newbie website issue), that their website fails to tell me the information I need as a consumer or website visitor to make an educated decision on what to do while on the web page.

Your responsibility as the website owner, is to make sure to educate your visitors, and then give them a clear path on what is needed to obtain what they came for in the first place. If you cannot do either, then they will leave and probably never come back.

You certainly can create content all day, and you could bring in some organic traffic because of that information, but what can your visitor do with that information? The end goal is to get them to subscribe, engage, and buy on your website. And yes, my dear bloggers, you too should have an end goal of getting your people to subscribe, and engage on your website.

I see a lot of newbies that want to compare success or progress with other websites. Even if it is with another niche, stop comparing your success with others. Not everyone has the same exact goal, and often, they didn’t start at the same time.

Sure, you can look at others in your niche that have been doing well, but use it as a means of taking notes. Look at what they’re doing right, and see if you’re doing it too. Put a marketing plan into place, and adjust if you run into bumps. It may even mean updating your keywords by doing some keyword research in order to make sure you’re tackling the right topics.

If you can’t see or recognize what others are doing, see about getting a website review. A website review will delve into what your website needs, and how to fix the problem. Some, like the one I offer, even look into some websites in your niche to give a few suggestions that may even help your website gain results.

So, to figure out if your site is doing alright, start first with asking yourself if you’re actually getting any return on investment.

Is your website new? How have you determined if your site is doing alright?