Have You Prepared Your Website for an Uncertain 2021?

The uncertain economy we are all living with has put brands and organizations in a difficult position. On the one hand, many are looking for ways to save money and hold off on major upgrades until the path forward seems a little clearer. On the other hand, cutting back too far hurts their ability to market and generate donations, turning the worries they have into self-fulfilling predictions.

How can you walk that tight rope and keep costs down while still generating new opportunities to meet your goals in the coming year? In many cases, the answer is probably to pursue a smarter web strategy. After all, it’s much easier to leverage good ideas and small investments online.

With that in mind, here are a few tips you can use to prepare your business website for an uncertain 2021.

Make the Easy Upgrades

When the future looks cloudy, it’s best to start with the decisions you know will pay off in the future. There are some improvements and upgrades you can make to your website that cost very little and can generate both instant performance improvements and big returns in the future.

For example, auditing your website for technical errors, switching to a better hosting plan, and reviewing your plug-ins is always a good first step. Additionally, you might want to enhance mobile functionality to your key pages. These are easy decisions because they cost very little and the improvements are bound to help you no matter what the economy does next year. Find the best builder and move to next step.

Align Your Content with Your Strategy

You probably already have some ideas about what you’ll do to survive (or thrive) in the coming months. Are those reflected on your website? It’s astounding how many organizations put detailed plans into place and never change their web content – the one part of their organization that’s seen by thousands of people every month.

Review your website regularly to make sure it’s up to date and clearly reflects your messaging and goals. 

Whatever your ideas for 2021 look like, make sure they are reflected in your content strategy. Otherwise, you’ll be missing out on the most important piece of the sales and marketing puzzle.

Optimize Your PPC Campaigns

Pay-per-click advertising (or PPC for short) is an easy expense to take away when you aren’t sure what the future will hold. But, cutting back on online ads isn’t necessarily a smart move unless you’re desperate for cash. That’s because they work quickly to generate conversions, while also having the advantage of being very flexible (they can be changed in a matter of hours).

Rather than turning your ads off, why not ensure they are as effective as possible? You can optimize your campaigns by cutting off poorly-performing ads, refining your audience settings, refining your message, and split-testing varieties to see what buyers are responding to. All of these steps help you get a bigger payoff for your monthly spend.

Start Your Longer-Term Projects

If you’re like most of the organizations we meet with, you’ve probably put off some of your digital marketing activities again and again. You have certainly meant to get around to things like writing content for SEO and content marketing plan, organizing and growing your email list, or developing a social following, but you have run out of time, again and again.

Guess what? This is your perfect opportunity to re-start these projects and make them work. They might not pay off in a big way at first, but if you can stick with them, you’ll start seeing results in a few months. And then it won’t matter what 2021 brings, because you’ll be in better shape than ever before.

Refine Your Key Processes

Every organization has vital processes that are often repeated. Yet, many times, these essential tasks lack process. When a process isn’t followed, there’s a lack of consistency, things get overlooked and 

Need Help Putting Your Online Marketing Plan Together?

Years of successful work in this business have taught us that the key isn’t to just build stunning websites or engaging graphics – we help our clients to generate results they can see on the bottom line year after year. If you’re looking for a way forward in an uncertain economy and want cost-effective tactics that work, contact us today to schedule a free consultation!