The Ultimate Guide To Website Management

The advantage of having a website is that it allows your business to be open 24/7. Potential clients could be sending you inquiries or reading your content. The e-portal checkout counter could be ringing in sales. These clients and customers could be anywhere in the world. All of these activities could be happening while you’re sleeping.

But what would happen if users aren’t happy with your website because it’s not functioning properly? Or if for some reason, your website went down? Worse, if the technical issue occurred because your website was hacked?

These are issues and incidents that could potentially cause you to lose opportunities for income and your business reputation irreparably damaged because confidential data was stolen from your website.

You’ll also be exposed to class-action lawsuits from customers who will make you legally accountable for losing their personal information.

Your entrepreneurial dream can become a nightmare overnight unless you have proper website management services in place.

What Is Website Management?

Website management is a comprehensive system composed of processes and actions intended to maintain a professional-looking website that functions optimally and contributes to a safe and memorable User Experience (UX).

The processes and actions that form part of the website management system include features tasked to update software programs/plugins, design elements, content strategies, security protocols, and search engine visibility to name a few.

Why Website Management Is Important For Small Businesses And Entrepreneurs

A website provides you with an Internet-based hub to capture potential revenue-generating opportunities, a platform to build your brand, and to promote your services.

Likewise, a website affords you a means to run a business efficiently because it streamlines monthly expenses while allowing it to remain open 365 days a year.

However, as discussed earlier, the consequences of having your website shut down unexpectedly or improperly functioning can be catastrophic for your business.

Thus, it’s important for small businesses and entrepreneurs to sign up for website management services to protect their businesses and maximize returns on their investments.

To be clear, small businesses and entrepreneurs should sign up for professional website management services. Some entrepreneurs might decide to hire a freelancer or go the DIY route to lower the cost of website management.

Sure there are talented freelancers in the market who might be able to do the job. But what happens if your contracted freelancer becomes inundated with work and has too many clients to manage? Or what if your freelancer becomes unavailable because he’s sick or on a vacation?

A professional website design agency has the resources to make sure your website’s needs are covered all the time. Workroom has a team of professional website designers and developers, SEO experts, content writers, and graphic artists at your disposal.

And as an entrepreneur or small business owner, your time is best allocated to the core functions of your business – the day-to-day activities that add dollars and cents to your bank account.

Even if you’re a technology wizard with the requisite training and credentials for web design, to improve productivity, it would be best to leave website management duties to an agency that has the reputation, resources, and talent to keep your website protected and running smoothly.

The Role Of Website Management In Driving Traffic And Sales

Entrepreneurs invest in websites to help their businesses generate more sales. For the website to ring in more sales, it must receive more traffic or visits from potential customers.

But this is easier said than done.

A website isn’t a “Field of Dreams”. Just because you’ve built it, doesn’t mean “they” – meaning your potential customers – will come. You’ll have to put in the work to drive traffic to your website.

The higher the volume of visitor traffic to your website, the higher the probability of getting a sale.

What does “the work” entail?

First, your website must be found on the Internet. This means having your website optimized for the search engines so that it can be found by the crawl bots, indexed, and included in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).

Second, once someone lands on your website, its overall aesthetic design, functionality, content, and features must convince him to stay.

The website must comply with the ranking factors of Google’s algorithm – such as mobile responsiveness, fast download time, navigability, unique content, SSL certificates, and site security to name a few – to ensure excellent UX for its visitors.

To do this, the website management team will make sure the plugins of your website, its built-in programs, and its content are updated. Likewise, old and unused plugins will be removed to close out all possible entry points of cyber-criminals.

Third, the website is beautiful. Professional website designers are updated with current design trends. They want to make sure your website isn’t only functional but also visually appealing to your audience.

The good news is, you don’t have to do “the work”. All you have to do is sign up for website management services.

The Key Elements Of Website Management

As you’ve read from the preceding section, website management involves a series of processes that are intended to address a website’s key elements – content management, SEO, security and maintenance, and analytics and tracking.

In this section, we’ll discuss what these key elements are, why they’re important to the success of your website, and how a website management team would handle these areas of responsibility.

Content Management

Effective communication is an important component of business success. Content is your business’ way of communicating with its audience.

Through content, you’re able to answer your target market’s questions, promote your brand, foster long-term and sustainable relationships with your customers, generate leads, build trust, and increase sales conversions.

To deliver the desired results, you must consistently deliver high-quality content to your audience.

What are the characteristics of high-quality content? Your content must be:

• Fresh and Unique
• Useful
• Informative
• Actionable
• Engaging
• Compelling

Creating high-quality content is not an easy task. It takes time, effort, and patience to come up with material that meets the criteria of high-quality content.

If you want to know what goes into the creative process, here are our tips on how to create, curate, organize, and manage content effectively:

1. Identify Your Goals – There are different types of content to meet your business goals. Explainer videos are great for introducing your business and its products. Short-form blogs are effective for generating leads while long-form blogs can give your brand reputation a big boost.
2. Write For Your Audience – Write about topics your audience is searching for because that’s where their interests lie. Also, avoid using technical jargon. A good rule to follow is to write for a six-year-old.
3. Conduct Top-Level Research – The backbone of content is research. Spend time researching the topic, updated and relevant data, and the best keywords to make your content searchable on the Internet.
4. Create Structure – At its most basic, the content structure must have an introduction, a body or main section, and a conclusion. Organize these areas into headers and sub-headers to present the information in the most articulate manner and to establish a better flow of ideas.
5. Establish a QA Tier – To assure the audience of quality content, run it through multiple levels of QA checking. Review your work frequently. Evaluate its tone and language. Then, run it through software to check grammar and spelling as well as for uniqueness.
6. Perform a Content Audit – The great thing about content in the age of the Internet is that you can always reuse it. All you have to do is to update the information. But which ones should you update?

First, organize your content in a spreadsheet. Create a column per key category such as title, author, number of words, date published, and date last modified.

Then, include columns that provide data analytics like page views and average time per page. Finally, add columns that indicate actions taken. For example, “Updated – Y/N”, “Accurate – Y/N”, and “Notes”.

Performing an audit will help you keep track of which types of content are generating the highest levels of engagement and producing the best results. By doing so, you can manage your budget efficiently and allocate funds to types of content that generate the highest returns.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The basic definition of SEO is that it’s a system of processes, tools, techniques, and tactics designed to help your content get found on the Internet by search engines.

Web crawlers can find and index content by scouring the Internet for keywords. A person who wants to find the best Italian restaurant in Madison city would type in the keywords, “best italian restaurant in madison city” and launch the query.

Within micro-seconds, Google will present the first page SERP that ranks the URLs containing the keywords “best italian restaurant in madison city”.

It’s important to note that the number 1 position on the first page of the SERP accounts for 27.6% of all clicks. Consider that the top 3 positions already account for 54.4% of all clicks. Therefore, the drop-off from the number 1 position is quite significant.

The higher the search rankings, the higher the volume of traffic to your website. Consequently, the higher the probability of generating a sale.

This is why you need SEO!

As described, SEO involves different processes, tools, techniques, and tactics. Keyword research is just one of them although it’s widely regarded as the cornerstone of SEO.

Other tricks of the SEO trade include:

1. Link Building
2. Guest Posting
3. Social Media Marketing
4. Forum Posting
5. Registering your business in online search directories

The aforementioned SEO tactics are called “off-page” SEO techniques. We also need to utilize on-page or technical SEO techniques that identify areas in the front and back-end development of your website that need to be optimized properly.

A short list of popularly used on-page SEO techniques include:

1. Title Tags
2. Headers
3. Meta Descriptions
4. Image Alt-Text
5. Structured Data
6. Internal Linking
7. Mobile Responsiveness
8. Site Speed

An SEO professional uses a variety of tools to optimize a website and to track and monitor its performance. The SEO toolbox is packed with various software programs that are tasked to handle specific areas of responsibility.

Here is a list of some of the most commonly used SEO tools and resources:

• Google Search Console – Find out the best keywords to use in your content, identify pages that have crawling errors, measure your site’s level of mobile-friendliness, and learn where your pages are ranking with Google.
• UpCity SEO Report Card – Using data-based analysis, find out how your website is competing against other websites in your industry.
• Google Trends – Discover what people are searching for; learn the best long-tail keywords to use for your content, and compare trends over the years.

Other popular SEO tools include SEOlyzer (site analysis), SEOquake (link analysis), SEOability (SEO compliance checker), and BROWSEO (UX analysis).

Security and Maintenance

Your website stores your business assets including confidential information from your clients and customers. In addition, your business website is your conduit to customers.

Cybercriminals can install malware that can target anyone who visits your website. Without high-level website security protocols, instead of converting interested prospects into paying customers, you’ve unwittingly turned them into victims of cybercrime.

But the nightmare doesn’t end there. For you, the business owner, things might take a turn for the worst:

• Your business brand will be tarnished
• Your reputation will be irreparably damaged
• Your customers will leave you
• Your customers might file a class action lawsuit against your business
• Your business might never recover

According to a study by Patchstack, cyber attacks occur every 39 seconds. The year 2021 saw a 150% increase in the number of cyber-attacks compared to 2020.

It’s a foot race between IT security experts and cybercriminals. The good guys will try to stay a step ahead of the bad guys. That’s why you should never get complacent when it comes to website security.

Here are 10 tips on how to protect your website from hackers:

1. Keep your security software updated.
2. Update frequently used plugins.
3. Remove plugins that are no longer used.
4. Get SSL Certificates for your website.
5. Change your passwords frequently.
6. Limit administration access to your website.
7. Frequently clear your cache.
8. Run malware checks daily.
9. Don’t click on suspicious emails or links.
10. Run site backups every day.

As an entrepreneur, you won’t have time to carry out these tasks even if some of them can be automated. Your best option is to sign up for website maintenance services.

All of these site security and maintenance activities – and more – will be carried out while you focus on the core functions of your business.

Analytics and Tracking

Arguably, the biggest advantage of a website is having access to analytical tools that allow you to track the performance of your website.

Analytics provide you with data that shows if your current strategies are performing; if these processes are delivering the desired results and information that helps you understand the online behavior of your customers and site visitors.

With data in hand, you can pinpoint which strategies are working and which ones aren’t. You’ll have empirical evidence to support courses of action intended to improve performance and streamline costs.

If you were doing business during the pre-Internet era, it was hard to measure the ROI on marketing. Because of analytics, you’ll be able to manage your budget more efficiently and get more out of your digital marketing efforts.

There are many web analytics tools to choose from. Some of these are free tools while others require a monthly subscription. Keep in mind that with the free version, the features will be limited.

Here’s our list of the best web analytics tools in the market:

1. Google Analytics – The consensus #1 pick because for a web analytics tool that won’t cost you a cent, it carries a lot of useful features.
2. Hubspot – A web analytics tool that allows you to build your setup as you become more proficient.

Start with the free CRM to keep track of your leads as they move along the sales funnel. Then, slowly add other tools to the mix such as marketing and sales.

3. MixPanel – If you own an e-commerce site, MixPanel is the web analytics tool for you. MixPanel focuses on the performance of each product and identifies key behaviors that influence a customer’s purchasing decision.

The free version has limited features and subscriptions start at US$20 per month.

4. Google Optimize – Another free Google tool that works well with Google Analytics. Google Optimize allows you to run A/B tests to determine which of your options has the highest probability of producing the best results.
5. SEMRush – SEMRush is popularly used as a keyword research tool. You can extract the keywords your competitors are using and find out which ones are generating traffic.

Knowing what these keywords are will help you come up with an effective content marketing strategy.

You don’t have to be an IT professional to appreciate and understand how web analytics works and how these tools can benefit your business.

Here are some basic tips on which web analytics data to look for and how to interpret them.

• Pageviews – The number of times a web page has been viewed. It gives you an idea of which pages are popular with your site users.
• Unique Pageviews – Unlike Pageviews, Unique Pageviews measure the number of times a page was viewed by a new site visitor.
• Sessions – Tracks the activities that are undertaken by site visitors on your website within a particular time frame.
• Traffic Sources – Lets you know where your site visitors are coming from – organic search, referrals, social media, email, or direct traffic.
• Bounce Rate – Measures the percentage of visitors that leave your web page. A high bounce rate or any number above 70% isn’t good and is a signal that some elements of the web page are turning off visitors. A bounce rate under 40% is considered good.

Before reviewing your website’s analytics, revisit your business objectives and re-align your analysis with the metrics that are relevant to these objectives.

For example, if you want to build your brand, enhance your online reputation or increase the rate of sales conversion, you might want to keep people longer on your website and focus on its bounce rate.

If you want to target specific markets, you should put a special focus on traffic sources and unique pageviews.

Keep an open mind when analyzing data. Don’t get discouraged or feel distraught if data paints a picture of your business that isn’t as rosy as you thought. What you need to remember is that now you have an empirical basis – numbers – to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your online strategies.

Sometimes the message is correct but wasn’t properly received or perceived by the intended recipient. A little tweaking of the strategy map might be all you need to get the best results.

Summary: Advanced Tips And Strategies For Effective Website Management

We said this guide would be “the Ultimate” and we worked hard to give you all the information you need to thoroughly understand why website management is important for your online business.

To keep your newfound knowledge fresh in your mind, we’ve rounded up all the key points we’ve discussed and created a summary of our advanced tips and strategies for effective website management.

1. Setting Clear Goals and Objectives

What do you want your content strategy to accomplish? Setting your goals and objectives establishes the direction of your content strategy. Make sure these goals and objectives and clear, realistic, and well-defined.

2. Creating a Content Plan

Always keep in mind that you’re creating content for your audience.

Find out what interests are as well as their needs and concerns and create a content plan that delivers fresh, updated, well-researched, and relevant information.

Remember that for your content to be found by your audience, it must be optimized for search engines.

3. Regularly Maintaining and Updating Your Website

You’ve invested in building a website for your business. It stores your assets and valuable data.

For your investment to yield dividends, you must regularly maintain and update your website to make sure it functions optimally and to protect it from getting hacked or compromised by cyber-criminals.

4. Utilizing Tools and Resources to Streamline the Process

The Internet is packed with tools and resources you can use to manage your website. You can find tools for optimizing your website, enhancing security protocols, and analyzing its performance.

5. Improving User Experience (UX)

To ensure the continued success of your website, you must stay committed to improving User Experience (UX).

Consumers aren’t patient and will abandon the search if your website is stressing them out rather than providing immediate solutions.

Likewise, Google will penalize you in the search rankings if its analysis shows your website doesn’t offer a memorable UX.

6. Managing Social Media and Online Reputation

The Internet has given rise to platforms that you can use to market and promote your business and its brand. However, it can be a double-edged sword.

Unhappy customers can give your business unfavorable reviews. Irresponsible posts can damage your reputation. Develop a digital marketing strategy that will effectively manage your social media presence and online reputation.

As discussed in #2, create a content plan. This includes not only the creation of fresh content but a process of addressing negative reviews and comments.

7. Integrating Email Marketing Into Your Website Management Plan

Email marketing is a process that has been proven to deliver the desired results for brand building and improving sales conversions. It has the highest ROI of all digital marketing tools – US$36 for every US$1 spent!

Integrating email marketing into your website management plan allows you to capitalize and eventually monetize the leads that your digital marketing efforts have generated.

8. Leveraging Content Marketing to Drive Traffic and Sales

Search is the #2 activity on the Internet; just a few percentage points off “to send or read email” for the pole position.

People are frequently searching for information that will give them the best solutions, recommendations, or references. As you’ve read, creating high-quality content is hard work and takes time.

But if you’re diligent with your content creation strategy, you’ll be able to leverage content marketing to drive traffic to your website and boost sales.

Last Updated on November 8, 2024