Question #1: Does your website homepage feature ratings from third parties, like Google and Facebook?

  • Not on our website homepage.
  • Logos displayed
  • Displayed and linked to our profiles
  • Displayed, linked, and rating shown

Establishing trust is absolutely critical to the success of a small business. When a potential customer comes to your website they want to know two things. Can you do what I need done, and can I trust you?

Does your website homepage make it clear the kind of work you do?

  • Not Really
  • Small text somewhere
  • Big text for major categories
  • Big text and eye-catching imagery

When a potential customer comes to your website they need to know if you can even potentially solve their problem.

Is your service area clear on the front page of your website?

  • Not mentioned
  • It's on there somewhere
  • It's on the homepage
  • Big text or map on homepage

For locally-focused micro-businesses, it's easy to forget that just because they came to your website doesn't mean you want to drive to their state and help them!

What does your website say about your people?

  • Website says almost nothing
  • A blurb or a short About page
  • Blurb on homepage plus an About page
  • Blurb, about page, and owner or team photos too

As a micro-business, there's no getting around the fact that you have a small team. In fact, you should embrace personal relationships as a competitive advantage against the big guys!

Does your website say why you're different?

  • It doesn't say
  • It says customer service
  • It says experience
  • It says training
  • We clearly target a unique niche
  • We show off an unusual advantage or guarantee

To really go far, you've got to stand out from the crowd. You've got to know why your best customers love you and then show it off!

Community Involvement

  • It's not on our website
  • It's there but not specific
  • We mention specific events or organizations
  • We include logos and details

Are you involved with the community or charity causes? Even if it's small, it matters!

Does your website feature links over to your profiles or even a feed of your recent Facebook or Instagram posts?

  • Social Media Icons that don't work
  • Nothing on our website
  • Icons that are linked correctly
  • Icons and at least one feed

If you're doing all this, it's a shame to not give interested leads another easy way to interact or support you.

FAQs

  • Not on our website
  • Less than five
  • Several with short answers
  • Short answers with links to long answers

These are usually sales questions you get from an interested customer.

Call To Action (CTA)

  • Not a single one
  • Only on the homepage
  • Most pages say "Call Now" or similar
  • Most pages have a customized CTA

Do most of the pages of your website guide the customer to some kind of "next step" - whether that's "read more", "signup for our newsletter", "schedule a callback" or something else?

Easy to Find Contact Info

  • Whoops...
  • It's easy to find
  • It's on every page
  • It's on every page and it's current

For emergency situation services like a plumber, it starts with a BIG phone number on the top of every page. For the rest of us, it just needs to be easy to find, probably on every page, and be carefully updated if it changes.

Website Secure

  • No
  • I'm Not Sure
  • Yes

If someone visits your website, do they see the gray lock icon that indicates a properly implemented, secure connection?

Mobile Friendly Website

  • I have to 'pinch-and-zoom' on a smartphone
  • It takes more than 3 seconds to load
  • It loads fast and is easy to use

Modern Design

  • It was designed over 10 years ago
  • It was designed over 5 years ago
  • It was designed within the last 5 years and looks modern
  • It's a modern design from the past 3 years

If the website looks old and outdated, that doesn’t make a great first impression on your customers – new or existing!