What’s The Purpose Of Your Web Site?

I’ve been spending a lot of time this month updating the web page for my financial planning business.  I’ve decided to move it completely across to WordPress using the Headway theme.  This should help me with the SEO, and makes it a lot easier for me to add extra pages when I need to.

I’ve also been speaking with a couple of other financial planners about web sites.  Usually the conversation goes something like this:

• They start off by telling me they have an existing web site but they don’t like it.  Usually this is a templated web site provided by the financial planning business they’re associated with.
• They want to build a web site that’s more personalised.
• If they do this, they’ll magically get more clients overnight.

I then have to explain to them that it’s not that easy!

I’ve learnt a lot over the past three years about marketing on the internet.  I’ve set up a few blogs, and worked hard to get my financial planning website ranking well for certain keywords. But getting traffic to your site is only one piece of the puzzle.

When people come to your site, what do you want them to do?

This comes back to the post title – What is the purpose of your web site? When I ask planners this question, many of them can’t answer it.

When it comes to my financial planning website, I know exactly what the purpose of the site is and what I want people to do.

The web site exists for two reasons:

1. To stay connected with existing clients and pass on information to them.
2. To provide potential new clients with enough information on our business so they pick up the phone and call me to make an appointment.

So when people come to our website, our phone number is very prominently displayed on every page.  At the end of every article is a call to action, suggesting that they call us to make an appointment.  The website message is geared around providing information, but encouraging people to take the next step and contact me.

That’s Plan A. Plan B comes into play of people don’t want to pick up the phone at that point. If people don’t want to make an appointment, that’s fine, but I’d like to be able to keep in touch with them.  To do this I have a sign-up box on every page for our Aweber email list. When people sign up we’ll send them regular, topical information that helps them learn more about our business. As they learn more about us, hopefully they’ll get in touch with us when they’re ready to get financial advice.

But the important thing is that the web site provides relevant content to our readers. And they can see that it’s updated regularly so they need to come back.

So when I speak with financial planners about their websites, I want to know what the purpose of their site is. A site built to generate leads could look very different to one that’s aimed at existing clients.

So what’s the purpose of your web site?

Are you blogging because you enjoy it, and just want to share information with people.  Profit may not be your main goal.

On the other hand are you trying to make a living from blogging and marketing on the internet?  The purpose of your web site may be quite different.

There’s no one ‘right’ answer – it’s whatever is right for you.  The important thing is to take the time to decide on why your website exists.

Leave a comment below and let me know what the purpose of your website is.

Similar Posts:

• How Do You Create Value?
• Who Is Your Target?
• How To Be Different From Everyone Else
• Finding a Niche – My Story
• A Blog Marketing Plan – Do You Need One?

About Allan Ward

Allan lives in Adelaide, South Australia with his wife and two boys. He is the founder of Blogger Business Plan and loves helping bloggers learn how to transform their blogs from hobbies into sustainable businesses.
When he's not blogging or working in his financial planning business, you'll find Allan playing guitar, reading or coaching his son's soccer team.