By Alyse Speyer – Web Success Team Contributor

It’s that time of year again. Where we buckle down and make our resolutions for… a better and more effective website! Whatever your online marketing plans are for 2011, all roads point to capturing new leads and closing more sales. In order to do this, you must assess why your website isn’t capturing the leads that you want or, if you are getting leads, how to get more qualified leads.

Build an Experience

First, take a step back and review what creates a lead. Think about your products or services and write down what it is that truly makes them stand out above your competition. I call these USPs, or unique selling propositions. You should be able to outline at least five, short reasons as to why someone would want to buy your products or services. Use these points as a starting ground to create an experience for your website. This includes everything from pictures and layout to the tone of the copy on the site. What do your customers like about your product? Where do they click on your site? Why don’t they click on other pages on the site? Is the content consumer-focused?

Create a Conversion Path

One of the most common mistakes on websites is that they don’t have a clear conversion path. If you expect a consumer to take action, you must have a funnel in place to guide them to that action. Having a clear conversion path helps consumers more easily navigate your site to a purchase point and gives you a clear trail of data to where people abandon or click through. Additionally, the more data you collect on your consumers the better you can design your site for your target audience.

Be Found

If you aren’t getting a lot of traction for your website, then you need to reassess your marketing plans. First, is your site optimized for search? SEO is one of the most important aspects of online marketing. If search engines and users can’t find your site, then you’re in big trouble. Make sure you are using the right keywords, having users enter your site through one of your conversion paths.

Next consider your audience. Do your customers use smartphones? If so, then perhaps it’s time to make your website mobile-friendly. According to Nielson, 56.9 million people are using their phones to access the web. That’s a 34% increase since last year.

Resolution

In order to build your lead base, you must be able to look at your website from new eyes. What are your marketing goals for Web Success in 2011?

Alyse Speyer is an Content Strategist, Social Media Marketing Consultant, and a published poet. She has written on the topics of Online Marketing, Social Media, and Lead Generation for ClickZ, Visibility Magazine, and Women in Business Online Magazine. Alyse currently lives in San Francisco, CA.