These days as technology becomes more sophisticated, user-friendly, and adaptable, companies are judged more and more on the appearance and functionality of their websites. That’s a big deal for your bottom line, since 80 percent of buyers conduct online research before making a purchase. And many are apparently losing their patience. Some studies indicate a website has seven seconds to capture a visitor’s interest, while others estimate 51 percent of online sales are lost to searchers who can’t find the content they need. Your website not only represents a visitor’s first impression of your company, it might also be playing the virtual part of salesman or customer service rep. All in all, you’re missing the relationship with users if you’re not using all marketing elements of your website to their full capacity. When it comes to your website marketing, consider these 8 crucial questions: 1) Is your site mobile-friendly? Responsive website is a basic need of today's business. Responsive website design and development guarantees a website will look good across mobile devices, tablets, and computers of all types. The number of mobile device users worldwide surpassed 1.9 billion last year, a Google study shows 96 percent of consumers have encountered sites not designed with mobile in mind, with 48 percent expressing annoyance. Conversely, 74 percent of mobile users are more likely to return to a mobile-friendly site, and 67 percent are more likely to buy from it.So are you one of them who didn't have mobile – friendly site? 2) Is your social media driving sales, consumer relationships and/or brand recognition? Planning a social media campaign toward any or all of those goals is worthwhile because it’s free and effective. Sixty percent of adults use at least one social media platform, and Facebook alone topped more than 1.5 billion active users toward the end of 2015. Tailor your content to your audience, keeping in mind that research shows social media users most frequently follow brands for promotions/discounts, information on the latest products, customer service, entertaining content, and the ability to offer feedback—in that order. Other ideas you may not have considered include: posting promotional videos on Vine or YouTube, installing call-to-action buttons on Facebook posts, or inviting visitors to “Contact Us,” “Shop Now,” or “Sign Up.” 3) How’s your website SEO?In today’s competitive market SEO is more important than ever. Search engines serve millions of users per day looking for answers to their questions or for solutions to their problems. If you have a website, blog or online store, SEO can help your business grow and meet the business objectives. Search optimization paves the way for automatic web crawlers to find, read, and index your site and its content so search results send Internet users to you when they type in relevant keywords and phrases. SEO can be very technically involved or even as simple as tagging content correctly, with algorithms employing a number of factors, including number and prominence of keywords, HTML structure, headers, tags, meta descriptions, photo titling, internal and external links, mobile friendliness, whether crawlers can find your location, and the popularity of your website and social media content. In general, experts suggest identifying which search engines are most important to your industry (Angie’s List? TripAdvisor?) and focusing on improving your rank there. Local searches are of primary importance, since they convert to a sale twice as often. Note that 66 percent of consumers who search for a store via computer (and 75 percent who search via smartphone) end up visiting a store within five miles. 4) Are you taking full advantage of email marketing? This category can be an art and science unto itself. Recent data reveals 73 percent of marketers feel email marketing is core to their business, while other sources report it generates a hefty $38 ROI for every dollar spent. In general, experts recommend a targeted email campaign striking a balance between 80 percent educational content and 20 percent self-promotional content. Consider contests, giveaways, or coupons for visitors and subscribers, a regular newsletter that links to content on your site, and/or link buttons on emails with calls to action like “Shop now” or “Take our survey.” 5) Does your online marketing coordinate well with your other marketing? The best cross-marketing campaigns are strategically planned to integrate the messages and brand reinforcement you send to the stratosphere via your website, social media, email, traditional mail, and brick-and-mortar business. Using multiple sources to share your message increases the odds of customers hearing it. 6) Is your site easy to navigate? Studies show 49 percent of business websites fail to comply with basic usability principles, but multiple methods can ensure easy navigation to make perusal of your site more pleasant. The 10 must-have website pages are your home page, “about us” page, and those addressing your services, products, FAQ, testimonials, contact info, privacy policy, newsroom, and portfolio of work. Common problems include slow downloads, overcrowding, key info that’s time-consuming to reach, blinding colors, unreadable text, faulty or confusing links, faulty registration forms, unwieldy animation, and annoying pop-ups that get in the way. If you haven’t already, you might want to switch to a content management system (CMS) that allows you to arrange content without messing with code. 7) How’s your content? Good content is what sets your website apart from the masses and delivers the right message into the hearts and minds of your customers. The success of your website is determined primarily by its content. Bottom line, it needs to be relevant to your audience if your ultimate goal is growing initial contacts into profitable online relationships. Shoot for helpful information sources. Keep in mind that potential customers are busy and tend to scan content quickly, making headings, large type, bold text, highlighted text, bulleted lists, graphics, and captions all good ideas. Ultimately, content wins the wallets of your customers 8) How appealing is your overall design? And does it convey the right message? Conversion rates are proven to be affected by navigation, wording, and color, and other design elements including too much or too little copy, bad photos, and overcrowding can also significantly impact whether viewers trust your company. “Choose an overall theme that gives you the ‘feeling’ you want your site to have,” advises creative web producer Andy Hayes. “Should it feel bright and open? Should it feel cozy and warm, like a cafe? Should it feel confident, professional and strong? Look for colors and fonts that help reinforce that feeling.” Among other disadvantages, bad design can also thwart smartphone users, deflect cross-marketing efforts, and mess with your SEO. Though small business owners are notoriously busy, they’re missing out on valuable (and often inexpensive) tools if they don’t include online marketing in their promotional strategy. With today’s lightning-fast changes in technology, it’s wise to schedule a regular gut check addressing these questions.