With so many easy to use website design tools available, creating a website can be as easy as point and click.  Or is it?  The problem that many webmasters face today is ensuring their website is both user-friendly and appealing in order to attract the right audience.  

So, what is the right audience?

The right audience are the individual visitors that will most likely find your website relevant, useful and of value to them.

Here are the top 5 attributes that you can use as action steps to make your website more useful to its target audience:

Number 1: Website Deals

Everybody likes a great deal.  Your visitors are more likely to respond to offers that are valuable to them.  A great way to achieve this is to consider a joint venture with a website that offers products or services that are complementary to yours, but is not a direct competitor.  This will enable you to offer your visitors a valuable deal that is truly unique to your website.  Eventually, your deal will get stale.  Therefore, you need to ensure your offers are always fresh and exciting to keep visitors coming back for more. Ever wonder why Groupon was so successful?  It’s because they continue to provide new deals to their subscribers on a regular basis.

Number 2: Web User Interface and Experience (UI/UX)

Websites that provide a great user experience are those that incorporate user-friendly navigational elements that make it easy for visitors to explore a website.  In addition to a sitemap that helps search engines find their way around your website, use SEO friendly text links in the footer of each web page that link visitors to major content areas of your website.  

To improve search engine rankings, limit advertising so that it takes up no more than 20-30% of the real estate on your web pages and keep them below the fold.  Too many ads above the fold often result in lower rankings.  
The deeper your visitors go and the longer they stay on your website, the more likely they will be to take the desired action whether it be signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase.

Number 3: Mobile Friendly Websites

A growing number of individuals are using smart phones and tablets as their primary computing device.  In fact, two-thirds of those that responded to a Google survey in 2012 indicated that they would be more likely to make a purchase from a mobile friendly site.  

There are pros and cons to either adding a responsive design to an existing website or creating a separate website specifically for mobile browsers.  The problem with responsive design is that the content is automatically reduced to fit inside the browser’s smaller window of smart phone and tablet devices.  Websites that use this technique can have potential issues with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) when required legal disclaimers become too small to be legible.  

On the other hand, creating a stand alone mobile website enables you to present your website in a mobile friendly format that gives users the ability to make choices quickly and easily with any required legal jargon remaining in normal type.  

Number 4: Relevant Web Content

The most difficult part about keeping your website fresh and interesting on a regular basis is creating content that will be appealing to site visitors and build trust over time.  

Consider creating content about trending topics that are relevant to your website. This can be accomplished by hiring a professional writer or researching news articles and other well known industry insiders for inspiration and give your readers your unique perspective.

Once you nail this you will have a constant flow of new and repeat visitors that are anxious to digest and share the content you are providing while building credibility. By analyzing which content gets shared the most, you will gain a better understanding of the type of content your audience finds most relevant to them.

Number 5: Targeted Landing Pages

Depending upon your website objectives, you will need to create one or more targeted landing pages.  These landing pages should focus on a specific offer relating to your product or service that will supply your sales funnel with qualified website leads or direct sales.  In addition, you will need to design each landing page to appeal to your targeted audience.  Including a short video on the landing page that illustrates the benefits of your offer can significantly increase your sales and opt-ins.  Many website owners have reported up to a 50% increase in conversions when they used a video on their landing page.

Now that you know the top 5 attributes to make your website more useful its time for you to consider implementing some or all of them on your website.  After all, with no action there can be no reaction.