If you are like most people, you've pledged, whether enthusiastically or begrudgingly, a few New Years' resolutions for 2006. One resolution you may not have considered is improving your website results in the coming year. Think about it, how many of your resolutions have the real potential of adding to your bottom line? If your website isn't providing results, it's time for a change.

Align your site with your business objectives
If you're planning a site redesign, major update or revamp this year, take a holistic approach. Don't just update the look and feel--think about how your website can help you accomplish your business objectives. What is the purpose of your site? What is your site's primary goal? Are you trying to generate qualified leads, increase shareholder interest, educate and inform, better service existing customers, attract new employees or business partners, increase sales and performance? Each web page should have an underlying purpose/goal and a conspicuous call-to-action.

Optimize your site for the search engines
Your website will have little to no effect on your bottom line if your prospects can't find it. Ensure that you include search engine optimization and/or advertising in your annual Web budget. There is no better way to drive targeted qualified visitors to your website! In order to be successful, search engine optimization, performance measurement and tuning need to become constants in your site development and maintenance process.

Optimize your site for your customers
Set aside a percentage of your annual Web budget to continually optimize, measure and tune your customer's experience. Make your site easy to use, clarify the unique value proposition and lead your prospects step-by-step to your calls-to-action. Focus on site usability issues, improving calls-to-action, effective customer-focused copy, opt-in subscription type funnels, increasing conversion rates and decreasing page and/or shopping cart abandonment rates.

Focus on your site's performance
Track, measure, and analyze your site's performance carefully. Understanding how visitors use your site will help you identify where you should spend your time. Focus on improving the performance of your key metrics. What are your conversion rates and how can you improve on them? Which pages are working? What copy needs to be tweaked? What content needs to go? What are you doing right? Spend your dollars on improving the underperforming areas.

Resolve to focus on website results in 2006! Concentrate on those areas with the greatest upside and largest effect on your bottom line!