It’s one of those chores that you put off as long as possible, but when completed, it feels so gratifying. By the end of a given season, my clothes are, shall we say, a little askew. What started as neat piles of turtleneck tops, for example, have migrated to other parts of the shelf, hidden under merino sweaters, tossed over cashmere cardigans – you get the picture.

I can’t say it’s the most efficient system – but there always seems to be competing priorities at the time.

However, if I did take the effort to “tidy things up” earlier in the season, it sure would be a lot more efficient.

I could find what I wanted when I wanted, ultimately saving time while creating a much more pleasant experience figuring out what to wear each morning.

When you think about it, there are a lot of similarities between clothes closets and websites. (Work with me on this one. I’ll explain.)

When prospective students come to your university website, you want to make sure they can find what they are looking for as quickly as possible and provide an exceptional user experience (UX). If not, they will quickly bounce off your site in search of answers to their questions on another (competitor) site.

Think about why they are coming to your website in the first place. They have questions. They are seeking a solution to their “problem” whether it’s to acquire qualifications in the job market, change careers, advance professionally, develop new skills, etc.

You want to show how your program can solve their “problem” and demonstrate that you understand their needs. The best way to convert a visitor into an inquiry and an inquiry into an applicant is to answer their questions while making the experience easy and enjoyable.

With all the tasks that come with the arrival of the new season (spring cleaning, planting flowers), now is an idea time to take an audit of your program website.

Ask:

• Is your website answering the questions that prospective students are seeking?
• Is it providing an exceptional user experience?

As part of your digital spring cleaning, here is a check list of chores.  You don’t have to do them all at once and I promise that the list is more fun than washing windows!

1. Determine the key audiences of your website (e.g., prospects, current students, alumni, faculty, employers). Make sure your website is catered to different student personas.
2. Interview focus groups of your target audiences to collect market intelligence and find out what information they are seeking from your website.
3. Look at the content to ensure it speaks to prospective students on an emotional level. Human beings make most purchase decisions emotionally first and then rationalize the decision second.
4. Address the barriers that need to be overcome through your messaging. Danny Szpiro, Dean of Executive Education at The Jack Welch Management Institute says that we need to address opportunity costs in the higher education buying process. What are we asking prospects to give up? Time with family? Time at work with colleagues? Money that would be spent on another purchase? Does your content speak to these hurdles and provide answers?
5. Optimize your website for searchers and search engines. Use keywords that focus on the problems that your student personas face and the goals you can help them achieve.
6. Go on to sites like Quora to see what questions prospective students are asking. You’ll gain some ideas for content that will resonate with prospects. Here are some business school examples:When is an MBA valuable?
   What is an MBA good for?
   Is an MBA worth it?
   Will an MBA help a tech career?
   What is the best MBA program in the world and why?
   What is the best MBA program in Europe (including the UK)?
   What are the best MBA programs to learn about venture capital?
   Which top-ranked MBA programs offer scholarships for students?Another idea is to look at the questions prospective students are asking on your social media channels as well as comments to digital media articles.
7. Look at your navigation bar and try to stay within 5-6 options. Don’t overwhelm. Read the paradox of choice in the famous jam study.
8. Make sure you lead with the most important content you want to convey on each page. Readers concentrate on the first two paragraphs and are more likely to place greater importance on the first points in a bulleted list.
9. Include compelling student, alumni, faculty, and employer testimonials for social proof that speak to all of your student personas.
10. Think about your call-to-action on each page. What do you want your visitor to do?
11. Add an inquiry form if you don’t have one already to capture leads and nurture them through a campaign until they are ready to apply. It often takes two months to several years for a prospective graduate student, for example, to be ready to apply. Don’t lose them to another competitor.
12. Be social. Add social media follow and share buttons on each page to expand reach.
13. Make sure your pages include compelling visuals. Humans process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. It’s worth noting given that readers tend to leave a web page within 10-20 seconds.  Visuals will help them stick around longer.
14. Find ways to present your information in new and interesting ways such as infographics.
15. Create blogs for fresh content that answers prospects questions, speaks to their goals, and communicates your value proposition. It also helps with SEO. Why? Blogging gives search engines a reason to crawl your website on a regular basis. Each blog post you write is viewed by search engines as its own individual website page. So the more quality posts you write, the more chances you have to show up on search engine result pages.
16. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly.
17. The most effective websites are the simplest. Is your design clean or cluttered? According to research, 76% of consumers say the most important factor in a website’s design is that ‘the website makes it easy for me to find what I want‘.
18. And speaking of simple, use language that is easily understood. Speak human to human.
19. Look at current website content from the perspective of a visitor. Accolades (including rankings) are important, but take the added step to show how they benefit the prospect. What do they matter to that person? Your website shouldn’t be all about “us”. Make it about “them”.

The good news is that many of these ideas don’t take that long to implement. Just one change can make a big difference in your website activity. And like planting that seed in your garden in early spring, your website can sprout new inquiries and applications in these remaining months before the fall harvest and new academic year.

What tips did I miss? Share your ideas below.