Consider a site that is not user-friendly, is repulsive to visitors, isn’t competitive, or is lacking a clear value proposition and the support required to respond to inquiries or follow up on leads. In other words, why would you spend time and energy driving traffic to a site no one wants to visit?

A website is not ready for SEO until you’ve determined the best use for your website. Most sites serve three functions—selling, educating and engaging—and each has the potential to work against the other. That’s why businesses should focus primarily on one of these website goals:

• Sales. Offering clearly packaged products and services for qualified buyers who are ready to make an immediate purchase.
• Education. Explaining features, benefits and concepts to visitors who are earlier in the buying process. But educate with care: It can also confuse and turn off a buyer who thought he knew what he wanted to buy in this case; too much educational content can actually hurt sales.
• Engagement. Building relationships by encouraging visitors to leave blog comments, sign up for newsletters, take surveys and the like. But be careful about spending resources on visitors who don’t have purchasing or influencing authority