Revisiting: What Your Website Should Be Doing (But Probably Isn’t)

In this Revisiting episode, Kristina talks about the role your website should actually play in helping your business grow — from building trust and improving visibility to guiding potential clients toward taking action.

If your website feels outdated, unclear, or like it’s not really working for your business, this conversation is still incredibly relevant.

Want more conversations like this? Find Kristina on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@kristinastubblefield

Transcript

Kristina Stubblefield: [00:00:00] your website should be doing more than just existing online. And honestly, this is one of the biggest conversations that I continue to have, especially with service-based businesses. So many business owners, they have a website, but they've never really stopped to ask what that website is actually doing for their business.

Is it helping people understand what you do? Is it building trust? Is it helping you get found online? Is it creating a clear next step for potential clients? As you may know, we recently passed the 300 podcast episode mark. So during the month of June, I'm revisiting some of the conversations that are still incredibly relevant for business owners today, and I'm here to tell you that this is definitely one of them.

In this conversation, we're talking about what your website [00:01:00] should actually be doing behind the scenes to support your visibility, marketing, and growth. And one of the biggest things I share in this episode, your website should not just sit there looking nice. It should be actively working for your business every single day.

So let's get started.

Let me ask you something. When was the last time you looked at your website and thought about what it's actually doing for your business? Not what it looks like. Not whether it exists, but what it's actively doing because for a lot of small business owners, their website is sitting online like a digital business card, when it should be working for them, like a business tool.

And today we're going to use AI to help you look at your website differently. By the end of this, you'll know what [00:02:00] your website should actually be doing for your business behind the scenes, and you'll be able to use AI to spot the gaps so you can make smarter improvements without feeling like you have to start over.

Welcome to AI Simplified the podcast for entrepreneurs, creators, and small business owners who want practical stress-free ways to use AI in their content and marketing. I'm Kristina Stubblefield, digital marketing strategist and creator of the Pre-Bake the Oven Method. Let's simplify AI so you can create faster, show up consistently, and feel confident in your content.

This is one of those conversations I have often with business owners. They'll say, oh, I have a website, and my response is usually, okay, so what is it [00:03:00] doing? Because a website should do more than just hold information. It should support your business. It should help people understand you, trust you, connect with you.

And move forward, today we're going to use AI almost like an outside consultant. Instead of guessing whether your website is working, we're going to let AI analyze it with fresh eyes. One reason AI is so helpful for this exercise is that it has no history with your business. It doesn't know what you meant to say.

It only reads what actually is on the page, and that makes it surprisingly good at spotting gaps. So before we jump in, let me give you the same reminder I always do when it comes to using ai. If you want ChatGPT or whatever program you use to elevate your website. You have to [00:04:00] give it context, tell it what your business does, who you serve, what services or offers you want to highlight, and what action you want people to take.

The better the context, the better the feedback, because AI is not just magic. It's a tool, and it works best when you guide it well. So today I want to walk you through five things your website should be doing. But probably isn't doing as well as it could be. Your website should be helping people understand your business, answering questions before they ask.

Building confidence and trust, creating a clear next step, supporting your visibility online. Those are all important things, and throughout this I want you to think about AI as your outside perspective, because sometimes the fastest way to improve your website is to stop [00:05:00] guessing and start analyzing.

So let's get started with step one. Your website should be helping people understand your business. The first thing your website should be doing is helping people quickly understand your business. What do you do? Who do you help? What makes you different? And why should someone stay on your site instead of clicking away?

Now that sounds simple. But this is where a lot of websites miss the mark. The business owner knows what they do, so they assume the website says it clearly. But when someone new lands on the homepage, the message is often too broad, too vague, or too focused on the business instead of the customer. This is where AI can be so helpful because AI has no emotional attachment to your website.

It reads what's there. Not what you meant to say. So if you [00:06:00] paste your homepage into chat, GPT or whatever program you use, and ask it what your business does, and the answer comes back fuzzy, that's a clue. You can ask this based only on this homepage, what does this business do? Who is it for and what problem does it solve?

Tell me what feels unclear. That question alone can uncover a lot because your website should not make people work to understand you. It should help them understand you quickly. Okay, we're on to step two. Your website should be answering questions before people ask. Yes, that's right. It should be answering questions before someone ever reaches out.

Think about the questions people usually have before they contact you. What do you offer? Who is this [00:07:00] for? What does the process look like? How do I get started? Where are you located? Do you work with businesses like mine? What happens next? Your website should be doing some of that pre-work for you. That doesn't mean every page needs to be long.

It means your website should reduce uncertainty because when people have too many unanswered questions, they hesitate, and this is another place where AI is useful. Use AI to identify the questions your website is not answering yet. So you could ask ChatGPT. Pretend you're a potential customer visiting this page for the first time.

What questions would you still have before feeling ready to contact this business? That prompt is powerful because it helps you see the hesitation points. A good website [00:08:00] does not just present information, it reduces friction. Okay? Here comes step three. Your website should be building confidence and trust. Yes, building trust your website may be the first real impression someone has of your business. And whether we like it or not, people make quick decisions based on what they find online.

Does this feel current? Does this feel credible, professional? Does this feel like someone I can trust? Trust is built through proof, whether that be testimonials, examples, experience, and clear information that reassures someone they're in the right place. And here's where AI becomes a really valuable thinking partner. AI can help you identify where trust is weak on the page. [00:09:00] You could ask, review this page as a first time visitor, what on this page would build trust and what's missing that would help someone feel more confident in this business?

That might lead you to add testimonials? It might lead you to clarify your process or to include more proof of your experience. Sometimes business owners think trust is built with a polished design alone, but trust is really built through clarity, proof, and consistency. If this episode is helping you rethink your website, make sure you're following AI simplified.

This month we're looking at how to use AI to elevate, improve, and strengthen your website in practical ways that actually support your business. Okay. Step four, your website should be creating a clear next step. [00:10:00] Yes. It has to be clear what you want them to do next. This is so big. A lot of websites have information but no direction.

Someone lands on a page, reads a few things, maybe scrolls a little bit, and then what if the next step is unclear? The website is not doing its job. Your website should be guiding people. Should they schedule a call, fill out a form, request a quote, call your office, visit another page first. The action may vary, but the direction needs to be clear, and AI is great at spotting weak calls to action because it reads pages very literally.

So you could ask ChatGPT. What is the main next step this page is asking a visitor to take? If it is not obvious, tell me why and suggest three clearer calls to action options. That kind of feedback is incredibly practical [00:11:00] because sometimes all you need is a stronger button, a clearer sentence, or better placement on the page.

Your website should not leave people hanging. It should move them forward. Okay, now we've made it to step five. Your website should be supporting your visibility online, and this is where the conversation matters even more. Right now, your website is not just being viewed by people, It is also being interpreted by search engines and AI systems. I a lot of times refer to them as machines. That means your website needs to clearly communicate what you do, who you help, where you serve, and what makes your business relevant. If that information is buried, if it's vague, [00:12:00] outdated, missing.

Your website may not be helping your visibility the way you think it is. This is one of the reasons I keep encouraging business owners not to treat their website like a one time project. It needs attention, updates, and clarity and AI can help you assess whether a page is pulling its weight. You could ask, review this page and tell me whether it clearly communicates the business services audience, location, and next step.

What could be improved to help this page be more useful for search engines, AI tools, and human visitors. That's an important shift because visibility is not just about ranking, it's about being understandable, and if your website is easier to understand. It becomes easier to trust, easier to use, and easier to find.

Now if you're listening to [00:13:00] this and you're realizing your website is not doing all of these things right now, take a breath. This does not mean your website is useless, and it does not mean you need to rebuild everything tomorrow. Now, most of the time, you can get by without having a complete overhaul.

It might need a better evaluation. It's taking the time to ask, what is this page supposed to be doing, and is it actually doing that? That's where AI can be so helpful, not because AI replaces your judgment, but because it helps you slow down, look more objectively and ask better questions. That's what I want for you with ai.

Not more noise, more overwhelm, no better tools for making smarter decisions. So here's what I want you to do. Pick one page on your website this week and instead of just asking, do I [00:14:00] like this page? Ask, what is this page doing for my business? Then use AI to help you evaluate it. Is it helping people understand your business?

Is it answering questions, building trust? Is it creating a next step? Is it supporting your visibility? If not, that's your opportunity. So I encourage you to open chat GPT, paste in one page from your website and ask it what that page is actually doing well and what it is not doing yet. One of the things I love about this approach is that AI lets you audit your own website without needing to be technical.

That one simple exercise can help you stop guessing and start improving because your website should not just sit there looking nice. It should be working for your business every single day, and AI can help you see whether it [00:15:00] is. Now, remember, I always say done is better than perfect. Just take that first step.

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