It seems like a natural time as you sleep off that last martini of ‘08 to think about what your web site might look like and do in ‘09. Below is a basic list that I hope will help in taking your web site to the next level.

Tip 1: Update your content

It seems obvious, but the biggest killer of any web site is credibility. A site with outdated or incorrect information will often be overlooked by prospective customers. Is the copyright year up to date? Are there any references in your copy that may no longer be accurate?

Tip 2: Use online advertising

The majority of businesses can benefit from online advertising. There are many major players out there (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Ask, to name just a few ). These can be be helpful in reaching a broad range of customers. Most of these sites don’t have a prohibitive entry point, with some starting at just a $5 per month commitment. Advertising can be a great way to introduce new products and services and to track the success of particular online strategies.

Tip 3: Add a link to Facebook

You may think that social networking is just for the 12-24 year-old set, but more and more businesses are becoming savvy to the use of sites like Facebook to create brand awareness.

Tip 4: Join an online social network (locally or internationally)

Beyond the major online social networks like MySpace or Facebook, there are business-oriented sites like Linkedin and Jigsaw, which can provide crucial business intelligence as you seek to find new opportunities with new companies.

Tip 5: Add a new feature to your site

As web sites age, people’s interest in them can wane. Maybe it’s time to add a blog or a calendar, news items or additional content. Whatever the new item might be, consider what audiences your web site is serving and try to find a feature that they may be looking for.

Tip 6: Find out what other people are saying about your site

It is important to protect your brand and your corporate identity in the online world. There are lots of search engines and tools available to do your research. Additionally, there are aggregation tools that can help skim through the social networks and allow you to see if your business is being mentioned.

Tip 7: Freshen the look or embark on a redesign of your site

So you just went through a massive redesign in ‘06… that should last you for about 10 years? Not quite. Each year, possibly every month, there need to be incremental changes your web site –if for no other reason than to keep pace with the changes in your local market. More importantly, your brand should evolve. If the end of 2008 has taught us nothing else, it should be that we have to be more nimble and address the market changes as best as we can. Design is one in a host of tools available to web site owners to keep pace with the market.

Tip 8: Add some form of visitor tracking to your site

Two free tools, Google Analytics and Yahoo Web Analytics (formerly Indextools) offer powerful, easy-to-install scripts that can help you monitor traffic to your site. In the case of Google, you can dovetail that information with your AdWords account to see how effectively the paid search terms are working for you.

Tip 9: Investigate what your competitors are doing with their web sites

Take a look at your top three competitors and see what they are doing on their sites. This step can be as important as anything else you do all year.

Tip 10: Revisit this list more than once in 2009

Too often a year just slips away. Make a point once a month (or more often for higher traffic sites) to review all the information about your brand and your online presence.