Have you taken a good look at your website lately? Perhaps it is time to evaluate your website to see if it is up-to-date and doing its job. Check to see if all of the links are working, and that your "buy" button is still functioning correctly. It's possible for certain features of your site to be corrupted by server maintenance by your web hosting company.

You may have noticed that you've had a decrease in product sales or Adsense income. It might be time for a site redesign or update.

At a minimum, you should schedule a monthly checkup of your website. Is the content current, links functional and the design still clean and eye-catching? Add this to your work schedule with as much importance as any of your other monthly tasks. Set up a reminder for yourself in your Microsoft Outlook or write it on your calendar.

If you do notice a drop in sales or other income, you should take a look at other websites in your niche. What are they doing that you are not? Maybe you can add some interactive features such as a forum or blog. Take a good look at your competition's tactics - but - DO NOT copy what they are doing. Find your own creative way to bring more traffic and repeat visitors.

Audio and video are extremely popular these days. Your competitors may already know this. It's not too late for you to do something about adding these features to your website. If you have a cooking website, consider recording a "cooking class" for your website visitors.

Here are a few tips to evaluate your website. Take an honest look at your site from your visitor's point of view and...

1. Is your website easy to navigate? You links to other pages should be easy to find and use.

2. Are your pages slow to load in the browser? You might have to reduce the number and size of any graphics that you are using.

3. Check for broken links. Nothing says "amateur" like a bunch of links that lead nowhere.

4. Do you have too many flashing banners and ads? Reduce the number of banner ads to make your site look more professional. It might be time to change out your affiliate products for new ones.

5. Read over your sales letter and your website content. Are there words that are misspelled or sentences that do not make sense?

6. Are your META tags up to date? Be sure that the search engines have the information they need to find your website.

Next, go to the websites of your competitors and note the same navigation, broken link and loading times of those sites. Now you can make an honest assessment of your own website to see where you fall short - or where you came out on top!

Continue to monitor your website to make sure that everything works as it should. Having a professional looking and easy-to-use website is one of the keys to having a successful online business.