How to use this article for your business
Reading about websites or local SEO is useful when it connects to a plan. The Michigan Business Initiative exists so Michigan owners do not have to assemble hosting, design, email, and creative help from separate vendors. Review the full program, compare the single monthly price on pricing, and browse other posts on the blog index after you finish this one.
When you are ready to move forward, use the application or read the FAQ for timelines, ownership, and what happens after launch.
Why a self-audit is worth one focused afternoon
Most Michigan small business websites have three to five fixable issues that are quietly costing inbound calls every month. The owner does not see them because they look at the site through the lens of the person who built it. A 40-minute self-audit, with a checklist, surfaces the issues fast.
The audit below is built for a typical Michigan service business or local retailer. Run it on a phone first, then a laptop. Take notes as you go. The point is the punch list at the end, not the audit itself.
Section 1: speed and load
Open the homepage on your phone on cellular (turn off Wi-Fi). Count the seconds until the page is usable. Anything over 3 seconds is a problem. Anything over 5 is bleeding traffic.
Run the homepage through PageSpeed Insights and note the Largest Contentful Paint number. Anything over 2.5 seconds on mobile means images are too heavy or the host is too slow. Both are fixable, but you need to know the number to act.
Section 2: trust signals above the fold
Look at the homepage on your phone with fresh eyes. Can a stranger identify within 3 seconds: what the business does, where it operates in Michigan, and how to get in touch? If any of those is unclear, the page is failing.
Check for: a tappable phone number in the header, a 'licensed and insured in Michigan' or equivalent credibility line, a star rating or review count, and a clear primary CTA. Missing two of those is the most common gap.
Section 3: local SEO signals
Search the business name plus your main city in Google (in a private window). The Google Business Profile should show on the right. The website should rank in the top three. The map pack should include you.
If any of those is missing, the issue is usually one of three things: the GBP is half-finished, the website does not name the city anywhere meaningful, or the NAP (name, address, phone) is inconsistent across directories. The GBP optimization guide covers the profile fixes.
Section 4: conversion paths
From the homepage, count the clicks to your most common next action. Booking, calling, or filling a form. If it is more than 2 clicks, the path is too long. Trim it.
Look at every page and confirm there is a primary CTA visible without scrolling. Most underperforming sites have a single CTA on the homepage and nothing else on the service pages. Add the CTA to every page.
Section 5: content freshness
Look at the dates on the blog, the year on the footer copyright, and the 'recently completed projects' or 'latest news' section if you have one. If any of those still says 2024, the site reads as abandoned to anybody checking.
Update the year, update the most recent content, and put a fresh review or job photo on the homepage. Three small refreshes per quarter is enough to keep the site reading as active.
Section 6: forms, links, and the email address
Submit your own contact form using a real email. Did the email arrive? Did it go to the right inbox? Did you reply? Most owners discover the form is broken or that the lead notifications are going to an old vendor email that nobody monitors.
Click every footer link. Most footers have a broken link or two (an old service page, an old Facebook URL). Fix them. They are small details that signal whether the site is actually maintained.
Section 7: security, hosting, and ownership
Confirm the site is on HTTPS (the padlock in the browser). Confirm you can log into the host and the registrar. Confirm somebody on the team knows where the domain auto-renews. These are the boring details that bite at the worst possible moment.
If the answer to any of those is 'no idea, the old vendor handled it,' that is the highest-priority issue on the list. The companion piece on why Michigan businesses need a professional website covers the foundation side.
The punch list
Write down everything you found, ranked by impact. The top three are the only ones that matter right now. If they are bigger than a couple hours of work, decide whether to handle them or whether to hand the site off to somebody who will.
If the audit surfaced more than five issues, the site is probably past the patch-it threshold and needs a rebuild. The Michigan Business Initiative handles the rebuild and the ongoing maintenance on a single monthly cost. Review the program page, the pricing, and the FAQ for timelines.