We all hate to be graded. After all, it is a way for other people to analyze us, breaking down what we do correctly and what we could stand to improve upon. However, just like in grade school using graders can actually make us better. It can make us work toward specific goals rather than just skating by on the assets we already have. The same should be said for our companies … and especially their websites.

Luckily, website graders exist. These graders, often implemented by companies keenly aware of the exact elements that must be a part of every professionally done business-focused website, look at key areas to assess what is good and, more importantly, what is not so good with clients’ websites. Just like being graded in school, the results can make us self-defensive and a little bit uneasy, but after we understand why we were graded a certain way, we can work on the recommended improvements.

Web graders often look at three key areas: social media, search engine optimization and mobile applications. With social media, a grader will analyze specific elements of a social media campaign, like ad placement, number of followers and activity levels. With SEO, it will see where you are on the spectrum of online visibility and where specifically you rank there. With mobile applications, it will analyze areas where you can take your company mobile with applications and other helpful software.

Once everything is assessed, you can expect to receive a full report from a firm that will perform a full check, rather than a free one that just scans over these elements. This makes choosing graders with good reputations important. Ones that have performed analysis for other companies like yours are the ones to choose from here. With a free grading system, you may get an overview but there probably will not be any useful advice for you to research or implement.

Using a grader to see where you fit in the complex online world may at first appear intimidating, but how else will you understand what you can do best to improve upon your current site? It is difficult for any business to provide an unbiased report on the functionality of its own website. With a third-party assessor tearing apart every little page and giving you a thorough analysis, you are putting yourself and your company in a much better position to grow.