Psst...I heard you have increased traffic to your website over the course of the year. Awesome!
Hummmm....You have sales people with phones lined up to take all the calls that you anticipated, but the leads aren’t pouring in.
Well there are a few 'secrets' you can use to help increase website conversion and turn leads into customers...because isn’t that the end goal of a business website: to get you more customers?
I have heard it said, “In the land of internet marketing, content is King.” Although some may question this, a good internet marketing strategy requires your company to be helpful and provide content that visitors to your website want to read. Think about why they would visit your website in the first place and answer their questions and direct them to the solutions you are offering. Please don’t write content that is stale, boring and just plain uninteresting to read! Write in a way that not only address the keywords search engines are looking for, but also engages your audience-your potential customers.
One of the ways to increase website conversion is by offering information your visitors want. As you put together buying guides, how to videos, worksheets or checklists that will help your visitors solve some of their high level problems or just be more educated on a topic, you will be helpful as well as gaining leads for your sales team!
Continue to create fresh, relevant content by writing a blog. Your website should not be a static marketing tool. It should be updated, contain relevant information and provide new content so visitors will return. Search engines, such as Google, also like to see that your website is providing new content. You are seen as an expert, not only by those people reading your blogs, but also by the search engines so your web pages are more likely to come up higher in the search results pages. If you can add one thing to your website and your internet strategy to help increase website conversion - BLOG!
If you are still asking, “Why blog?” check out our blog on this topic
Humans are distractible and regularly need guidance. If you think about the child who needs his parent to put both hands on his cheeks and direct his face to their face…”Look at me please. Now listen….” That’s how the parent in me thinks about a landing page. It is a place that is free from other distraction and focuses in on one offer, one goal, or one solution. Companies who have increased their number of landing pages from 10 to 15 have seen a 55% increase in leads (HubSpot).
Along the same line, humans need to be directed and at times, told what to do; which action to take and exactly how to take it. Creating calls to action on your website will help direct your visitors to take an action and make a choice. Call today, Click here, Download Now, Get your Free Copy, Add to Cart…and on and on and on. If your website does not currently have CTAs, add them now! Even if you start with text that hyperlinks to a Contact Us page or a landing page with a form. Direct your visitors to do something- preferably, the thing you want them to do!
Along with CTAs and landing pages, adding forms to your website will greatly increase website conversion. Give people a place to leave their contact information without having to pick up the phone and call. Give them the opportunity to subscribe to your blog (since you are writing one now after reading secret # 3) or an email newsletter. Present opportunities for visitors to make a connection through filling out a form. Make sure your forms request information that is appropriate to the level of visitor interest. You don’t need to ask for a family history just to send them your weekly business updates. Just make sure the length of your form is compatible with your offer.
Since most of your website visitors will come to your homepage first, take some to time consider its effectiveness. You may ask yourself and others these questions:
Since the use of mobile devices and tablets is increasing by the minute, having a website design that responds to the different devices and re-formats to fit the screen is already becoming key to increasing website conversion. If it is cumbersome for a visitor to read your content, click on a link, or fill out a form, the odds are they won’t stay on your site for very long or finish the conversion process. Investing in a responsive website design will be a business asset to not only increase website conversion, but also get you more customers.
Check out some examples of responsive design in this video so see how visually a website changes depending on the size of the screen:
Last, but definitely not least, check your conversion path. Does your CTA link with your landing page and does the submit button on your form actually take leads to a thank you page with what you are offering? Checking that the links work on the conversion path, as well as how it flows for the website visitor (soon to be customer) is very important. If the “check out” process is too long, if links don’t work or if the “feel” of the path is not consistent, you may be losing out on conversions. Go through the conversion path from the perspective of the visitor to make sure their experience is exactly what you intend it to be.
So now the secrets are out, so to speak. Okay, they were already out, but we all need those tips and reminders brought back to our attention. If you are ready to increase website conversion for your company, your challenge now is to choose a few of these actionable items and do them!
If you are feeling overwhelmed, try just one. If you are too busy, feeling a little lost, or just need someone to help design an internet marketing strategy for your company, give us a call or sign up for a free consultation. We love what we do!