Traditionally, websites were used as an online version of your company brochure. A place to read about the company, the leadership team, offerings and easily access contact information. Marketers didn’t intend for websites to add value to the business or impact sales. Simply having a website was enough.
Now, digital marketers leverage websites with a sophisticated strategy in mind. The significant impact a website can have on the bottom line is evident.
Constant advancements in technology have catapulted the capabilities of websites. This significant evolution opens doors for marketers. Now, you can have a user-centric, strategic approach.
Even with advancements in web design and development and what your website can do for your business, many marketers aren’t seeing the high-quality leads they expected to generate. The question remains: What do you do when your website fails to generate leads?
Our post earlier in the week explained the first steps to creating a website that will be a lead generating tool. Three important pieces of a solid foundation include:
• Understanding buyer behavior
• Aligning sales and marketing initiatives
• Determining criteria for a “perfect fit” customer
Once you lay your foundation with these principles, you need make it easier for website visitors to convert. That’s what we want to talk about today.
Make it easy for website visitors to convert
When a user visits your website, they’re looking to solve a specific problem. They’re looking for a solution and want to know if you’re the answer – quickly and easily. Optimize your website for conversions and minimize roadblocks along the way.
User-centric content
Knowing who you need to create your website for and the challenges you need to address with content can set you apart from competitors in the eyes of today’s independent buyer. Create personalized content with solutions for common pain points and frustrations. Showing visitors that you understand their challenges reassures them that you can help solve their problems.
The value of your content should meet or exceed the value a user places on their contact information. Marketing and promotional-like materials (like brochures or company overviews) don’t warrant a user sharing their contact information. However, educational content (like guides and white papers) do because they’re beneficial to the user’s job.
Remember, users think “Give me something that makes me look smarter to my boss, something that helps me do my job better or faster. Then, I’ll trade my contact information for it.”
Optimize, strategically position CTAs on your website
A call-to-action should be enticing. It should stand out and encourage users to click. But, don’t get all CTA-happy on us. Limit the number of CTAs on any given page to truly relevant options – 3 is a good maximum.
Your CTA should be eye-catching, so use creative treatments that don’t blend in with the rest of your website content. Contrasting text and visuals to the rest of the page is important, too. Colors that aren’t used elsewhere, but are still in line with your branding guidelines, will pop and draw attention.
A strong CTA should also explain exactly what a user can expect if they click. Nobody likes guessing games. Use clear, concise and actionable language. For example, “Contact Us” is bland. Instead, use action-oriented, emotive language like “Ask us about your project” or “Talk to an engineer” or something similar that’s more specific and engaging.
If someone needs to guess what they’re clicking on, chances are they won’t click at all. Plus, personalized CTAs convert 42% more visitors into leads than CTAs that aren’t targeted, according to HubSpot.
Ensure a cohesive conversion journey
Just like website usability is critical to the overall user experience, usability throughout a conversion journey is important too. If a user comes to your landing page from an online ad, the copy they see should mirror what they saw in the ad. Ideally, this would be the main headline on the landing page.
By doing this, you’re creating a “scent trail” where users immediately see their topic of interest on your page, and can make a quick connection. Whenever possible, present confirmation that they’re in the right place.
For example, if your ad offers a free demo or a free consultation, the headline on your landing page should echo that statement. The form, CTA to submit and even a thank you or confirmation email should all connect back to the original ad.
How to score an A+ in lead generation
If you’ve found that your website isn’t at the top of its class when it comes to lead generation but a complete overhaul isn’t in your immediate future, try these options to fix some low hanging fruit in the meantime.
If you’re ready to take your website to the next level, please reach out to us today. We’d love to help you get started.
