Contributed by – Laura Estes
Your website is the equivalent of your physical office in the virtual world. Imagine a prospect walked into your office. Would you just at your desk passively and let them walk away? No, right? The same applies to your website. When a prospect visits your website, the goal is to get as much information about them as possible so you can reach out to them with a relevant message. This post discusses 6 ways to improve the look and feel of your website to convert leads.
1. Add A Call To Action To Your Home Page
Your homepage sits at the top of the marketing funnel so we want to offer a non-intrusive, engaging way for a visitor to convert.
Offering an informational report or a way to subscribe to a recurring campaign, like a newsletter, is a great way to capture their attention and keep them engaged even if they aren’t ready to buy just yet.
Try adding a call to action on your home page or even in the top navigation menu for something easy and eye-catching. The goal here is to add in “above the fold,” at the top of the page so it is visible without having to scroll. Here are a few options:
- Send Me IT Updates
- Get My Free IT Consultation
- Sign Me Up for Your Newsletter
- Contact Us
2. Add Forms To Your Most-visited Pages
Using web analytics from a program such as Mindmatrix, identify from where most of your online traffic comes. For example, if you find that your services page gets the most attention and visitors, make sure there is a place for contacts to convert! Don’t leave them hanging without knowing how to take the next step.
On your most highly visited website pages, add longer-form content that visitors can access through forms that solicit their contact information.
For example, you can add a form for gated content like one off the e-guides or give them the opportunity to sign up for more emails or a free consultation.
Don’t forget, the conversion doesn’t stop here. If a contact fills out a form or downloads an e-guide, don’t forget to follow up through a follow up email so as to retain each lead’s interest in the content you’ve provided them.
According to the Harvard Business Review, “companies that try to contact potential customers within an hour of receiving queries are nearly 7 times as likely to have meaningful conversations with key decision makers as firms that try to contact prospects even an hour later”?
3. Write Valuable Blog Content And Link It To A Free E-guide Download
If you want to attract leads make sure you provide value to them through your products, services and even the content that you have on the web. Having informative videos or blogs on topics that will be relevant to your prospective customers…such as phishing, malware, or a section with Day Zero Alerts that talk about the latest threat to your lead’s IT systems are great examples of value adding content. These will attract leads to your site, where they will eventually find out more about what you do and perhaps become a customer. Just like tip #2, you can facilitate an easier conversion by including a form for contacts to download a relevant e-guide or receive your newsletters as a way to learn more information similar to that provided in the blog.
4. Offer a Live Chat Feature
Personally, I know I am frustrated and disappointed when a site or service doesn’t offer live chat. If you have the resources, a live chat service can be a major source of lead generation and on the flip, a major gap if you don’t offer it.
You can install this feature on the pages that receive the most traffic (see #2) or on a page where potential customers may need the most assistance or have the most questions. Take your service offerings for example; a potential client is likely to have logistical and financial questions regarding your services and your live chat can quickly answer their questions and keep them around.
5. Add Photos and Testimonials to Increase Credibility and Trust
Adding testimonials is a great way for a potential customer to quickly see that you are not only good at what you do, but it also makes you seem more credible and legitimate. I find it had to go to a new dentist or hair stylist, how do I know that they are good at what they do? Displaying reviews, testimonials, and photos on your site is a great way to demonstrate your work and the relationship you have with current clients.
6. Make Good Use of Whitespace
We love this tip from Neil Patel: “Whitespace (also known as negative space) is one of those ‘little things’ in web design that can make a big impact. Rather than striving to fill up every empty area on a page, give your content, photos and call to action buttons some breathing room. There’s no need to add something just to take up a room – it can end up only serving as a distraction to your customers, and lowering your conversion rates as a result.” So, keep your website nice and clean so it is easy to understand and appealing to engage with.
Laura Estes is a Marketing and Sales Enablement Consultant at Mindmatrix, which draws her strong background in content creation, social media, digital marketing and communication skills.