If You Build It, They Will Come
Well…Not exactly. But if you’re familiar with the film, Field of Dreams, or if you’ve just completed building your website, you’re probably just as hopeful as Kevin Costner that they will come. But without a clear goal or direction for your website visitors to go, your dreams and your leads will remain an empty field.
To determine your goals, ask yourself, “Where do I want the end user to go?” and “What do I want the end user to do when they get there?” For further reading on the what, check out last week’s blog 5 Reasons Your Digital Marketing Campaign Is Broken.
Today we’re here to focus on how.
Start With Calls To Action
Capture the user’s attention with well-formulated Calls To Action. These can be a form to sign up for a free consultation, a graphic that links to a landing page to promote one of your offers such as an eBook, or even a simple link to resources such as a services page or blog. The purpose of the CTA is to capture the user’s information, while offering them something of value to help them make an informed decision. While you’re at it, learn to design better ones.
Give Em What They Want
Your site is only as good as your content. Who you are and what you do should be at the forefront of your website. However, this doesn’t need to be expressed in a five-paragraph short story of how you ended up in your field. Keep it simple for the home page and lead the user down the path you want them to go. If you save companies money, lead with numbers and send them to a free demo. If you are a non-profit determined to change the world, lead with facts and link them to a donation or mission page. Your information should communicate education and promote action.
Establish Trust
Showcase your credibility without showing off. Consider a Case Study, use testimonials, or display the clients you work with in an easy-to-access framework. Hint at your experience and years in your field or your transformation and growth from start to present. Establishing trust will put the user at ease and confirm that the buyer is in good hands.
Tips To Gauge Your Audience And Improve Your Leads:
1. Heat Map – Use Heat Maps to test where people are clicking on your site. Crazy Egg is as little as $9/month, and Google offers a free Google Chrome extension, Page Analytics, that will track your click rate. Test positioning content in new areas to see if it has an effect on your conversion rate.
2. Run A/B Test – If you are using services like HubSpot or LeadPages, you can run multiple Calls To Action to test and compare the results. Perhaps that bright red background you think will draw attention actually pushes users away. Maybe a subtler approach with fewer graphics is more fitting to your target audience. Running different versions of the same Call To Action will help drill down your audience and give you greater insight for future CTAs you create.
3. Offer Up – Give them something of value. An eBook on your services, a case study, tips and tricks, etc. Anything to help your audience learn about who you are, what you do, and why they should work with you.
4. Follow Up – If a user has downloaded an eBook, signed up for your newsletter, or contacted you via your contact page, the last thing you want to do is forget about them. Chances are they’re requesting the same information from your competitors’ sites. Be sure to follow up with a friendly (aim for clever, to be remembered) email response thanking them for contacting you or downloading your offer. Give it about 2-3 days so you don’t seem so pushy. Be sure to include an additional Call To Action on your Thank You For Downloading page or follow-up email to bring them back into the fold. Link it to your Contact Us page for additional questions or support, or send them to another offer you may have on your site.
5. Share – Make your information readily available to share on social media sites. Include click-to-tweet links in your eBook or within your blog posts. Offer the option in an easy, unobtrusive way, encouraging your visitors to share what they’ve learned.
Conclusion
The purpose of your website should be to guide users to useful information that encourages action. Your homepage should give them a snapshot of what you’re capable of, leaving them wanting to learn more. Spend time on your About page and remember the golden rule: Your website is not about you, it’s about the user.
For further reading on the subject, check out HubSpot’s 15 Things People Absolutely Hate About Your Website or our own blog for tips and tricks on Inbound Marketing, SEO, Web Design, Social Media and more.