Perhaps the biggest caveat that comes with any new website is that, no, it won’t immediately generate millions of dollars in revenue in the first week of its launch. In fact, it might not generate any. That’s right: That website that you spent $5,000+ on might net zero qualified leads or new customers.
Unless, of course, you’re actually putting in the effort to effectively market that website and get people to visit it, whether it be through SEO, email marketing, or ads.
But then how do you go about converting those visitors – the people that find your website through that search engine marketing, those emails, or those ad placements – into qualified leads, and better yet, paying customers?
The answer isn’t necessarily simple, but it is pretty straightforward: Make your method of capturing leads as simple and compelling as possible. Here are a few ways that any business can easily do so without making any substantial changes to the layout of their website.
Offer Something for Free
Regardless of whether your company is business-oriented or consumer-oriented, the fact remains that people like free things, especially if those things are useful and/or delightful. Say, for example, you’re a financial planner. Why not offer a free white paper or case study on the benefits of planning for the long-term versus trying to account for the volatility of the market on a weekly basis? And these don’t have to be totally free for say – you can simply ask for an email. And then chances are, you’ve just gotten a very qualified lead.
But these don’t have to be just case studies or white papers. They can be coupons, or free consultations, or a free sticker – something that has your company’s name on it, and that offers real value to the user, but that would also be compelling and sensible enough to get them to want more from your organization. A taste, per say.
Make Contact As Easy As Possible
Chances are, if someone has visited your website and is ready to reach out to you, they’re at the very least interested in your products or services, and at best ready to write the check.
But wait, your contact page simply lists a contact email. So now that person has to copy and paste that email into their mail client, draft up an email with whatever it is they want to say to you – “hey, I’m interested in some things!” – and click send. That’s annoying.
Make it easier. Contacting you on your website should be as simple as filling in a few boxes of information – name, company, email, what we’re interested in – and simply click submit (or send, or ‘Say Hey!’, or whatever).
The easier it is, the more likely that person will be to actually submit their contact info. And the greater the likelihood is that you’ll wind up with a highly qualified lead that you might be able to turn into a long-term customer. Here’s a good example:
Give Them a Reason to Come Back
Some of the best marketing I’ve seen is actually in the newsletters that I’ll receive from some of my favorite resources – SproutSocial, Quora – on a weekly basis. Not only do these emails provide me with compelling content – including useful infographics and blogs in the case of Sprout, and the most interesting Q&A threads on the website in the case of Quora – but they also provide me with plenty of incentive to visit those websites in order to see what else they have to offer.
But the fact is, in order to get people to come back to your website regularly, you need to offer them something. Whether it’s fresh blog content, new studies or whitepapers, or new offers, that ‘something’ should be presented as an invitation to learn more about your organization, or connect with them. Social media is great for this, as it offers you the opportunity to constantly engage your targeted audience on a regular basis.
The fact is, there is a direct correlation between the amount of effort you put into marketing your website – through email marketing, or advertising, or SEO – and the success you’ll have in generating leads through that.
The reason websites generate little to no traffic for most businesses? They don’t market it. Simply as that.
Do you have a means of capturing leads in place on your website?
Source: MSM DesignZ, Inc.
Mario Mirabella is the Founder and Creative Director of MSM DesignZ, Inc., a full service advertising and marketing agency located in Westchester County, NY that specializes in web design and development, social media branding and management, search engine optimization, mobile applications and marketing. Since 1999, MSM DesignZ has been providing businesses with a comprehensive solution to increase their online presence and overall brand awareness.
