What’s the purpose of your company’s website? If you’re like many other companies, the answer is simple - to generate leads.
But it takes more than just having a website to convert visitors into leads. If your company’s website doesn’t engage visitors or direct them to take your desired action, it’s not going to generate leads for you. To generate leads, every page of your company’s website needs to have a specific purpose and provide visitors with an exceptional user experience.
To generate leads, your company website should have:
A Professional Design
Most of us already know that first impressions are important, but did you know it takes 0.05 seconds for visitors to decide to stay on your website or leave it.
According to Stanford Web Credibility Research, 75% of visitors use a company’s website to determine how credible the company is.
A recent article from Kinesis reports that “studies of user behavior have found that visual appeal and website navigation have the biggest influence on people’s first impressions of your brand.”
To make sure your website is visually appealing, it needs to feature a professional design.
So what exactly does a professional design look like?
A professional website design
- Includes graphics. But I LOVE scrolling through endless pages of dense text content! (Said no one ever.)
- Keeps brand messaging simple and direct.
- Has a discernible call-to-action (CTA).
- Features a list of clients, industry partners, or customer testimonials.
- Improves page load times.
- Guides visitors through the buying process.
Intuitive Navigation
Visitors to your company’s website should be able to easily find what they’re looking for without being forced to search through the entire site. Intuitive navigation easily guides visitors to the page on your website that has the information they’re searching for so they aren’t confused or overwhelmed.
Contact Form
A contact form is one of the simplest ways to generate leads from your website. Your company’s contact information should be easy for visitors to find and access on each page of your website.
Blog Posts
Blog posts are great for piquing the interest of your target audience regardless of where they’re at in the buying cycle. Regularly posting fresh content to your website is also a good way to increase the amount of traffic to your website.
Social Media Sharing
When visitors share your website content across social media they’re helping increase awareness of your brand. Integrating social media sharing options into your company’s website not only gives your visitors more opportunities to share your content, but also improves overall user experience.
Subscription Form
Growing your mailing list is an excellent way to generate leads. Including a subscribe form on your company website is an effective way of keeping visitors engaged with your content. Giving visitors special offers like coupons or discounts are an easy way to visitors to sign up to receive ads, newsletters, or other types of subscription based content.
Call-To-Action
A call-to-action (CTA) is a strategically placed button or link on your website that directs visitors take a desired action such as filling out a contact form or requesting a quote.
CTAs can be used in many different ways to attract qualified leads, using:
- Free trials.
- Free consultations.
- Ebook or Whitepaper downloads.
- Appointment scheduling.
- Webinar registration.
Landing Page
A landing page collects visitor information like their name and email address so you contact them after they’ve completed your desired CTA. The landing page should be the last page users visit before they complete the CTA and become a lead. The design of your landing page should:
- Be consistent with the design of the rest of your website.
- Not use top navigation. -This helps prevent visitors from being distracted from completing the CTA.
- Use a high resolution, relevant image that appeals the visitor.
- Feature a simple layout. -A few sentences and bullet points are all you need to get your message across.
- Use a design that makes the CTA form stand out. -The CTA form should also be located on the right side of the page.
- Have a singular purpose.
- Clearly explain what your visitors should expect after completing the CTA.