9 Steps to a More Effective Business Website

The keys to an effective business website

Engage visitors and keep your customers happy

Your website may be a wonder of modern design, but if it doesn’t reflect and support your overall business or marketing strategy, and connect with your potential customers, you’re leaving a lot of money on the table.

You’ve got to think beyond making a sale.

Doing business in the economy we find ourselves in is about connecting with customers and keeping them engaged so they come back.

How to make your business website more effective

Consider implementing These Recommendations

1) Understanding traffic

Knowledge is definitely power, but without understanding and action, it’s useless.

For example, just knowing how many hits your website is getting, or where your site ranks in Google, doesn’t do much good in producing real, paying customers.

While search engine ranking is HUGE…let me say that again…HUGE in attracting customers online, if you can’t see where you customers are coming from, what they are looking for on your site and how long they are staying, you can’t capitalize on those visitors.

Google Analytics is completely free and it can give you vital, actionable information on how your visitors are interacting with your site.

For example, let’s say you just launched a new website for your business, but it’s been three months and you haven’t made any sales or collected any new leads. Without analyzing your visitor’s behavior on your website, you wouldn’t know that every new visitor was landing on your homepage and then leaving without visiting any other pages (a statistic known as “bounce rate”).

Many people were coming in, getting information (or not finding what they came for), and leaving.

Now, that we’ve discovered that vital piece of information, we could conclude that there wasn’t enough of a call to action on the home page to entice them to look any further. Or maybe they didn’t feel like your site was speaking to their needs or current situation.

So we could rethink your headlines, content, navigation labels and graphics to make it easier to find what they were looking for or the important stuff you want them to find – and ultimately do on your site.

Segway…

2) Emphasize your “calls to action”

Every page and piece of content on your website is there for a reason. Therefore, every page should have a “call to action”, an engaging button or graphic that leads your visitor down the path you choose for them. This urges the visitor to follow your best-case scenario. “Add to Cart” is the most classic and obvious.

In some cases, a website will have multiple “best-case scenarios” and thus multiple paths for users to follow. When this is the case, the guidance of calls to action to help users identify their best path is even more critical.

There should be other actions for visitors: Can they click to contact a rep? Is there a number to call for more info? Can they fill out a brief form or survey?

Each of these actions puts casual visitors one step closer to becoming customers.

3) Keep your home page simple

Companies eager to impress visitors often inundate their home pages with every product and offer they have, plus any and all facts and options available. Unfortunately, this approach can confuse and even repel the people that visit your site.

The home page of Apple, offers a classic example of ease of use, uncluttered attractiveness and simplicity. A few basic headlines, facts and graphics dominate a page that is engagingly, but unobtrusively designed to appeal to their customers. Navigation tabs and high quality images offer clear options for where to go next.

A good home page explains some fundamentals, let’s them know they are in the right place, and then gently guides visitors (or better, lets visitors guide themselves) to the inside pages they want to see.

Keep in mind that visitors using search engines often don’t arrive at your site through the home page – so having a call to action on every page of your site will ensure they always know what to do next.

4) Offer content they can use

Valuable content such as white papers, articles, videos, checklists and FAQs tells customers that you really want to help and reinforces you as an authority in your field.

And here’s a little-known tip: Articles and papers are a magnet to your site. People use search engines for information, to answer questions. So they are likely to be directed first to a website that best answers their questions with high quality, relevant content.

By reading your white paper or article, they’ve entered your site. These visitors are especially valuable prospects, because they have already demonstrated a serious interest in learning more about what you offer.

The Hubspot website, a software company for online marketers, offers a host of white papers, guides and articles on trends on content marketing and marketing automation, and each one enhances this their reputation and expertise in the marketing world. Note that your white papers or articles should include helpful links to other parts of your site; this encourages visitors gleaning your information to stick around and more likely to become clients.

5) Lead the way to action and sales

Anyone who’s driven in an unfamiliar city knows the difference between helpful road signs and those that seem to assume you already know where you’re going.

But while the driver may be stuck in that city, a confused web “driver” can move to a competitor’s site in a nanosecond. Navigation is your site’s road signs. Make them super clear so that all visitors know where they’re going before they click.

Too many companies use product names as tabs. Visitors who don’t know what “BFE9000” means, shouldn’t have to go to a whole new page just to find out.

Using common sense, descriptive labels for your navigation and calls to action not only aid visitors in finding what they’re looking for, but it will also increase your search engine relevance as well.

6) Welcome ALL your customers

An effective business website speaks your customer’s language so they know they’re in the right place.

Think about your customers, one visitor at a time. Who are they? What is it they really want? What problems to they have? How does your product or service address or solve those problems?

Sit down with your team, especially those who deal directly with customers, and ask them what different types of customers care most about.

When you can clearly speak to each of your ideal customers with the words you use on your site, they will understand how you can help them and trust that you can solve their problems.

7) Differentiate yourself

What’s unique about your business? What can you do better than anyone else?

You have certain qualities that make your company stand out in the industry –  you have a unique selling proposition. You’re the most fun, or the most elegant. You’re a cranky perfectionist, or you have the quickest turnarounds or the most knowledgeable staff.

This is how you position yourself in a crowded market to stand out.

Don’t just say that you are committed to quality and customer service. Or, “we believe in aesthetic beauty.” Everyone says that, find your points of true differentiation. These should be clearly stated in a brief positioning statement on your home page.

Beyond that, these qualities should be reflected on every page of your site.

Every picture, typeface, visual element and sentence should reinforce your image and brand story.

8) Build your credibility with testimonials

Social proof – the currency of the internet.

Testimonials tell strangers that people who are just like them love your company and have given you money. That’s especially important in an age when your next customer might come from around the corner or around the world.

Wherever possible, identify the person. “Bob, company president” says a lot less than a full name and title (get their permission first, of course).

Don’t just bunch them on a separate page marked “Testimonials.” Visitors won’t click a tab to see you brag. Instead, place them organically around your web pages, next to applicable services or products; and especially when you’re asking for a conversion (i.e., fill out a form, etc).

9) Make the most of your “About Us” page

Usually the second most visited pages on a website, your about us page is a HUGE opportunity for conversion.

One of the biggest mistakes companies make online is assuming that people who visit their site know who they are and how you help your customers achieve whatever it is they a trying to achieve. A concise but thorough and easy-to-find “About Us” page is an absolute must.

It should give a glimpse into your company’s history, mission and principles, but your about us should actually be about them (…your customers, that is).

People want to know that there are names and faces behind a company’s logo. Modern consumers are expecting authenticity and connection with the businesses they do business with.

If applicable, your “About Us” page should link to a separate page with staff members with whom customers might interact if they do business with you. Pictures are a plus (again, get permission first).

Conclusion

I hope that you’ve found a gold nugget or two in this article to help you better engage your potential customers with your site.

If you need help clarifying your message, creating an effective business website, or getting your existing site in shape let’s schedule a call and i’d be glad to help guide you and give you a plan to convert more visitors into customers.