Every action you take online to grow your business should in some way benefit your business. That means either more leads or improved relationship with people. A good website conversion plays an important part in getting more leads side of things.
When we at Exprance work on a new project to help a business grow online it always comes down to creating a conversion optimized online presence. An amazing online presence starts from the second someone discovers your brand. That means there are hundreds of tiny touch-points along the way that determine how people see your business.
That’s why we put the most importance on the website because it plays such a large role in growing your business online. Without a website that convinces a visitor to turn into a lead then the purpose of it can be lost.
So, while not all websites are seen as an investment, they are and should be. In fact, a business website is possibly the most important investment for your business online.
You have to spend money to make money after all.
Not always but in most cases, there’s one purpose to a business website. Leads.
You don’t want to make the mistake of not looking at your business website as an investment that will drive business growth.
So, how do you make sure your business website is doing good and leading to an ROI for your business?
How To Get A Return On Investment (ROI)
Your website is an ROI generator no matter which way you look at it. Websites serve many different purposes from customer service to collecting leads for you to contact.
There always needs to be an ROI for your business website. That’s usually not a problem if you tie the goal of your website to meeting a business goal.
Converting visitors into leads and providing great customer service on your website are two ways you can use a business website to achieve an ROI.
Achieve an ROI with conversion
There are many ways to turn your business website into a lead generating powerhouse. The first thing you have to do is think about what you want visitors to do on your website to convert though.
Here are some ideas:
- Call you
- Fill out a form (think about what the minimum amount of information is you need from them)
- Buy a product
- Visit your location
- Sign up for email
Whatever it is you want a visitor to your website to do, that’s what the central goal of your website should be. Don’t try to pick the entire list and do it all. You’ll end up confusing visitors and doing no good to you or them.
If you need to build up your reputation with visitors before converting them then an email list could be your best bet. There are many ways to build up your email list.
Positive ROI with your website is often tied to converting visitors into leads. Websites are great at that.
ROI with great customer service
Companies which provide amazing customer service are usually companies who do well. There’s a growing movement for shopping small and shopping local (small business Saturday) driven by more community-minded consumers. Great customer service is one of the driving factors for this. Consumers know local businesses and small businesses give them better customer service.
A combination of an amazing product and amazing customer service leads to a positive ROI for any business. Your website is the perfect tool to provide great customer service and in turn receive positive ROI.
A website can provide great customer service in a number of ways. Website live chat and sometimes chatbots are great but also you can have answers to people’s most common questions already answered on your website.
People often go to your website to find a way to contact you. It’s up to you to provide what they’re looking for and then answer. If you do that and go above and beyond with your service then there’s a good chance you can turn a website visitor into a lead generator through recommendations.
Now you need to actually convert visitors into leads either immediately or over time.
Convert Visitors Into Leads
You can get thousands of visitors to your website but without a way to convert them into a lead, they’re a wasted opportunity. Converting visitors into leads is an important part of a business website and something you have to invest time and thought into it.
Nobody’s going to start giving you money when they visit your website. They will if you give them a reason to or if you work on converting them over time.
Give people a reason to convert
There’s a number of reasons someone might convert on your business website. If you’re a plumber and your visitor has a broken faucet then they’ll probably call you.
That means you have to make it extremely easy to call you. Not only that but they may be looking at a lot of websites so there should be something that makes you stand out. Do you offer 24-hour emergency service? Perhaps a money back guarantee if they’re not 100% satisfied?
There are a lot of things missing on websites I review. There are several parts to a website that is necessary for it to be effective.
Whatever makes your business special and different than the rest, make that known immediately.
Tell people what makes your business special from the start, don't leave it up to guessing. Click To TweetIf you’re not the type of business that someone is going to immediately convert with (Exprance for example), you’ll have to build trust over time. Real estate agents, financial advisors, accountants, etc. all are going to have a more difficult time converting a stranger into a lead.
Nobody will trust you unless they’re referred to you AND you also look trustworthy. Well, non-referred visitors are going to require a bit more. In those cases, you need to give visitors a reason to convert.
An offer or some useful piece of information can work wonders. That won’t make a sale but it will get them into your email list to either receive a newsletter or a drip campaign of emails over time. That’s a big trust builder.
That’s where lead magnets shine, they’re extremely valuable to bring in new leads.
Make it easy to convert
Hopefully, you’ve already thought about what you want your website visitors to do in order to convert on your website.
When you know the one thing you want visitors to do you have to make that one thing really easy to accomplish.
If you want them to fill out a form, make sure that form is available in more than one place. Website visitors often won’t go hunting very far in order to convert.
It’s your job to MAKE them convert. Yes, sometimes even scrolling halfway down a page is too far to go to convert. Conversion opportunities need to be available above the fold.
Balance your points of conversion though because you don’t want them to get too annoying. You don’t want to chase visitors away and make them leave before they even glance at your website.
Yes, I’ve seen many websites that are this annoying. Popups the second you arrive is never a good strategy. Sometimes website welcome mats do this which is why I recommend thoroughly testing website welcome mats. That leads us to some reason you won’t get a conversion.
Reasons You Won’t Get A Conversion
There are a lot of different reasons a visitor might not convert to a lead on your website. In fact, there are more reasons they won’t convert than there are reasons they would convert. That’s just the nature of conversions though because conversion rates are rarely above 50%.
Some reasons for not converting are beyond your control but most of them are within your control. These are two of the biggest reasons visitors won’t convert. You have direct control over them both.
A slow website will kill your conversion rate
People are impatient especially when they’re on their mobile phone. Most people won’t wait more than 3 seconds for a website to load.
You can control this in most cases because there are two factors that play into the speed of your website the most.
Most website visitors won't wait around for longer than 3 seconds for your website to load. Click To TweetYour website host is the most important factor in having an extremely fast website. That’s why for most of my clients (not all though, especially eCommerce) I recommend SiteGround (affiliate link). They’re extremely fast and on top of that have excellent customer service.
The second part of the speed factor is the images on your website. Creating a website with images that fit well and aren’t overly large is important.
A slow website is the best way to make visitors leave before they even see your content. Visitors won’t wait for more than 5 seconds so ideally, your site will load in 3 seconds or less.
Navigations that makes no sense
Websites with confusing navigation or no obvious organization are difficult for visitors to navigate. There’s nothing worse than visiting a website and having no idea what to do.
If a visitor can’t immediately figure out your website then they’re not likely to stick around. A website gets confusing when there are too many links, no visual hierarchy of links, or a non-standard website layout.
Those websites with a hamburger menu on the desktop view may be really slick and modern but they’re non-standard and for many, it leads to frustration. Websites aren’t for looks, they’re for business.
The last thing you want to do with a business website is make it difficult to navigate and convert into a lead.
Visitors will leave if they can’t find what they’re looking for. Making your navigation simple and clear helps them find what they need quickly.
Look At Your Website With Purpose
Every business website has a purpose. A website for website sake isn’t a good idea. But then again, nothing is a good idea without a plan and a purpose.
That’s why you have to change up how you look at your website so you can turn it into a website conversion tool rather than an expense.
We’d also love to talk to you about how you can turn your online presence into a lead generating powerhouse. Of course, we’ll provide you with a free 30-minute consultation to talk about your business, goals, and growth goals.