So, you already have a business website.
It’s really nice. It has a nice color palette, a font combination that’s not Papyrus and Comic Sans, with some sleek custom animations. Great.
But, it’s just there. People look at it–and then leave.
Your bounce rate is about 90%. (Yikes!) Out of your 1,000 monthly users, you expect to get maybe at least 2-4 calls per week. But…there’s none.
For now, you’re still stuck with making cold calls and printing leaflets, while your web host continues to charge you month by month.
What could be wrong?
These days, it’s not just enough to have a website. It has to be a good one. And a good website isn’t just pretty, it has to be designed to generate revenue for you.
But…how?
Here are 5 simple tips that we swear will transform your idle website into an effective lead-generation machine:
#1. Post your phone number on the header…and make it bigger.
I know, I know, you already have a page for that. If they want to reach you, they will just click ‘Contact Us’ on your menu.
But you know what your menu looks like on mobile, right?
If you have a mobile-friendly website, chances are, your Contact Us link is buried under a hamburger icon (≡). That means a mobile user has to go through at least 4 steps to call you:
- tap the hamburger icon
- tap ‘Contact Us’
- swipe to find your number
- and finally, tap to call your number.
Plus another step if your phone number isn’t a click-to-call link.
Now, imagine If you run a business that deals with emergencies, such as a leaky ceiling, broken AC, or clogged bathroom drainage. Karen is in a hurry, and she has no time for 5 steps to call a handyman!
So consider making it easier for your fussed customers to call you. Put your phone number on your topbar or opposite your logo. Make it big and bold. Make it a click-to-call link, too!
And when I say ‘phone number,’ I don’t just mean ‘phone number.’ Designers and marketers have a term for it: “CTA”, which stands for “Call-to-Action.”
Whatever user action that drives revenue for your business–whether it’s booking a reservation or scheduling a consultation–you should place it on your header, and make sure it pops.
#2. Make your message loud and clear.
So what’s your website about?
Is it a business website, a web brochure, or an online shop? Are you selling products, services, or software?
These are the questions that users need to know right at the very first glance.
I know it seems so redundant and obvious to you. You’ve already presented your company profile dozens of times.
Maybe you’d rather intrigue your customers. Or maybe you expect your visitors to know a little bit about you. After all, you could already have a pretty successful business that’s well-known in your area.
But that’s the thing about the internet. It goes WAY beyond people who know you.
Who knows, maybe a potential client or business partner is looking for businesses like yours from the other side of the globe? Are you willing to miss an opportunity like that?
Users aside, another reason why you need to be clear about the nature of your business is SEO. Google needs to know what searches are relevant to your website.
So if you are a building contractor in Georgia, a moving company in Mississippi, or a salon in Idaho, Google needs to know.
And the only way to let Google know is by putting it on your website.
#3. But…don’t overwhelm your users.
“They say I need to make everything easy to find… So what if I just link each of my 42 posts on the sidebar? Or the header? Makes things easier to find, right?” – Borgy
Go home, Borgy. You’re drunk.
Yes, adding 20 top-level menu items on your header navigation probably makes it easier for users to see them.
BUT conversely, this actually makes it less probable that they’ll click on them. Studies show that giving users up to 7 menu items (instead of 20) makes it more likely for them to stay and engage with you.
Why? It’s Hick’s Law. The more choices you have, the longer it takes you to make a decision.
If you want users to make a decision–especially a purchase decision–then it is best to limit their choices instead of bloating them.
I know, you only want ALL of your pages and posts to be seen. But unfortunately, your users cannot spare you more than 8 seconds to scrutinize your menu options. If they can’t figure out what to click, they’ll probably leave.
If you really have a lot of content, instead of linking them all as top-level items, why not sort them into categories? And if you have lots of categories–then make bigger clusters of them. Once you have less than 10, then it’s time to link each of them to your sidebar.
#4. Collecting emails? Offer value first, show form later.
If you are trying to build an audience, like a newsletter, you’ve probably heard of lead magnets.
Lead magnets are freebies that provide some form of value to your customers–it could be a checklist, a template, or an eBook–anything that they get in exchange for their email address. (Be sure to check out our own lead magnet: Your Guide to DOMINATING Google 3-Pack)
A common way to go about this is to embed the lead magnet offer at the bottom of blog posts, with a signup form beside it.
But UX studies show that there’s a better way to do it: by putting your offer front and center, and showing the form IF AND ONLY IF they click the “Get This” button.
Why? Because clicking a button is much easier than filling out a form. So there’s less energy involved in making the initial action (clicking the button).
When they finally see your form, they’re not passive scrollers anymore. They’ve subconsciously converted into active users.
By Law of Inertia, this makes them more likely to follow through and submit the signup form.
If you’ve been struggling with growing your audience, try this simple trick, and I swear, it will work wonders.
#5. Some good ol’ GREAT copy.
Great copy provides value, engages, and persuades.
At the end of the day, you can have all the tricks in the web design book, but if you have boring content, people will leave.
On the other hand, you could have a super simple website. But if your readers are engaged and get so much value out of it, people will stay for your content.
In our experience with SEO and running digital campaigns, we’ve proven time and time again that Content is King. If people follow and trust what you write on the internet, people will remember you.
And the more people remember you, the more likely it is that they’ll buy from you.
“But…I’m not a copywriter…”
The good news is that there’s plenty of great talent out there. You can search on Upwork or Fiverr, or our local equivalent, OnlineJobs.ph. Be sure to scan their portfolio too and run a plagiarism check to make sure that you are not hiring a hack.
And in case you’re not aware, we at Red Five Digital also offer Content Marketing services. We have a small team of writers, but we get things done.
Conclusion
Web design is beyond making things pretty. Your ability to create great design depends on your knowledge of your brand, your target market, and their behavior as technology users.
If you’ve been struggling with turning web visitors into customers, we can help. Red Five Digital is a full-service digital marketing agency that specializes in SEO. Let us create your digital marketing strategy today. Click right HERE to schedule a FREE consultation.
