As a business owner, you know that prospects who initiate contact with you are much more highly qualified than those you reach out to through some sort of cold contact. In light of that fact, the challenge for businesses that market online is how to convert website visitors into inbound marketing leads. Here are three ideas on how you can generate more inbound leads from your website.
Make your site easy to navigate
Some website developers, whether in-house or outsourced, are prone to incorporate all kinds of glitzy bells and whistles in the navigation of sites they design – flashing icons, garish buttons, and the like. They do this, I suspect, simply because they can. But internet users are an impatient lot. They want what they want (information), when they want it (now), and sites that are even a little bit complicated in terms of navigation will get left in the digital dust. Pay close attention to navigation, and keep it simple and functional.
Go easy on the promotional copy
While your whole purpose in publishing a website may be to attract inbound leads, there’s really no need to make that too obvious to your visitors. In fact, the opposite is true. The primary reason people use the internet is to find information. That’s why content is the key element in driving traffic to a website. So it follows that that’s what your primary focus as a website publisher should be. I realize that seems elementary, but you’d be surprised how many website publishers lose sight of that fact and start loading their pages with more promotional content and less information that might be deemed valuable by the visitor.
Offer relevant value in exchange for contact information
Many website publisher wisely offer some sort of free item (usually an ebook or report) as inducement for visitors to give up their name, email address, and other information. However, most simply place a form on their pages that generically offers the freebie. A more effective approach would be to create a content page of 400 words or so on the same topic as that covered in the ebook or report you’re offering. At the bottom of that page, or between two of the paragraphs on the page, you can place the form offering the ebook in exchange for the reader’s email address. Just don’t ask for any more than their first name and email address or you risk turning them off.
Of course, it’s equally important that the free item you offer be of real value. If it’s an ebook or report, it should be exclusive and well written. If you’re not really good at writing, you’d be better off hiring a professional to ghostwrite it.
As you develop and maintain your website, keep in mind that its primary purpose should be to generate leads. Long gone are the days of the internet as just a medium for digital brochures and catalogs. In today’s online world, it’s all about optimizing your website for lead generation by attracting visitors and providing them with a positive experience.
For professional SEO services that help connect your products and services with local buyers, contact us online or call 205-451-3376.
