You hear so much about people optimizing their website for the search engines. That is a good idea and I encourage that, but you must keep in mind that the search engines are not the ones who will become customers, people are. So, that being said, is your website optimized for humans and lead conversions as well? Making onsite adjustments can do wonders to increase your conversion rate.
What do you want your visitors to do?
This might seem kind of obvious, but surprising enough there are a lot of websites out there that make it hard to find a telephone number or a contact form. If your only call-to-action is the contact us tab in your navigation and telephone number in your footer, you’re probably converting a small percentage of visitors to leads and are literally leaving potential business on the table.
Think about the way you present your information and how a visitor would potentially navigate around your website. Next, think about how you would like them to navigate around your website. Start making adjustments to provide the information visitors seek while leading them through your desired path or funnel.
Calls-to-action
As I mentioned earlier, if your only means of obtaining a lead on your website is through your contact us tab and page, then you are most likely not converting the visitors you worked so hard to get into leads.
There are many ways to add calls-to-actions to your site. You can add a graphic, short form or hyperlinks on each page that prompts your visitor to take one more step to get more information. Be sure to have graphics link to a short web form. I say short because if you try to ask for to much information, visitors will bounce. Try to keep your forms simple by only asking basic information. People are more likely to give up their name and email but not likely to give up a long form full of requests.
Your content and imagery is what is potentially “selling” the visitor on what you offer. If your copy and imagery are well-done, you’ll have an interested visitor. Make it fast and easy for them to obtain more information.
Give stuff away
Another popular avenue is to give things away in exchange for information. You can offer case studies, white papers, ebooks, free trials etc. on your website. Offer these in exchange for a name and email address. Once you have a little information from them, you can begin to add them to your email list (be sure to stay CAN-SPAM compliant). Taylor custom email campaigns around your forms so that you can nurture the lead and increase your chances of converting them into a customer.
SEO is important, very important, but consciously optimizing your site to maximize conversions is smart and important. A well optimized site for search and for conversions will transform your website from an online brochure to a 24 hour sales person.
Many people get tunnel vision when running an SEO campaign. The ears are pinned back and the focus on reaching the coveted front page of Google for a desired keyword is all that is often thought about. But what happens when you are lucky enough to land that prime real estate on the first page of Google?
The tides in the marketing arena have shifted and most marketers and business owners now see the value of SEO. Search engine optimization encompasses so much and there is a lot to be done to build a thriving web presence. But of all the tasks an online marketer does, which ones are most important and have the most value?
