Does your company have a website that does practically nothing for you? If so, you’re not alone. In fact, you are part of the majority. You were probably excited to have it built, thinking it was key to growing your business, only to find out no one sees it or uses it to contact you. So what is it about some websites that makes them better at converting visitors into customers, while others fall flat? The answer is simple, really, but it’s also expensive. Let’s take a look:
Visibility
The first part of any process is getting found. Millions of people search Google for products services daily. Are you showing up at the top of the list? If not, that’s your first step. Consider all the possible scenarios where someone has a problem and they don’t already “have a guy”. If they think about it, they might text a close friend asking for a referral, or might “look for recommendation” on Facebook. But if they’re in enough of a hurry, they might just go to Google or ask Siri where to find the “best whatever it is they need”. You can get your website found numerous ways, but the quickest and easiest ways are:
- Business Directories: Most people don’t catch on to this right away, but both Siri and Alexa contract with Yelp to provide businesses and locations. If you don’t have a listing, you have zero change of showing up in the Siri search results. If you have an incomplete profile and/or you have bad ratings, Yelp may not offer you up first. They will however, if you’re paying them for advertising.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a number of activities intended to improve your ranking on Google search results. Hundreds, even thousands of people search for your product or service on a monthly basis. This solution is the more long-term version of the two, because once you are ranking on Google without paying Google directing, you will often stay there for a long time. In more competitive industries, you have to maintain high SEO costs to compete. If you’re interested in ranking your website and generating more business, you can hire us, or check out the Best SEO Companies according to DesignRush
- Google Paid Ads (PPC) is a great way to jump to the top of Google quicky. Advertising on Google often puts you in the first three search results. This is a great way to get the right in front of people looking for your product or service. The primary difference between Google advertising and SEO is, once your budget runs out, you no longer show up in the search results. This is why we consider it a great option to get leads quickly, and also a supplement to SEO.
User Experience
People trying to solve their problems are looking for answers fast. Think about: when you are tapping into the power of Google search, are you him-hawing around, or are you trying to get to the answers as quickly as possible? Option two, right?
So when other people are searching for your service, assuming you’ve solved the visibility problem, the next step is to ensure your website visitors are going to have an easy time finding the answer to their problem on your site. This includes how quickly your website loads, how it looks and feels on mobile and desktop, and how well the information is laid out.
To solve each of these problems, you will need different people who specialize in each area. Your website development company should be able to handle optimizing website load times. Your web designer should handle the design aspects, and your copywriter and sales team should handle how the information is laid out and displayed.
Trust Factors
Before you get all glazed over with technical jargon, let me break this down: When someone finds your business online for the first time, they don’t know you and they don’t trust you. They are scrutinizing everything about your business, trying to figure out if they should place their trust (and their money) with you. This is why we add trust elements to websites we design.: to help close deals fast. Trust factors might include:
- SSL certificate: Most web browsers today will not display a website unless you have a valid SSL certificate on your website. Instead of seeing all your wonderful sales message, they get fat “turn back now” screen. Google Chrome is especially notorious for this. Depending on your hosting provider, you may need to purchase an SSL Certificate for around $100 per year or more. At Enspyre, we provide them to our hosting clients included in their hosting fees.
- Professional design: If your website hasn’t been updated within the last three to five years, you’ve probably not going to land a lead from it. There have been major updates in website development in the last decade, including the deprecation of Flash, new versions of the foundational programming code. Your clients probably don’t understand any of that, but what they do know is, they’ve probably seen an up-to-date website, and if yours isn’t its not going attract trust.
- Updated Content: There isn’t much that’s more telling about a website than seeing the latest blog post from five years ago, or a copyright declaration from years before. By hiring a web design agency to manage and maintain your website, you can prevent having outdated content on your site.
- Grammar and Spelling: Have you ever tried reading through something, only to set it down after a slew of grammar and spelling errors? Most people are typically forgiving of a couple here or there, but after awhile it starts reflecting poorly on the owner of the website.
- Writing services today are extremely affordable. At just .10 to .25 cents a word, it’s pretty affordable to have a professional write your website content. If you just don’t have the funds, though, there are alternatives to ensure you’re not confusing visitors and sending them to your competitors.
- Showcasing business associates: Are you a part of any business organizations like your local Chamber of Commerce, Business Networking International, Better Business Bureau, etc.? Place their logos (with their permission) on your website and marketing materials. You can benefit from their brand recognition and their trust level in the community.
- Top client logos, awards: Do you already have clients working with you? Great! Let people know! You’ll notice some companies list a few of their client logos on their website. Now, why would they do that? Because it shows that other people already trust them and do business with them. You can do the same thing!
- Certifications: What certifications have you achieved in your industry? If you have any, these can act as indicator to prospects that you know what you’re doing. Having third party vouch for your skills is a great way to overcome the trust barrier with potential clients. We recommend listing them on your marketing materials, especially your website.
- Testimonials & Reviews: Have a few people that wouldn’t mind providing a testimonial about your business? List them on your website! If you’re going to ask for testimonials, make sure you ask these questions:
- What was the problem the client was having?
- What was it like working with you to fix it?
- Did you solve the problem?
- How did the client feel after the service was complete?
- Payment Processors: If you accept credit card payments, it’s a good idea to showcase which processors you accept. All of these things help build trust in a website visitors mind that you are a legitimate business worth giving a shot.
Copywriting
Most people can write. They can put words together in a (mostly) logical pattern and produce a message. What most people cannot do, is write words that sell. Don’t waste your time trying to write bland, do-nothing words that don’t help sell your product or service. You need to write (or hire someone to write) words that help your reader understand how your product or service solves their problems.
Avoid “creative writing” and go straight for the words that sell. Many digital marketing agencies “market” themselves as copywriters, when really they’re just creative writers that don’t know anything about sales. Your website should talk to your visitors like your best salesperson. The message on your site should reflect all the things you’d say to a client face to face to get them to buy.
- What are your clients pain points?
- How do you solve their particular pain points?
- What does it look like to work with you?
- What is your client’s life going to be like after you solve their problem?
Your website should quickly and effectively answer these questions:
- What services do you provide?
- What features do your services come with?
- What benefit does the client get from using your services?
Imagery
After building dozens of websites over the course of our business, we have learned that personalized photography is a must. You can use stock images temporarily, but people know what is stock and what is not. The biggest challenge stock imagery creates, is foreigners have access to stock images as well. This could leave visitors with questions as to the legitimacy of your business if they know nothing else about you.
Secondly, it does not introduce the client to you and your business. This is a big, missed opportunity to build trust before a prospect ever meets you. When your images are genuine and include you, your team and your brand, it creates a sense of familiarity when a client actually meets you. This can help with your close tremendously.
Conclusion
As you can see, a lot goes into building a website that gets visitors and converts them into customers. It takes more than a web design agency to build a cohesive website that loads quick and sends the right message. That is why we recommend using a marketing agency to handle your web development project from start to finish. If you would like to see the Top Bakersfield Web Designers by DesignRush. We hope you will consider us at Enspyre Digital!