How to get more leads? It’s the age-old question that keeps small business owners up at night.
At Little Rocket Sites, I believe a website is central to your lead generation strategy. But just because you build a site, doesn’t mean you’ve suddenly turned on a lead-pumping machine. It takes work to get it right.
That’s why I’ve put together these six tips on how to get more leads through your website.
1. Keep Your Navigation Simple
Navigation is quite possibly the most important dimension of website design. Yes, more so than the design itself—certainly more important than button colors.
Navigation is all about how you organize your site’s information to make it simple for your customers to find what they’re looking for. Remember: Navigation should not be based on what you believe is most important, but instead on what your customers think is most important.
Consolidate your navigation (also referred to as the menu) into as few categories as possible. Seven is usually the max, but I would recommend aiming for four to five labels. The more you add, the more difficulty you create for the customer as they try to navigate your website.
2. Use Menu Labels People Understand
Speaking of navigation, let’s talk menu labels. The names you give these labels is crucial to generating leads.
Too often I run across websites that have substituted their own “spin” on a traditional label. “Contact Us” becomes “Let’s Get in Touch.” It may seem innocuous, but the majority of websites we visit every day train us to look for the label “Contact Us.”
Thus, the rewritten “Let’s Get in Touch” throws us off and makes us think: “Does that page mean it has contact info, or is it some sort of chat tool?”
Confusion leads to poor experience which leads to no leads for you.
3. Make It Easy for Customers to Contact You
This may seem obvious, but it’s routinely overlooked. Maybe it’s because web designers get too caught up in the design of the site, or maybe arguments over the navigation force concessions that result in bad decisions.
Whatever the case, too often websites forget to make it easy to contact you. I’ve seen too many websites that don’t have the basic, tried-and-true “Contact Us” button in the menu. Don’t be that website.
But adding a “Contact Us” button is only the first step. What else does easy mean? For that, let’s go next to…
4. Provide Multiple Ways for Customers to Contact You
Users who visit your website are not automatons. They don’t think how you want them to think. They visit your website with a lot of baggage that you’ll never be able to fully understand: They may be on their phone walking to their next meeting; they may have just read a news article that put them in a foul mood; or perhaps they just spent the last half-hour watching funny YouTube videos and they’re in a giddy mood.
In any case, everyone visits your website in their own way with their own attitudes and preferences. Therefore, it makes no sense to provide them with ONE WAY to contact you.
Provide your phone number. Include forms on every page. Add your email to the menu AND the footer. Consider including a chat widget. You can never be too redundant when it comes to providing contact info.
5. Answer Common Questions Your Customers May Have
If a salesperson approached you out of the blue and started selling you a 2004 Civic Honda for $5,000, you’d pull the nearest fire alarm just to get the hell out of there.
Why? Because no one likes to be sold to!
Believe it or not, your website is a salesperson. And if you create a website that acts like a used car salesman, then you will never generate leads.
So how do you avoid this situation? You know the answer. You must treat your customers as people and help them solve a problem by answering their most common questions. The front page of your website can do this by addressing the pain points your customers often have. Your blog can provide detailed insight and expertise your years in the business provide you.
6. Optimize Your Website Around One Central Keyword Phrase
It’s a well-established fact that Google helps generate leads for business. People turn to Google every day seeking businesses to help solve their problem. If you can be found there, you’ve got it made.
RELATED: “Why Your Business Needs SEO”
But what should be found for?
I know, I know. “Everything!,” you say. Well, I’m afraid you can’t be found for everything. But you can be found for at least one thing. And that one thing can MEAN everything to your business.
Determine what phrase you believe your business ought to be known for. What separates you from your competitors? Say you’re a lawn equipment seller in a crowded market but you’re the only one who rents the equipment. Instead of setting your sights on “lawn equipment,” try “lawn equipment for rent.”
Yes, you may desperately want to be known for “lawn equipment,” but it’s too competitive. Adding “for rent” could help you own the market, even if it’s smaller than the one you want. And money in the bank is, my friend, money in the bank.
So, How to Get More Leads? Use Little Rocket Sites!
I can help you build a website that generates leads. Contact me today to learn more.
