More than just an online business card, your  website is a way for you to find new customers, or more importantly, a way they can find you. So how can you get the most out of the time and money you’ve invested into your website? The answer is to make sure you have a truly lead capture focused website.

What does that really mean? I might sound a bit complicated to designers and non-designers alike, but the good news is that with the help of a few resources, we’re going to show you some simple steps you can take to stand out to those searching for you and turn your website into a lead generation machine!

1. Know Your Audience – Before you can worry about design at all, you’ve got to know exactly who you’re trying to attract. Your company website exists for potential clients to reach you to solve their problem. So first and foremost, you should do your research on your market and your desired clientele.Questions to ask yourself are: Who have been my current audience online? Are they real buyers, or just lukewarm shoppers? Who do I actually want to read this? What are they looking for? What are their pain points? How can I provide a solution? How can I express all of that through a few words, images, or videos on my website? By finding the answers to those questions, you’ll be much better equipped to build a site dedicated to capturing more (and the right) leads.

2. You’re A Pro, So Look Like One – Let’s say you’re ready to design (or redesign). You should have a simple and professional looking site. No one wants to browse to a website for some information and be bombarded with words and boxes and 47 different colors, all sorts of font types and sizes and well, you know where I’m going with this. So, strive for a clean, simple and professional looking design. Take advantage of whitespace. No need to confuse folks with information they may not even really need (or want). Have your company name and logo clearly displayed. Make it simple to navigate etc. Here at NoRiskSEO, we recommend using a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress or Magento to build your website. It’s one of the most efficient ways to do it and you can make changes whenever you want.
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3. Display your Contact Info Prominently – It seems simple enough, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone on a company’s website to inquire about a service, be it a pest control company to help me get that trail of ants off my counter, to a landscaping company to help me do the yard work I’m too lazy to do, and I have to search through the depths of the website to find any contact information! I don’t like to do that and neither do your visitors. 55% of visitors spend 15 seconds on a website before clicking on another one if they can’t find the information they’re looking for. With that being said, you need to provide visitors with the right information. NOW. This includes company name, contact number, email, address, and links to all of your social media profiles.

4. About Us – Speaking of information, have informative and concise details about your company easily accessible. Including an “About Us” section, a few pictures, or maybe even a short overview video that speaks to your audience.

5. Call To Action – If you want visitors to take action, invite them to do so. Include a “CTA” form on every page. Instead of using “click now” CTA’s, shake things up a little with phrases like “try it for free” or “learn more” or “see how it works.”

6. Offers – This for that. Offer your visitors something valuable in exchange for their information, whether it’s a free ebook, or free trial, or a subscription.

7. Content Marketing – Like discussed on earlier posts, having a blog, or good content, is an effective way to not only draw potential customers to your site but also keep them there. A blog is a great tool to increase traffic, position you as a brand leader, and develop better customer relationships.

8. Testimonials – Testimonials are a great marketing tool. You should include real names and images. They add even more of a human touch, they can build trust, and they can make your product or service feel more real to your potential clients before they even call you.

Of course, what we’ve covered today are just some of the basic things you can do to make your website a little more lead-centric. Perhaps the most important thing a business can do is test what’s working, and what’s not, making changes accordingly. Bottom line, the world of digital marketing can be complex, but with a few simple steps, you can accomplish a lot.

For more information, you can use this guide and learn how you can make improvements to your website a little more in depth.

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