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Web Design Tips to Generate More Leads Online

Building a website for your company is great, but building a website that doesn’t generate any leads online is, well, not so great.  Fortunately designing a site that brings in leads doesn’t have to be too hard or overwhelming. Follow our tips below on how to design a user-friendly website that will draw people in and convert them on the spot.

1. Know Your Audience

The first step before designing your site is to know your audience. You’ll want to create a persona that is a fictitious person that encompasses the characteristic of your typical customer. You can include demographics like age, gender, interests, purchasing habits, online behavior, job positions, hobbies or any other characteristics that you think will influence your target audience’s purchasing decisions. Once you have your personas developed you will be able to create your content based on what would be interesting to them.

This will save you a lot of time and effort that would have been wasted going after people that have little to no interest in what you have to offer. You wan to provide value with your content so it should be centered on how you solve the challenges and problems of your persona so that when they’re looking for solutions they find you.

According to HubSpot, using marketing personas can make your website 2-5 times more effective.

2. Make sure your website is well optimized

That last part brings us to our next tip – optimizing your website. Your audience is researching solutions to their challenges online way before they ever contact you. Website optimization or SEO is how they find your website when conducting their research.

To get the most out of your SEO you’ll want to design your content around your audience and not around search engines.  Publishing content without value to your audience is not going to get you anywhere.  Look for your target audience’s pain points, what they are searching for, and what terms or keywords are they interested then match the keywords in your content to the same terms. You’ll want to look for:

  • Keywords with a high number of searches
  • Keywords with a low competition

Download our guide for more on website optimization techniques.

3. Have compelling CTAs

Driving leads online to your site that don’t convert is essentially useless so you’ll want to capture their contact information.  In order to push your website traffic to the sales funnel you’ll want to have compelling CTAs on pages that cause users to take a specific action. Your call to action must offer your user something they would want in exchange for their information.  This will allow you to follow up and nurture the site traffic into customers long after they have left your site pages. The most compelling CTAs that cause users to convert include:

  • A visible position
  • A clear offering
  • An image or other visible component to grab attention
  • A link to a landing page where they will fill in their information to receive offer
  • A landing page that matches what the CTA had to offer
  • A simple form on the following landing page
  • A strong follow-up email

4. Add Testimonials and Case Studies To Your Website- Video is Best

Testimonials are a great way to attract and convert more leads. People love to see success stories and would be more compelled to contact you if they see that you helped solve problems for companies that were facing the same challenges they’re facing. Video testimonials are the best way to convey your success stories as they put a face and voice behind your success and instantly become more believable. Seeing the face of a happy smiling customer will make you seem trustworthy in the eyes of your potential customers compelling them to want to work with you to achieve the same results.

5. Measure and Test, Test, Test

This is a simple step but sadly often overlooked. Be sure to test everything on your site for bugs as nothing can make your audience flee faster than a broken link or bad user experience. A/b test different website page or content offers to see which one is more of interest to your visitors and consistently add new content to your site to improve your site.

Keep these tips in mind when designing your site and you’ll have an online “salesperson” that drives in qualified online leads ready to convert.

Inbound marketing will help you grow your business by attracting website visitors, converting them into leads and closing leads into customers

Website Redesign Process

The Website Redesign Process- Why Content Comes First?

The decision to redesign a website marks a major milestone in the growth of a business. It is a time to boost the brand image, refresh the look and content of the website, and update all the product listings and sales offers. Interestingly enough, although refreshing your website content is often ignored during the website redesign process, it should actually be near the top of the list.

Why Should You Refresh the Copy on Your Redesigned Website?

Copying over existing content from an old website to a new one seems like a good way to save money. However, it can actually end up costing you more in the long run. Instead refreshing your website will benefit your company in the following ways:

  • Your refreshed copy will give your new website a different layout, complete with latest in website design. Trying to force outdated content from an old web page onto your new site is not the best use of your time and resources.
  • Your refreshed website will reflect your current branding and product mix. More than likely, the focus of your business has changed since your last website redesign. You want your website to reflect this growth.
  • Your refreshed content on your new website will rank higher on search engines because it will be current and optimized. If your old content is not ranking well, copying it over to your new website is pointless. In fact, search engines could see it as duplicate content, which will pull your rankings even lower.
  • You’ll give your customers the new, relevant content they crave. Fresh and consistent content will attract more visitors to your website as well as increase customer loyalty.

[Read More: Essential Website Optimization Techniques To Increase Visitors

How Does Copy Fit Into the Website Redesign Process?

With so much riding on your website redesign, you need to make sure to hire the best people for the job. A copywriter is a critical member of the team who brings a specific skill set to the project. A good copywriter should be able to present a company’s benefits and key selling points. They should also understand the ins and outs of search engine optimization and know how to develop copy that search engines will love.

Developing copy begins in the earliest stages of website redesign. The site map, developed during the design phase, organizes each page on the site and identifies the content needed for each page. This is where the copywriter’s job comes in.

While the website designer works on wire frames, the copywriter begins developing content. Eventually, the two come together, marrying the design elements of the website with the copy contained within. This stage gives the team the ability to see how well the new design showcases the content, and vice versa.

After design approval, production begins. This is when the copywriter develops final copy and applies it to the new web page at the appropriate time. Although refreshing your new website’s copy may take work, it will pay off soon enough and give you a leg up on the competition.

17 SEO MYTHS YOU SHOULD LEAVE BEHIND

website redesign process

Do You Need to Redesign Your Website?

If your website has sat untouched for more than a few years, then there’s a good chance that it might be in need of an overhaul. Your website should be continually bringing in new leads, increasing your brand awareness and establishing your brand authority. If your website isn’t currently doing these things, then you’re not only limiting your ability to grow; you’re also helping your competitors as a direct result.

Signs you need a website redesign

If you’re wondering if you need a website redesign, then you’ll want to look for specific signs that show your website is in need of improvements. The following are some major signs that your website could benefit from being redesigned:

Your brand has undergone change

It’s not uncommon for a company to undergo a change in branding. This can happen if the company changes ownership or has changed direction; for example, to concentrate on a more niche market or to target a different audience. If your brand has changed, your website needs to reflect this. Keep in mind that your brand identity consists of much more than just your offerings or your logo. It’s your company’s narrative. Brand storytelling is how you get your audience to connect with you and to relate to you. Because of this, it needs to be prevalent throughout your site.

Your website ranks poorly

Every website receives rankings from Google. These rankings determine your site’s exposure on Google’s search engine results pages (SERP). Google uses its rankings to ensure that its users are provided with search results that are relevant and of high quality. The higher your ranking is, the more exposure you’ll have to people searching for topics relevant to your site. If your site ranks poorly, it means that you’re getting little exposure. This will also limit how much traffic your website will receive. Your redesign needs to implement the best practices of search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure a strong ranking.

Here are ten ways to use Google Trends to increase your SEO

Your website user-experience needs improvement 

Some of the factors that influence your website’s user-experience include how long it takes your webpages to load and how easy your site is to navigate. If your pages take too long to load or your visitors don’t know how to find what they are looking for, they’re likely to leave. Additionally, if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, it’s going to affect the way that your site is displayed on mobile devices. A lack of mobile optimization makes it difficult for mobile users to browse through your site.

Your website could improve its conversion rate 

If the ratio of purchases and opt-ins to your number of visitors is lower than you would like it to be, then there’s likely an issue with how your site is addressing each stage of the sales funnel. Your website should nurture visitors at every stage, whether they are looking for information about your company or product or whether they are ready to make a purchase. You should also have calls-to-action that are relevant to each page and that help drive your leads to convert.

Your website could use an updated look 

Aesthetics matter. The look of your website is going to leave a big first impression on your visitors. Consider the look of some of the websites you use on a regular basis. Today’s websites have generally moved to a cleaner and more elegant look.

You don’t regularly update your website

Your website generates all kinds of useful data you can leverage to improve your website’s design and adjust your marketing strategies. By implementing a growth-driven design model, you can continually update your website based on your website data, which you can gather using analytics. This will also allow you to focus your resources on areas where it will benefit your brand the most and to adjust strategies that aren’t working.

Want more resources on how to redesign your website? Click here!

  25 Website Must Haves For Driving Traffic, Leads & Sales

Using a Website Redesign Checklist

When it comes to redesigning your website, there are a lot of different elements you’ll need to address, which is why you should use a website redesign checklist. The following website redesign checklist will help you gather all of the data you need as well as address the most important aspects of your website’s design:

Analyze your current website

If you’ve committed to investing in a complete website redesign, then you probably know what you want to improve. However, you should use analytics to diagnose your site’s issues so that you know exactly what’s wrong. For example, if you’re visitor conversion rate is lower than you would like, look at data such as bounce rates, page load times, CTA click-throughs and shopping car abandonment rates to pinpoint where your issues lie. Other metrics you’ll want to pay attention to include:

  • SEO rankings for important keywords
  • Total number of sales generated
  • Number of visitors
  • Number of unique visitors
  • Domain authority
  • Number of new lead form submissions.

Establish your goals

If you don’t know what you want your website to accomplish, then you won’t know what direction to take your website redesign in. Without goals, you won’t know what to focus on, nor will you know whether your website redesign is successful once it’s up and running. Make sure that when you set your goals, you can tie them to measurable results. For example, if increasing your brand authority is your main goal, then track metrics such as:

  • The number of unique visitors,
  • Time spent on page
  • Social signals (shares, likes and comments)

Determine what works

Just because your current website might have a few issues doesn’t mean that there aren’t elements that work really well. For example, maybe you’re redesigning your site because you want to update its look; however, your content is actually very effective at drawing in visitors and capturing leads. More specifically, you’ll want to make sure that high ranking pages are kept in place. When auditing your site, take note of what you think is successful as well as what needs work.

Analyze your competitors

In addition to auditing your own website, you should audit the sites of your main competitors. Take note of everything you like and don’t like about their site. Your aim shouldn’t be to just copy what they do but to get an idea of what they are doing so that you can create a superior website experience.

Identify your UVP

Your unique value proposition (UVP) indicates exactly what your business does and what makes your services or products unique. A UVP helps you stand out from the competition. You need to know what your UVP is because it will inform all of the content that you create for your website.

Keep buyer personas in mind

Your website should appeal to your target audience. Your visitors need to be able to connect to your brand’s messaging, after all. To make sure that this happens, all of your content should cater to your buyer persona. A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer created using the available data you have from current and past customers, such as:

  • Demographics
  • Past purchases
  • Online behavior
  • Motivations
  • Needs
  • Wants
  • Concerns
  • Personal histories
  • Income

Here are the reasons why buyer personas are so important to a business

Map your buyer’s journey

Every visitor that comes to your website is going to be at one of three stages of the buyer’s journey. The first stage is the awareness stage, in which the buyer is seeking information that helps to define their problems or needs. The second stage is the consideration stage in which the buyer defines their problem and is searching for solutions. The final stage is the decision stage, in which the buyer chooses a solution. Your website needs to cater to visitors at every stage of the buyer’s journey in order to attract their attention, keep their attention and, finally, to convert them.

Set benchmark metrics

The goals you set should be general yet measurable. For example, the goal to increase brand authority is a long-term goal that doesn’t end. Because of this, you should set benchmarks so that you can judge your site’s performance. For example, social signals are a good metric for measuring brand authority. You could set benchmarks for how many shares you want to average per blog post by a certain date. If your metrics meet this benchmark by this date, then you know that your redesign is working and you can set the goal posts even further. If you don’t meet this benchmark, then you may need to make more adjustments.

Optimize your site for SEO

Implementing a strong search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is vital to consistently attract new visitors. Google takes into account a variety of factors, including keywords, link juice and social signals. You’ll need to do keyword research to identify unique keywords relevant to each page. These keywords should be used naturally in your titles, headers, body content, anchor text, alt image tags, HTML tags, meta tags and title tags. External links are earned by promoting and linking to your website’s content via social media, submitting your website information to local directories and by writing guest blogs. Social signals are earned by getting visitors to engage with your content, such as by liking, sharing or commenting on it.

Optimize your site for mobile use 

Many people use their smartphones and tablets to browse the Internet. This means that your website will need to load and display properly no matter how small the screen size is. The easiest way to ensure that your site is mobile-friendly is by using a responsive design. You can check to see if your current site is mobile-friendly by using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. Just type in the address for each webpage and it will determine how mobile-friendly it is.

Find opportunities for conversion

Calls-to-action should be used on every page to encourage visitors to convert. Without calls-to-action, visitors won’t know what you want them to do. Not only should you use relevant CTAs on every page, you need to offer something of value to visitors in return for opting-in. Depending on your what your business offers, this could include downloadable eBooks and white papers, email newsletter subscriptions, product discounts, free trials, free consultations and more. Unique landing pages should be crafted for every call-to-action that focus on the visitor’s needs, your UVP and how what you’re offering can benefit them.

Implement a content strategy

Whatever your goals are for your website, their success will depend on your content strategy. You need to provide high-quality content that is relevant to your buyer persona’s needs and concerns and that is informative, helpful and unique. The best way to do this is through a website blog. Additionally, you’ll need to regularly publish new content to keep your audience engaged and to make sure that they return to your site. While writing good content is important, you’ll need to market it as well. An important part of your content strategy is establishing exactly when you publish your content (it should always be on the same day at the same time) and where and how you promote your new content.

Continually improve

Don’t assume that once you’re done with your website redesign that you’re finished. A good website design is one that is always being improved. You should track your metrics and make adjustments to your design whenever needed. If you meet your goals, you should establish new ones. Move your goal posts further so that your website can continue to grow and improve. Additionally, you should always be uploading new content to keep your website fresh, thereby maintaining or improving your search engine rankings.

Want more resources on how to redesign your website? Click here!

  25 Website Must Haves For Driving Traffic, Leads & Sales

https google

Why HTTPS Google?

The world is settling in the digital age, privacy and security are the growing concern to most of us. Businesses and individuals are questioning the web on the security of the websites we use to send sensitive information like bank details and credit card information. We have been using different methods of informing the users that the connection that they are using, is secure. One of the methods used was an icon that looks like a lock next to the website address. This is all about to change.

Google launched that HTTPS that would be used as a factor in ranking websites. HTTPS symbolizes HyperText Transfer Protocol. This communication protocol is a safer upgrade from the HTTP that we have been using over the last 30 years. This upgrade enables your websites to transfer information safely and faster. The HTTPS protocol was efficient but was limited in its security functions. It was vulnerable to hackers and interference from third party sites.

How it works

HTTPS Google is an upgraded version of the HTTP that we have gotten used to. Blanketed in protective layers of SSL. The SSL, standing for Secure Sockets Layer that encrypts information sent over the Internet. The function of the SSL serves the purpose of confirming that you are speaking with the right person. It also encrypts and decrypts information being carried out in between two points.

The most intriguing part of this Protocol is that anyone who is trying to intercept your messages will be unable to get the actual information that you send over. So whenever your website is protected, your information is as safe as can be.

What are the benefits for you?

You are not the only one unsure about registering your websites. Most of us are unaware of the benefits that are in store for our websites. Let us look at some of them:

  • It offers you end-to-end encryption to secure private information.
  • It increases trust and confidence in web related transactions
  • It eliminates the need of browser warnings on insecure websites.
  • It keeps your sensitive information from leaking to the wrong hands.
  • HTTPS Google secures rankings for websites that register SSL certificates.
  • It eliminates costs you incur by registering multiple sites under one SSL certificate
  • It increases conversion rates for your website giving you better rankings.

Google HTTPS identification

Google is pushing for you to get your SSL certificates. The websites still under the HTTP protocol will be labeled as not secure. As opposed to remaining neutral or showing a lock, Google has adapted that strategy to be executed in stages. Eventually, Google will change the “circle i” to a red triangle for broken web links to notify the user of the danger. That is effective as of January 31st.

What does this mean for SEO?

A lot of websites are shy from switching to HTTPS because it will affect the SEO rankings attached to your business. This is not true. HTTPS Google is transparently assuring you of its safety.  As a website owner you should take steps to ensure that your website traffic is not affected.

Learn more on how you can increase your wesite traffic through SEO.

You need to communicate with the Google team that you are moving from HTTP to HTTPS. They will direct you on the steps you need to take. HTTPS Google has offered this tips to ensure you are covered.

  • Get certificates according to your needs. Single, wild card or multi- domain certificate
  • Use the same URLs contained in secure domains
  • The bit key certificates you use should be around 2048 bits
  • Use protocol related URLs in al domains
  • Avoid blocking your HTTPS website from crawling through robots.txt.
  • Ensure to avoid non-index Meta tags being issued.
  • Use the https Google tips on Google Webmaster to figure your way around and track your migration to the last detail.

Migrating from HTTP to HTTPS will secure your website a place in this world that is constantly under pressure to develop and advance.

  25 Website Must Haves For Driving Traffic, Leads & Sales