Is your website just taking up space, or is it actually working to bring you sales and leads?
Here’s the thing. Most business websites are either made with generic information plugged into a cookie-cutter template, or they spend so much time talking about how great the company is without even addressing the consumer’s needs or desires.
If your web designer isn’t going the extra mile to make sure your site is optimized for your business and your customers, you’re getting shorted.
A great website should take “best practices” elements and customize them to speak to your potential customers and prospects so that your website is actually working as an extra salesperson on your team.
You can accomplish this by marrying a user-friendly design with well-thought-out copy that speaks to your customers and prospects and drives them to action.
Want a website that turns casual browsers into paying customers? Start by incorporating these three must-have elements for a great website:
1. Make a great first impression
If you own a carpet cleaning business and the first thing someone sees is “Carpet Cleaning Services in Arkansas,” that doesn’t actually tell me as a customer why I need clean floors or why you are the business I should hire to clean them.
Let’s try to rework that headline to something more compelling:
“Providing peace of mind to families and businesses in Central Arkansas with top-notch floor cleaning and sanitation.”
This speaks to me more as a customer about what to expect from this company (top-notch services!) and why I need my floors clean (peace of mind for my family). Below this headline, you can further explore all the great benefits your clients are going to get by working with you.
The flip-side of the “too vague and generic” coin is writing your website in such a way that it’s full of jargon and flowery language that at best doesn’t really tell the reader what you do and at worst actively confuses them.
Let’s try another example.
“Successful solutions for metric-driven businesses striving for Everyday Operational Excellence”
...What?
“Helping businesses collect and interpret data so you can adapt to changing metrics and exceed expectations.”
This gives a much better idea of what exactly this business can do for you and your company.
When all else fails, remember to K I S S your copy: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Look at your web copy through the eyes of someone with absolutely no knowledge of your company. Could they determine in 15 seconds or less what your business does and who it serves?
2. Make a great first impression
Lots of web design agencies are eager to create websites that talk all about you, the business owner, and how great your business is. I’m not gonna lie, it’s a great boost to the ego to open up your website and see how it talks about “my 30 years of industry experience” and “our innovative new technology” and “our commitment to customer satisfaction.”
Here’s the hard truth: Your customer only cares about you in the sense of how you can solve their problems or give them a benefit they want.
That means your website should talk about your customer’s journey, and put them front and center in that story.
So instead …
Here’s an exercise. Go to your website and count how many times you are using language focused on yourself (I/me/our/etc) versus how many times you use customer-centric language (you/your).
Note: Most of the time you don’t want to talk about your customers in the third person (they/their). That’s basically like standing next to someone and talking about them like they’re not in the room. Instead, use you/your language to speak directly to your customers.
3. Make it clear what you want site visitors to do
One of the biggest website mistakes I see business owners make is not including a clear call to action on their website. This may be because they don’t want to seem too salesy or pushy, but the fact is your site visitors do NOT want to spend time figuring out how to buy from you or retain your services.
Make a clear call to action, whether that’s “Buy now” or “Book an appointment” or something else, and put that call to action near the top of the page, so it’s one of the first things visitors see.
Then, sprinkle that same call to action through the rest of your homepage so customers don’t have to scroll all the way up to find the call to action button again.
In addition to a clear call to action, make sure you’ve included in the copy of the page what the process of working with you looks like. It may be as simple as “Order now and receive your product delivered to your doorstep in 3-5 business days.”
Or, it may be a little more involved: “Schedule your free estimate today. I’ll come to your property, give you a quote, and let you know when my team can get started making your lawn beautiful again.”
Let your prospects know what to expect. This is especially important for service-based businesses where customers aren’t as familiar with the steps involved.
Start using your site to SELL!
There’s a lot that goes into making a great website that compels visitors to action. Mountains of books have been written on the subject. However, just by making these three simple changes to your website, you will have a great headstart on a site that works for you 24/7 to turn visitors into customers.
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