How to attract new website visitors (and convert them)
Inbound lead generation relies on a smart looking website designed around some key principles. Don’t forget, your company website is your 24/7 shop window; and like any shop window, to attract and convert leads, and win new business, it needs to be pristine, fresh, relevant and interesting.
A properly designed and well-maintained website will attract visitors and increase your inbound marketing results by encouraging prospects to return for the latest information.
Here’s how some simple inbound marketing tactics can boost your web traffic and convert visitors into tangible sales results.
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The blog post: Your company blog is a low cost and very effective way to encourage visitors to your website. Each time you create a blog post, you’re really creating a new web page on your site, with all the opportunities for keyword placement and SEO that presents. Over time, Google will recognise the authority that all of this information implies and your search ranking will improve accordingly. Keep the blog clear and simple, with informative, relevant articles that provide free help to potential customers. In this way you will win their trust and respect.
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Make a free offer: Encourage visitors to return with offers (CTAs, or calls-to-action will be covered in a future post, but you can read about how to use them to generate leads here). Those offers aren’t necessarily price-related, but can be free information, such as an eBook containing information that your prospects would find helpful (you can see our guide to Hybrid Marketing here, to get an idea of what works). This method is also an excellent way to build up a mailing list of potential customers who have previously shown interest in your products or services.
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Be professional: Verbose or unprofessional copy on websites gives out the wrong impression to your potential customers, and makes them less likely to return. Keep it sharp and professional. A short, well-defined and customer-focused description, explaining key information with proof points, will always win over wordy, or poorly evidenced claims. If you’re not a good writer, ask for help from someone who is, or even hire a writer using an on-line portal like Zerys.
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Use Social Media: Promote your content offers via social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook are the main sites. Many people are having success with Instagram now too). Don’t forget though, people won’t pay attention to you if all your posts are promoting your company. So use the 80/20 rule. 80% curated content (essentially, other people’s content that you share) and 20% your promotional stuff. Curating content doesn’t have to be difficult. Sites like Scoop.it can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you (and are also great places to promote your own content for other people to curate).
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Use and develop appropriate links: Reciprocal linking with professional bodies and other businesses is a way of building your company’s profile and Google ranking. Linking via groups on LinkedIn and Google+ can help put you in touch with like-minded people, as well as expanding your company’s influence and channelling your inbound marketing strategy to those most likely to be interested.
- Put your name in print: The final point regards where your company name will be seen. A solid presence on the internet is clearly paramount, but putting your web and email address on every piece of company literature, from stationary to business cards, will help drive traffic to your site. This way, you can increase the opportunity for potential customers to view and interact with your business.
So:
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Give your customers something to pique their interest.
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Offer free, helpful, relevant content and be sure to promote through social media
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Keep everything professional (professional doesn’t have to mean boring)
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Connect with the right people and companies through reciprocal links, on-line groups and social media
- Advertise your website at every available opportunity and through every available media. Successful inbound marketing lead generation can come from a multitude of sources.
Attracting website visitors and converting them to leads as part of your inbound marketing strategy is not easy, and there is no one way to guarantee success, but following these guidelines will give you a solid base to work from.