As a business owner, you take pride in your place of business, whether it’s a storefront or an area where you provide your services (an office).  After all, you don’t want to make a terrible impression on any customers walking in through your front door.  How embarrassing would it be if these customers were greeted by dust bunnies and grime everywhere?

Just like your place of business, your website is an extension of your business.  This means that if you don’t have a website, you’re losing a lot of revenue.  These days, people love to check out information on the internet.  This is your chance to impress them or push them closer to your competition.

Now, if you do have a website but one that doesn’t “convert”, you may as well set fire to a few hundred dollar bills every month… even thousands.  This is where website conversion plays a huge role; so what does the term “website conversion mean”?

Just because you have a website, it doesn’t mean that it is bringing customers through your front door.  The job of your website is to provide information that your potential customers are seeking, to impress them, and to finally get them to call you, email you, or to get them to walk through your front door.  If people are coming to your website and these potential visitors never take any action, then you may as well not have a website!

How do you know if your website is doing all the proper things and helping your visitors become your customers?  Let’s take a look at three main things your website should be doing effectively:

1. Helpful Content

You would think this is obvious but we have come across all types of clients whose websites are either lacking information or provide vague information.  If you were to print a brochure for your business, wouldn’t you hire a professional to take care of the copy?  So why hire a professional designer to launch a website and then skimp on hiring a copywriter?  Why not hire a skilled writer, who can a mundane description of what you do and make you look like the KING or QUEEN of your trade?

Either you can say, “oh, what beautiful weather today” or engagingly express, “As I was walking along the main garden today, I could feel the warm sun gently kissing my arms.  The soothing breeze made my body shudder with deliciousness and made for perfect weather.  My God, today has been a beautiful day!”
See the difference?  Your content SELLS YOU & YOUR SERVICES!

2.  Easy User Flow and Good Design

Believe it or not, the way your website is laid out, the content, the design, essentially the “user flow” has a lot to do with website conversion.  For instance, if the design is ugly, your visitor will hit the back button and exit your website.  If the information isn’t laid out in the way it will make sense to your potential customer, guess what?  They’re not going to sit around and keep fishing for it!  They are going to end up on your competitor’s website and get what they need…

…and end up calling them.  A person who could easily have been your customer is now your competitor’s customer!
Things that need to be considered for a smooth layout are the menu, the way the content is presented (in digestible and savory chunks), the color scheme of your whole website, and in general, how all the information is presented.

Think of it this way: your website is kind of like a rabbit hole.  You need to feed your potential customers tasty nuggets of information they need and want until you have them ready to call you for an appointment.

Lastly, your website is an extension of your business, so treat it as such.  An ugly, badly designed website will turn off your customers just like an ugly, old, dirty storefront or office space will.

3.  Provide Contact Information

You may already have a contact page and that is great.  In fact, it is necessary.  However, if you don’t have all of your contact information visible on every page, this can be a costly mistake.

You want your business phone number and email to be part of the sidebar or header of your website so that whenever the visitor clicks on another page, this information is ALWAYS visible to them.

You want to make it extremely easy for potential customers to call or email you.  Don’t annoy your potential customer by making them chase your contact information!

Conclusion

If you don’t have certain mechanics in place, you may as well go over to your competitor, look him in the eyes, and congratulate him on the customers he stole from you!  Not sure how your website is faring?  If you decide you want to make your website work for you, give us a call or email us for an evaluation.