seo

How to stop your website leaking leads like a sieve

Do you find that the vast majority of visitors to your website come and go without making contact? And have you ever tried to work out the value of those lost opportunities?

We know that more than 92% of Kiwis use the internet to research trades, services and products. That’s a lot of potential business in anybody’s book. It also leaves no doubt that the internet is a primary shopping channel for both business-to-business and consumers (whether services or products).

To get more business, conversion needs to be your highest priority

The preoccupation with many business appears to be in generating traffic, instead of increasing conversion. Higher conversion, even with a quarter of current traffic, will most likely keep the company in profit for a very long time.

Your prospective client will give you just 10 seconds to impress them (The 2009 ‘CA Web Stress Index’). A site that’s too slow to load, or an introduction that only talks about yourself – instead of what’s in it for your customer – will likely be low in conversion power.

Two tips to improve conversion

1. “Information content” is considered the most important measure of a company and its website’s credibility, followed by design, security and privacy (Elsevier Science B.V.).
   So if your information is not engaging, informative and easy to understand, you will lose business. Most buyers want information first, and the companies who are best able to provide them with information rich content that is objective, helpful without being pushy, is most likely to convert web traffic.

Customer ratings and reviews can exponentially increase your conversion rates. 

• “90% of consumers online trust recommendations from people they know; 70% trust opinions of unknown users” - (Econsultancy) 
• “MarketingExperiments tested product conversion with, and without, product ratings by customers. Conversion nearly doubled, going from 44% to 104% after the same product displayed its five-star rating” - (MarketingExperiments Journal) 
• “79% of online UK retailers surveyed reported that the main benefit of consumer-generated rating and reviews was that they improved site conversion rates” - (eMarketer).

In summary, by providing good quality information that assists the decision making process of your customer, and then backing up your own credibility with proof through third party reviews, are just two conversion tactics – among many – that can make a difference to the success of your website.

When it comes to online content marketing and social media, are you confusing process with strategy?

New Zealand companies keen to implement an effective online content marketing programme should be wary of confusing strategy with process. By this I mean the act of having 'articles on your website, perhaps having a blog, being 'on' Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn… is not strategy, it's merely process.

I hear so many social media experts urging companies to get on Facebook and Twitter, but there’s very little on how, where and why – which are both strategic questions.


Key to engaging with modern day customers / consumers / clients online, on social media and through traditional channels like mainstream media and newsletters, is…

1. Actually offering information and functionality that is relevant to their lives or business

2. Understanding what positioning you want to occupy in the mind of your various personas (target markets)

3. Having a clear set of objectives about what you want to achieve

4. Knowing what your key messages are

5. Understanding what motivates your buying personas, their needs, concerns, and problems… 


There are a number of other questions to answer, but I’m sure you get the gist.


To engage with customers and prospects today, you must add value with information (content) that is informative, educational, functional or entertaining.


Research by customer service training providers KiwiHost, into what New Zealanders want, reveals that customers want businesses to show a willingness to help. Secondly, to listen and understand what their needs are and thirdly, and most importantly, to take responsibility and ensure those needs are met.


Does your website talk about yourself, or does it offer content (news, 'how to' articles, video, podcasts, apps, white papers, eBooks) that helps your audience solve their own problems or enhance their lives and or businesses in some way?


If you are not answering the ‘what’s in it for me?’ question your readers will ask, then you might need to reconsider your strategy.


Once you know what your customers want to hear and how you're going to say it, then and only then is it time to look at how you can distribute that content via social media (i.e. Twitter, YouTube), blogs, mainstream media (i.e. NZBusiness), content directories (ezine.com), social news sites (DIGG), newsletters and the myriad other places available to publish content.

Why build a shop and not tell anyone you're open?

It is amazing how many people we meet that have great websites (or not) but are not necessarily generating much, or any income from their website . . .  the reasons . . . there are many factors to consider including Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), correct content, branding, visual impact, easy navigation, quick loading, great imagery and the list goes on.

Unfortunately it is not as simple as 'build a website and they will come' exercise. Like any good tools used to market your business you have to make sure it grabs the attention of your audience. If they don't know you exist, or where you are then they are never going to be a customer. There are no quick fixes, no short cuts, and there are plenty of SEO scams claiming results that are simply not going to create long term growth for your business online.

The process can be simple if you are working with someone who is interested in making sure that your website becomes one of the most powerful marketing tools in your business. A website can generate a significant proportion of new business and income if it is done correctly. Make sure the company you choose has had experience in generating these type of results. Ask lots of questions, make sure you are included in the process - get reports on what has actually needs to be done and how it will be executed.

To sum up, make sure that your website is working 24/7 for you and generating lots of new business for you. If it isn't, you'll need to question why not and then get in touch with someone who can change all that for you.