Category: Web Site Tips

One of the most important parts of any marketing effort is the call to action (or CTA). This also is true for the web pages on your small business web site – each page should have a clear, compelling CTA to guide your visitors to do something as a result of visiting your site. Whether it’s making a purchase, making a phone call, or joining your mailing list, your visitors should feel so motivated by your information that they want to take the next step, whatever that next step may be.

A call to action can be as simple as “click here” or Call Us Toll Free at 800-your-number-here. But is that really enough to get a visitor to click a link or pick up the phone? If your CTAs are not motivating your web site visitors to take some sort of action, then it may be time for a Call to Action Makeover.

Easy As 1-2-3

There are three basic elements to a successful call to action. They are:

1) What you want your visitors to do
2) Why you want them to do it (the benefit to them)
3) When they should they take the requested action (so it doesn’t get put off until later)

Typically, a call to action comes at or near the end of a web page, after readers have spent some time reviewing the information on the page. When creating a call to action, you should try to maintain the connection you’ve established with your readers, and lead them toward the next logical step – taking some type of action.

For example, a landscaping services page may have great page copy that explains the benefits of using their lawn maintenance services, how their pricing can save customers money, and how their products are environmentally friendly. Using the call to action “Call Us Toll Free” does little to motivate a visitor to do anything. But using a CTA like this could work better:

“Because our lawn maintenance services get such great results, the Spring/Summer schedule for services in your area fills up quickly. We recommend you call us at 800-lawns4u to arrange for your free consultation as soon as possible. This will help us guarantee a spot for you on our 2010 schedule.”

Why does this work? Because in this call to action, the implication is that the schedule is already filling up for spring, and if you want this great service for your lawn this year, you should call right away before your neighbors get all the available spots. The three main elements have been answered:

1) You have told your readers what to do (call you),
2) They know why they need to call you (to get a free consultation and a spot on the schedule), and
3) They have a sense of urgency to do it now before it’s too late (when to take action).

A shorter version of this CTA could also work; although it is much less compelling and contains fewer details:

“Call us today at 800-lawns4u for your free lawn consultation and to guarantee your spot on our 2010 Spring services schedule.”

This CTA still tells your readers what to do (contact you), why they should contact you (free consultation and spot on the schedule) and when to do it (today), but it is much less powerful.

Managing Expectations

Another call to action element you can incorporate is telling your readers what they can expect, or explaining what will happen as a result of taking action. For instance, replacing “click here” with “learn techniques for lawn care here” or “register here for our lawn care seminar” gives readers a clear idea of what they can expect to find when they follow the call to action.

The Path to Conversions

Part of motivating your visitors to take the next step is to answer some basic questions that they might be considering before they follow any call to action:

• HOW do I contact this company? Should I call them, send an email, etc.?
• WHY should I do business with this company? Can I trust them? Are they better than their competitors? Can they help me solve my problem?
• CAN I WAIT to take this action? Is there a promotion with a deadline? Are supplies really limited? Will my coupon expire? Is there a benefit to taking action right away?

Make sure these questions have been clearly answered throughout your page copy and in multiple places on the page as well. By answering these questions on the way to your call to action, readers will already feel comfortable and have the details they need to take the desired action without any hesitation.

So whatever goal(s) you have in mind for your web pages, a strong call to action is necessary for getting your visitors to do something once they are on your site. Because having web site visitors is nice, but having visitors that are engaged and interested in what you have to offer is better. By creating strong, clear calls to action on your web pages, you can help move each web site visitor down the path to conversion, where visitors can become customers, subscribers, leads, or whatever a conversion means for your small business.

Today, a corporate web site is one of the most important marketing tools a small business has; and for many it is just as essential as having a phone number or business cards. Typically, companies rely on a variety of marketing “assets” like e-mailing lists, customer databases, and marketing materials to help them promote and build their businesses. But of all the marketing assets a business may have, its web site can be the strongest marketing asset of all, especially when it is part of a strategic, coordinated marketing plan.

A web site often includes the elements found in a marketing plan; from lead generation to advertising to online payments to customer service. With Web 2.0 interactivity now commonplace, companies can also add video, news feeds, online tutorials, and social networking integration to their web sites to further extend the site’s capability and meet their customers’ ever-changing needs and expectations.

An Online Advantage

Here are 7 reasons your web site could (or should!) be the strongest marketing asset available to your small business today:

1. Everything is in one place – web forms for lead capture, company videos, industry news feeds, links to resources and partners, online tutorials, customer service, events calendar, photo gallery, testimonials, marketing materials, etc., can all be included on your web site.
2. Integrates with other marketing – direct mail campaigns can reference online coupons or downloads on your site, email campaigns can lead to targeted landing pages, opt-in subscriptions can help build marketing email lists, social networking strategies can be integrated with the web site, etc.
3. Builds credibility with users – an outdated, unattractive web site sends all the wrong messages to your visitors, but an updated, user-friendly web site is an asset that and can instantly make you more credible and trustworthy, regardless of the size of your business.
4. Results can be tracked and measured – by using web analytics tools, you can track visitors, conversions, search engine terms and keywords, entry and exit pages, traffic stats, and a multitude of additional information.
5. Information can be changed and updated – unlike printed materials where you have to order hundreds (or thousands) of brochures or postcards that may quickly become outdated, your web site can be changed whenever information changes.
6. Local reach, global reach – and everything in-between. Depending on how you optimize and promote your site, you can target customers regardless of geographic location.
7. Works for you 24/7 – your site is available for visitors to do research or purchase products and services at their own convenience, at any time, regardless of your business hours.

Show It Off!

If you are not currently using your web site as a marketing asset for your business, here are some tips to help you combine your site with your overall marketing strategy:

• Showcase your advertising and marketing online; e.g., re-use commercials, radio spots, print advertisements, coupons, flyers, etc., on your web site to extend their reach beyond initial audiences, and also stretch your investment at the same time.
• Include your web address on everything – advertisements, business cards, vehicle lettering, name badges, logos, printed materials, etc., to drive traffic to your web site and help build your brand.
• Update your web site on a regular basis – do something at least monthly to update the information, add new content, improve search engine positions, promote the site, build inbound links, etc. A stale, outdated site is not useful to your visitors, and is not much of an asset to your business, either.
• Take it seriously! Consumers today are already online, and every touch point where you intersect with your customers and potential customers should ultimately lead them back to a great user experience on your web site!

Last month (August, 2009), Google announced a beta release of its biggest behind-the-scenes update in more than three years, called Caffeine. Apparently, this update is intended to improve the speed of doing searches on Google, and also to enhance the accuracy of searches on Google as well. Although these changes are supposed to apply mainly to search speed and accuracy, some web site owners are concerned that they could see their Google search positions fall as a result of Caffeine. So if your small business currently has a web site listed in Google’s search results, how concerned should you be?

Well, any time that Google makes changes to its search algorithm, there is a possibility it will affect search engine rankings, and this seems to be true for Caffeine. If you have properly optimized your web site, however, you could actually see an improvement in your rankings. For instance, Caffeine may now be giving more weight to content with higher keyword densities than the previous version of Google, and seems to reward sites that can show a solid relationship between keywords/phrases and page content.

The Caffeine Jolt
There also seems to be a consensus that Caffeine is definitely faster, and according to mashable.com “often doubled the speed of the old Google.” Caffeine also seems to give preference to sites with recent content posted on them. So if you do not regularly update the content on your web site, don’t be surprised if your rankings fall below other sites that do provide fresh content that is updated on a regular basis.

Another eye-opener is the emphasis that Caffeine apparently gives to social media, with sites like Facebook and LinkedIn showing up prominently in the top search results. In addition to this, sites that incorporate social media such as blogs, RSS feeds, and social networking profiles/accounts seem to be given more weight in the rankings as well.

A Fresh Cup
Many experts point out that Google may be reacting to the huge popularity of the social networking sites (like Facebook and Twitter) that can provide “real-time” search results, (for example, coverage of news as it is breaking), which Google currently cannot do. This is also another indication of just how much social networking has gained in importance and influence in the online world today.

Whatever the reason for Google’s Caffeine, it looks like it is already being implemented in various Google data centers, and is on track to replace the older version. According to Google’s webmaster blog (the top Google information source for web professionals), most users will not notice much of a difference in the search results. But if your web site’s rankings happen to fall because of Caffeine, that’s something you probably will notice.

The Perfect Grind
Here are some tips you can follow to help preserve your web site’s current rankings in Caffeine, or even help give them a boost:

1. Optimize your web site. Make sure you have correct meta data (like titles and descriptions) in place on every page, and pay attention to the keyword densities in this data.
2. Adjust your page keyword densities, if necessary. It may be too soon to tell if recommended densities have changed (current recommendations are between 2% and 6%), but make sure your densities are at least above 2%.
3. Update your web site on a regular basis. Google (like other search engines) tries to list the best, most relevant results when users perform a search. If your site has old, outdated content, then Google has little (if any) reason to think your site is a good match to a search query. Other sites (including competitors) that have fresher, more recent content will be judged by Google as being as “more relevant”, and will rank ahead of your site in the search results.
4. Get involved with social networking. This not only helps your business in the Google Caffeine search results, it can also help your business in other ways as well. Social marketing is the biggest thing in online marketing today, and getting better search results just adds to the case for implementing a social marketing strategy in your business sooner rather than later.

The Caffeine Jitters
Also remember that as Google moves toward providing more “real-time” search results, the ranking positions for your web site may change and bounce around a bit since new, live-search results are being added to the search database all the time. But if you pay attention and stay current with the changes, your business can survive and even thrive in the online space, giving you an edge over your de-caffeinated competitors.

If you had to guess, how many web sites would you say that you visit in a typical day? Only a few? Dozens? Too many to count? If you are like most people, you visit multiple sites each day whether doing research, getting news, socializing, shopping, or for any number of other reasons. Most likely, you visit web sites both while you are at work and at home, and you may even visit sites using a mobile device like a cell phone or Blackberry. There are probably even sites that you visit regularly, which are the sites that you have come to depend on (e.g., using Google for searching or CNN.com for news).

Now put yourself in your customers’ shoes. They are also visiting multiple sites each day, and are looking for information while both at work and at home. And you can bet they also have certain sites that they depend on and return to on a regular basis. The question is, however, is your web site one of those sites on which your customers can depend?

If you’re not sure, here are some tips for making your site something that customers can truly depend on:

• The site is better than the competition’s site. If your competitor’s web site is dated, doesn’t have much content, or looks amateurish, then you are in a good position. However, if YOUR site is not as good as the competition’s, you need to fix that as soon as possible.

The site provides value. Visitors need information that is relevant, helpful, and meets their needs, or they will click the browser’s back button and visit a different site. For instance, if you have a home improvement site, then give visitors information on how to fix things around the house. If you provide accounting services, give visitors tips on keeping good records to make tax time easier. If you have a pet grooming business, include a list of recommended veterinarians in the area. Giving your visitors something of value creates loyalty and gives your business additional credibility.

• The site is visible in the search engines. This is vital to not only your current customers, but also to potential customers who have yet to discover that your business exists. When your site shows up in the search engine results, it makes it quick and easy for customers to get to your web site, and can also remind previous visitors about your web site if they haven’t visited in a while. It also reinforces that your business is a “player” because it’s listed right along with your competitors. If your web site doesn’t show up in the search results, guess what customers will click on?

The site gives visitors a great user experience. Dependable sites not only give visitors value, they also make visitors “feel good” about spending time on the site. This happens when the site’s navigation is clear and consistent, the content is up to date and useful, and the site is well-organized and well-designed.

• The site inspires confidence and encourages action. When visitors find a great site that meets their needs, they feel confident about the business behind it. When visitors feel confident about a business, they are far more likely to take action on the web site; whether that action is subscribing to a newsletter, requesting a quote, calling a sales rep, or making a purchase. If a site doesn’t inspire confidence, there is very little chance that they will be back for a return visit, and even less of a chance of converting them into customers .

To be successful, your web site needs to inspire confidence, provide value, and make visitors feel good about your business. Your customers already visit multiple sites each day, so your goal should be to make your site a client favorite – a site that they remember, bookmark, recommend to others, and can easily find at the top of the search engine results. Do you think that your customers currently depend on your web site? Would your customers agree with your answer?

For small businesses today, the web is a significant tool for promotion, advertising, lead generation, customer relationship management, and many other business-related activities. But there’s more to a successful web site than just the web site itself. For instance, you may have the best site ever built, but if nobody visits the site, how does it help your business? And conversely - if you have a constant stream of potential customers flocking to your web site only to be disappointed or dissatisfied, you have gained nothing (and may have even lost credibility in the eyes of your visitors!).

The fact is that your web site must have both halves of this equation right - a content-rich, up-to-date web site AND a steady stream of quality web traffic  in order to really work for your business.

Party Time
Imagine that you have just been asked to put together a very swanky black-tie charity fundraiser for your favorite charity (with all associated costs donated by sponsors). In order for this event to be successful, you will need to get the word out to lots of potential guests – in fact; the more guests who attend, the more money you will raise for your charity! But of course if you do not let guests know about the party, then certainly no one will show up.

Of course, there are many ways you could promote the event. One way would be to send out beautiful, engraved invitations complete with a self-addressed, stamped R.S.V.P. card to a list of previous, wealthy donors. Another might be to place ads on targeted web sites or in local publications. I suppose you could even put flyers up on the grocery store bulletin boards with those little tear-off phone numbers to call for tickets. And then there’s the whole “word-of-mouth” approach where you tell your friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc., and everyone spreads the word to their friends, co-workers, and neighbors.

By now, you probably know where I’m going with this metaphor, that the charity fundraiser is like your web site, and the”invitations” are like the ways in which you can drive traffic to your site.

On the Guest List
To carry the metaphor a bit further, the engraved invitations would be like the quality inbound links that you get from sources like search engines, article syndication, authority sites, etc. And the grocery store flyers would be like the lower-quality inbound links that come from reciprocal linking or less-than-authoritative sites and directories (still somewhat valuable, but not likely to raise as much money for your charity!).

The social networking component is easy to spot in this metaphor, of course, and would operate in much the same way for your web site. By using your social network of friends, co-workers, etc., you create the possibility that your network will in turn share the information with their own network of people, who may then continue to spread the word further through out their social networks.

An Affair to Remember
So now let’s say that you have put together a wonderful, perfect event that provides something for everyone, is inviting and memorable, and is on track to become the most successful charity fundraiser ever produced. Then the big night comes, but only a few people show up - what a disaster! After spending all that time, money, and effort, what a waste that ultimately, the event fell short of fulfilling its purpose of raising lots of money for the charity.

Although a worse scenario might be that after working so hard on spreading the word and getting out the invitations, you ran out of time to adequately plan for the event, ordered take-out pizza served on paper plates, and forgot to complete the paperwork necessary to accept donations. In this case, you would have not only failed to raise money for your charity, you would have probably offended and disappointed your guests to the point where they would not be interested in attending the event again next year.

Getting It Right
The moral of the story, of course, is that to make your web site successful for your business, you must pay attention to both parts of the equation; the web site itself, and driving good, quality web traffic to the site on a regular basis. Your web site needs to have solid, useful content that provides value to visitors, and it must be updated regularly so they have a reason to come back (and to trust you). But driving quality traffic to your web site is equally important; since you have 0 chance of converting visitors or making sales with your web site if people cannot find your site in the search engines or other trusted sources online.

By now you surely know that your small business needs to have a quality web site that gets updated regularly and provides real value to customers and potential customers. Just be sure that you are balancing that with adequate online promotion, e-marketing initiatives, and search engine optimization to bring a much-needed, steady flow of web traffic to your site.