Carter Harkins and Taylor Hill
Having a website is a necessity for businesses in today’s age. But not all websites are created equal. Some work to convert, while others leave potential customers frantically hitting the back button in their browsers.
How do you create a website that works on your behalf and provides value for you and those searching for your services? What does your website need to have on it if it’s going to work for you to close leads you haven’t yet heard from or met?
Let’s take a look at some of the fundamentals:
1. Contact info that’s easy to find
Whether a prospect has landed on your homepage or on one of your internal pages — like your septic services page — they should be able to easily identify exactly how they can reach you.
When your prospects are looking for the services you offer, chances are they’re time-pressed and frustrated as is. Don’t make them jump through hoops or search high and low for your phone number or scheduling form. Make it easier for them to take that next step than it is for them to click the back button and check out your competitors. Otherwise, you risk frustrating your prospect even further and losing that lead altogether.
One of the best ways to do this is to put your phone number and email address in the upper right corner of the website, or somewhere else where it can be easily spotted from every page. You should also have an easy-to-find "contact" page in your menu, where prospects can find your phone number, email address, hours, etc.
2. List of services
When a prospect lands on your website, the first question they have is, “Can you help me?” You need to make it clear exactly what you do and how you can help in a matter of seconds, no matter where on your website that prospect lands.
Do this by including a list of services you offer right there on your homepage. You should also make sure your site menu includes those services and makes it easy for searchers to navigate to the pages that are most relevant to them.
Remember, your site should never be an obstacle course. It should clearly present the information potential customers need in order to take action.
3. Personality
We’ve all heard it said that people do business with people they know, like and trust, and we all know it’s true. So isn’t it unfair for us to expect our potential customers to choose us when they know nothing about us other than our names, logos and contact info? Showcase your business on your website, and give people a reason to like and trust you.
One way to do this that also works to capture attention right away and keep potential customers on the page longer is to add an intro video to your homepage. Don’t just make some sales-pitch-heavy, high-production video that comes off more like a commercial. Really show them who you are. Include your face and the faces of your team members. Include the faces of happy customers, if you can. And show them what your company is about, what you do differently from the competition and what they can expect when they work with you.
It’s smart to include testimonials, certifications, trade group and association logos, and other trust-building signals on your homepage.
You should also make use of your “about” page by providing photos and bios for each of the team members your potential customer may come into contact with. At the start, prospects don’t know you from Adam. Introducing them to the people they’ll be inviting into their homes ahead of time gives them confidence and peace of mind, which is exactly what you want your customers to feel.
4. Helpful, informative content
Your Google My Business profile already tells searchers some of the basics, so if a prospect has made it to your website, there’s a good chance they want to know more. They may not be ready to call you or fully confident you can address their problem. They may not even really know what their problem is yet.
Use the pages on your website to educate them and provide meaningful, helpful content they’ll actually want to read (i.e., information that provides value and gives them confidence you can solve their problem). The more questions you can answer with your website content and the more confident your prospects are that you’re the right company for the job, the better that initial call will be.
5. Photos that serve a purpose
Just like content for content’s sake is a waste, adding photos that are irrelevant or meaningless to your website is a waste. Use your photos to sell your services, your expertise and your team. Strategically choose photos that show the quality of your work and the professionalism of your team and that really tell potential customers something about you, the problems you solve and the experiences you provide.
Photos don’t have to be professional, but they should be crisp, clear and purposeful. You may also want to include captions because your prospects won’t have the same technical knowledge you have and may not know what they’re looking at.
6. Call to action
While your website content is there to educate searchers and provide value, it should also tell potential customers what to do next. That’s where your call to action comes in.
Every page on your site should have a call to action, which is usually a call to schedule an appointment either by phone, email, form or through your website scheduling service. You’ve already provided helpful information and value. You’ve already built trust and assured them you can help solve their problem. Now ask them to take that next step and make the call or click.
One more quick note
Of course, you also want to make sure your website is mobile-friendly and looks good on every type of device. If your website is difficult to navigate and your prospect has to pinch, scroll or flip their phones repeatedly in an attempt to view the site in its entirety, nothing else we’ve talked about will matter.
Today’s consumers are searching on the go, and if they can only have a pleasant user experience on your website if they’re using a desktop computer, you’re going to lose out on a lot of potential leads. Your site needs to load fast and be easy to read and navigate on every smartphone, tablet, laptop computer and desktop computer out there.
Are you nailing the basics?
While there are a lot of things that go into a great website that converts and this list is by no means comprehensive, getting the basics down can get you going. Take a look at your website and make sure that you’re nailing the basics and making it easy for potential leads to find exactly what they’re looking for on your website. Then you’ll stand a good chance of getting the call instead of a competitor.
