Powerful Tips To Make The Most Of Your Website – By Sarah Jayne Astral
I previously did a spot as an expert guest in a Facebook group called Creative Business Hive with the lovely Zoe Knight and we talked about how to improve your website using using sales techniques and other tips to increase traffic to your website and make converting clients easier.
I’ve added these tips below, so take a look to see if you’re making the most of your website.
Are you making the most of your website?
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Most businesses no matter how large or small have a website, whether it’s a one-page website or something a bit fancier with various pages of content, but how do you make the most of your website and what are some of the key things you can do to improve your traffic and content.
How important is it to have a website?
Firstly let’s deal with why a website is so important to any business and also in relation to social media advertising.
Lots of people have online businesses and everyone is told how to grow their business using social media and whilst this is entirely possible using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and many others, there are definite benefits to having a website too.
As most people are aware, lately Facebook has been making changes, altering algorithms to make the reach shorter, banning people for certain types of content and increasing adverting costs so already people are finding it harder to set up FB only businesses and the risk of being on social media platforms alone is that if you post something that FB doesn’t like the look of, they can shut your account for a period of time, effectively shutting you down without notice till they see fit to set you free to post again.
So if you haven’t thought about getting a website yet, then now could be the time!
If you are on social media then as you will know only too well, when you post, it’s there for a moment in time and you have literally seconds to capture someone’s interest enough for them to engage with you, you post time and time again and give as much value as possible to gain their trust enough for them to think about making a purchase from you and in the meantime there are thousands of other business owners all doing the same thing so your prospect begins to feel fatigue with reading posts which usually leads to more scrolling.
Instead of posting for the sake of posting, it may be time to think about what you want the outcome of a post to be.
Is it enough for the prospect to engage with you, download your free content then comment on your post from time to time or if you are looking to be able to do more with the prospect?
If so, then it may be time to think about getting them over to your website.
The benefits of getting a prospect from social media to your website are that they won’t be able to see anyone but you and the services you offer, this means there is no competition with what they are viewing.
When someone is on your website they only have your business to focus on and most importantly if they go to your website it is because they are looking for you, they are actively seeking the services you have to offer.
And if you offer more than one type of service then once the prospect is on your website they will be able to view all the services you offer, this is not generally the case with social media as usually we tend to post about just one service at a time.
So use your website as a sales anchor to draw prospects from social media and other forms of advertising.
Keep your website updated
Keep your website up to date though and make sure you have altered it if something has changed such as your services, prices or contact details and don’t forget to add new testimonials from time to time when you get them.
To many times though people have a website, add some content to get it up and running then ignore it and concentrate on other forms of advertising so my advice is not to neglect your website, check it from time to time to make sure it’s up to date and relevant.
Think about your content
If there’s one place to get your content right, it’s your website because it will be there for the life of the website unless you change it and because it’s static it should be as good as you can make it, not like social media posts, if you post some content and it doesn’t sound right then it’s there for a fleeting moment and moves down the newsfeed.
So unless you can write content that engages prospects then get a copywriter to do it for you, it hasn’t got to cost the earth but could be worth it in the long run to have content that converts prospects into clients.
If you haven’t got the budget for a copywriter and aren’t experienced at writing copy then you can have a go at it by writing some initial content, then asking others how it sounds, if possible as existing clients as they are likely to be very frank with you and let you know what’s missing or needs improving.
Some tips for good copy is to keep it simple and concise, don’t use long complicated words or sentences and space it out so it’s easy to read, introduce and present your services but don’t oversell, prospects want to know what you offer, what the benefits are, what the outcome will be, how long it will take and how much it is, particularly on the home page, you can always go into further detail on other pages but use the home page to grab attention fast.
Having blogs on your website has a few benefits too.
It helps prospects to see you as an authority on the service you offer
It helps engage those who have an interest in your services
Using keywords in your blogs helps with any searches for the type of service you offer.
When you do in a blog, make sure that you use those keywords, you can do this by making a list of most used terms and words that are used in your industry, then writing a blog trying to incorporate as many of these words as possible in the flow.
Use your blog as anticipation post too, you can take a snippet from the blog and post it on your social media with a link in the comments to see more…., again this link should take them to the full blog on the website and from there they should be able to easy navigate their way around.
Try and do one blog every month to keep your website and keywords active.
Did you know 75% of people are more likely to purchase if they click onto three or more pages on a website and stay on the website around five minutes or longer at a time.
Easy way to get people to visit your website from social media is to post some great value content on your social media then let people know there is a link to your website in the comments.
I tend to put a link to the website in the comments rather than on the post for two reasons.
1. so it doesn’t upset FB algorithm as I have been told they don’t like lots of links being posted
2. because those that bother to go to the comments and click the website link are likely to be real prospects and not window shoppers.
Remember, not all traffic is good traffic!
What about your branding?
Branding is a very personal thing and unless your are confident at creating a brand then if it’s in your budget, it is worth getting a branding expert, there are plenty of really good ones out there, but if you’re not sure who to use then ask for recommendations and to see some samples of their work.
If you can’t yet afford a branding expert then you can use Canva or similar software to create a basic logo if you need one to get you started.
When it comes to colours, lots of people struggle with this and it is hard to find colours that you like, that go together and that convey your brand look.
I have added a link below from a YouTube video that I found really helpful to get an idea of what colours you are drawn to and what could work for your business.
Don’t forget to that you need some calls to action, now these can be on every single page and at various intervals as you scroll down, if you want the prospect to be able to buy from your website directly then make it easy to do this, there is all manner of software out there that allows just a few clicks and the purchase is made.
If you have a contact form and someone fills in their info and agrees you can contact them then don’t waste this golden opportunity, even if they don’t become a client, you should follow up with them from time to time and keep them updated with the services you offer, never let your leads go cold.
Add some testimonials too
Use your testimonials, I like to put these at the bottom of the home page so it’s one of the first things my website visitors see which endorses my services.
It’s great to be able to add a clients video testimonial too if they are happy to do one and allow you to share it, as we know anyone can write a testimonial but having a video testimonial with the persons company logo on will show physical evidence of the quality of your service so it is defiantly worth asking a client to do this for you.
Remember if a prospect visits your website it’s because they are interested in what you offer and who you are, this is a great way of securing your prospects.
Once you have an enquiry from the prospect though it then becomes time to sell them your services and lots of people struggle with this part of the process, it can be all to easy to get the prospect to engage and take information from you but then you can struggle to get them over the line and convert them.
This is where I come in, I offer both 121 and Group sales training for those the really want to start converting prospects with ease, whether your completely new to sales or a seasoned professional looking to update your training, a sales training session will help you to understand how to convert more clients with ease.
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