So, you have a website, but is it working? Is it helping you generate leads and sales? Has your website paid for itself?
Writing for www.entrepreneur.com, Ludwig Makhyan, an expert in digital marketing, suggested that you may be losing thousands of dollars on your website – and you might not even be aware of it. You may have a site and a sales and marketing team, and you may even be getting traffic on your site. However, it may fail because you’re not gaining conversions and customers.
Leads fail to convert to sales for a few reasons: poor user interface, slow speeds, and bad website design. In addition, if your site is not optimized for search engine optimization, those leads will never even find your website.
Your site should be “snappy,” according to Makhyan, and accessible. You also need to capture the correct data on your website forms, continually optimize the site, and plug the “leaks” that are causing you to lose money.
Small businesses lose sales and customers because they don’t know how to utilize the data their website captures. What are leads doing when they enter data into your form? Are errors causing potential customers or clients to leave your site? According to WP Forms, more than 67% of site visitors will abandon your form forever if they encounter any complications; only 20% will follow up with the company in some way. Analyzing how users interact with forms is very critical. Identify common issues, such as broken forms, confusing fields or errors. Simplify and optimize the form-filling process. You want to make it easy for website visitors and improve their experience. Simplicity will significantly increase the chances of conversion. A form tracking system can help pinpoint problems with data entry and missed opportunities, ensuring you don’t carelessly lose leads. Test your forms and your sales ‘funnel’ regularly and fix any issues you discover.
The best way to optimize website performance is to analyze your data. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t know what to look for. Do website visitors exit your entry page? The reason may be because your site looks old or takes too long to load. The loading time should only be 2-3 seconds. Complex navigation and poor-quality landing pages can also cost you sales. So can broken links. Set up your forms to instantly notify you when they are not working. It is also a good idea to optimize the language on your website for the right keywords.
The last thing to remember is that you want to make a connection with visitors. Offering a free giveaway makes great bait to collect basic contact information from a visitor. Some pallet companies offer a white paper or other resource designed to answer basic questions that a pallet buyer or user may have. Crucial to making a connection is replying right away to any form or solicitation that comes in through your website.
Makhyan explained, “Respond to leads right away. Research shows that 78% of customers purchase from the first responder. Also, the highest-ranking companies in lead response audit reports respond to leads in 30 minutes or less. The quicker you respond, the better. Conversion rates can be as much as eight times higher if you respond in the first five minutes. Every minute that passes increases the chance a lead will move on to a competitor.”
In today’s economy, having a website is not good enough. You need one that works for your customers and provides a connection to move them along in the sales conversation.
