Nurture leads with an awesome website

Are you putting effort into your website?

Do you have a systematic approach set up to nurture leads as they come in to your company’s site? Even something as simple as a contact form so that potential customers can contact you for additional information?

Website leads are important to understand; even more so in an age where everyone is on the go and looking for quick answers via their smartphones. Learn how to nurture leads on your company website in order to grow traffic and business.

A quick website check-list for your online leads:

Understand your traffic sources

Do you know where your leads are coming from? Paid search? Email? Social media referral traffic?

How about your top pageviews or content areas on your website?

Understanding the type of traffic coming into your current site and where that traffic is coming from is the first step in putting together your online lead strategy. A simple step is adding Google Analtyics code so that you can keep tabs on all of this information, including trends over time. You can also see which pages are getting the most traffic (and which pages users are exiting your website from).

Utilize keyword tools

If you struggle with getting leads to your site, do a little keyword research. According to Greenfield Services, the Optify 2012 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report named organic search as the strongest driver known to B2B sites, making up 41% of website traffic. And being that Google reins king over the organic search market–responsible for 36% of all visits–you want to develop a strategy to utilize keywords that your customers are typing in as they are looking for your services. A quick jaunt on Google Adwords Keywords Tool will give you a great start. You’re looking for keywords and phrases that have low competition yet yield a high amount of monthly searches.

Think like your customers and prospective customers. What are they words they use for the services you provide rather than what you want them to use? There can be a big difference.

Be responsive

There are two ways to look at the word responsive when it comes to websites and both apply to your business: Responsive website design (RWD) and responsive customer service.

First, your customers are on the go and they are looking for you while they’re in their cars, at a soccer game, or waiting in line at the grocery store–on their mobile devices. You must provide them with responsive content (content that will resize itself automatically depending on what size screen your website visitor is using). The do-it-yourself website solutions for small businesses are more than likely not going to cut it here. It’s time to invest in your website and provide your customers with the features they’re looking for–including responsive design.

And on that note, be sure that you are responsive in the literal sense when it comes to your website. If you have contact forms or other ways for leads to come your way, be sure to follow up as quickly as possible. Even if you can’t get to all of the information or emails that come from those forms right away, just sending a note to say you’re working on a solution/answer/quote is better than no response at all. Customer service applies online, too.

Provide relevant content

Did you know that 93% of buyers start their research online before they even talk to anyone? As much as you may pride yourself as being a great people person and making the sale, you might want to be sure your website is doing its job as well. The vast majority of activity on your website is from prospects who are not even ready to make a purchase; they’re looking for information and a way to build trust and reliance on your brand. Yes, before they even buy anything!

Engage your prospects by providing relevant information. Educate them not only on the specific products and services you provide, but about general industry tips and trends. Showcase your customer service, your relevance, your expertise and your trust through content on your website. Nurture your leads by giving them content that will move them forward through the initial stages of their buying process.

Need help? Check out this quick guide from our friends at Content Marketing Institute for writing website copy.

Remain accessible and follow up

As I mentioned at the top of the article, adding a simple contact form can be a start, but it can’t be the only tool you have to nurture leads. Once you have the attention of your customers, do you afford them an easy way to ask questions or get a hold of you? Do you have a system in place for following up?

Additionally, if you are using social media as a way to connect with your customers (and you should be) make sure you have all of the correct links and chiclets (the icons that let users know where to find you on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) It’s all about ease and simplicity. The better your customers feel about the experience, even by perusing your website, the better they’ll feel about you and be that much more likely to move into the buying phase of the lead generation process.

What systems do you have in place to nurture leads on your website? Share below!