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I N S A N E LY D U M B WEBSITE MISTAKES
MADE BY ROOKIE AND SEASONED BUSINESS OWNERS BY JAMES TUCKERMAN JAMES TUCKERMAN
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2 Here are five ways to ensure that your website remains a traffic free, expensive brochure:
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Behave like a horny 19 year old dude Insist on inviting strangers to ‘Contact Us’ Search engine optimise the NAME of your business Ignore all the best pieces of real-estate Repeatedly and gratuitously use the word ‘we’
JAMES TUCKERMAN
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Behave like a horny 19 year old dude
You wouldn’t ask a stranger to marry you on the first date? Yet, that is how most business builders behave online. A prospective customer arrives on your website and the only option to connect is via a big red button that says BUY. Or, in the services game, it happens via the photo of a grinning stranger in a suit offering to provide a no obligation quote. Even the most amorous 19 dude knows that, if he wants to get lucky, he’s going to need a seduction strategy. Seduction requires strategy. It takes time. It might start with a coffee date, before graduating to a lunch, then a dinner and on it goes. Smart business builders employ strategies for building rapport. They start with a gift, like a free eBook or Webinar. They collect an email address and use this to trigger a series of emails, each more helpful than the last. Then... when the passion is at its peak... they make their proposition. That’s amore! ACTION: What is a ‘headache cure’ or desire provoking gift that you could give away? Could you compose a white paper, a fact sheet, something like the document you are reading right now? HOW TO CREATE YOUR FIRST LEAD MAGNET
JAMES TUCKERMAN
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Insist on inviting strangers to ‘Contact Us’
How many people actually use your ‘Contact Us’ form in any given month. A handful? Any at all? The ‘Contact Us’ form is possibly the least effective way to attract new customers online. It’s just so needy. (Contact us. Pleeeaaaase... contact us.) Furthermore, the depth of information such a form will capture is extremely shallow. A name. An email. A phone number (if you’re lucky). Smart web owners use a myriad of ways to connect with visitors and, then, they seduce them into engaging with their brands, via email newsletters, downloads, educational email series, webinars, deminars and, my favourite, the checklist What’s a checklist? It’s a way for prospects to voluntarily share with you their circumstances and needs, while you solve one of their pressing problems and/or make a genuine effort to delight and amuse. Compare these examples: • •
“Contact us to talk about how we can help you achieve your capital raising needs.” “Are you capital ready? Don’t jeopardise your growth plans. Complete our checklist.”
ACTION: What outcomes or skills do your clients’ or customers’ need to achieve their goals? A checklist doesn’t need to solve a problem. It can be frivolous too. “Does your dog really love you. Take our quiz.” How fun! HOW TO CREATE A CHECKLIST
JAMES TUCKERMAN
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Search engine optimise the NAME of your business Almost 40% of a quality website’s traffic will come from search engines. Around 30% is likely to come from proactive marketing (including an email newsletter). If you’re managing your site well, a further 10-15% will come from social media and the remainder from friendly sites linking to you. Check out the Source report on your Google Analytics and see how you compare. (If you are not using Google Analytics to measure your traffic, set it up now. The service is free. Not having Google Analytics is the possibly dumbest rookie mistake of all.) You know that search engine optimisation is important. So, the first thing that rookie business builders do is search engine optimise their site so that their business name will appear at the top of Google. However, here’s the thing. If your URL is also your business name and if your website is even vaguely well built, your site will appear at the top of Google anyway! So, here’s what you should do instead. Smart business builders search engine optimise their site to rank highly when prospective customers search for solutions to satisfy their headaches and desires. If I was a coffee shop owner with a tax need, am I likely to search for “Frank Smith Tax Advisory” or “Tax help for coffee shops”? People who know you will find you anyway. ACTIONS: Think in terms of headaches. Not services. Don’t search engine optimise your site to target keywords that reflect what you do. Focus on keywords that match headaches and desires. HOW TO SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISE YOUR SITE (IN 30 MINUTES)
JAMES TUCKERMAN
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Ignore all the best pieces of real-estate
It’s well known that the top right hand corner of your website gets the lionshare of attention. However, this area is not the most valuable piece of real estate on your website. If your goal is to convert visitors into online customers or offline prospective clients, there is one page, which you are probably not using now, destined to lift your online performance well beyond its current returns. This page is often called the ‘Success Page’ or the ‘Confirmation Page’. It’s the page that happens AFTER an action. It’s the page that loads after someone has signed up to receive your email newsletter or filled out the ‘Contact Us’ form or completed a checklist or even purchased something. It’s the page where you get to say, “Would you like fries with that?” There’s a reason why McDonalds’ employees ask that ubiquitous question. It’s because you are already in a active frame of mine. You are engaging. You have also made the decision to demonstrate trust. This is one of the most effective places on your website (and THE most effective time) to make an offer. ACTION: Do you have any Success Pages on your website that you could jazz up with an offer? Even if you don’t have any ‘fries’ to sell, use this page to invite new prospects to like you on Facebook. Maintain the momentum with a second offer.
HOW TO TURN YOUR WEBSITE INTO A TRAFFIC MAGNET AND LEAD GENERATION MACHINE
JAMES TUCKERMAN
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Repeatedly and gratuitously use the word ‘we’ Here’s a word that should never appear on your website. We. That’s the word. Two letters. W and E. “We are an award winning agency.” Whatever. “We care about your needs.” I hoped that you would. “We a leading provider of integrated solutions.” Enough already! The effectiveness or ineffectiveness of almost any site is directly proportionate to the number of times the site owner uses the words ‘we’ instead of ‘you’. Compare these two examples of web copy: •
“We are a leading, award winning spinal surgeon dedicated to the health and well being of our customers.”
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“Do you suffer from back problems? Do you have a surgeon you can trust? Here’s how you can get your life back on track... quickly and safely.”
ACTION: Skip the fluff and answer the only question your future customers and prospective clients want you to answer. “Can these people help me?” Offer an eBook to solve that need. Search engine optimise your website to reflect that need. And ditch the rookie mistakes to create a website that organically attracts traffic, coverts visitors into fans and fans into customers.
ARE YOU A GROWTH HACKER OR JUST ANOTHER ONLINE HACK. TAKE THE TEST.
JAMES TUCKERMAN
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James Tuckerman
James Tuckerman is widely recognised as one of Australia’s most successful digital publishers. He’s an entrepreneur, angel investor, growth hacker for hire and professional speaker. He is best known for launching Anthill Magazine, in 2003, from the spare bedroom of his parents’ home. He was then 26 years of age. In early 2009, he reinvented the Anthill business model, abandoning its print origins in favour of a 100% digital product. Within six-months, AnthillOnline.com was listed by Nielsen Online Ratings among the Top 50 Business & Finance websites in Australia. Since then, he has launched numerous digital ventures and helped other companies, large and small, make the transition online or helped them significantly improve their online commercial outcomes. To learn more about James and unlock a free course, visit: anthillonline.com/iknowjames
JAMES TUCKERMAN