10
THE
MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
YOUR WEBSITE IS THE
MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR BUSINSESS’S ONLINE STRATEGY.
To reach buyers in the internet age, you need an online presence. Whether you’re looking to update your outdated website or you’re just now finally looking to build your first website, you may be wondering what it really takes for a website to be great. There’s been a huge shift in buying behavior now that we have instant access to endless information online. Rather than having a website that merely exists, invest in a website that performs. You need a website that will attract prospects, educate them, and convince them to buy.
YOU NEED A WEBSITE THAT’S DESIGNED TO SELL.
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
INBOUND MARKETING involves attracting the right people to your website and generating leads for your sales team, while outbound marketing tactics, like cold calling, involve you trying to go out to find customers to convince them to buy. An effective inbound marketing strategy will drive people to your site, provide them with the valuable information they need to make buying decisions, and generate qualified sales leads. This is what your business needs. Website optimization involves improving your website to make it as effective as possible using design techniques, optimization principles, and experimentation. The goal is to make your website as efficient as possible.
AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE WILL HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR BUSINESS GOALS WHILE DELIVERING A GREAT USER EXPERIENCE.
HERE ARE THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE.
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
1 WEBSITE DESIGN
TO GET NOTICED TODAY,
YOU NEED TO INTEGRATE SEARCH, SOCIAL MEDIA, CONTENT, BLOGGING,
In today’s day and age, a company’s website is more often than not the first point of contact with a prospect. You need to make a good first impression. If your website looks outdated and/or lacks functionality, it’s not going to help you grow your business. You need a website that is a visual representation of your brand, appealing to your buyer personas, and designed to sell. The internet has become a very social and interactive space. Websites used to be static and disconnected, but that just won’t cut it anymore. No one will be able to find your standalone website and you won’t be able to generate sales.
AND MORE.
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
2
OPTIMIZE YOUR
MARKETING CONTENT TO ATTRACT AND CONVERT CUSTOMERS.
COMPELLING CONTENT
You need compelling content that speaks to your customer. This is your chance to demonstrate your company’s value to visitors. Take the time to craft effective messaging that will educate prospects. WHAT DOES YOUR COMPANY DO AND WHY SHOULD YOUR VISITORS CARE? WHAT IS YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION? Use clear language that your audience will understand. Avoid undecipherable corporate jargon and get to the point. An effective content strategy will shorten the sales cycle significantly, as interested prospects will already be interested by the time your salespeople get in touch. Optimize your marketing content to attract and convert customers. You will need to consider keyword strategy, topic selection, internal linking, SEO, sharing buttons, and where to publish and promote your content.
THE MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE WHY10 YOU SHOULD ENGAGE A HUBSPOT PARTNER TO HELP GROW OUR BUSINESS?
www.saleshub.ca
MOBILE OPTIMIZATION WILL ENSURE THAT
VISITORS WILL BE ABLE TO USE YOUR WEBSITE QUICKLY AND EASILY, REGARDLESS OF THE DEVICE THEY’RE USING
3
MOBILE OPTIMIZATION
Usability is a huge part of website optimization. You want to deliver the best possible user experience. Everyone is using mobile devices to search, browse, and buy online. WHAT DOES YOUR WEBSITE LOOK LIKE ON A SMARTPHONE? IF YOUR WEBSITE ISN’T OPTIMIZED FOR MOBILE, YOU’RE DOING YOUR BUSINESS A DISSERVICE. Mobile optimization involves designing and formatting your website for mobile use. To optimize your website for mobile, you can either create a separate mobile site or incorporate responsive design in the initial site layout. When you create a separate, distinct mobile website, you must do so for each specific device. Responsive design means that your website will be responsive to any device automatically. Your website will always be optimized for screens of any dimension. Mobile optimization will ensure that visitors will be able to use your website quickly and easily, regardless of the device they’re using. Websites that aren’t optimized for mobile can be difficult to read, tricky to navigate, and frustrating to use. The last thing you want to do is annoy a potential customer.
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
4 WHEN YOU INVEST IN SEO,
YOUR PROSPECTS WILL BE ABLE TO DISCOVER YOUR COMPANY AND START MOVING THROUGH THE SALES FUNNEL.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
A critical part of your inbound marketing strategy will involve getting you found online. The goal of search engine optimization (SEO) is to make it easier for the right people to find your website online when they’re using search engines.
YOU NEED TO INVEST IN SEO SO YOUR PROSPECTS WILL SEE YOUR WEBSITE IN THEIR SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS WHEN THEY’RE USING GOOGLE, BING, OR YAHOO. SEO involves adding relevant keywords and phrases to your website content, adding effective meta descriptions, and editing image tags. Google is always updating its search algorithms to provide its users with better results, so you need to keep up with the changes. When you invest in SEO, your prospects will be able to discover your company and start moving through the sales funnel.
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
5 SOCIAL MEDIA
THE GOAL HERE
IS TO EXPAND YOUR REACH AND INCREASE
Social media can be an incredibly powerful selling tool when used effectively, but many businesses continue to neglect this channel. Your company should have accounts on all of the major social networks and your sales team should also maintain individual accounts that are dedicated to social selling. When you publish new blog posts on your site, you should share the links on all of your social media accounts, and your salespeople should share them to their networks. The goal here is to expand your reach and increase visibility. AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE WILL ALSO INCORPORATE SOCIAL MEDIA BY MAKING CONTENT SOCIAL AND SHARABLE. Include prominent social sharing buttons on each blog post so interested visitors can quickly and easily share your content with their networks, which will drive more traffic to your site along with a strong peer endorsement. Without these social media sharing buttons, you are missing out on an excellent promotion opportunity.
VISIBILITY.
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
6 THE GOAL IS TO BUILD BRAND RECOGNITION,
GAIN TRUST, BUILD CREDIBILITY,
INTERESTING BLOG
AND GENERATE LEADS
If you don’t already have a company blog, you need to start one. Consumers are doing their own research before making purchasing decisions, so you want to provide as much useful and valuable content as possible. WRITE ABOUT TOPICS THAT WILL INTEREST YOUR PROSPECTS AND CUSTOMERS. Answer any questions you think they might have about the products or services you’re offering. Write how-to guides, top-10 lists, step-by-step tutorials, and industry news. You need to blog regularly in order to drive traffic, educate prospects, and generate sales leads. The goal is to build brand recognition, gain trust, build credibility, and generate leads. People will start to recognize you as a thought leader and industry expert. When they’re ready to buy, they’ll think of your brand.
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
7
USE THIS VALUABLE CONTACT INFORMATION TO
CALLS TO ACTION
FOLLOW UP WITH AND NURTURE LEADS.
Once you get the right people to your website and they’re interested in your compelling content, what do you want them to do next? They might not be ready to pick up the phone and call you. OFFER A VALUE EXCHANGE. INCLUDE ENTICING CALLS TO ACTION (CTAS) TO PROMPT PROSPECTS TO EXPRESS INTEREST AND ENGAGE FURTHER. Offer additional content, such as a free e-book or whitepaper, in exchange for a few contact details. Now your website is generating leads for your sales team. Use this valuable contact information to follow up with and nurture leads.
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
8
USE AN ATTENTION GRABBING HEADLINE,
A RELEVANT IMAGE, AND COMPELLING CONTENT.
LANDING PAGES A landing page is a page on your site that uses a lead-capture form to capture visitors’ information. The goal is to collect this information so you can market to them more effectively with personalized emails and dynamic website content that appeals to their specific interests and needs, allowing you to nurture and move your leads through the sales funnel to a buying decision. Visitors should be able to look at your landing page and KNOW WHAT THE OFFER IS, WHY YOU’RE OFFERING IT, AND WHY IT’S VALUABLE. Use an attention-grabbing headline, a relevant image, and compelling content.
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
9 LEAD NURTURING
DEVELOP AND MANAGE LEAD NURTURING
CAMPAIGNS TO HELP YOUR SALES REPS DETERMINE WHICH LEADS TO REACH OUT TO NEXT.
Once you collect contact information and find out what content is resonating with your visitors, you need to follow up to nurture the leads. Develop and manage lead nurturing campaigns to help your sales reps determine which leads to reach out to next. CREATE AND EXECUTE AN EMAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN THAT WILL MOVE PROSPECTS DOWN THE SALES FUNNEL. You want to gradually move them through the sales funnel by staying connected and providing the answers to questions they may have along the way.
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
10
OPTIMIZING YOUR BUSINESS WEBSITE IS
A CONTINUOUS PROCESS AND WILL TAKE SOME EXPERIMENTATION TO PERFECT.
MEASURING HOW WILL YOU EVER KNOW WHAT’S WORKING AND WHAT’S NOT IF YOU DON’T MEASURE, TRACK, REPORT, ANALYZE, AND TWEAK YOUR CAMPAIGNS? A/B testing and multivariate testing measure the strengths and weaknesses of your campaigns, landing pages, and conversion. Optimizing your business website is a continuous process and will take some experimentation to perfect.
THE 10 MUST-HAVE ELEMENTS OF AN OPTIMIZED BUSINESS WEBSITE
www.saleshub.ca
AS TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES, we are experiencing a fundamental shift in buying behavior. Consumers are online at all hours of the day, using various devices, sometimes more than one simultaneously. They don’t need salespeople telling them what to buy now that they can access an endless supply of information online. They are using search engines to find solutions and doing their own product research before making purchasing decisions.
WILL THEY FIND YOUR WEBSITE? WILL YOUR WEBSITE IMPRESS THEM? WILL YOUR WEBSITE BOOST SALES? If this is beyond your area of expertise, consider engaging an inbound marketing agency. Invest in an optimized business website, increase sales, and grow your business.
is a gold certified partner and one of North America’s top inbound sales and marketing agencies. We specialize in driving sales by managing all aspects of your website, social media, and other online assets. We work with companies that know their online presence is important but lack the knowledge or resources to execute effectively. We are your virtual sales and marketing department, managing design, branding, social media, content creation, data analytics—everything required for effective selling on the internet. Rather than trying to handle all of this in house, work with SalesHub, your one-stop shop for inbound marketing solutions.