6 Things Your Website Should Include

If you want your website to convert more visitors to customers, it must have these features.

If you own a business, your website should be working for you to consistently bring in new leads everyday. Most websites come with a hefty price tag and may look pretty, but they don’t do much to grow a business. Very few people see the website, much less know what to do when they do see it. Worst of all, the message is unclear.

Can you relate? Are you consistently getting new customers through your website?

At Dock Line, we’ve built hundreds of websites for small businesses to help them grow their business online. No matter what industry you’re in, there are six things that we’ve suggested most often when designing a highly profitable business website.

Incorporate these six components in your website and you’ll get more visitors, more sales, and more fans of your business. You’ll stop losing to your competition.

Your business website should include a 3-second headline.

When someone visits your website they should understand what you do in 3 seconds or less. People make instant subconscious decisions about you and your brand when they visit your website. If you confuse, you lose. Your website headline needs to clearly tell the reader what you do and how it helps them.

To help you clarify your main headline (the company’s tagline), use this formula to get started.

_________________ to help you ______________ your _____________.

= (Main service you provide) to help you (Result of your service) your (Thing your service benefits).

Example: Landscaping services to help you manage your lawn.

Here are a couple of guidelines to follow when developing your main tagline.

Don’ts:

Don’t use insider lingo.
Don’t be too vague.
Don’t be long winded.

Do:

Use language anybody will understand.
Be specific.
Be concise.

Your business website should include a clear call-to-action.

If possible, give visitors only one call to action on each page of your website. If your main objective is to get them on the phone, make that the only option. You may also offer a lead generator as a call-to-action. Make sure it points people to your main call-to-action.

Make your call-to-action specific and straight to the point.

What is it you want the website visitor to do? Do you want them to book a call with you? Do you want them to buy your product? Be up front and direct. Also, make the call-to-action obvious – put it just under the header of your website, and in the top right of the main menu.

Bad CTA’s: “Learn More” “Get Started”

Good CTA’s: “Call Now” “Buy Now”

Your business website should include a “Success Header Image”.

The header background at the top of your home page is prime real estate. It is where your 3-second headline goes and it is the first thing people see when they visit your website. Your header image gives people their first impression of your business, so it needs to imply success.

Use an image that shows the success of your product. It doesn’t have to be an actual photo of your product or even a real customer of yours. You can use a stock image if you want, as long as it conveys a message of success, as if someone used your product or service and achieved their desired goal because of it. Images with people work best, especially if they are happy and smiling.

Your business website should include search engine optimization.

What’s the use of having an amazing website if no one sees it? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) works to get your website higher in the rankings on search engines like Google.

Nearly everyone begins a search for a product or service online. With SEO you can use Google to your advantage and get more visitors to your website by showing up on the first page of search results.

How to start implementing SEO:

Use strategic keywords in your writing based on what people type into Google to find the services you offer.
Optimize your website so that it loads quickly and looks good on any device (See “Mobile Optimization” below).
Put engaging content like video on your website.
Invest in good technical SEO (Back-end website optimization).

SEO stats you need to know::

93% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
81% of people perform some type of online research before making a large purchase.
Google currently holds over 80% of total search engine market share.
75% of people never scroll past the first page of search engines.
Leads from search engines have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (ex. cold-calling, direct mail, etc.) have a 1.7% close rate.

Your business website should include responsive design.

52.2 percent of all website traffic worldwide is generated through mobile phones.

Simply put, more people are searching online using their mobile devices compared to desktop computers and the gap is widening each year. This means your website needs to be optimized to look good on any device, especially mobile phones.

If you have a website, pull it up on your phone now and see how it looks. You can also open your website on a desktop and click and drag the web browser to make it thinner. You can see how the appearance changes to match the screen size…or not.

If your website doesn’t adjust to various screen sizes it becomes difficult to navigate and read. You can make it more mobile responsive by doing the following:

Rebuild using a responsive website design template.
Eliminate the use of popups.
Make buttons and links large.
Optimize for fast page load.

It’s worth investing in an experienced web designer who can optimize your site to be mobile responsive.

Your business website should include sales oriented copywriting.

Not only should your website look good, it also needs to compel people to buy your product or service. As Donald Miller, CEO of Storybrand, says,

“Pretty websites don’t sell things. Words sell things.”

When we talk about sales-oriented copywriting, we simply mean this: Don’t talk about yourself. Talk about your customer.

As hard as it might be to hear, people don’t care about how long you’ve been in business, what your mission statement is, or the whole backstory about how you started your business. What they do care about is how you can help them and if you understand their pain.

It’s also important to remember that you only have a few seconds to grab someone’s attention and persuade them to keep reading or not. Good sales copy will keep the reader’s attention and carry them through your desired process toward a sale.

Answer these questions in your copywriting:

Who is your ideal buyer?
What problem do they face?
What kind of life are they aspiring to that the problem is hindering?
How can you solve their problem?
What bad thing will happen if they don’t solve their problem?
What will their life be like when you solve their problem?
What simple plan can people follow to solve their problem?
How can they get started right now solving their problem?

So, how does your website fare in relation to these essential components? Can you see areas where you can improve right away by implementing some of these? Maybe, you have a website that is outdated, or just doesn’t do anything to grow your business. Or worse, maybe you don’t have a website at all. If you’d like some help getting a website that you are proud of and one that works every day to grow your business, we can help. Dock Line now offers professional web design, along with digital marketing services like SEO and social media marketing. If you need a new website for your business, let us help you out. Give us a call today, or visit www.thedockline.com or email us at [email protected]

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