Is Your Website Built for Success?

Last year I attended an international internet marketing seminar in Australia. It was a three day event with online marketing being the sole focus. On the first day of the seminar one of the featured speakers was talking about the importance of communication.

As we were at an internet marketing seminar, I thought this was a little strange. However, it all made sense as he continued to share. It became apparent that he was talking about the importance of good communication on websites.

He was very right… it is extremely important that you have a goal for your website. Ideally one that involves great communication with the visitors to your website.

Often I see websites that have fancy design and images, but lack a clear message to the visitor. It is not only important to have a great looking website, but important that you get enquiry from it….enquires that turn into more business for you.

It is important that your website clearly communicates your message to your visitors. A little careful planning will allow you to set up your website to make the best of the visitors to your site.

Here are a couple of ideas to keep in mind:

1. Phone Number – If you goal from your site is to generate phone enquires, make it very obvious, on every page that’s, what you want to happen. This doesn’t mean just have a contact us link, but an obvious phone number and a “Call to Action”If you have tradesmen or sales people on the road, then you could even consider setting the phone number up so it goes direct to their cell phone, which is answered every time.I recently had the pleasure of experiencing this exact setup in action.I jumped on Google and contacted a serviceman to fix a washing machine. (He was running targeted advertising with Google Adwords – a type of online marketing linking to his website)He turned up, did a great job, and before he left he was taking another call for the next new job!
2. Instant Answers – We live in a microwave generation. People that are visiting websites want information now and can get frustrated if they can’t find it. It is best to have as much information as possible on your website pages. Ensure that the information is formatted in a way that is clear and easy to read.The same can be true with enquiry forms. When a person visits a website and makes an enquiry they expect a quick reply. The longer the period of time before they are contacted back, the more likely they to lose interest.I recently came across a smart solution that is in essence a full “support system” that can link into a website. It is called Hesk (hesk.com)
   
   Here is how it works:It takes some setup but can be set to respond instantly to email enquiries, and lodge each enquiry as a specific request in the system.You as the owner of the website get an email notification that a request has been made. Then when you or your contact person has time, all you have to do is click a link in the email and you can view the information, and answer it all on a single page.

   When you place an answer to the response it is stored in the system and the potential customer gets an update automatically.

   The beauty of the system is its ease of use and storage of communication. Your customer does not have to do anything special, just simply send an email, or fill out a basic form and you have a single place to keep all the information regarding the communication.

   This system saves lost emails; junk email filters and ensures that the enquirer gets a quick answer!

To summarise, it is important to make the best of your website and understand that having a great looking website is important, but it is more important to have a clear message and to have the ability to respond to visitors when they show interest by contacting you.

By ensuring these two areas are covered you increase your websites ability to give good Return on Investment.