Buyer’s remorse is not a sensation you want to experience when the marketing company providing custom website design services unveils your new site.
You also don’t want it one month or one year after your new or redesigned site is launched. A well-developed website stands the test of time and delivers a positive ROI through an increased presence in Google search results, visitors, and new business opportunities.
Use this guide to eliminate potential regret.
It walks you through how to get started and create a website that increases opportunities for B2B lead generation.
First up? Define your messaging in a way that appeals to your prospects.
1. Write Messaging Your Prospects Want to Read
Here’s a secret: prospects who visit your website aren’t very interested in you. They do not want to be greeted with content that talks about how great your company is or your amazing employees.
No, your prospects want immediate proof that their problems will disappear when they work with you.
Tell the story of how you’ll help them
In your messaging, position your company and solutions as an enabler of success for prospects. Have someone lead you through a framework that positions you as a trustworthy guide for prospects. The one-liners and success statements that emerge can be used across your website, in any marketing campaign, and in sales materials.
We do this with clients in Clarifying Your Message strategy sessions.
This deftly crafted message only gains value if prospects see it. Which is why SEO must be baked into the foundation of your website.
2. Identify SEO Opportunities
You’re competing on multiple fronts for SEO traffic. Vendors, competitors, ranking sites, and general interest sites will all snatch traffic away from you if you don’t follow a carefully created SEO strategy.
1. Start with figuring out how your competitors get found online
Right now, active searchers are heading to your competitors’ sites. To win this qualified traffic for yourself, you have to know what the search terms are.
Using SEO tools to conduct a thorough keyword and competitor analysis
Drop irrelevant keywords and phrases – including keywords that are not worth chasing.
2. Fight battles you can win
Certain keywords are beyond your reach. You are not going to outrank well-established vendors like Microsoft Teams for their branded solutions.
Our evaluation finds your SEO sweet spot
The keywords aren’t too difficult, have a healthy monthly search volume, and tie back to your solutions.
3. Create targeted content and address every stage of the buyer’s journey
SEO gives you an opportunity to create content for every phase of the buyer’s journey. As you educate prospects you get them to realize your services are the best solution for their problems.
3. Nail the Design
Any B2B lead generation goals you have will go out the window if your website delivers a poor user experience (UX) to visitors.
Visitors will not stick around sites that have poor UX
Why? Because they quickly became frustrated by how long it took your site to load. Or that they couldn’t figure out what you do because your solution pages are buried deep in the navigation bar and have clever, but not logical, names.
Factors that can contribute to poor UX:
- Slow load speed – aka anything over 3 seconds on mobile
- There’s no mobile version
- Broken links
- Thin content
- Pages packed with too much content
- Navigation menu that doesn’t lead visitors where they want to go
- Aggressive pop-ups
- Outdated designs
The danger of trendy designs
Sites that are too trendy quickly fall afoul of the last UX mistake we listed above – they look outdated. Which makes your entire brand look outdated. No one wants to have a partner that looks like they’re stuck in the past.
Be modern, timeless, and adaptable
That might sound like a contradiction, but with the right platform and partner you can achieve all 3 objectives. They will handle the updates, like updating colors or adding a new section.
At KLA Group, we build custom WordPress sites for our clients so their layouts are fresh and adaptable. Since it’s a fully managed solution, updates are a breeze for our clients.
Is it time for a website refresh?
Register and watch the replay
4. Tap Into the Power of Stories and Call Them to Action
Captivating stories can turn prospects into clients. You already know this – it’s why you collect testimonials and get such a great ROI on referrals. In a few words, your client or partner imparts instant credibility on your business and illustrates the benefits of working with you.
Capture the essence of storytelling and apply it to your company and solutions
This is the philosophy behind the Business Made Simple and StoryBrand writing styles. Companies that use this approach for their content development and messaging weave the power of stories into every page on their site.
Our digital marketing experts use what emerges during Clarifying Your Messaging sessions to build story-based content that fits your prospects and clients.
Give your visitors options
You work hard to write enthralling, valuable content, but it won’t convert if you don’t tell readers what to do. Sprinkle calls to action across your site and give them options beyond “Call Us.” Not everyone will be ready for a meeting, but they will give up their contact information for the right resource.
5. Stun and Engage Your Audience
Walls of text intimidate visitors. You probably feel the same way. To them, it feels difficult to work their way through line after line, so they bounce off your website to something that is easier.
Improving formatting and breaking up paragraphs helps, but to really get people to stick around you need visual and interactive elements.
Get graphics right
Make it easy for prospects to navigate your site with engaging illustrations, images, and videos.
Representation matters
When people see images that resonate with who they are, they feel understood. Build an inclusive site that reflects who they are back to them.
Give people something to watch
Videos are a quick way to increase the amount of time a person spends on a page. Instead of spending less than 10 seconds skimming a page, they hit play and easily absorb information. Video draws them in, and they start to form a relationship with you as they get to know you live.
Mix in illustrations
Do not limit your visuals to photos. Illustrations and animated videos deserve a place on your site too. They are excellent ways to demonstrate or explain a concept or simply to engage. They serve different purposes and add welcome variety.
Stay on-brand
Consistency matters. Whether you favor muted images and 3D illustrations, or vivid colors and cartoon-style graphics, apply the same style to every page on your site. Define your preferences in a brand guide so marketing and sales create consistent messaging.
Add bells and whistles
Attention spans are short. To keep visitors engaged, add interactive features like:
- Chat bots
- Live chat
- Augmented reality experiences
- Animated illustrations
- 3D graphics
6. Three, Two, One, Launch!
Your website development company pulls together your messaging, content, design, and visuals into your custom website.
The heavy lifting on your end is over, but you should still be involved
You’re done making decisions, but you’ll still meet with your Digital Marketing Consultant to get status updates during the development stage.
Test, test, test!
Build comprehensive Quality Assurance testing processes (also known as QA testing) into your timeline so your site launches with as few glitches as possible. While you’d like it to launch without any, in reality, there will be something. The key is that the something be minor and easily found and fixed. We do extensive QA testing for every client, and it’s a standard you should not compromise on.
7. Maintain
A frictionless user experience doesn’t happen by accident. Continual post-launch maintenance is the only way to minimize disruptions, keep errors at bay, and keep your website technically sound.
The agency you work with to develop your website should offer maintenance, security, and support as an ongoing service. That way you are not the person responsible for updating WordPress, monitoring security, backing up the site, redirecting links, and fixing 404 errors. Thank goodness!
Get a Custom Website Design That Packs a Punch
Our expert team is ready to help you create a website that wows prospects, keeps them engaged, and is primed to convert visitors and deliver SEO leads.
You don’t have to juggle all the moving pieces of developing a website on your own
We’re here to guide you and will be with you every step of the way. It’s a consultative, collaborative, partnership. Set up a call to get started. You deserve a website that maximizes opportunities.