A Very Simple – Yet Highly Effective – Landing Page Template

It’s a horrible problem. An epidemic really.

Thousands of businesses have websites that are ill-equipped to get site visitors to do the ONE thing their owners should want more than anything  else – take action!

Whether it’s a phone call, Contact Form submission, whitepaper download – most websites are a confusing mess of conflicting pseudo-calls-to-action, irrelevant stock images and wasted space. It’s confusing to site visitors and confusion is paralyzing so most don’t take the action the site owner wants.

ESPECIALLY when you’re paying to send traffic to your site, you simply can’t afford to mess up your landing page.

Certainly how your landing page is designed depends on your business and what specific action you want a visitor to take once they land on that page. The landing page for an e-commerce site promoting a holiday special is gonna look A LOT different than a landing page for a software company looking to get visitors to download a whitepaper.

For our purposes, we’re going to talk about a landing page for a local service business that wants visitors to contact them to set an appointment, get an estimate, sign up for a free consultation, etc. Those are the businesses we have the most experience with, especially when it comes to driving PPC traffic to their sites.

(That said, the landing page template I’m about to share is certainly a good one to follow for a wide range of businesses/situations.)

Before I share the template, there are 2 big disclaimers I feel compelled to make.

First, while this template has proven itself time and time again, you should always TEST your landing pages to see which ones work best for your business. There is no single magic bullet, best of the best landing page template out there.

Second, a landing page is only as good as the copy on the page. If you have a horrible offer, no proof that backs up any claims you make about your company/service, copy that focuses on your company/service and not the VALUE your company/service provides to customers…

… no landing page template in the world, no matter how good, is gonna help you!

Okay, with that behind us, let’s take a look at the template. My right hand man, Burt Campbell, put a basic wireframe of this landing page together to give you a general sense of what it looks like and its components. I’ll expand on each section below the image.

(Click image to enlarge)

Header

The header should be narrow – you don’t want it taking up too much of that precious real estate at the top of your website.

On the left of the header should be your logo. Under the logo should be a very short description of what your company does (if that’s not obvious from your company name). This is not the place for a meaningless slogan, no matter how catchy it might be. You want to convey exactly what it is you do to site visitors so they know they’re in the right place.

On the right side of the header should be a call to action of some sort. For a local service business this is probably going to be your phone number (using a local area code is best). However, don’t ONLY put the phone number there. Have a call to action before it along the lines of “Call Today For a Free Estimate/Consultation”.

Headline

Under the header on the left side of the page should be your main headline (and, yes, your landing page DOES need a headline!). You’ll generally want your headline to convey the main benefit/value proposition you offer your customers. Its job is to generate enough attention and interest that visitors want to check out more of the page. Though not mandatory, a good sub-headline under the headline is often quite effective too.

(Since this isn’t an article about headline writing, that’s all we’re gonna say about this part of the landing page – there’s no shortage of “how to write a headline” type articles out there.)

Video/Image

Video (done well) is a great addition to many landing pages. It generally engages visitors more than copy does so it’ll keep people on your site longer. If you use video, make sure you end it with a clear call-to-action.

If you use an image in this space instead of a video, use one that’s relevant to your company/service/offer. You’ll generally want to stay away from stock images here. Also, if you use an image, put a caption under it – that text underneath the image will be one of the MOST read bits of copy on your landing page so make the most of it!

Form

On the right side of your landing page, above the fold (the part of the page users see without having to scroll), is where your contact/opt-in form goes. Use a benefit-focused lead in before the form fields to let visitors know exactly WHAT they’re signing up for and WHY it’s in their best interest to do so.

Be creative with the “Submit” button at the bottom of the form too. Don’t use “Submit” or “Click Here” as the text on the button. Use action-oriented copy such as “Get Your Free Estimate” or “Claim Your No Obligation Consultation”.

For Google’s sake, you want some sort of privacy statement right under the button about how you’re not gonna turn people’s contact info over to Nigerian princes, Viagra salesmen and/or Communists.

The Rest of the Page

Okay, everything above should be in that above the fold section on this landing page.

That means, without having to scroll… people know WHO you are, WHAT you do, have multiple ways to CONTACT you and have an INCENTIVE to do so.

Get that far and you’re WELL ahead of most business’ websites.

Let’s continue on and see what goes below the fold.

Copy / Bullet Points

This section goes on the left underneath the video/image section. Here, you’re going to expand on the promise/offer/value proposition you laid out in your headline.

It’s important to include some bullet points here that outline 3-4 key benefits you want people to know about. A lot of people don’t read, they skim, so are more likely to scan bullet points instead of copy in paragraph form.

Even though most people will skim, you’ll still want to include a few paragraphs of copy as well. Why?

First, your most interested prospects WILL read so you want to make sure they have enough information so they’re compelled to contact you.

Also, whether you’re using this landing page for PPC and/or SEO purposes, you want to make sure you have enough unique content on the page to keep Google happy. That means at least 400 – 500 words.

The “Proof” Zone

The “Proof” Zone is where you let people know why they should trust you. This section goes below the form on the right side of the page and can include testimonials, logos of well known clients, logos of media outlets you’ve been featured on, etc.

Another Call To Action

At the very bottom of the page, reinforce your call to action. You can include your phone number again, remind people to fill out the form, or whatever it is you want them to do. Just make sure you again convey the benefit they’ll receive for taking action.

The “Keep Google Happy” Footer

When online we live in Google’s world. That means adding some things here to keep them happy. So, in the footer (in a small font), include links to your Home page, Contact page (or just put your contact info at the bottom), About page, Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. You don’t need to have every single one of those, but you’ll want at least a few of them.

And that’s all there is to it. A simple, proven landing page template. Feel free to put it to use for your business’ website and see if you can convert more of your site’s visitors into quality leads!

The #1 Conversion Killer For Service Businesses

It’s painful to watch. Well, technically to hear.

A company invests a lot of time and money in building a strong and steady flow of traffic to their website. Maybe they’re even on the ball when it comes to on-site Conversion Optimization and do a bang up job of converting that traffic into quality leads.

A service business like that should be sitting pretty, right?

Well, not necessarily.

Gotta few stories to share with you…

In St. Louis a few weeks ago we had an afternoon of torrential rain. We easily got a few inches in an hour or two that flooded the meadow near my house and the main road next to it.

I thought we stayed high and dry… but then I looked up. The ceiling by the bay window in our living room was sporting a series of brand new water spots courtesy of Mother Nature (and some bad flashing).

Now when given the opportunity I like to reach out to current or former clients to support their businesses so I called a local roofing company we did some work for a few years ago. I sent my contact, their Director of Business Development, an email explaining the situation and told him I’d like to have them fix it.

I got a short email reply around lunchtime that he’d have one of their guys call me later that afternoon. Well, that was over a week ago and I still haven’t heard from them. So instead of giving the business to my former client, I went with a roofing company one of my neighbors works for.

Which brings me to the epidemic that I think kills more conversions than anything for local service businesses: the horrendous handling of inbound leads… especially phone calls.

And not returning phone calls or following up with leads is just part of it.

Umm, Let Me Check On That

Got another story for you from my friend Talor Zamir. He works with a number of attorneys and uses a call tracking product that records the calls of his clients.

One of his clients, a personal injury attorney, was complaining about the lack of business his marketing campaign was generating. Talor knew the campaigns were generating trackable leads so he wasn’t sure what the problem was. Well, after listening to a few call recordings the reason this attorney wasn’t gettin’ the business was quite clear.

The attorney had his niece answering the phones. On one of the recorded calls a potential client asked her if they handle auto accident cases (one of the MAIN types of cases the firm handles). Her response was that she wasn’t sure and told the caller that she was going to put him on hold to go find out. After 5 minutes of being on hold, the caller hung up. The firm lost that lead forever.

A Business Killing Voicemail

Here’s another story from my friend Richard Jacobs from Speakeasy Marketing about a pizza restaurant near his house.

He called the restaurant – during business hours – and got a voice mail (mistake #1 – if you’re in a service business, make sure you answer your phone!). The recording basically said this…

“Thanks for calling ABC Pizza. We don’t accept takeout orders over the phone. If you want to place a takeout order you have to download our app for Android or iPhones and place your order that way.”

In essence what they were saying was “Don’t bother us. We don’t want to talk to you. If you want to do business with us, here are the hoops you have to jump through.”

With a voicemail like that, they lost out on Rich’s business… and I’m sure he ain’t the only one.

These stories would be funny if they weren’t so sad.

Tips For Handling InBound Leads

Service businesses live and die not just by how many leads their marketing efforts generate, but how well they handle these leads. I truly think the botched handling of inbound leads (of which the stories above are just the tip of the iceberg) prevents more conversions from turning into business than anything else for local service providers.

So how can you make sure your service business does a great job handling inbound calls so you can close a higher percentage of them?

Here are some suggestions:

1. Hire an answering service. They’re not that expensive and making sure a live person is around to answer your phone 24/7 can make a significant difference in the number of calls you convert into paying customers. Just make sure you give the answering service a script to use so they answer the phone the way you want which brings us to the next tip…

2. Use systems. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’m a big believer in systems. And if handling inbound phone calls is a big part of your business, then you should have procedures in place so calls are consistently handled the way you want them to be handled.

Richard Jacobs has some really great tips on procedures for handling phone calls.

First, use a script. Don’t let your employees or answering service wing it or, worse, when someone calls tell them you’re not available and then leave it at that.

Instead, he suggests using a script along the lines of:

“Oh, Mr. Jacobs isn’t at the phone right now but he wants to make sure he talks to you so let me get his calendar. I see he’s available this Thursday at 11AM or 2:30PM and Friday between 9AM and 10:30AM. If you get your calendar out right now, let’s schedule a time to talk when it’s good for you.”

This script does a few important things:

It makes the person calling feel important and valued which gives them a good feeling about your company and doing business with you.

Even more than that, it sets an appointment right then and there the first time they call. No going back and forth. No leaving things up in the air.

If you run a service business, your business’ success in highly dependent on setting appointments so why not have a system that makes sure that happens on the first call?!

The other suggestion Richard has is to train those answering your phone to screen people and gather information. Many times, especially in the legal field, the person answering the phone can be stand-offish – “Hello, law firm” – and then nothing. That doesn’t make a good first impression on a potential client.

Train those answering the phone to be more pleasant – “Hello, Johnson Law Firm. This is Kathy, how may I help you?”  Then have them start asking questions to screen out solicitors and other unwanted calls. And when someone who sounds like a good fit for your business calls, have the secretary gather information that can help you with your follow up.

The question Rich says is the most powerful to ask is “What’s the single most important thing about your case you want resolved above all others?” (obviously this is geared toward lawyers, but can be easily adapted to other niches).

This question provides really important information you can use when you follow up with the person.

For example, if you’re a divorce attorney and someone answers that question by saying the most important thing to them is keeping custody of their kids, then you can use that when you call them back – “My secretary mentioned that the most important thing for you is to keep custody of your kids. Let’s talk about that first. I’ve done some research and found…”

Think about the kind of impression that makes on a potential client.

3. Even with systems in place, it’s still a good idea to get sales training for your office staff. Seriously. If your assistant answers the phone and is handling inbound leads, he/she is a sales person. Getting them some sales training may be one of the best investments you can make.

4. If you’re not the one answering the phone, record the phone calls. There are a number of affordable services that allow you to record inbound calls (many call tracking companies have this built it to their service).

It can be incredibly illuminating (and in some cases, downright terrifying) to listen to how your employees answer the phones and interact with clients and prospects. Being able to listen to recordings of these calls to identify issues that may be costing your business is invaluable.

A 6 Figure a Year Problem

The efficiency in which your company can turn online leads into offline sales directly impacts the effectiveness of your marketing – and, ultimately, the success of your local service business.

The math involved here is striking.

A new client for a law firm, kitchen remodeling company, cosmetic dentist, etc. is worth a good 4 or 5 figures to the business. So just closing an extra 1 or 2 clients a month can boost revenues by 5 to 6 figures a year.

How’d that impact your business and life if your company did that?!

Don’t let the leads you generate online slip through your fingers. Use the strategies mentioned above to convert as many of those leads into paying customers as possible.

Do that well and you may just plug the biggest leak in your conversion funnel.

These Numbers Don’t Lie

It’s summer and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the freedom being an entrepreneur affords me by spending a lot of time with my kids. And since we’re having so much fun, they’re growing up so fast and summer is quickly coming to a close, this month I’m gonna cut to the chase and share a relatively short, but very important lesson with you.

Over the last year or two I’ve been trying to impress upon you the importance of conversions and conversion optimization.

Yes, having a great AdWords campaign, getting lots of organic traffic, etc. is wonderful, but if you’re not converting that traffic, all the traffic in the world ain’t gonna help you. It’s one thing to tell you that, it’s another thing to show you the difference a modest bump in conversions can make for a business.

I’m going to share some real world numbers with you from an AdWords campaign we’re managing for a client. There are two sets of numbers here. One is from May 2014, the other from June of 2014. Take a look at them here and then we’ll dig into them in some more detail (click the image to see a larger version)…

So what are we looking at here? First, look at the first few columns: Clicks – Impressions – Clickthrough Rate (CTR). Notice that these numbers are virtually identical month over month. Clicks and CTR were actually a little lower in June, though not by much.

Then look at the 4^th column, Cost Per Click (CPC). That actually rose quite a bit from May to June, with CPCs going up $0.12 (CPCs are generally on the rise in AdWords by the way so this isn’t uncommon to see).

Okay, now turn your attention to the last 3 columns starting with the very last one which is the Conversion Rate. We were able to improve the Conversion Rate from 9.75{a950ddf0e7a23367a7e0f17377d3737fa8b8b1820bab9af7071f88951eb5d84e} to 12.60{a950ddf0e7a23367a7e0f17377d3737fa8b8b1820bab9af7071f88951eb5d84e} (through a combination of onsite changes and optimizing the AdWords campaign itself).

Let’s look at the impact that change had… This business’ cost per conversion plummeted from over $40 to about $32.

And the campaign generated 14 more conversions in June than in May.

So basically, despite fewer clicks and higher CPCs, their cost per conversion dropped 20{a950ddf0e7a23367a7e0f17377d3737fa8b8b1820bab9af7071f88951eb5d84e} and they increased their total conversion over 25{a950ddf0e7a23367a7e0f17377d3737fa8b8b1820bab9af7071f88951eb5d84e}.

The bottom line here is this… for just about the same amount of ad spend, this client stands to bring in an extra $5K to $10K in revenue due to this boost in conversions!

If you still don’t get the importance of working on boosting the conversion rate on your site after this, I don’t really know what to tell you.

Without This One Thing, Nobody Buys

Last month we discussed why there are no basements in Oklahoma and the incredible importance of proof in your marketing.

Proof is the missing ingredient on so many websites (and other marketing pieces) that makes the difference between a successful marketing campaign and one that bombs.

Put quite simply… without belief, nobody buys.

If your prospects don’t trust you… if they don’t think your claims are credible… if you come across as being too hypey… they ain’t buying!

I have conversations all the time with clients about the importance of proof. And the conversation always starts out the same way.

I make the suggestions that we need to add more proof to the site, ad, etc.

They respond, “Okay, we’ll add some more testimonials.”

Now, yes, testimonials are a good form of proof. But they’re just the tip of the iceberg.

If all you’re doing is offering testimonials, it’s not enough. There are a boatload of other ways to add proof to your site. And, this month, we’re going to look at 12 of them.

1. Strong Guarantee

A strong guarantee may be one of the most powerful weapons you can use in your marketing arsenal. And, by strong, I mean one that is a step above what the competition offers.

In more and more industries a money back guarantee is pretty much expected. What we’re talking about here is a guarantee that your competitors don’t have the guts to offer and one that, quite frankly, makes you a little queasy to put out there.

A strong guarantee qualifies as proof because it shows how much you believe in your product/service. In fact, for a new business that doesn’t have much in the way of the other forms of proof listed below, a guarantee may be one of the only forms of proof you’ve got.

2. Demonstration

Copywriting legend Claude Hopkins put it this way…

“No argument in the world can ever compare with one dramatic demonstration.”

Remember the old Timex ads with the slogan “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking”? They tortured their watches to show how much of a beating they could take yet still keep telling time. Those ads took Timex from relative obscurity to the best selling watch around.

Don’t just tell your prospects about the benefits of your products and services… SHOW them.

Sell software? Have a screen capture video that shows exactly what it’s like to use your software.

Have a Membership site? Again, use a screen capture video that gives a behind-the-scenes view of the site so people see exactly what it’s like to be a member.

Are you a Consultant? Offer prospects a video or audio recording that shows what one of your consulting sessions is like.

Service professional? Show how you handle service calls and the checklist your employees go through to make sure the job’s done right.

Sell a product? The infomercial world is built upon demonstrating what it’s like to use their products. You can create your own mini-infomercial that you put on your website and YouTube.

Think of how you can demonstrate what your product or service will actually do for your prospects. It may very well be the best marketing angle you can take.

3. Specifics

We all fall into the generalities trap:

• “We’ve helped hundreds of customers save money.”
• “We’re the best at…”
• “We have a high rate of success in…”
• “Our quality control process is second to none…”

Those kinds of claims don’t carry much weight. But put some specifics into them and you change the game.

• “To date, we’ve helped 973 customers save an average of $1,239 a year.”
• “Over the past 4 years, we’ve been ranked as the #1 widget builder in an independent survey of customers in our industry.”
• “We’ve had successful outcomes for 98.3{a950ddf0e7a23367a7e0f17377d3737fa8b8b1820bab9af7071f88951eb5d84e} of the 4234 customers that have come to us in the past 15 months.”
• “We’ve only had 1 error in the last 13,234 calls we’ve handled (which is 5.6x better than the industry average)…

When you back up your claims with specifics, your claims become more tangible and believable to prospects. And that makes specifics another powerful weapon in your “proof” arsenal. (And, by the way, the more specific your testimonials have in them, the more powerful they are.)

4. Media

Media attention and publicity provides instant credibility to you and your business.

On websites these days, it’s fairly common to see the “Media Wall” which shows off the logos of every TV station, newspaper, magazine, etc. that a company has been featured on/in.

If you get media coverage, be sure to embed and/or link to the interview, press release, story, etc. on your site.

Yes, media coverage can do a great job at giving you a short term spike of traffic and sales.

However, over the long term, featuring past media appearances on your site provides instant proof that your company is doing something interesting/worth talking about. And that can provide the extra credibility prospects need to do business with you as opposed to one of your less media savvy competitors.

5. Specialization

If your kid gets sick and complains that her ear hurts, would you take her to a dermatologist or a pediatrician?

Nope. Not a trick question. You’d obviously pick the pediatrician because they specialize in taking care of sick children.

Specialized training and/or expertise in a specific segment of a market bring added proof and credibility to the table.

So instead of being another accountant, you’re the accountant that specializes in helping chiropractors.

Instead of being another sales coach, you’re the sales coach that helps senior level sales executives at manufacturing companies with $15 million or more in revenue.

You may very well find being a big fish in a smaller pond, combined with the credibility you get by being a specialist, is exactly what you need to take your sales to the next level.

6. Accolades/Awards

Have you and/or your business won any awards? Have you gotten any special recognition for the work you do?

If you have, don’t hide it from your prospects! Shout it from the rooftops (or at least feature it prominently on your website and marketing materials!).

Awards from 3^rd party organizations that recognize your excellence for what you do provides a big credibility bump to the claims you make so be sure you highlight them.

7. Admitting Faults

Candor and honesty can go a long way to establishing your credibility.

Point out a potential drawback of your product/service, tell prospects that it may not be for everyone, understate your claims.

This may seem counterintuitive, but it can generate a lot of goodwill and trust with your prospects.

So try admitting some faults and see if it gives you a bump in conversions.

8. Studies/Research

Have there been any research or studies that support the claims you make/back up the benefits of the product/service you offer?

Citing research from well known universities, organizations, etc. can give your product/service a nice credibility bump.

For example, let’s say you sell a new type of eyeglass lens that provides clearer, sharper vision and the technology was developed by some researchers at Harvard University. Mentioning “developed by researchers at Harvard” in your marketing for the lens will give them more credibility in the, well, eyes, of your prospects.

Research from 3^rd parties will help prove your case more effectively than you trying to toot your own horn.

9. Noteworthy Clients

This is similar to media appearances, but uses existing clients as proof. If you’ve worked with big, notable, respected companies, you can feature their logos on your website (provided you have their permission of course!) to demonstrate your credibility.

Basically you’re conveying the idea that if these other companies have trusted our products/services, then your prospects should too!

10. Scarcity

Scarcity is one of Robert Cialdini’s 6 principles of persuasion.

When people perceive the availability of an offer is limited (by time, supply, etc.) it will increase demand.

It also demonstrates proof. When you have (truthful) reasons why you have a limited supply of your product/service, it gives the perception that it’s a popular product/service and it must be good.

11. Social Media Proof

Social Proof is another one of Cialdini’s 6 principles of persuasion. And social media is a great way to demonstrate social proof for your company online.

Highlighting a large number of followers, retweets, connections, mentions, reviews, etc. you have across various social media sites demonstrates popularity. It shows that other people like what you’re doing and validates your product/service.

There’s safety in numbers and when a prospect sees that they’d be in good company by using your product/service, it can provide them the shortcut/cover they need to make the decision to use you.

12. The Reason Why

You have to give prospects a reason why they should buy from you. Part of that is to give them a reason why to believe the claims you’re making.

Providing that reason why can take a boring, ho-hum kind of claim and give it some teeth that’ll provide the extra proof a prospect needs to pull out their wallet.

So it’s not “we’re having a sale this weekend”, it’s “we’re having a sale this weekend because our supplier sent us 50{a950ddf0e7a23367a7e0f17377d3737fa8b8b1820bab9af7071f88951eb5d84e} more widgets than we ordered and we’re trying to get rid of them quickly.”

It’s not that “our widget is better than the competition’s”, it’s “our widget is better than the competition’s because of our patented manufacturing process that makes it 57{a950ddf0e7a23367a7e0f17377d3737fa8b8b1820bab9af7071f88951eb5d84e} stronger…”

Give prospects a reason why to believe the claims you make to help prove your case.

Profiting With Proof

Making claims on your site that aren’t backed up by proof can come off as gimmicky, insincere, or worse… all hype but no substance.

As I said at the top… without belief, nobody buys.

You now have 12 ways to provide belief (in addition to testimonials). Pick a few, put them on your site and prosper!

Why Top Online Marketers Are Changing Their Business Model

The times they are a-changin’ – Bob Dylan

Going behind the scenes this month to bring you some BIG changes taking place in the online marketing world.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been talking shop with some online marketing friends – guys who are world class (a term I don’t throw around lightly) in PPC and SEO. And all of us are changing the way we approach our businesses and online marketing.

I want to share some of what we’re changing (and why) with you cuz it’s got big implications for your business and how you tackle online marketing.

First a little history…

Let’s go back to the good ol’ days. Just 5 or 10 years ago. Click costs in AdWords were cheap. And it was still pretty easy to rank high in the organic and local search results.

Yes, for those with just a little knowledge of how the search engines worked, life was good.

Well, y’all know those days are long gone!

Now you’d be hard pressed to find a niche where you don’t have to fight tooth and nail against a legion of competitors trying to claim that precious real estate on top of Page 1 of Google for themselves.

Google AdWords Ain’t Just About Search Any More

In AdWords, there was a time you could focus just on campaigns running on Google.com (and maybe the Display Network if you were more advanced) and be just fine.

But now, in addition to Search and Display Networks, there’s Remarketing, Product Listing Ads, Video ads, mobile optimized settings, ad extensions, all sorts of new bidding structures, automated rules, scripts, etc.

And that’s just the surface level stuff. You can dig layers deeper on any one of those topics.

There’s always been a “Stupidity Tax” in AdWords for those who didn’t know what they’re doing. These days, the tax is MUCH higher and Google (and your competitors) will devour you if you’re not careful.

SEO has seen tectonic shifts recently as well.

You can’t go out and buy a bunch of links to catapult your site to the top of the search results any more. Yes, links still matter. But you gotta be VERY careful about how and where you get them. And you need to focus more on regularly creating truly unique content, social signals, Authorship, etc.

The Changes Search Engine Marketing Firms Are Making

There was a time when all we focused on here at Words That Click were AdWords Search campaigns. And that was enough.

There was a time when my buddy who’s a top SEO expert only worried about SEO and building backlinks for his clients. And that was enough.

But just doing those things ain’t enough anymore.

These days, to really make AdWords work, a company like mine can’t put its blinders on and just focus on keywords, ads and bid prices.

Not to say we can’t get improvements focusing on those things because we can and do. But it’ll only get us so far before we hit a wall.

See, to really compete in AdWords (and/or SEO) and truly make significant improvements to a campaign, we HAVE to focus on the landing pages and Conversion Optimization too.

We have to work with businesses on their messaging. Their offers. Their calls to action. Their entire sales funnel really.

All that stuff needs to be addressed to make an AdWords campaign truly fly these days.

But, wait, there’s even more!

Because even if you have great landing pages in place, traffic from Google can still be pricey (though if you’ve optimized your landing pages, you can afford to pay those clicks MUCH easier than your competitors who ignore conversions).

Or, sometimes there are situations where a site’s pretty well optimized and AdWords is driving about as much traffic as we can squeeze out of it so the question becomes how to drive more prospects to a site.

So if we’re really going to our job of helping customers achieve the objective of growing their businesses, we have to look for other sources of paid traffic besides AdWords.

And there’s no shortage of them out there…

• Bing (and other search engines)
• FB ads (which have become much more viable for a wider range of businesses lately)
• Retargeting platforms like Simpli.fi and AdRoll
• PPV platforms like Trafficvance
• Content Recommendation Engines like Outbrain
• and on and on

See, my friends and I in the industry all have a bird’s eye view of what’s going on in the world of online marketing. We get to go behind the scenes of hundreds of companies in all different markets. We study both the successes and failures of various marketing campaigns.

And from that view of the world, we see what the companies dominating their markets are doing.

We see the truly successful companies know their numbers and are obsessive about measuring results (remember this… if you can’t measure it, you can’t fix it).

We see the truly successful companies put a lot of resources into Conversion Optimization and are obsessively testing ways to get more prospects to raise their hands and enter their sales funnels.

We see the truly successful companies never EVER rely on just one source of traffic… they diversify by using a wide range of paid and “free” sources of traffic.

And in seeing all this, it’s crystal clear that as marketing firms we can’t afford to be one trick ponies. Firms that only focus on AdWords or SEO and nothing else are going to go the way of the dodo.

If we’re gonna help our clients’ marketing campaigns be as successful as they can be, just focusing on clicks, backlinks and Quality Scores ain’t gonna make it happen.

What Lessons Should You Take Away From This?

Well, you, as a business owner, can’t afford to be a one trick pony either when it comes to your marketing.

In my 11 Simple Principles report I originally wrote 5 years ago, I said this:

“Relying on just one source of traffic and sales to drive your online marketing efforts puts your business in a very dangerous position.”

And that’s even truer today than it was then.

You HAVE to diversify your traffic sources.

You HAVE to work the conversion side of your website.

And you HAVE to carefully measure results so you know your numbers and see EXACTLY what’s putting money in your bank account and what’s siphoning money out of it.

The webs a-changin’.

Yes, it’s a more challenging environment. But your prospects are still looking for you there.

And it’s the companies that adapt by adding more sources of traffic, focus on Conversions and watch their numbers that are gonna turn the lion’s share of the prospects into customers.

So, the question is, is it going to be you or your competition that get them?

7 Easy (And Wickedly Effective) Ways to Pimp Your Website in 2014

Happy New Year!

I’m assuming you’ve got big plans for your business this year, right?

I mean, I’ve never heard an entrepreneur say “I’m happy with how things are. I think I’ll just kick back and relax.”

Heck no! You wanna grow your business. Make it bigger and better. You’re like the Once-ler from the Lorax and figure on “biggering and Biggering and BIGGERING…”!

Well, for most businesses, your website is Ground Zero for making that happen. You want it to be a well-oiled machine that attracts, engages and converts your ideal prospects into paying customers.

So with that in mind, here are 7 tools, strategies and/or tips to help your website do that much more effectively this year. (These are in no particular order, though if I had a gun to my head and was forced to pick just one of these, it’d be #7.)

1. Get Rid of Your Sliders

Yep. I’m talking about those rotating image sliders that are all the rage on websites these days. They flash a product, message, offer, etc. for a few seconds and then move on to the next.

Well, as our parents used to say, “Just because everyone else jumps off a bridge, doesn’t mean you should do it too.”

The thing is, sliders KILL conversions.

There have been a number of studies by conversion experts and, in almost all of them, websites/landing pages that use sliders have lower conversion rates than the ones that just feature ONE specific offer/message/product.

(A lot of it has to do with movement. Our eyes are naturally drawn to movement. So when you have that slider constantly scrolling at the top of your site, it draws visitors’ attention every time it rotates. And that’s distracting and prevents them from focusing on the stuff you really want them paying attention to – your offer, products, proof, call to action, etc.)

So pick the ONE message you want to deliver at the top of your site and make sure it’s the only one that people see at the top of your landing pages.

2. Install Crazy Egg

Full disclosure here – I’m a paid regular contributor to the Crazy Egg blog, The Daily Egg.

That said, I get no kickbacks for recommending Crazy Egg software. The only reason I’m recommending it here is because I believe in it.

The software creates “heatmaps” of your website that visually show you where people are clicking on your website. You can see “scrollmaps” that show how far down the pages of your site most people scroll. You also get “confetti” maps that show information about the people clicking like referral sources, operating system and browser type.

Google Analytics is very important and provides a lot of essential information. But it doesn’t give you the full story. Crazy Egg helps you figure out how people are interacting with your site and provides  invaluable insights on how to rearrange, redesign and revamp things to get them clicking on the things you want them to click on.

It provides insights that help you figure out WHY people aren’t converting on your site. Among the companies that value Crazy Egg to get these insights are Amazon, eBay and Microsoft.

And with plans starting at just $9/month, it’s so ridiculously cheap that you can’t afford not to get access to this treasure trove of information!

3. Set up Goals in Analytics

You’ve got Analytics installed on your site (right?!). Well that’s great, but it’s just the beginning. What you really want to do with Analytics is set up Goals.

What is it you want people to do when they get to your website?

• Buy something
• Sign up for a newsletter, free report or whitepaper
• Start a free trial of your service

Any or all of those things can be set up as Goals in Analytics so you can track when people perform the actions you want them to take. Then you can get a clearer picture of how many people are taking those actions, what source(s) of traffic perform the best and how changes you make to your site affect the conversion rates of your Goals.

Installing Analytics and setting up Goals are completely free and provide essential information you need to improve your sales funnel. If you don’t have them set up yet, make it one of the first New Year’s Resolutions you make good on this year.

4. Better Button Copy

If you have buttons on your website that say “Submit” or “Click Here”, you’re making a big mistake.

Changing the copy on those buttons may be one of the easiest, yet most effective things you can do to increase conversions on your site.

Use copy that conveys a benefit. Here are a few examples:

• “Start your Free Trial”
• “Get the Secret Now”
• “Sign up and reserve your spot today”
• “Get Free Updates”

You want to use the button copy to convey the VALUE your prospect gets for clicking. Do that effectively and watch your conversions rise.

5. Get Rid of the I’s and We’s

People don’t come to your website to hear all about you, how great you are and/or how great your products and services are.

They come to your site to find out what you and your products and services can DO FOR THEM. How can you make their lives better? How can you eliminate a pain they’re experiencing OR fulfill a desire they have?

Read over the copy on your site and see if there are more I’s, We’s and Our’s, than You’s. Because if you’re talking about yourself more than your prospects, it’s almost a guarantee your message is missing the mark.

Put the focus squarely on them, their emotions, their problems and desires and your copy will be more effective in getting them to respond.

6. Add More Proof

Why should people believe the claims you make on your site?

Most websites fall way short when it comes to backing up those claims. As Internet marketing guru Terry Dean so beautifully put it “Claims without proof, are just hype.”

Take a look at your website. Do you have lots o’ proof to back up the claims you make on it?

Bet you could add more.

Testimonials and case studies are great. But there’s tons of other ways to generate proof…

Videos. Awards. Credentials. Relevant stories. Social media mentions/fans/followers. Media coverage. Published articles. 3^rd party endorsements. Celebrity endorsements. Notable clients.

Adding these things give more credibility to the claims you make and reduce the risk in your prospects’ minds about doing business with you.

More proof = lower perceived risk = higher conversions.

7. Install Optimizely

Okay, if you only do one thing to your website in 2014, it’s this.

Optimizely is a software tool that allows you to easily make changes to a page on your website and then split test the original vs. the page with the changes to see which one generates more conversions.

Basically Optimizely makes a copy of your web page on their server and lets you easily edit the text, images, buttons, etc. on that page (through a WYSIWIG editor… NO coding is required to make changes!).

All you do is install one snippet of code on your site, decide what changes you want to make to try to boost conversions and the software does the rest.

It will show half the visitors to your site the original version and the other half the page that has the change(s). Then it does the math and tells you when one of the variations has outperformed the other and you have a statistically significant winner.

In AdWords, split testing your ads is about the best thing you can do over time to increase the performance of your campaigns. And it’s simple to do.

Optimizely makes split testing your website – the best thing you can do over time to increase the performance of your website – almost as simple as split testing your AdWords ads.

We’re using Optimizely more and more on client sites and it’s an incredibly addictive (and profitable for clients!) game to try to consistently beat the control and improve conversions on the site.

And it’s dirt cheap to get started with a 30 day free trial and a base package starting at just $17/month. Considering the revenue boost an increase in conversions can bring to your business, using Optimizely can easily be THE most profitable investment you make in the New Year.

The Simple Guide to Creating a Killer Landing Page

It’s a big problem. An epidemic really.

Business owners spend hundreds, thousands, even millions of dollars a year to get traffic to their company’s website.

The traffic builds and builds.  And, along with it, the expectation that a SURGE in sales is just around the corner.

But often that surge never comes.

And most of the time, it’s because all the traffic they’re getting takes visitors to a landing page that, to be perfectly blunt, sucks.

(For newbies: A landing page is simply the page on your site someone lands on when they click on a link from an ad, search result or another website. It could be your Home page, Product/Service page, page promoting a special offer, etc.)

A few months back, I posted about the 5 Essential Elements a landing page must have to be successful.

And, while that provides a great framework for building landing page content, I’ve had a number of questions lately about the specific steps and components that go into creating a killer landing page.

So here’s a primer on what belongs on your landing page (and what doesn’t) as well as some tips for each…

1. Identify the primary goal of your landing page

When someone lands on that page, what’s the ONE thing you want them to do? Buy something, call you, fill out a form, share the content, continue to another page on your site, etc.?

It’s essential to figure this out first because it’s the ultimate goal your headline, copy, etc. all lead to.

Your landing page should focus on just ONE primary objective… ONE main thing you want visitors to do when they get there.

Any more than one causes confusion. And you don’t want to confuse prospects because confused prospects don’t convert!

This isn’t to say you can’t have secondary objectives on a landing page. It’s perfectly fine to have links to other pages on the site, social media buttons, a phone number, a newsletter sign up, etc. . Just make sure the secondary objectives don’t steal the show from the primary objective.

2. Understand the “Thought Sequence” of your visitors

Conversion experts like to say “you don’t optimize landing pages, you optimize thought sequences.”

Here’s what this means…

First, think about the conversation going on in a visitor’s brain when they get to your landing page.

How did they get there? What keywords did they use? What are they looking to accomplish? What problems are they looking to solve?

It makes a big difference if someone comes to your landing page from an AdWords ad after typing in the the keyword “landscape architect” vs. someone who arrives from a Facebook post about your spring plant sale.

Those represent the beginning of two very distinct thought sequences and deserve very different landing pages.

Understanding thought sequences is crucial because your landing page’s job really boils down to this…

You start with “Point A”… the conversation going on in your prospect’s brain when they land on your page.

You end with “Point B”… the ultimate action you want them to take before leaving your page.

So, the job of your landing page is to meet them Point A and optimize their thought sequence on the page so when they get to Point B they are totally convinced that taking that action is in their best interest.

8 Main Components of a Landing Page

Okay, with those two concepts out of the way, let’s look at the 8 main components that make up a landing page (along with some key tips on how to make the most of each).

1. Site header/banner

With headers, narrower (height-wise) is better. They’re about branding and giving people a brief, initial impression of who you are and what your site is about.

Designers love to make big banners to show off their creative abilities. These behemoths take about 1/3 of the “above the fold” space on the page and push the content that’s actually gonna get visitors to convert lower on the page. Don’t let them do this to your site!

Often just a clean, simple banner with your logo (and maybe a tagline) on the left and your contact info on the right is all you need.

2. Headline/Subheadline

The headline is the single MOST important element on your landing page. It’s the first, and possibly only, copy a visitor will read on your site.

Make it clearly stand out from the other elements around it so it commands attention (it should immediately draw a visitor’s eyes when they first land on your page).

The main job of your headline is to let visitors know they’re in the right spot (based on the conversation in their head that got them to your page) and offer them a reason to stick around.

It should NOT try to make the sale. It’s the opening of your sales message, not the close.

The subheadline goes right under your headline and continues the conversation the headline started. It’s usually longer than the headline and in a font size that’s smaller than your headline yet still in a larger/bolder font than the other copy on the page.

Subheadlines aren’t essential. However, they’re a powerful way to elaborate on the unique value proposition you’re offering to visitors so your headline doesn’t have to carry that burden on its own.

Together, your headline and subheadline should clearly lay out the benefit/value you offer your prospects.

And, most importantly, their focus should be squarely on your visitors and their needs/problems/desires… remember, it’s not about you!!

3. Main Content/Copy block

Like the head/subheadline, the main content of your landing page should focus on the reader and, ultimately, the benefits they’ll get from taking the action you want them to take. The copy’s job is to guide a visitor’s thought sequence from the headline to your call-to-action.

There’s a lot of controversy and misconceptions about how long your copy should be (ie. long vs. short copy). And there’s really no set right or wrong answer. The length of your copy really boils down to what you’re offering and what you want prospects to do.

If you’re offering an easy to understand, free giveaway… you don’t need much copy. However, if you’re selling a more complicated and/or expensive product or service that you want prospects to buy on the spot… you’ll need more copy to get the job done.

Also, make your copy scannable because most people won’t read your copy but rather SCAN it for key points. Having all your paragraphs left justified makes this easy to do as does using bullets, short paragraphs, putting carefully selected words in bold font, etc.

4. Images

Images are not as important as most people think they are (an obvious exception being the product pages of an ecommerce site).

In fact, you can have a high converting landing page without any images at all.

If you do use images, avoid stock images of smiling business people. Instead, use images that demonstrate the value proposition of your offer. And, ideally use images that show your product/service being used.

Also, always put a CAPTION below your images. People’s eyes are naturally drawn to images and a caption can be among the most read copy on the page.

5. Forms

Keep forms as short as possible. Just capture the essential info because the more fields on your form, the fewer people will fill it out (fewer people may not be a bad thing… you have to balance quality of leads vs. quantity of leads depending on your objectives).

Left justify the fields for a cleaner, less intimidating look. If you do require a lot of fields, often breaking them up into smaller, related groupings can make the form more appealing.

Also, it helps conversions to surround your form with some “trust” elements like a privacy policy, security badges, testimonials, etc. to make people feel comfortable about submitting their information.

One last tip… unless you have a problem with a lot of web spam, don’t use a CAPTCHA for your form… don’t make people do any more work than needed!

6. Call-to-Action

This is all about the primary action you want someone to take on your page so let them know exactly what you want them to do and the benefits they’ll get by doing it.

If taking action requires a click, be sure the button/text they have to click stands out by using an arrow, bold color, spacing, etc.

Oh, and don’t use the word “Submit” or “Click Here” on the button. Use phrases that reinforce what the visitor gets when clicking on it (ie. “Get Your Free Trial”, “See Plans and Pricing”, “Start Your Tour”).

7. Navigation

Navigation isn’t essential. In fact, some landing pages perform better without it.

It depends on your niche and the objectives of your landing page. However, most of my readers own real world businesses/Ecommerce sites and will generally want to have navigation on their sites.

If you have navigation, it’s often best to put it between your header and headline, where most people expect to find it (as opposed to down the side of the page).

And keep it simple. Multiple navigation bars and/or navigation bars with too many options can be overwhelming. Simplify things so visitors can quickly and easily find what they’re looking for.

8. Test!!!

All the above are general rules of thumb/best practices to help get you started in creating a killer landing page.

However, rules can be bent/broken. The only way to know what’s going to work best for your landing pages is to test, test, test!

The Important Thing You’re Fogetting to Sell On Your Website

I got a simple idea for you today that could easily double your conversion rates.

And it starts with what you’re selling (or not selling) on your website.

See, the copy on most websites is all about selling the company and its products/services.

Nothing wrong with that.

But often the call to action…the first step a prospect MUST take to get into your sales funnel is almost an afterthought. All it gets is a little form on the side of the page that says “Sign Up For Our Newsletter”… or some text at the top that says “Call for a Free Consultation”… or the link to your Contact page that has a form and nothing else.

So here’s the simple action you can take that could double the number of people taking that first step…

SELL that first step.

Here’s an example…

It’s pretty much expected that an attorney will offer a free consultation. So, the question becomes, if all your competitors are offering the same thing, WHY should a prospect sign up for your free consultation?

Yes, part of it is a good Unique Selling Proposition, establishing your credibility, and generally crafting a good sales message.

But even if you get that part right, many people are still gonna be reluctant to fill out your form and contact you to take advantage of that free consultation you offer.

Soooo…sell the consultation!

Describe how, if they contact you during business hours, they can expect a fast and friendly response from your personal secretary within 1 business hour to schedule the consultation.

Explain whether the consultation will take place in person or over the phone so they know exactly what they’re getting.

Most importantly, let them know what VALUE they can expect to get out of the consultation. A lot of people are gonna think that the free consultation is just a thinly designed sales pitch (and, in many cases, they’re probably justified in thinking this).

But if you let prospects know the specific issues you’ll address with them during the consultation, what information you’ll be able to provide them and how this will help them get closer to solving their problem, you’ll have a lot more people contacting you to take you up on the consult.

And this concept doesn’t just apply to free consultations. It applies to:

• Newsletter sign ups
• Getting a free estimate
• Taking a Free Trial
• Getting a Free Demo
• Requesting a Quote
• Or even just filling out the form on your Contact page.

In fact, I had a client recently who had a typical Contact page – just a form with no copy on it.

We added some copy above the form that mentioned their fast response time, friendly staff, the ability to talk to a live person if you called them (which is NOT the industry norm by the way), etc. Not much copy, but it SOLD filling out the contact form.

It’s been almost a month since those changes were made and they’ve already had TWICE as many people contacting them through filling out that form as did the previous month.

Yes, you want to sell whatever product or service you’re selling on your website. But, don’t forget to also sell the initial action(s) you want people to take so they get into your sales funnel.

Do that and maybe you’ll double your conversion rates too!

Why This Ugly Website Is Kickin’ Butt

During a recent presentation I shared an “ugly” website, and the great marketing lessons it contains for all website owners, with the audience. For those who didn’t catch the presentation, I want to share the example and lessons with you here.

(This post will make a lot more sense and be a lot more meaningful if you read my last post before reading this one.)

This is the website for a company, Logo Design Guarantee (you can click to see a larger view).

It’s an ugly website. It’s cluttered. There are grammatical errors. It’s just ugly.

But it’s an ugly website that’s converting really well in a highly competitive niche.

And the reason it’s converting so well is that the 5 elements for a successful website that I shared with you in the last post are all above the fold in this website.

The 5 elements are:

1. Desperate Problem
2. Unique Promise
3. Overwhelming Proof
4. Irresistible Offer
5. Immediate Action

And, when I say the fold, I simply mean the part of the website you see as soon as you land on it…before you scroll or click on anything. (The screenshot above shows the fold for this website on my computer.)

So, let’s see what they’re doing here…

As we mentioned in the previous post, the messaging of your website starts with a desperate problem or burning desire. For this website, the desperate problem is along the lines of…

“I desperately need a logo for my company. I don’t want to pay a lot of money for it (or don’t have a lot of money to pay for it) but I still want one that looks good and doesn’t look like some generic cookie cutter logo.”

That desperate problem is addressed in this part of the website which makes what I’d consider to be the main Unique Promise of this site…

The site makes some other Unique Promises too…

They’ll beat any competitor’s pricing:

They’ll give you 6 logo designs for $49:

And they’ll give you a 365 day money back guarantee:

And, if you think those “Unique Promises” also sound a lot like part of this site’s “Irresistible Offer”, you’re exactly right!

Many times the content on your site will serve double or triple duty (or more) for the 5 elements essential to your website’s success.

There’s also plenty of “Overwhelming Proof” on this website:

They have security badges like PayPal Verified…

and McAfee Secure…

These let users know that they can trust this site and spend their money here without worrying about getting ripped off.

The 365 day guarantee, besides being part of the Promise and the Offer, is also part of the Proof. It says “We’re so confident that you’re going to love the logo you get from us that we’re willing to back it up for an entire year!”

They also show examples of their work. Here are some images of some really great looking logos:

They also have social proof going on here:

(Now, if this company were to hire me as a marketing consultant, I’d recommend they update this at least one a month or so to say “over 1347 satisfied customers” because being specific is also a form of proof.)

And they also have these photos at the bottom of the fold (cut off a bit, but it’s still clear what’s in the photos):

These are clearly not stock photos. There are real photos of real employees in a real office. That makes the company seem more real and more credible…another form of proof.

And, lastly, they have “Immediate Action” in this banner at the top…

If you don’t act by Midnight, you miss out on this special offer.

Problem. Promise. Proof. Offer. Action.

It’s why this “ugly” website is doing so well in a highly competitive niche.

Am I saying that you have to choose between these 5 elements and having a great looking site? No, absolutely not!

Ideally you have both.

But most people focus on design first and they try to cram their content and messaging into the design they have to work with.

If I can get you to reverse that way of thinking and focus on your content and these 5 elements first (ie. the stuff that actually produces results!) and build your design around them to support them…

…then I’ll have done my job with these two posts and your results will be so much better! 😉

If you want to go more in depth on these 5 elements that are critical to your website’s success, I’d highly recommend you check out The Total Conversion Code from Terry Dean and Glenn Livingston.  (That is an affiliate link because I believe this course is one of the top 3 online marketing courses I’ve ever purchased.)

The 5 Essential Elements Of a Money Making Website

Imagine you’re about to open a big retail store.

You hire a talented architect and design team and they knock it out of the park. I mean this thing is spectacular…the window display, the interior…you could not have asked for anything more!

And in your excitement to open your doors to the public, you kinda let a few things fall by the wayside…

…You don’t train your sales staff…

…You carelessly scatter your inventory across the store, and…

…You stick your cash registers in this out of the way place so no one’s really quite sure where to check out.

Do you think that store would struggle with sales?

Of course it would!

And how would you fix that problem?

Would you…

A. Try and drive as much foot traffic through the front door as possible, or

B. Train the sales staff, fix the inventory issues and move the cash registers?

Clearly B would be the best choice.

But faced with a similar situation on your website, I bet most of you would go for the traffic.

I say that because most business owners come to me thinking they have a traffic problem.  But in more cases than not, the real problem with their website is not a lack of traffic…it’s a lack of conversions.

A conversion can be a purchase someone makes on your website. Or it could be an action they take to get into your sales funnel…signing up for your newsletter, downloading a whitepaper, or calling you.

Having a great looking site that gets lots of traffic is great…but if you take that to the bank and try to deposit it, the teller is, at best, gonna laugh at you and, if she’s having a bad day, may end up calling security!

Conversions are what bring in the cash!

I’d like to share a system with you developed by two online marketers, Terry Dean and Glenn Livingston. It’s the most concise and elegant way I’ve come across to size up a website from a conversion standpoint.

If your website isn’t converting, it’s because it’s lacking in one of more of the following areas…

1. Desperate Problem

People aren’t coming to your website to find out about how wonderful your company is or how wonderful your products and services are…

…They’re coming to your website because they either have a desperate problem they need to solve or a burning desire they wish to fulfill.

And they want to know if you can help them.

That problem or desire is the starting point of your website and the messaging on your website and leads into the…

2. Unique Promise

How do you uniquely promise to solve that problem or fulfill that desire? The last thing you want people thinking when they get to your website is “Oh, I’ve seen that before.” If they think that, they’re gone!

Every one of your businesses is unique. Maybe it’s a special widget you’ve developed…maybe it’s the story you have to tell…maybe it’s a specific niche you focus on in your market.

Whatever it is, let your uniqueness come shining through on your website.

3. Overwhelming Proof

A lot of people fall short on this one. It’s all about backing up the promises, or claims, you make on your site.

And the stronger the claims, the more important it is to have proof because as Terry Dean puts it “a strong claim without proof is just hype.”

Testimonials and case studies are a great way to demonstrate proof but there are dozens of other ways to do it and I’ll share some examples with you in my next post.

4. Irresistible Offer

Hands down, this is the most important one of the 5. Your product/service, your pricing, payment plans, a guarantee, a free trial offer, and things like these all combine to form your offer.

The closer your offer gets to where people think “Man, I’d be a fool to leave this site without taking advantage of this offer”, the stronger your conversions will be.

A truly irresistible offer will make up for a lot of other shortcomings on a website!

5. Immediate Action

Why should people act NOW?! What do they stand to lose by not taking advantage of your offer right then and there?

Because most people, if they leave to think things over or talk about it with their spouse or partner, ain’t coming back!

And give them a crystal clear call to action that lets them know exactly what it is you want them to do next and what benefits they’ll get from doing it.

Problem. Promise. Proof. Offer. Action.

They’re why ugly websites can compete so well in highly competitive niches.

Before I wrap things up here, I’d be remiss in talking about conversions, if I didn’t touch on the importance of tracking and measuring your results.

Do you use Google Analytics on your website?

And, if you do, do you use Goal Tracking so you can track when someone makes a purchase, fills out a form or takes some other key action on your site?

If not, before you do anything else on your website, I’d get that in place. And, if a lot of your leads come by phone, I’d recommend getting a call tracking system in place.

You wouldn’t hand your money over to an investment advisor without having some accountability there. You wanna know how your money’s performing!

Well, your marketing is no different.

Marketing is an investment.

And by having that data from Analytics and call tracking, you’ll:

1. Know what kind of ROI you’re getting (or not getting) from your various marketing efforts, and…

2. Establish a baseline. So if you add more proof to your site or change your offer, you can tell if that increases conversions, decreases conversions or has no effect on conversions.

The business owners who come to me that are in the best shape know their numbers.

A Hole in Your Net?

You could hire me today to run a Pay Per Click campaign and do SEO and Local Search marketing. And you could hire others to help you with email marketing, video marketing, and social media.

And literally you could have thousands of people coming your website…tomorrow!

But if you don’t have your conversion house in order, most of that traffic would be wasted.

Now, am I saying that just sending more traffic to your website is a bad idea? NO!!

Sending more traffic to your site will probably produce more leads and sales for you.

But what I am saying is that, if you’re not focusing on conversions…your results could be so much better!

And, if you’re gonna spend the time and money and effort to drive that traffic to your website, then you should make the most of it!

Think of your website as this big ocean trawler net. And, if you’re not focused on conversions, your net has gaping holes in it. And customers and revenues that should be yours…that are within your grasp…are slipping away.

Plug the holes in your net.

Fix your conversion problem.

And, I promise you, if you do, you will fix your traffic problems.

(There’s A LOT more to the 5 elements than I shared here. If you want to get the full story, I highly recommend that you check out The Total Conversion Code from Terry Dean and Glenn Livingston. That is an affiliate link because I believe this course is one of the top 3 online marketing courses I’ve ever purchased.)