Online lead generation: Turning website visitors into leads

The fact is, there’s more to online lead generation than just putting up a website and getting some traffic to it from search engine optimisation (SEO), PPC or other traffic channels.

Are you getting the right traffic?

How did the visitor get to your site, and what is that visitor’s motivation? Far too many site owners think about traffic volume without giving thought to the motivation side of the equation.

If you have a site selling pet supplies for example, are the visitors there because they saw your cute puppy pictures on Google Images and are now looking for more, or are they there because they are actually looking to buy a dog bed?

You can have all the visitors in the world to your site but unless they’re actually likely to become customers they’re just sucking up bandwidth.

How do you get the right visitors?

You need to optimise your site for the right target keywords or use PPC services to get motivated searchers to your site. The person searching Google for “dog beds for sale” is a much better prospect than the one who is looking for pictures of dogs!

How clear is your message?

Assuming your visitors are potential clients, is your site clear enough about what it is you do or sell and the areas you service?

This crucial point is often overlooked. On many occasions I’ve had to guess from the phone number’s area code where a business was located. If you do nothing else on your website, get your Contact page right.

How about your product or service offers? Is there anything unique about them? Do you offer great prices? Is your guarantee policy or returns policy stated on your site?

Are there testimonials from happy customers on your site? Remember your competitor’s websites are just a couple of clicks away!

Don’t forget your call to action

Even if your site is clear about what it is you do and where you do it, is it also clear what I, as a potential customer, should do if I’m interested in learning more or getting a quote from you?

What’s on your site to prompt me to fill out your contact form or pick up the phone? I’m constantly amazed by websites that show me great examples of work done for other customers that don’t have a call to action to prompt me to become another client.

If you want a visitor to do something then tell them clearly what it is they should do. A nice bold prompt like “Call us on 1300 999 999 for a Free Quote”, “Order Here Now While Stocks Last” or whatever is appropriate to your business makes a huge difference to your website’s performance as a lead generation tool.

A sense of urgency helps too so by all means use calls to action such as “Order Now – Sale Ends Tomorrow” if they’re appropriate to your site.

Is your website generating the leads and sales it should?

We’d love to hear your online lead generation tips, so please share them below.