A Simple Website or Small Website will NOT help your Business!

Far too often businesses have the impression that a simple or small website will benefit them in a major way. They view websites as a means for customers or leads to get in touch. They don't see their website as an actual source for these leads. Rather, they believe the only visitors that will use their website are current customers or prospects that are already familiar with their brand and are simply using their website as a way to find their phone number, email or other contact details. This type of mentality does very little for a business. A simple website doesn't take advantage of digital marketing or the many possibilities that the internet presents for today's small businesses.

Your website should never be a billboard or brochure

Websites have the potential to be a major asset to your brand and a leading force in your sales process. They should never serve the role of a billboard or brochure. Your website can do much more than provide basic information or contact details. You can compare your website to that of hiring a new sales agent. You would never allow them to work a small number of hours or neglect the sales process and simply hand out brochures or information to customers, expecting them to close the deal on their own. A website works in the same way a sales agent generates revenue. Visitors of the website have to be catered to and walked through the sales process, which is often called a "sales funnel."

How to turn your website into a profitable sales funnel

Let's assume that your website already has traffic. These visitors are targeted and may have an interest in your products or services. However, chances are, the vast majority of them will not be ready to spend money or buy anything. This is how the world works and just as you would hand out a business card to a prospect in person, your website needs to capitalize on these visitors in some way.  This is why website maintenance is so important.

Email sales funnels

Email is a great way to create a sales funnel with your website. For all of the interested visitors that are still on the fence about spending money, you can funnel them into your email list. Most businesses accomplish this by using a type of "bait offer" or an enticing giveaway. This could be free content, an e-book, video or anything that appeals to your target audience. By getting them to subscribe to your newsletter via email, you can use MailChimp or another email company to setup an autoresponder that automatically sends emails their way every few days. This works great for continuing to provide free content and impress your audience, while subtly suggesting they purchase something.

Use digital marketing to drive traffic

Of course, this scenario of having a profitable email marketing sales funnel is only effective when your website has traffic. Below, you will find various forms of digital marketing that you can invest in to generate immediate and long-term results.

Search engine optimization

SEO is the process of optimizing your website for search engines such as Google and Bing. The best way to do this is to write quality content for your website's blog. Many SEO companies pitch link building services but genuine, high quality content that contributes to your brand is the best way to optimize your website, so look for a good website maintenance plan when selecing your next vendor. You can write "how to" guides, informational posts and other types of content that will be of real value.

Use the Google Keyword Planner to research keywords for your content.

PPC

Pay-per-click ads provide immediate traffic and are one of the best ways to test a website's effectiveness. You can target keywords that are relevant to your products and services and get traffic within the first day of your campaign. PPC is a highly effective traffic source but it's much more expensive compared to natural traffic methods such as SEO.

Social Media

Social media may not be the best traffic source for high conversion rates but it contributes majorly to your branding and authority. Having profiles that are active with a large number of followers is a great way to show customers that you are a business that is here to stay and trustworthy.

A simple website will not help your business and misses the point of using a website as a source of leads. Turning your website into a sales funnel and using digital marketing for traffic is highly recommended. To learn more about internet marketing strategies and how your website plays a major role, please contact us.