Designing a Persuasive Local Business Website that Converts Visitors into Paying Customers
Designing a Persuasive Local Business Website that Converts Visitors into Paying Customers
It’s true that different web designers have different ways of designing a local business website. However, all of them should hit the same goal, and that is to deliver better return on investment for the businesses those websites are made for. Thus, creating a website should not just be about aesthetics or fancy design, but more importantly, about making it persuasive to convert, turning it an income-generating machine.
In turning a website into an income-generating machine, your designer should understand that it requires necessary elements that can help push visitors down to the very last step of the sales funnel - i.e. to effectively convert visitors into paying customers.
Here are some important elements that should be taken into consideration:
Clear and easy navigations
One of the main reasons why website visitors will easily click away is because of poor navigations. Your web designer should recognize the psychological importance of getting-around-just-easily element of a website to visitors. For instance, when a user wants to know more about your company, can your About Us page be easily found? Clear navigation is very important most especially if the website contains a lot of sub-pages. Remember, the longer the time your visitors consume in finding an information they looking for in your website, the more likely they will lose interest on what you are offering . And every time this happens, a prospect is wasted.
User-friendly functionalities
When it comes to user-friendliness, a web designer should always consider primarily the target audience. For instance, if the product or service a local business website sells is targeted to senior audiences, make it sure that visual elements of the site are ideal for them. This includes making the font size bigger to address the possible visual hurdles that are common to older people.
A web designer should also consider the medium / device where visitors are probably accessing on. Today, more and more people are accessing the web via mobile devices (e.g. smartphone, ipad, etc.). With that, it makes sense to make the design mobile-friendly by making it responsive. Or, alternatively, make another design that is intended to the mobile audience.
Compelling call-to-action
A call-to-action element is also important for every local business website as this is one of the most effective ways to capture leads, which can convert into paying customers. Do you want to capture your visitors’ business profile (phone number, email)? Make sure you create a form that can easily be found by your visitors anywhere on your website. The form should not include elements that can distract or prevent users from providing their information (your leads). If you want them to subscribe to your weekly newsletter, make sure that email and name are captured. That is it; no need to require them to input unnecessary information such as age, address, etc. Remember, minimalism is effective in capturing leads. And, always remember, make your call-to-action statement or one-liner clear and compelling.
Consistent business profile across web platforms
Business profile should be consistent across different web platforms. This is very important for branding; consistency can effectively create a mark to a customer’s mind (name recall). For instance, what business information (logo, business address, contact information) you put on the social media page should be the same on what visitors see on the website or even on the local business listing. This will serve as an affirmation that they arrive on the right page from the link they click on the social page of the same company.
Locally-tailored, compelling content
Another important consideration that a website designer (and you, the business owner) should realize is to make sure that the content of the site is locally-tailored. Meaning to say, the information provided on the site are particularly useful to visitors/prospects from the target location. For instance, if a business is serving particularly the people in San Diego, California, then the content should be tailored to audiences found in that area.
A locally-tailored website should contain information like maps, phone numbers, local address, as well as postal codes
Making a website locally-tailored can be a tedious process most especially for individuals who are also busy doing some other important aspects of running their business. However, a digital marketing agency who has extensive experience in local SEO can be a great help.
Page speed
Page speed isn’t just a search engine ranking factor, it is also very important in the conversion process. Based on studies, the page load threshold of website visitors is at 2 to 3 seconds. If the page loads longer than that, the more likely that a website visitor will click away.
Remember, visitors / online customers are impatient; they want instant yet accurate results. Thus, it is imperative that a website designer considers page speed as one of the priorities in designing a local business website. It is crucial for conversion.
Conclusion
In order for your local business website to convert well, make sure that all of the necessary elements are there. Design with website visitors in mind. Why should visitors patronize your product or service? Is the process (of buying your product or service) easy for them? Can your physical store be easily found in case they want to pay visit? And, remember, web designing is an ongoing process. You need to keep track of the website performance and act accordingly. And in all of it, play on your authentic strength as a product or service provider.
