Tag : sales

  • The Lost Art of Conversion Optimization

    Posted Jan 21st, 2011 By in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website With | 2 Comments

    Commercial websites aren’t cheap to build and maintain, and if you own a business with a website you probably want something to come from that expense. For some businesses that means a sale, for others a lead, and for yet others it’s clicks on paid advertisements.

    Regardless of what you want from your website, it seems obvious that more traffic to the site would help with all of the above…right? Yes and no.

    Before you drive more traffic to a website, it is important to make sure that your website is doing what you want it to do as efficiently and effectively as possible. There’s no point pouring more water into a leaky funnel. Enter conversion optimization.

    If one were to define conversion optimization, the definition would be quite simple: making a website simpler and easier for customers to use.

    Have you ever made a purchase online? Filled out an online form for more information? Signed up for an online service? If yes to any of these, how was that experience? Easy? Frustrating? Keep those experiences in mind as you read the following.

    Though conversion optimization techniques can range from the ridiculously simple to the incredibly complex, the process can be broken down into 3 steps: Research, Measure and Test.

    Research

    One of the most beneficial things you can do, both for your business in general as well as your conversion rate is to exactly define and then thoroughly research your target audience. Only when you really know the people you are trying to reach can you craft a compelling message that will get them to do what you want them to do.

    Visit successful websites in your industry, as well as successful websites in different industries that cater to the same demographic, and make notes about the site. Go through the following steps on each site:

    1. Start at the home page, search for and locate a product you want, and add it to your cart (or start at the home page and find a contact form, if lead generation is your goal.) Make a note of how many steps were in that process, whether it was easy or hard to find the product/form, and anything else that stood out to you.

    Also pay attention to how you feel and the colors being used for backgrounds, headers and buttons. Colors can evoke an emotional response, so keep that in mind. (more…)

  • 5 Incredible Lead Generation Ideas

    Posted Aug 23rd, 2010 By in Business, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Internet Marketing With | 6 Comments

    As an expert in your field, you’ve got a ton of really important information in your head. But you’ve got to get it out of your head and into some useful format for lead generation. Information is the heart and soul of marketing, so you’ve got to have some idea about the products you want to develop as part of your overall strategy. Let’s talk about the top five.

    1. White Papers

    “White paper” is the corporate, fancy-pants term for an online article. A white paper usually ranges from two to three pages and stands alone as an item customers or prospects can download. White papers work great as a lead generation tool when you ask prospects to provide their email address in exchange for your valuable”"yet free”"information.

    2. Free Reports

    A free report is like a white paper, just a bit bigger. From a lead generation standpoint, it holds more value than a white paper and is usually several pages long. Free reports are great products to use as an add-on to online purchases. “Buy Product X and receive three Free Reports!” You can also use them like white papers and offer them as free downloads in exchange for contact information.

    3. E-Books

    E-books are the killer product that can create a lead generation bonanza! Like a real book, an e-book is going to be long…at least 50 pages. The fact that it’s a real book makes the perceived value huge. If the copy inviting prospects to download your e-book is well-written and compelling, you can generate several thousand new leads from this one lead generation tool alone.

    4. Audio Reports

    An audio report helps prospects get a feel for what you and your company are all about. It’s a way for prospects to talk to you about doing business without really taking to you. Using audio reports as part of your campaign can boost brand loyalty and help you prospects commit to a sale. If you are well known in your industry – or if you can hire someone who is – you have the power to generate a LOT of leads using audio reports.

    5. Webinars

    No joke. Webinars can drive an endless stream of customers to your business. Like audio reports, they give customers a feed for your company. But webinars go way beyond teaser information. The power-punch of the webinar is that it lets you cover the entire sales pitch AND close the deal. Another bonus is that webinars can be recorded. That lets you leverage your time by making the pitch once and then playing the presentation again and again for new groups of prospects. Talk about a time saver!

    How Does It Work?

    Here’s the way it works, in a nutshell.

    • Develop information products.
    • Make the available on your site in exchange for contact information.
    • Send out an announcement to your email list that also creates a sense of urgency.
    • Put tools in place to track downloads and capture new leads.
    • Follow-up with leads to convert them into customers.

    To check out some real lead generation products, download a free report about Email Marketing 2.0.

  • 7 Simple Ways to Improve Conversion on Your Website

    Posted Jun 4th, 2010 By in Business, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website With | 2 Comments

    The whole point in having a website is to either generate sales or gain readers, other than that there is no other real value. Blogs want more people to reads their news and general ramblings, whereas retailers, tour operators, car leasers and directories want to generate sales. Making money is a core element in anyone’s website whether it be through creating sales or just building up your profile online for more recognition across the globe.

    1) Check the layout of your page. Try to keep things as simple as possible. Don’t overload your site with images and flashy objects. Make sure that the site has a clear and easy to follow navigation. Don’t overload your home page with text; you could scare off potential customers.

    2) Build separate pages to sell products. Don’t have all of your products listed on the homepage, it will be an overload of information and supplying such a mass amount to your customers could be confusing, not to mention very difficult to crawl through.

    3) With the separate pages you have built, make sure that you build links to these. Deep linking to these pages will ensure that people searching for specific products will land on the relevant pages. Instead of landing on the home page which could be irrelevant to a specific product. (more…)

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