It’s “Key Performance Indicator” (KPI) time! Time for your company’s monthly sales and marketing meeting to update the team’s KPI. You’re thinking that the higher the number of visits is, the happier the bosses will be. After all, increasing inbound traffic means increasing sales, right?
Not necessarily. What sometimes gets “lost in translation” is the number of “conversions” those visits lead to.
Let’s say at the end of 2017 your website was averaging 4,000 visits per month. One of your goals for 2018 is to double the number of visits to 8,000 per month by the end of the year and so far, every month the number has doubled. That’s good, right? On the surface, yes.
But as you delve deeper into the numbers, it seems that sales have gone down every month so far this year. “Qualified” inbound leads generated so far have also decreased. Why?
The dilemma may be that the RIGHT kind of traffic isn’t visiting your website. Visits to your website have zero value if they do not result in conversions and sales. A site that receives 4,000 visits per month and converts 200 of them to leads is far better than a site that receives 8,000 visits but only converts 100 to leads.
So how do you get the RIGHT kind of visitors to your site? Here are some ideas:
Housekeeping – In smaller organizations, keeping your website ever-evolving is sometimes overlooked. It’s essential to ensure that it’s always ready for visitors.
- Continuously check to see how fast it loads.
- Is it constantly improved for mobile use?
- Does the design make sense?
- Are your products and services clearly and simply outlined?
- Does it properly guide visitors to other pages they should visit?
A clean, well-organized site that makes sense and provides information in a clear manner will lead to more conversions.
Content – There’s a myriad of different types of content including videos, infographics, webinars, and blog posts, to name a few. The content you create needs to be useful and relevant to your buyers’ personas. If you understand what makes them tick, and how they gather information on a problem, you can create content that will attract them to your website. The key is not to “advertise” your products or services. The goal is to create a website that is helpful to and needed by your target audience.
Be consistent with new content. Search engines are always watching for new content. Your search rankings will get higher if you consistently post.
Promote – Promote your best content using social media. In your posts, make it easy for visitors to share what you’ve posted and find your website. There are many social media platforms available, but many businesses find LinkedIn and Twitter to be most valuable.
And let’s not forget the importance of promoting through emails. It’s a great way to let your contacts know when a new piece of content is available. Be sure to segment your lists carefully by only including relevant content. If you include calls to action in your messages, make it easy for readers to get to your website from your email message.
Driving the RIGHT traffic to your website is an integral part of your marketing and lead generation strategy. Take the steps to ensure that your website is good enough to attract the type of visitor you’re really looking for.
If you would like to know more, please contact us.
