Targeting and trial-and-error testing are the two most important components in any lead-generating website’s arsenal. You can attract thousands of dog enthusiasts if you regularly post cute videos of puppies, but it won’t generate many leads if you sell industrial floor cleaners. These ten hints give you the do’s and dont’s that apply to modern online lead generation in an Internet savvy world where your users have seen it all before.
1 – Start With a Highly Targeted Traffic Flow
You could have web copy that sells your driving lessons service perfectly, but if your web traffic is mostly made up of tweens, then your landing-page efforts have been in vain. Sometimes, the most obvious solutions are the best. For example, rushmyessay.co.uk promotes on Google+ teen communities that have at least 200,000 members.
2 – Stop Selling the Sizzle
Do you know who sells the sizzle? People who offer crappy steaks. Do you really think Ferrari or Lamborghini sell the sizzle? Do you think people choose their cars because of the rust-proof paint or anti-slip seatbelts? Get to the meat and get there fast.
3 – Avoid User Lead/Sale Barriers
Lead/sale barriers are elements that stand in the way of a lead or sale. It may be a faulty online checkout, a broken link to the affiliate website, or a payment system that doesn’t load. It may be a “Buy” button that is difficult to find, or a lack of vital information such as if the game you are selling needs 512GB of virtual memory.
4 – Accommodate Web and Mobile Users
It is not just about having a responsive website. It is also about creating a website that functions just as easily for a mobile user as a web user. Things such as big buttons and larger menu text will help.
5 – Avoid Testimonials
Testimonials are most commonly used by scam and spam websites because they think they increase the user’s trust. Testimonials do not increase trust because nobody believes them. Your website users know that you control the testimonials and that you probably wrote them yourself.
6 – Trial & Error Testing
The only sustainable way of developing a lead generating website is to keep testing new lead-generating methods. Times, products, services, technology and people change, and it is up to your website to keep changing with them.
7 – Avoid Trust & Guarantee Seals
Trust seals are even more popular with scammer and spam websites. These days they are a sign that the website you are dealing with is untrustworthy. You shouldn’t need to litter your website with seals any more than a surgeon needs to staple his/her/cis medical doctorate to his/her/cis back.
8 – Avoid Power Words
People are so sick of seeing them that they are a complete turn off. People would rather read, “A Better Fishpond For Calmer Fish” rather than “Ultra-Tough Fish Aquarium Pond For A Luxury Fish Experience.”
9 – Consider Your User’s Mental State When Using The Internet
A common mistake that people make when creating redundant marketing approaches is to forget about the potential mental state of the user. The web copy creator feels clear headed, awake, and positive when creating the lead generating website, which causes the creator to forget that the user may be in one or more of the following mental states.
- Bored
- Tired
- Depressed
- Lazy
- Hungry
- Inebriated
- Happy
- Sexually aroused
- Giddy
- Irritable
- Amused
You do not have to accommodate the mental state of the user, but you shouldn’t forget it either.
10 – Answer the Question In The Top Third Of Your Landing Page
Your user clicked on the link to your landing page for a reason, and that reason can be framed as a question. For example, the visitor may have seen your product and your price on an advert and may have clicked to see if your price is real, to see if you have a finance deal, or to find out what the catch is.
Since you are the one who targeted the user, you should be able to figure out what question is floating around your user’s head. If you do not answer the question within the top third of your landing page, then your user will bounce as he/she/cis is unlikely to scroll down. People are world-weary when it comes to websites leading them around on a piece of string, most people cannot be bothered with it being messed around.
Conclusion – Avoid the Things That You Are Personally Sick Of
You are an Internet user, so you know what page elements are the most annoying. Auto-start videos are annoying, as are chat functions that ping up without warning. Like most people, you probably hate pop-ups, especially those that ask you to sign up before you even know what the website is about, or those that ask you if you are sure you want to leave. Forget common sense, look at your own Internet habits and ask yourself what works for you and what turns you off.
Brandon Stanley is a professional independent journalist. He is interested in writing articles concerning marketing and SEO. Apart from that, Brandon loves traveling and playing the piano. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter
