For more than 25 million small businesses, a website is crucial. Research shows that 45% of small businesses consider their website to be the most important digital marketing asset. For service businesses, a website can be the lifeblood of the organization. It introduces you and your service to a vast audience, extending your brand and providing instant credibility. It informs the visitor of what you can do, what problem you can solve and why you are the best.
Below are a few tips to improve your website and in turn, improve your business. Some of the tips are easier than others, but the goal is to continually enhance your site to generate traffic, engage clients and capture leads so you can grow revenue.
1. Why You?
Don’t waste the visitor’s time with a laundry list of what you can do. If you’re an attorney, accountant or some other service provider, the visitor already knows this. After all, that’s how they found you! What they don’t know is why they should choose you over the ump-teen thousand others in their search results. Offer why you are different, what benefit do you offer that makes you the best choice.
2. Content is King (or Queen).
This is why the content on a service business site is so important. Purchasing a service is not an impulse buy. It’s a deliberate and thoughtful act where the buyer spends time searching for providers, comparing offerings and judging which is best for his/her needs. This content has considerably more weight and should be completely relevant to the reader as each word will be consumed. Focus on benefits. Make each word count.
3. Keep it Simple.
Eliminate distractions, reduce clicks and choices. A visitor should be able to get what they want in just three clicks or less. Keep the visuals striking, but clean. Use a simple color palette and a standard, readable font — and try to use one or two fonts at the most. Too much color and too many typefaces can make a site look confusing, noisy and difficult to read. Gently navigate the visitor to what is most important on your page.
4. Create a Call-to-Action.
You have the visitor’s attention now what? Don’t expect them to jot down contact info to call or send an email for an appointment. The odds of the visitor making contact with you diminish with every minute that passes. You have the visitor’s attention. They’ve read your page and are obviously interested in your service. Now tell the visitor what to do.
Add a call-to-action on every page of your site. What’s a call-to-action? It’s a word, group of words or an image that urges the viewer to take an immediate action. Calls-to-action are extremely effective in getting online visitors to engage. As an example, add a contrasting colored button entitled “Learn More” or “Email Us” or “Schedule a Meeting” that automatically opens an email addressed to you. Or a button with an offer of a free eBook or whitepaper that is connected to a simple form asking for name, email and a phone number. Or for current clients, create invoices with a “Pay Now” button that automatically links clients to a client portal with the ability to make online payments. Bill4Time makes it easy with customizable invoice templates that you can fully brand and an online payments option for clients on-the-go. As you can see, calls-to-action provide a vehicle for the client to engage and grow the relationship. Make sure you include a simple CTA on very page.
5. Don’t Forget Mobile!
With an estimated 2 billion smartphone users, make sure your website is responsive or adaptive so it sizes to the mobile device. Talk to your webmaster or web developer if it doesn’t. There is nothing more frustrating for a mobile user than to try to read a site that is not designed for mobile. Plus, remember, mobile users are on the go and haven’t a spare pen and notepad to scribble down your number. Ensure your phone number is readable and most of all, clickable from a mobile device.
Want to learn more? We’ll keep sharing best practices, tips and tricks, and advice as to how to grow and successfully manage your business. And as you grow, Bill4Time can help you streamline processes, better track time and effortlessly invoice your growing clientele. Plus, our online payments option can help accelerate revenue. To learn more, register for a free trial. Stay tuned for more!
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