If your current website isn’t working—driving traffic, showing up on search engines, or converting visitors into leads—it probably isn’t nefarious; it’s just a lack of expertise. Marketing is designed to turn heads and drive interest, and if your website wasn’t built with involvement from a marketing department or agency, it’s time to reevaluate. Today, we look at how websites drive sales when designed by marketers and how to get started.
Website Designers Aren’t Usually Marketers
The people who design and develop your website aren’t usually marketers. They are going to rely on both you and your current website (if you have one), as well as templates for both the design and the content. This can create a website that reads as generic, that doesn’t speak to your customers.
- Designers Don’t Know Your Customers: You might not even know your customers—or at least who you should be selling to. Creating and using Ideal Client Profiles to help craft your message is critical to writing better website copy.
- Designers Don’t Know Your Industry: Certain industries are going to need industry-specific pages for your website. Selling products online, showing expertise, and the types of services you provide all require different pages and setups.
- Designers Don’t Know What Drives Sales: Your designers and developers want to make you a website that looks good and works, but do they know how to convert visitors into customers? This is especially critical for service-based businesses.
Marketers Aren’t Necessarily Website Designers
Now, with that out of the way, it’s important to note that not all changes your marketers want to make to your website are good ones. There needs to be a balance between marketers and website designers (and developers), especially when it comes to website functionality and performance. Marketers are best used in the design and content phase, while developers should select the right tech (such as a content management system, a visual builder, and plugins). Also, you need someone to review your site before launch.
A Marketing Pass on Current Website Problems
If you want an example of this, here are website marketing solutions to common website issues. This mimics what a marketing consultation for your business (including the website and sales strategy) might reveal.
- My website doesn’t rank well in search results. Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical in a world where people use search engines (and AI) to find products and services. Using keywords, showing expertise, and providing metadata are critical.
- My website doesn’t generate leads. How is your website set to capture leads? Do you have strong Calls to Action? Are your forms working properly? You may also need to update your content to explain better your product and how to get it.
- People leave my website right after visiting. If you’ve got visitors who are clicking away when they get to your website, it’s time to analyze how they got in. Ads and website copy could be misaligned, or your website may just look too dated.
Here at Vision, we got our start building websites in New England during the transition to online business and have been building ever since. What sets us apart is that we’re marketing experts first and foremost, integrating websites into your larger marketing strategy. We build customer-first websites for businesses that are growing and need help. Contact us today to learn more and get started.
