In this guide we'll cover the most important techniques your business should be employing to generate and convert leads online, everything from how to set up your website to convert and rank well on search engines to running paid ads to bring in customers.
We won't just tell you what these techniques are but provide you with a step by step guide on exactly how to set them up to bring in leads, read on to learn more.
First things first, you have to have a website and I'm assuming if you're reading this guide you've already got an online presence. However if you don't, I'd suggest you stop here and book a call with our team so we can help you get that sorted right away.
Many businesses who are struggling to find new customers jump straight into paid ads or SEO thinking more traffic is the answer.
This is a big mistake and a huge waste of time and money, the analogy we like to use is 'pumping air into a leaking tyre'.
Before spending a dollar on attracting people to your site you need to ensure that once those people get there, you have the best possible chance of converting them into a lead.
The good news is, it doesn't take a great deal of work to get your website optimised for conversions and it will absolutely transform the results you get from all future marketing campaigns.
1. Phone Number Clearly Visible and Clickable
Make sure your phone number is positioned in the top right hand corner of your website and that it's clickable in both desktop and mobile view. This seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how many websites bury their phone number on the contact us page. It only takes a moment of frustration for a prospect to move onto another option.
2. Humanise Your Business with Images
Use real authentic pictures of your business, including your people, vehicles, office and completed work. This builds trust and humanises you, reassuring the customer that your business is legitimate and approachable.
3. Use Video
Drone footage has never been more accessible and nothing shows off how great a new roof looks like a video from the air. You can also shoot footage of a job as it progresses from removal to installation, really driving home the transformation. If flying a drone is outside your comfort zone there are plenty of companies that offer this service, a quick Google search should point you in the right direction.
4. Build Trust
Testimonials and reviews are one of the most important things you can add to build trust with website visitors. Placing text or video testimonials where they are easy to find and using a website plugin to display your Google review rankings is a fantastic way to ramp up your conversion rate. Think about which restaurant you'd rather choose, the one with a 100 5 star reviews or the one with no review, the 5 star joint wins every time.
5. Live Chat
Live chat is a great way to ensure customers don't leave your website because they couldn't find an answer to their question. Live chat is really easy to install and manage, you or one of your team can easily manage any incoming chat requests either in the office or from your smart phone.
6. Strong, Clear Calls to Action
Make sure you have calls to action placed strategically on every page of your website. Making it easy for someone to ask questions, book a call, quote or any other action you'd like your visitor's to take is critical. Your language should be simple, persuasive and communicate your offer clearly. In terms of design, the button to initiate the action should be strikingly obvious to attract attention.
7. FAQ's
Include an FAQ, think about all the most common questions people ask you and your team when they call and take some time to answer them on your website. Fear of the unknown is a big reason prospects move on to another company.
8. Guarantees + Badges of Association
If you belong to one of the roofing associations or are accredited by a big brand be sure to display your membership where prospects can easily see it. Brand equity rubs off and being associated with well known and respected organisations is a great way to further build trust.
9. Easy to Find Services
Make sure your main services are easy to find in the navigation bar. Having a page dedicated to each type of service is not only great for SEO, it also helps connect the dots for prospective customers who may not know a whole lot about you or the roofing trade.
10. Free Quotes within a Time Frame
Offer a free quote or assessment within a time frame. When the need strikes a home owner, they often want to take action quickly. Reassuring them that you can be there within 24 hours and won't charge them to assess the job is a great way to reduce the barriers and convert.
11. Dedicated Pages for Areas You Service
Be sure to have a page dedicated to the areas you service. While you might assume customers know how far you'll travel for a job, it's much more reassuring if they can clearly see that your business services their local area. This is also an SEO tactic that helps give customers the peace of mind to pick up the phone.
12. An Active Blog
Start or update your blog. An active blog, helps give the impression that your business is lively and active. Seeing a last updated date of 2016 for example paints the picture that your business may not be active or up to speed with the latest industry information. Good topics include; how to deal with or diagnose common roofing issues, case studies and new product reviews.
Once you have a well optimised website it's now time to think about how we get people to visit it. While the updates you've made to your content will certainly help you start to rank on search engines, this can be a long process, particularly without additional SEO work, which we will address later.
In the meantime, there are two quick and powerful ways of getting prospective customers to your website, Google & Facebook ads.
Click below to continue to Chapter 2.
