Drive sales with a lead generation website

A steady stream of leads is the lifeblood of business. It's the top priority for all marketers. But gaining quality leads is not always so easy.

There are broadly two ways to go about getting leads. One is to use outbound methods, such as sending unsolicited emails or calling people you think may want to buy from you.

A far more effective way that won't risk annoying your potential customers is using the inbound method. Rather than interrupting someone's day, you focus on having them come to you.

But what exactly is lead generation, and how can a website help perform that function?

In this article, we will define what we mean by lead generation and the different steps involved in its process.

We'll then look in detail at the best practices to create a lead generation website and the importance of managing its performance.

We'll round out the article with some complementary strategies that increase the effectiveness of a lead generation website.

The online lead generation process

There is a certain process we can follow to ensure successful lead generation online.

The first stage is attraction. Essentially, this is about the customer discovering your business actually exists and forming some interest in the products and services you provide.

This may occur on various online channels, such as your website or social media accounts, or via third-party platforms.

For this stage to work, you need to fully understand your target audience so you can attract them to you. This helps you tailor your strategies and messaging to reach the right people.

Creating a basic buyer persona for individuals or an ideal customer profile for companies can make this easier.

Once someone shows interest, the next stage is to encourage them to take some kind of action. This is most commonly done by creating some kind of call-to-action (CTA) that entices them to perform this action.

At this point, the prospect will hopefully go ahead and follow your CTA.

The final stage is for the prospect to actually complete the desired action. It may be messaging you on social media, sending you an email, filling in a form on your website or landing page with their personal information, or booking in some time to chat with you.

It's common to provide some kind of incentive at no charge for the desired action to be completed, such as an ebook, guide, research report, webinar, or one-on-one session. This incentive is known as a 'lead magnet'.

How a website can help increase your leads

A website serves as one of the best lead generation platforms available. By providing valuable information and resources, a well-designed website can attract and engage prospective customers to lead them into a sales funnel.

Websites can be designed to convert visitors into potential leads by applying certain techniques. Compelling content, well-designed forms, and effective CTAs can be very effective in converting visitors into leads.

Essential components for a successful lead generation website

Simply creating a website will not guarantee you any generated leads.

It requires thoughtful planning and designed in a way that attracts your target audience and engages with them successfully so they can express their interest and provide you with their contact details.

Below is a list of the different actions you can take to ensure your website has the maximum chance of success in generating leads for your business.

If you're looking for someone to create a tailored lead generation website, check out our marketing website services.

Make your site secure

Building a secure website is the bare minimum that's required to build trust with prospective customers.

When browsing on the internet, the padlock symbol in the address bar lets you know that the website you're looking at has a secure sockets layer (SSL) applied, which encrypts data between your browser and the website. The website address also changes from http to https (the 's' means secure).

By making sure your website is certified as secure with an SSL certificate, you'll be protecting your visitors' data and signalling to them that you care about their safety. It makes it more likely they will hand over their contact information if they know it will be held securely.

As a bonus, not only does this enhance your website's security, but it also improves search rankings as search engines like Google favor secure sites.

Optimize for mobile use

Mobile optimization is a great way to ensure a seamless user experience for potential leads. By implementing responsive website design, your site will automatically adapt to the different screen sizes and devices your visitors are using.

This leads to higher user engagement and conversion rates, as prospective customers can easily navigate your site on their mobile devices.

Similar to security, search engines prioritize mobile performance when assessing the search rankings of websites. By making your website mobile-friendly, you can improve your visibility in search rankings and attract more potential leads to your website.

Avoid generic website templates

There are many platforms to create websites nowadays, such Wordpress, Squarespace, and Wix.

A common problem with these platforms is that they offer templates that a lot of people use to create their websites. This results in a certain look for these websites that can make them less effective in engaging visitors.

These templates are also often not designed with lead generation in mind. They can therefore lack the design elements that make a website actually perform what's required as part of the lead generation process.

Unique website design is a great way to set your business apart from competitors and reflect your brand's identity and values. This not only builds credibility and trust with your website's visitors, but it also allows you to include different elements to enhance its lead generation performance.

By creating a standout website design that captures user attention, you can increase the potential for generating leads.

We use Webflow to create unique and effective lead generation websites for our clients. You can read more about why we only use Webflow in this article.

Significance of consistent branding

Consistent branding is a great way to establish trust, credibility, and brand recognition on your lead generation website.

By maintaining consistent messaging, tone of voice, and design elements, you create a unified customer experience. Aligning your website content with your different marketing channels ensures your prospective customers receive a cohesive message no matter how they arrived at your website.

Including targeted messaging tailored to different customer segments allows for personalized communication and increases the chances of engaging your website visitors and prompting the desired action from them.

Importance of providing different contact methods

One of the most important elements of your lead generation website is making it easy for potential customers to reach out to you when they're interested in learning more.

Including your contact number, email address, contact form, and social media accounts ensures your visitors are able to contact you via their preferred communication method.

You can also consider setting up a way for your visitors to book in some time to speak with you by embedding a calendar link in your website.

Another option is to install a live chat widget on your website that lets visitors chat with you or someone from your team in real time via messaging.

With the recent advances in AI, chatbots are becoming even more popular. These can be trained on the details of your business and provide basic answers to common questions your website visitors may have. They can then encourage the visitors to submit their details to be contacted.

Relevance of testimonials and visual proof

Showcasing the results of your products or services on your lead generation website is a great way to provide social proof and build trust with your visitors.

Incorporating case studies and success stories helps demonstrate the value of your products or services. You can also provide visual proof of their benefits with videos, images, and infographics.

By highlighting customer outcomes through testimonials and before-and-after comparisons, you can effectively show prospective customers the positive impact of your offering.

Your social media platforms can also be used to obtain user-generated content (UGC) from your customers. This can then be incorporated on your website to provide further social proof.

Power of convincing content

Creating compelling content on your lead generation website that addresses customer pain points is a great way to capture audience interest. By using persuasive language and storytelling techniques, you can effectively engage prospective customers and make them more likely to convert into leads.

Offering valuable resources like white papers, e-books, or webinars, can also be an effective way to generate leads through your website. You can set up dedicated landing pages on your website where these resources are offered alongside a form for the visitor to enter their details in exchange for the resource.

It's a good idea to set up a thank-you page once the form has been submitted. In addition to thanking your new lead and providing a link to the promised resource, you can include other content on the page such as your social media links or direction to check out a complementary offer.

Use effective CTAs

Everything about the CTAs on your website can affect your lead generation efforts.

The text you use, the design of the buttons, and where they are placed on your website can all affect its performance as they need to attract and convince your website visitors to take action.

Place specific, action-oriented buttons that compel visitors to take the next step. Explain what they will receive by taking the action and the benefit they will receive as a result. For example, don't use 'Download the free guide', use 'Get the guide on growing your business in 5 easy steps'.

When appropriate, add urgency to the requested action such as 'limited time' or 'limited supplies'. Whatever you do, don't fake this! It can really damage your credibility when the sale and your stock supplies turn out to be never-ending.

Measuring the performance of your lead generation

Regularly tracking and analyzing lead generation metrics is a great way to measure the success of your lead generation website.

By using website analytics tools such as Google Analytics or alternative Fathom Analytics and user behaviour platforms like Hotjar, you can better understand your visitors' actions and optimize your lead generation pages for better results. Setting specific goals and monitoring your progress towards achieving them is an effective way to stay on track.

It's also important to measure conversion rates to evaluate the effectiveness of different lead generation channels. To ensure accurate lead information, implement lead generation forms with tracking capabilities.

By doing so, you can make data-driven decisions and gradually make effective improvements to the performance of your lead generation website.

Take advantage of A/B testing to improve lead generation

A common tactic when implementing conversion rate optimization (CRO) on your website to improve lead generation results is A/B testing.

Simply put, you test two different variations and then track which one performs better.

Test the design and content of different lead generation forms and landing pages to optimize conversion rates. Experiment with various CTAs, including their text, colour, and location on your website to see what performs best.

Remember to test only one component at a time, so you can be sure which change has made a difference. You lead generation strategies can then be refined based on the results.

By using A/B testing, you can identify the highest performing designs, increase the number and quality of leads, and enhance the user experience.

Complementary lead generation strategies

There are several other strategies that can be used alongside your website to strengthen the effectiveness of your lead generation efforts.

We've outlined several of the best ones below.

Optimize with SEO

Improve the quality and number of leads generated on your website by implementing an effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.

Drive organic traffic to your website by increasing your visibility in search results, increasing the number of people from your target audience that visit your website.

Implement on-page SEO tactics to increase people's engagement and interest in your products and services once they've reached your website.

The role of content marketing in generating leads

A content marketing strategy can play a significant role in generating leads. By creating and sharing valuable content, businesses can attract potential customers and engage their target audience on their website or other platforms.

Through content marketing strategies, businesses can spark interest in their products and services.

Utilizing different content marketing channels such as your website, email, and social media platforms, is an effective way to generate leads and build trust with your target audience.

Leverage social media for lead generation

Depending on your available resources, select several social media sites where you know your target audience are most active. Repurpose your content to make it suitable for the best-performing content on each platform.

You can use in-build lead generation tools on the social networks, such as direct messaging or in-built forms to capture information.

But the best tactic is to direct people to your website or landing page. This gives you the most control over the design and content of your lead generation pages, allowing you to track, analyse and make any required changes more effectively.

Run email marketing campaigns

Capture leads effectively by personalizing your email campaigns and building relationships with potential customers.

This is particularly true when you've obtained a person's details from a lead magnet. An email campaign that follows up at regular intervals with additional value related to the original lead magnet can prove highly effective at converting them into a customer.

Depending on how much information you captured at the start, you can segment your email list to provide highly personalized content in your emails. This will increase the level of trust with your business and increase the likelihood of them becoming customers.

How can a strong lead generation strategy boost sales?

To sum up, a strong lead generation website is essential for driving sales and growing your business.

It is crucial to have essential components in place, such as a secure, mobile-friendly and uniquely designed website. Content should convince visitors to hand over their details, with consistent branding, testimonials and other social proof helping to inspire trust. The CTAs you use should be specific to entice the action you seek from your site visitors.

Measuring performance by tracking and analyzing results, and using A/B testing to iterate further, allows you to continuously improve your lead generation efforts.

Implementing complementary strategies like SEO, content marketing, social media, and email campaigns, will help you generate high-quality leads.

A robust lead generation strategy with a well-designed website at its core will lead to increased sales, revenue, and business growth.

If you've read this far and convinced about the benefits of a tailored lead-generation website for your business, check out our marketing website services.