HOW TO DESIGN A ‘CLIENT-GENERATING’ WEBSITE FOR YOUR SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS
🇩🇪 Lieber auf Deutsch? Klick hier
This is a 6-part series on building the best website for your service-based business.
Build a Website that Converts:
Attract Clients
& Capture Leads
Transform your website into a client-generating machine. Learn how to design a website that attracts leads, builds trust, and drives sales for service-based businesses.
What this series will teach you?
What if I told you you could have a website that could generate new potential customers even while you sleep?
Would you be interested?
In late 2021, I started working with a new client to update their website and internet activities. Over the next six months, I tried many of the same options I used on my website. And guess what?
I was getting new prospects even when I was sleeping!
I got over 30 new prospects in the next 6 months. I only had 2 in the previous 6.
Everything I've learned in the last 3 years I'm going to share with you.
Right here! Right Now!
PART 1: LET'S TAKE A STEP BACK - BIG END OF THE FUNNEL
You are here reading this, and I assume you own or work in a service-based business. This approach and framework don't work as well for e-commerce, retail, restaurants, and bars, but many of the principles can still be applied. I just wanted to get that out there.
The only reason your service-based business is on the Internet is to gain more customers. For that to work, you need more people to “see” your online presence. To be clear, your online presence begins with your website but does not end there.
You need to be found when people search for your skill.
You need online reviews showing what others say about your business.
And you need to get in front of people where their eyeballs are; on social media.
So, you want more visits, clicks, follows, and so on. You need to get more TRAFFIC. That is what this article is all about. How do you get more people to see you online?
There is this marketing view of this as a funnel. I am not going to go all marketing on you here. I promise.
The big end of the funnel is where the prospect or lead, or in our case a website visitor, enters your world.
The small end of the funnel is the paying customer. You get the idea.
"I WANT MORE SERVICE-BASED COMPANIES TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH THEIR ONLINE ACTIVITIES!"
Generating traffic in the offline world
You may be a photographer, a plumber, or a conference interpreter, and you are always open to new prospects or leads. There are many ways to get new leads. In the real world, you might hand out business cards or put flyers in people's mailboxes.
Word of mouth is still very common in many professions. You might put your business name on your car or truck. You may have posters on buses or billboards.
Getting leads is time-consuming. It means time you are not making money. Not all leads become customers, so having an efficient lead-generation mechanism sounds like a good idea, right?
Generating traffic in a digital world
Now, let’s head over to the online or internet world. You have just as many options for finding leads. Not all of them are relevant to your business, but you should be aware of them. You may have already tried some of them, perhaps with success.
I thought a list of the most common options might be helpful. So, here we go!
Search engine optimization (SEO): By optimizing your website for relevant keywords, you can improve your visibility in search engine results and attract organic (not paid) traffic. For this page, I used the keywords ‘traffic’ and, ‘drive traffic.’ See also my 4-part series on Getting Found on Google.
Content marketing: Creating quality, informative content such as website articles (like this one), videos, or podcasts can help you establish yourself as a thought leader and attract potential customers. This also feeds back into your SEO efforts.
Social media marketing: Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn allow you to reach a wider audience, interact with potential clients, and drive traffic to your website.
Email marketing: Building an email list and sending emails can help develop leads, build relationships, and convert prospects into paying customers. I always say that when your email hits my inbox, I think of you for just a second. Don't underestimate the power of email.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising: Some of you in very competitive markets may run targeted ads on platforms like Google Ads or social media platforms. These can drive traffic to your website and hopefully generate leads.
Online review platforms: There are many of these, and the most well-known will be Google and its reviews—you know, the star rating you get there. Ratings and reviews are very important to your business. You must regularly maintain your reviews, ask your customers for them, and respond to those left for you.
Lead magnets: Putting together a package of resources like ebooks, checklists, or webinars in exchange for contact information. We will return to this later in this series.
Online directories: Listing your business in online directories or industry-specific platforms is a way to increase visibility and attract potential customers.
Webinars and online events: Hosting webinars or an online event allows you to showcase your expertise, share something of value with attendees, and generate leads. See also Collaborations below.
Referral programs: Encourage satisfied customers to tell their friends or colleagues about your company. This can be an effective way to generate leads in the digital world. Why digital? Put together an offer code, maybe a special business card, that you hand out to your happy customers. They will look you up online first. Get them to your website. Be creative!
Collaborations and partnerships: Work with other similar businesses or perhaps industry influencers. This can help you reach others and generate leads through cross-promotion.
Online advertising: Depending on where your prospects spend their time, you can place ads on websites, social media platforms, or search engines. This should be used to drive traffic to your website.
Live chat and chatbots: It's 2024, and everyone's heard of AI. Offering chatbot support on your website may seem far-fetched. It can engage visitors, answer their questions, and capture leads.
Okay, that's a long list. Thirteen in all, and I'm surprised, too. As I said, many, perhaps most, are not important to your business. Pick the ones you find interesting and learn more about how to use them. That was all about lead generation.
How you capture leads is up to you. Maybe you use a notepad and pencil, an Excel spreadsheet, or something fancy. Generating and capturing leads is the first step. Now let’s move on to the anchor of your online existence - your website.
TL;DR
This page discusses lead generation for service-based businesses, both in the offline and online worlds.
It provides various methods for generating leads, including search engine optimization, content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, online advertising, and more.
The importance of capturing leads and the anchor of an online presence, the website, is also mentioned.
👆🏻 Back to Top 👆🏻
