SN Web Whitepaper
SN Web Whitepaper
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
When a company is preparing to invest in a new lead generation website, it should not
underestimate what Web design skills will be needed to build an effective one.
Often, companies focus a great deal of attention on design aesthetics, and not nearly enough
on the many other factors that go into turning website visitors into hot prospects.
This white paper presents an overview of the lead generation characteristics of powerful
lead generation websites.
Usability — Ways of making the website easy for visitors to find what they need and
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interact with the information.
Mobile Design — Website features specifically designed to convert the rapidly growing
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base of mobile users.
3. SEO — On-site elements imperative for gaining strong organic search engine visibility.
4. Copywriting — Techniques that build interest and confidence, and then motivate website
visitors to inquire.
5. Conversion — Small but massively important techniques that create large gains in
conversion rates.
Important Note — Because proper lead tracking is crucial for evaluating website
performance and continually improving conversion rates, we have included supplementary
information on lead tracking best practices.
(866) 353-3953
CH IC AG O I CHARLOT TE I BALTIMORE I WASH INGTON D.C .
A STRIAGHT NORTH WHITEPAPER www.straightnorth.com
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HOW TO BUILD A HIGH PERFORMANCE LEAD GENERATION WEBSITE
PART 1: USABILITY
A lead generation website is far from a static sales brochure; instead of being something a
person passively reads, the website is a tool a person uses to find information by clicking on
navigational links, filling out inquiry forms, zooming-in on details of product images, etc.
If a lead generation website is highly usable, it becomes a tool that is easy to work with
and effective in helping the visitor find important information and take action. In contrast,
websites with poor usability frustrate users, like a saw with a dull blade. Poor usability drives
ripe prospects into the arms of competitors. Here are the key usability features of a high
performance lead generation website.
Responsive Web design uses various techniques that allow the website to adjust
automatically for optimal display on any size screen. Thus, users have a similar, consistent
website experience whether they use a desktop monitor, tablet, mobile device, or multiple
devices at various times. Because of this display continuity, users become familiar with
and remain comfortable with the website regardless of the device used to access it. (In the
next section, we review mobile-specific design issues in more detail.)
Nothing frustrates users more than slow-loading Web pages. Page-loading speed is so
important to usability that Google has made it an important factor in its search algorithm
(slow websites have poor SEO results). A wide range of development and design techniques
and best practices is required to optimize speed.
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Image handling is often the key to attaining high page-loading speed. Image size, resolution,
file type and retrieval processes all affect how quickly a Web page loads; if even one part
of the image-handling process is off, the results for usability, SEO and conversions may be
seriously impaired.
Clutter kills conversions. By using ample white space, Web designers make zeroing-in on
navigational links and important content easy for users, as well as conveying an image of
efficiency and expertise.
Rotating carousels are trendy, but not at all helpful for attracting leads. Few visitors interact
with them, content is missed, and page-loading time increases. Overall, most users perceive
carousels as nothing more than annoying ads — not the impression a company wants to
make on a prospect visiting its home page for the first time.
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Which navigational links are chosen and how pages are arranged in the website content
hierarchy make or break usability. Intuitive navigation enables users of all types to quickly
locate the desired information. A sitemap is an indispensable navigational tool, as it provides
a reliable backup (or sometimes primary) option for visitors to maneuver around the website.
Mobile Internet access now exceeds desktop, and the gap is widening. If a website does not
provide mobile users with a top-flight experience, conversions will suffer — not only in terms
of quantity, but also quality. When mobile users access the Internet, they are more likely to
be in decision mode than research mode, since research is more conveniently undertaken on
a desktop, where multiple browser windows and documents can be viewed simultaneously.
Any business interested in obtaining phone leads, scheduled appointments and booked
reservations must make mobile-friendly Web design a top priority. Here are key mobile
design features for a high performance lead generation website.
With many mobile users working from cellular Internet connections, site speed is more
important than ever. Web designers must be up-to-date on techniques for optimizing page
load time; for instance, being able to have images load as the user scrolls rather than loading
all at once.
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In a responsive Web design’s mobile view, main navigation should be “sticky” — i.e., remain
fixed at the top as users scroll down the page. This simple but underused technique keeps
critical informational and conversion links in view (such as a phone icon), so users can
convert at any time as they move around the website.
In responsive design, elements visible in desktop view can be eliminated in mobile view.
Deciding which information stays and which goes, and further deciding the order in which
information displays in mobile view, are difficult but crucial decisions. Current thinking is to
retain as much information as possible in mobile view; however, if information overwhelms
mobile users, it will deter conversions.
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HOW TO BUILD A HIGH PERFORMANCE LEAD GENERATION WEBSITE
PART 3: SEO
SEO is a critical component of Internet marketing for most companies. With Google
processing billions of search queries every day, organic search is too large a pool of prospects
to ignore.
Just because your website is configured for SEO does not mean its content will be visible on
Google or other search engines. The ability to not only make a website SEO-friendly, but also
to make your website SEO-performing, is one of the most important skills your Web design
team must have. Here is how SEO is handled in a high performance lead generation website.
For the framework of a lead generation website to be SEO-friendly (but still not SEO-
performing), several key elements must be in place, specifically:
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HOW TO BUILD A HIGH PERFORMANCE LEAD GENERATION WEBSITE
To go from SEO-friendly to SEO-performing, a great deal of SEO work must be done before
your lead generation website goes live. If this preparatory work is done, your website will rise
in visibility for organic search queries from people looking for the products or services you
sell. The key activities your Web design firm must undertake include the following:
eyword research identifies all of the keywords search engine users might use to find
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your products and services. Keyword strategy first narrows the focus to keywords
with the highest likelihood of producing conversions. Factors to consider in keyword
strategy include search volume, user intent, competitiveness and relevance. Once the
keyword field has been defined, keyword strategists organize keywords into themed
groups; these groups will influence (and sometimes drive) the content structure and
navigation of the new website.
B. Sitemap
When keyword research is completed, a sitemap is created detailing every page of
the new website. The sitemap ensures no SEO issues exist; that is, no overlap, where
multiple target keywords are covered in a single page, and no gaps, where target
keywords have no page dedicated to them. Seldom can content simply be moved
page-for-page from the old website to the new one. Overlaps and gaps are almost
inevitable and will crush ongoing SEO efforts.
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eta description tags are snippets of text that often appear under the link in
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Google search results. Because meta descriptions influence click-throughs, unique
meta description tags must be written by professional copywriters skilled in
conversion optimization. Strong meta descriptions have a measurable impact on lead
generation growth.
E. Header Tags
Header tags (H1-H6) are important places to insert keywords; Google crawlers interpret
header tags as significant indicators of a website page’s main themes. Because these
page headlines and subheads also facilitate scanning, they must be written engagingly
and persuasively, as well as to achieve SEO objectives.
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HOW TO BUILD A HIGH PERFORMANCE LEAD GENERATION WEBSITE
PART 4: COPYWRITING
Website content needs to meet several quality criteria to maximize lead generation and
branding. In addition, if SEO is part of the marketing mix, all of these criteria affect Google
ranking performance. The quality criteria are:
Relevance — Content must be highly relevant to the target audience in terms of subject
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matter and style.
Usefulness — Content must solve a customer’s problem, make a customer’s life easier,
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or in some other way provide important benefits. A great deal of business content is
not useful because it is written too much from the company’s point of view rather than
the customer’s.
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Copywriting: Typography
Not only is the substance of content important for lead generation, but also the style in which
it is displayed matters greatly. Typographical techniques make scanning content and zeroing-
in on important messaging points easy for readers. Key typography techniques:
Headers and Subheads — These content elements should be informative, intriguing, and if
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SEO is involved, incorporate keywords. Expert copywriters spend as much time composing
headers and subheads as they do body text!
Bulleted and Numbered Lists — List formatting enhances scannability and draws
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emphasis to important information.
Bold and Italics — Used selectively, bold and italic text forces readers to pay attention.
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(See image above.)
Short Paragraphs — Paragraphs longer than five or six lines overwhelm readers and may
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cause them to exit the Web page — without converting.
Line Width (above) — Body text width that is too wide or too narrow is hard to read in
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desktop view, again deterring readers and letting conversions slip through a company’s
online fingers.
Image Captions — Since reader attention is drawn to images, captions enable a company
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to position critical persuasive points and calls-to-action where they cannot be missed. This
simple technique greatly improves conversions.
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Overall, lead generation website content must meet substantive, SEO and branding goals.
Too much of one and not enough of another results in content that appears stilted,
incomplete, unprofessional and/or misaligned with brand perception. Common content
problems that disrupt the balance:
Too much substance — “Information dumps” are tempting to the internal staff, but
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produce websites long on information that doesn’t speak to customers and prospects.
Style inconsistency — When style shifts from formal to informal, from low key to high
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pressure, website visitors become confused or come to doubt the company’s sincerity
or stability.
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Part art and part science, conversion optimization is a broad set of techniques used by
Web designers and copywriters to squeeze the most conversions out of every website page’s
page views.
Even if a website has covered all of the usability, mobile, SEO and content bases, failure
to implement sound conversion optimization will stifle lead generation. Here are the key
conversion optimization features of a high performance lead generation website.
Keeping users’ attention focused on the one thing your company wants them to do is
important. Using a fixed call to action (CTA) banner at the top or bottom of the page — using
the “sticky” navigation discussed in the Mobile section — ensures that your conversion
message is always in sight.
CTA button color and text often have a significant impact on conversions. Button color should
be consistent across the website and unique to the primary CTA. If secondary CTAs are used,
the color scheme should be different.
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Phone number placement for mobile viewing was discussed in the Mobile section. For
desktop view, the strongest position for the phone number is in the upper right portion of the
universal navigation bar (see image above).
The clearer and more consistently the phone number displays, the better. Phone inquiries are
often far more urgent and/or complex than form submissions, so stimulating phone inquiries
is arguably job number one for a lead generation website.
The shorter the form and the easier it is to complete, the better. Anything more than four or
five required fields, and the average user is more likely to exit rather than bother to fill out
the form. Companies frequently err by trying to capture too much information; they lose
sight of the fact they are trying to get prospects to raise their hands.
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HOW TO BUILD A HIGH PERFORMANCE LEAD GENERATION WEBSITE
A high performance lead generation website is built using the techniques discussed in
this white paper. However, for a lead generation website to be world class, it must be
built with rock-solid lead tracking functionality. These articles by Straight North partner
Aaron Wittersheim, originally published on the Lead Generation Insights Blog, present an
informative overview of critical lead tracking issues.
When we first start working with new clients, many of them are dropping all of the leads from
their website into a single bucket called “Web Leads.” This makes informing a client about
which Internet marketing channels or campaigns drove those leads impossible. Without
complete and accurate information, clients cannot evaluate performance regarding specific
channels or campaigns. Furthermore, they cannot accurately calculate ROI or know what
adjustments can be made to improve specific channels or campaigns.
Also, many companies are not aware that email addresses on websites are a magnet for
never-ending spam. Spammers have scripts that crawl the Internet looking for email
addresses; once they find your email address, it is added to lists and sold over and over
again. You will receive a growing daily stream of spam to that email address — forever.
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The other issue that many businesses forget about is what email address is set up on
your website as the email to which all form submissions should be sent. Many times,
staff email addresses are used on the website’s forms. If that staff member leaves the
company, the fact that the website needs to be updated with a new email address is
commonly forgotten. One simple solution is to use an email distribution group as the
email address on your website. This allows you to manage who gets these emails through
your email system instead of having a developer make changes to your website.
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8. Using CAPTCHA.
Using a CAPTCHA can make completing your form problematic for visitors, which will
decrease your form’s conversion rate.
10. Outsourcing your form to a third party (like WuFoo, Hubspot, Marketo, etc.).
Many companies outsource their form to a third party because either building a form or
integrating a form into another software application seems difficult. Rarely do companies
take the time to understand what they are giving up by having another company run
the form on its website. A number of issues can occur if you give up ownership and
hosting of your form to a third party. Forms are one of the most important parts of a lead
generation campaign — be sure you keep ownership and control of all of your forms.
12. Relying on analytics platform conversion data instead of your actual form submissions.
Many companies rely on analytics to track how many form submissions were received
instead of using the actual form submission data. If you rely on analytics tracking for your
form submission number, you are left dealing with a count of how many times a form
was submitted. If analytics tells you that eight forms were submitted, you have no idea
which forms those eight were. Two of them could have been spammers, three of them job
applicants, one trying to sell you something and the remaining two are actual sales leads.
Using analytics data, you would never know and you would just assume that all eight were
actual sales leads. When running Internet marketing campaigns, measuring campaigns
using actual form submission data and not simple counts in analytics is very important.
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When we first start working with new clients, a huge majority of the time they place all of the
leads from their website into a single bucket called “Web Leads.” This translates to the client
not knowing which Internet marketing channels or campaigns drove those leads. Without
that information, knowing the performance of specific channels or campaigns is impossible.
Furthermore, the company cannot accurately calculate ROI or know what adjustments can be
made to improve specific channels or campaigns.
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HOW TO BUILD A HIGH PERFORMANCE LEAD GENERATION WEBSITE
(866) 353-3953
CH IC AG O I CHARLOT TE I BALTIMORE I WASH INGTON D.C .
WWW.STRAIGHTNORTH.COM www.straightnorth.com
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