Lead generation website design: 5 steps to take for generating leads effectively

The primary objective of business websites should be to help visitors find the information they need. On top of that, they should help the business capture qualified leads and turn them into customers. A website designed to generate leads does just that.

For companies that rely heavily on lead generation, having a website designed to deliver profits, generate follow up details (e.g. names, email addresses, customer’s needs and other contact information), and boost conversions are crucial.

In this blog, we’ll provide you with 5 proven lead generating techniques that will help you to generate quality leads.

1. User experience design

A lead generation website is more just a digital brochure. Instead, it helps visitors gather information about your company and goods/services by clicking on navigational links, filling out contact forms, viewing product images, downloading eBooks etc.

User experience is the top priority to any web design. If a lead generation website is highly user-friendly, it becomes a tool that helps your visitors find information quickly and easily and take action.

So, what features do you need to consider to create a user-friendly website?

Page loading speed

Remember how you frustratingly closed the window of a slow-loading web page? Most online users only wait for 3 seconds for a page to load before they skip it. Page loading speed plays a critical role in user experience that Google use it in its algorithm to determine how your page ranks in search results.

You can use Google PageSpeed Insights or ask a digital marketing specialist to analyse your website loading speed and see how you can improve your page speed.

White space

Any good design would make good use of whitespace (also known as negative space). Even though you may want to provide all the details of your product or service with texts, images, or videos, having ample white spaces can make the page less crowded and easier to read.

By using white space, you can declutter content, make the important information stand out, increase your conversion rates, and create a perception of professionalism and expertise.

Simple navigation

Which inner pages to have and the hierarchical order of these pages can significantly impact a website’s usability. A simple and organised navigation can enhance user experience and allows users to locate the information they need quickly. In this way, they’re more likely to navigate and read your site and become leads.

Use a sitemap, such as GlooMaps, to help you map out your web pages’ hierarchy and emulate how potential users would navigate your website.

Utilise headings and subheadings to organise the content on your page and make it easy for the visitors to skim read. We all read headings and subheadings, and only stop to read paragraphs if a header catches our eye.

Stick the navigation menu to the top of the page, so that when users scroll down the page, all the critical information and conversion links (e.g. phone icon) are easily accessible. Thus, users can convert at any time as they move around the website.

Responsive design

A responsive website is one that’s designed to fit any screen size and deliver consistent user experience regardless of whether it is displayed on a desktop screen, tablet, or mobile device.

As mobile devices have smaller screens, you will need to determine what vital information to keep and what to delete in the mobile view. Remember, too much information can overwhelm mobile users searching for information on their phones and negatively impact conversion rates.

2. Boost credibility with testimonials

The fastest way to turn visitors into leads is to get them to trust your brand and have confidence in you. You can do this by sharing your current customers’ experience and satisfaction with your business. Thus, adds validation and credibility to your business.

This type of validation is known as social proof. Social proof shows people that others have used the product or service before and are happy with it.

Demonstrate how your business is trustworthy by using testimonials, Google reviews and reviews from other sites.

Integrate testimonials into your site, even on the home page design, to show how previous customers feel about using your product or service.

Google reviews and external site ratings like Zomato and TripAdvisor are some great ways to showcase others’ experience with your brand. These external sites help users see an authentic review of your business and help them get a fuller picture of what it’s like to work with you or buy your products.

3. Conversion strategy

Now that your site visitors are interested in your product or service, what can you do to convert them into customers and get them to take action? Here are the key features that a lead generation web design needs to boost conversion:

• Call to action
• Phone number
• Contact forms

Call to action

A call to action (CTA) is a button or hyperlink that prompts the user to take the next step in the buying process, e.g. purchase, call, sign-up. By using CTAs, you can guide visitors towards becoming leads. To create the most effectively CTAs, follow these best practices:

• Fix the CTA to the side of the page –  ensure your CTAs always appear on the screen, no matters where the user scrolls.
• Make it stand out – site visitors should be able to find the CTA button easily. CTA button colour and text often have a significant impact on conversion. Make sure you use consistent CTA button colour across the website.
• Use engaging CTAs – generic CTAs like “Buy Now” or “Download Here” may work if you have a simple request. But visitors are more likely to click more informative and enticing CTAs, like “Get a free SEO eBook now!.

Phone number

If your website’s goal is to have leads calling your business, you need a phone number and an easily accessible phone number/icon.

Often customers who want to call you are those with more urgent needs or are ready to make a purchase decision than those who wish to download an eBook or submit a form. So encouraging your customers to call your number is vital for a lead generation website.

The best position to place a phone on the desktop view is on the top right corner of the navigation bar. If you have a mobile optimised website, make sure you have a phone icon on one of the page’s corners.

Contact forms

Yes, you should have a contact form on your website, but not a long one. The shorter the form, the easier it is to complete. You can capture the detailed information when you reply to the customer with a welcome email or call.

Another way to increase the number of leads is to use micro-conversion forms. When your leads are interested in downloading a guide, eBook, or webinar, instead of taking them to your contact us page, you can have a small pop-up form on the side. By incorporating these short forms in your website design, you are increasing the opportunities to convert site visitors and generate more leads.

4. A/B Testing

How do you know if your website visitors are more likely to fill in their phone number or email address in the contact form? How do you determine which get more clicks – “Book now” or “Book a meeting”? You can only guess what will work well.

However, you can test two different web page designs to see what website features drive leads and sales. By using A/B testing, you can test any design changes on one page to see what works before you implement it to all pages.

5. Traffic

Even if you have a well-designed website, you still need site traffic before you can persuade them to become leads and customers. There are many ways to attract traffic to your site, including blogging, social media, email marketing etc. The most critical way to attract traffic is through search engine optimisation (SEO).

When you optimise your website for the relevant keywords, you can attract qualified visitors who are genuinely interested in your product or service and are more likely to become leads. At KWD, we follow Google best practices to optimise our website and work hard to make sure our website and our clients’ sites rank on the first page of search results.

We recommend anyone who’s thinking to get a lead generation website to check the following:

• URLs
• Page titles
• Header tags
• Keyword research
• SEO-friendly content
• Internal links
• External links
• Image alt tags
• Meta descriptions and titles

If you don’t know how to check whether you’ve met Google’s best practices, don’t hesitate to consult an SEO specialist.

Summary

A website can be beautifully designed and receive significant traffic and views, but it’s useless if it does not generate leads and get them to take action.

Ask yourself – is your website driving leads for your business? High-quality leads that your sales team can close? If the answer is no, then give the above tips a try.