10 Ways to Use Your Website as a Marketing Tool

Your Website is Your Best Marketing Tool

The are millions of internet users across the country and all over the world. Think of the possibilities! Of all those people, surely some of them need what you have to offer. On the other hand, there are most likely many other businesses who do what you do. To ensure you’re reaching those users who are interested and that they stay on your site, you have to make sure your website is your best marketing tool. Here are 10 effective ways to make that happen.

1. Use SEO to Rank in Search Engines

To start, you should perform keyword research based on your marketing goals. Use strong long-tail keywords (these are more specific/niche terms that those who are poised to buy will be searching for) and search engine optimization (SEO) to get your website to rank high in search engines and receive more website traffic. When people are searching for what you do, you want your site to be the first one they see.

2. Engage Your Visitors with Visuals

Words may sometimes get visitors to your site, but textual content alone won’t make them stay. Have you ever heard of visual decision making? It is the concept that we make many of our decisions such as where to go, what to do, and what to buy based on what we see.

In order for your website to be a really effective marketing tool, you need need to use plenty of visual content to grab and hold your audience’s attention. Engage them with photos, videos, and infographics.

CloudRiff cites the following interesting stats on how visual decision making impacts marketing:

Only 10% of heard information is retained three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, 65% of the information is retained three days later.

Using a video on a landing page increase[s] conversions by 86%.

3. Use Clear Navigation

It may not seem obvious, but navigation is crucial to any good marketing plan. Visitors will come to your site to do something specific, like check for a product or price. If it takes too long for their immediate needs to be met because your site layout is confusing or unclear, then your bounce rates will soar.

Make sure your main menu is well-organized, visible, and as simple as possible so that your visitors can easily find what they need. Additionally, be sure to utilize breadcrumbs, which help people navigate back to where they began if needed.

4. Update Your Content

Your visitors don’t benefit from contact information that is outdated or information about an event that already happened. Make sure you update your website content on a regular basis, so visitors will always have something new to look at and the most accurate information about your offerings.

Additionally, if you are running a sale or special promotion, you’ll want to make that prominent on your site. On-site retargeting is an important marketing tool you can use to display pop-ups or embedded CTA’s to those whom you have segmented, have visited key pages, or have taken some action to show their interest in your what you have to offer.

5. Offer Value to Your Visitors

Give away something for free. While this may sound counterproductive, by giving away a free white paper, ebook, consultation, case study, video series, etc., people will appreciate the value of what you are giving, and will be more likely to revisit your site or even buy from you in the future. Have you ever received an unexpected gift? The law of reciprocity dictates that people often feel compelled to return the favor, which translates to higher conversion rates.

6. Put a Blog on Your Site & Post Consistently

Most websites do have a blog, but often it is an area that is severely underutilized. If you ask why, many business owners will probably tell you they don’t have the time or resources to post consistently, that they don’t know what to write about, or they just may not see the value in keeping a blog.

However, the value cannot be overstated. A blog that you update regularly with fresh content goes a long way toward building trust, showing authority, and helps your site rank better. Reputable sources within your industry will also be more likely to link back to your website.

Each blog post should offer information and education that your potential customers actually want. Explain how you can solve your visitors’ problem. Focus on the outcome and the transformation. Doing so will make it more likely that people will think of you when they are ready to buy.

7. Make Calls-to-Action Prominent

Whatever is it you want customers to do, make it easy for them with a call-to-action. Make sure it’s as easy as a click or two to get your visitors to do what you want. You can emphasize your call to action by placing it somewhere prominent on the page or by using a different colored button that stands out. Lastly, always utilize action-oriented words like “Register Now” or “Start Here” so users know exactly what to do.

With on-site retargeting, you can set up conditional CTA’s on your website that change depending on where the person is in your sales funnel. For instance, if you have a real estate website you might want to first segment your visitors based on what kind of property they are looking for. Once you have gathered some data on them—maybe they show interest in purchasing a condo—you can then present a tailored email opt-in where they can get a free PDF on “Everything You Need to Know About Owning a Condo.”

8. Keep Branding Consistent

As your primary marketing tool, your website is the face of your organization. Put your logo in your site’s header so it is visible on every web page, not just your homepage. This helps build familiarity with your brand. Most successful websites also have a unifying color scheme and a theme in the imagery they use in their inbound marketing. Extend this look and feel to your social sites and emails and add other advertising and collateral materials to your site to further reinforce your brand.

9. Make it Easy to Find You on Social Media

Your overall content marketing strategy needs to connect all places where you have a web presence back to your website. If you are a small business trying to make a name for yourself, then this is even more critical. Install buttons on your website to allow your website visitors to find you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any other social media platforms you use. Social share buttons allow you to get your own followers and likes directly from your website.

10. Make it Mobile Friendly.

Make sure you are mobile friendly. A big part of that is having a responsive website. When you use a responsive design there is no need to have a separate mobile app, meaning any updates you make on your content management system translate on mobile as well. Check your site on a smartphone and various mobile device types to be sure you are providing the best mobile experience possible. You can also test your site on Google to see if it meets their criteria.

If using on-site retargeting pop-ups, you should consider creating an un-obtrusive mobile version (you can use conditional parameters that check for the user’s device type to achieve this). This is important because if your CTA blocks content viewability, and especially if there is no way for your users to easily close the CTA (like a No Thanks button), this could hurt your UX and even negatively impact your search engine rankings.