Inbound Design and Calling Your Visitors to Action

  

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[By Jeff Androsko]

For most of you, it's difficult to edit your website at your every whim. Most likely, you'll have to track down your designer and pay them to make your desired changes (which can be annoying and costly). Between the burden of recurring design fees and lack of lead conversion, keeping your site current will become a lot like chasing your tail.

If you aren't going to maintain and update your website on your own, you should get the design and function right the first time. This means implementing inbound marketing tactics in every nook and cranny. Capturing your visitors and creating interaction is one of the hardest parts of website success. Luckily, you can attack this by following a few golden rules:

• Nickelodeon Colors and Eyeball Fire
  
  Take a look at your logo. Ideally speaking, your site's color scheme shouldn't stray too far from the palette that appears within. Having high contrasting colors is not only going to distract your visitors, but hurt their eyes... and they certainly can't buy from you if their eye balls spontaneously combust from one visit to your site.
  
  
• Real Estate
  
  Once they find you, what are they going to do? Your calls-to-action ("Contact Us", "Learn How You Can Increase Profit", "Visit Our Widget Page") should be easy to find and intriguing in nature. If they have to search for access to the rest of your content, your bounce rates (the rate at which your visitors take one look at the page they land on and decide it's not for them) will become astronomical.
  
  
• Pictures vs. Text: The Balancing Act
  
  Yes... a picture is worth a thousand words. No... your site shouldn't be all text. The tug-of-war that is picture vs. image is a constant one. However, balance is necessary in all aspects of life. Your picture(s) shouldn't recant what your text says (and vice-versa). Using charts, graphs and meaningful images will compliment strong, inviting and informational text. Use your words and images wisely.
  
  
• Forms and Landing Pages: The Portals of Communication
  
  Tracking lead conversion (when a visitor shows tangible interest in working with your company) isn't that difficult if you provide your visitors with valuable information and ways to learn more. Through landing pages (those pages in which your inbound visitors reach your site), social media and forms, you can give your viewers useful knowledge that will entice them to want more. You want them to thirst for your expertise so much that they are uncontrollably drawn to interact with you. Have at least one easy-to-find form they can fill out which allows you to qualify the interested prospect into a lead.

So kids, it really all boils down to making your site a beautiful and functional sales machine; giving your visitors knowledge that's not just about your company and providing you with the warm lead information you need to make that sale. Happy hunting... and don't do this...