In today’s competitive online landscape, your website is your digital shopfront, brand ambassador, and 24/7 salesperson. But is it generating the Return On Investment (ROI) you expect?

We’ll show you how you can turn your website into a sales machine that works hard for you every day, all day. Here’s what you’ll need: 

• Clear goals
• User research
• Quality content
• A sales funnel
• An attractive, mobile-friendly theme
• Multiple sources of visitors
• Search Engine Optimisation
• Fast loading times
• Analytics and reporting
• Timely expert advice

Clear goals

Before diving in, set clear goals for your website. What do you want it to achieve? More sales? Increased brand awareness? Leads galore? Having a target helps you measure progress and choose the right tactics. 

You may include these goals in a website or digital strategy that also sets out your plan for achieving them, especially if you bring in expert website help from suppliers like us at RAD Group!

User research

Who are you trying to reach? Understanding your target audience’s demographics, needs, and online behaviour is crucial. You can then craft content and design elements that resonate with them, making them feel truly seen and understood.

There are many online tools in addition to Google Analytics that can help you build an accurate picture of your audience in terms of who they are, what they want, and the language they use. 

Here are just some user research (or ‘UX’) tools:

• Google Analytics: This essential tool provides insights into website traffic, user behaviour, and conversions. Understand how users interact with your site and identify areas for improvement.
• Hotjar: Gain a visual understanding of user behaviour through heatmaps, recordings, and feedback polls. See where users click, scroll, and get frustrated, allowing you to optimise the user journey.
• Crazy Egg: Like Hotjar, Crazy Egg offers heatmaps, recordings, and A/B testing to analyse user behaviour and optimise your website for better conversions.
• UserTesting: Get real-user feedback on your website through video recordings and written reports. See how users interact with your site and identify usability issues you might miss.
• SurveyMonkey: Create surveys and polls to gather user feedback on your website, brand, or products. Understand user preferences and make data-driven decisions.
• Pingdom Website Speed Test: Quickly check your website’s loading speed and receive actionable recommendations for improvement. Aim for fast loading times, which is crucial for a positive UX.
• GTmetrix: Another valuable tool for analysing website speed and performance. Get detailed insights into factors affecting speed and receive optimisation suggestions.
• BrowserStack: Test your website’s functionality and appearance across different browsers and devices to ensure a consistent and seamless user experience for everyone.
  
  

Our website UX experts can help you perform the user research you need. Simply get in touch to get started.

Quality content

People visit your website for the content – it’s what will convince them to buy from you or get in touch. Regularly publish informative, engaging content that keeps visitors coming back for more. Think of it as offering valuable resources to nurture relationships with potential customers.

Craft content that resonates with your audience to help them understand how your business can help them and make them feel like you’re speaking their language.

We’re here to help with expert website content writing.

A sales funnel

Your website is (or has the potential to be) a crucial part of your sales funnel – how you attract potential customers and convince them to contact you, fueling your sales pipeline.

Think of your website in terms of how it helps visitors achieve their goals. For example, if they need help with their tax returns, you can promise to take away some of the stress and time involved.

Use clear calls to action on each page to funnel people into a sale or enquiry. In the example above, on our page about help with self-assessment tax returns, we might have a button called, ‘Help me with my tax’ or ‘Get self-assessment tax support’.

Here are our top tips for using your website as an effective sales funnel:

• Personalise the funnel journey: Adapt calls to action, product recommendations, and messaging based on user location and behaviour.
• Utilise retargeting ads: Target website visitors with relevant ads based on their browsing behaviour and location.

An attractive, mobile-friendly theme

An attractive, high-quality design and engaging content that resonates with your target audience (based on what you know about them and your research) will make your visitors feel confident in your business and more likely to buy from you.

Over half of all website traffic comes from mobile devices. So, ensure your website is responsive and user-friendly on all devices, from smartphones to tablets. A clunky, mobile-unfriendly site is like having a shop with a locked door – disastrous for business.

Contact us for website design services.

Search Engine Optimisation

SEO is your key to getting found online. Use relevant keywords, high-quality content, and backlinks to climb the search engine ranks. This will help get you in front of potential customers searching for your products or services. Think of it like having a prime location on a busy high street, attracting more foot traffic.

Here are our top tips for SEO:

• Target local: Optimise your website for the search terms your audience uses and make use of directories like Google My Business, catering to regional searches.
• Speak their language: Craft content and meta descriptions relevant to your audience, considering cultural nuances and terms they use.
• Backlink bonanza: Earn backlinks from high-authority UK websites to boost your credibility and search ranking. Think of it as getting positive recommendations from respected peers.
• Mobile matters: Ensure your website is lightning-fast and flawlessly designed for all devices, especially smartphones.
• Technical TLC: Address technical SEO aspects like website speed, structured data, and mobile-friendliness. These are the nuts and bolts that hold your website strong in search engine rankings.
• Content is king (or queen): Create informative, engaging, and valuable content that resonates with your audience.
• Stay updated: Google’s algorithm constantly evolves, so stay informed about the latest SEO trends and adapt your strategy accordingly. Don’t get left behind in the ever-changing digital landscape.
  
  

Contact us for expert SEO support.

Multiple sources of visitors

Search engines aren’t your only potential source of website visitors; there are many other sources, including:

Run targeted ads

Utilise platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads to reach specific demographics and interests. It’s like strategically placing flyers in areas where your ideal customers frequent.

Social media

Promote your website and content on social media platforms. Engage with your audience and build relationships – remember, it’s not just about selling; it’s about connecting.

Email marketing

Reach out to your customers and potential customers using email marketing to drive engaged and interested visitors to your website.

Contact us for support with driving traffic to your website.

Fast loading times

Simply put, visitors are more likely to leave your website if it hasn’t loaded enough content after 3-5 seconds. If they can’t interact with it by scrolling or clicking links after 10 seconds, they will be long gone and possibly won’t return.

Here are our top performance tips:

• Optimise images and videos: Use compression techniques and appropriate formats for different devices with varying internet speeds.
• Minify code and scripts: Reduce file sizes to improve website loading speed globally.
• Consider a Content Delivery Network (CDN): Distribute website content across geographically dispersed servers for faster loading times worldwide.
  
  

Contact us for expert website optimisation.

Analytics and reporting

Website analytics are your magic measuring tool. Use them to track traffic, user behaviour, and conversions. See what’s working,  what’s not, and adapt your strategy accordingly. Remember, even the best website needs tweaking for perfection.

Need some Google Analytics help? Get in touch.

Timely expert advice

If you need help with most or all of the above, it might be time to bring in expert website support. We bring decades of website expertise across content, design, development, and marketing. We also support our clients with ongoing content, performance, and security updates for content management systems (CMS) like WordPress.

Contact us to get started.

Conclusion

By following these tips and tailoring them to your unique business, you can turn your website into a revenue-generating machine. Remember, a website that doesn’t bring in a return is like a blank billboard – it takes up space but doesn’t deliver results. So, get out there, optimise, and watch your ROI skyrocket!

Contact one of our website experts for a comprehensive website audit, a refreshed design, improved content, new website features, or just to ask a web-related question.