building a better website

Building a Better Website

Firing Up a Conversion Machine

@Tuxmiller


Scott Miller is an Inbound Marketing Author, Strategist and Consultant.

He founded Marketing Matters in 1996 and leads a team of Inbound Marketers.

He invented the Einstein Inbound Assessment & AGI Pyramid.

His clients realize unusually high, measurable ROI.

Scott A. Miller

Scott A. MillerFollow him on Twitter

@tuxmiller

Conversion MachinesBuilding a Better Website

@Tuxmiller


Why?

Do You Need a New Website?

Building a Conversion Machine

Start With Strategy

Choose a Platform

Create Great Content

Build Calls-to-Action

Assess With Analytics

Summary

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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5 - 12

13 - 19

20 – 21

22 - 26

27 - 29

30 - 35

36 - 42

43 - 44

45 - 47

Begin with this one question:

Why does my organization have a website?

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CHAPTER 1:

Why?


You have a website. Just about every organization does. But why?

Before you begin designing & building a new website, ask yourself this fundamental question:

“Why does my organization have a website?”Resist the urge to build your pretty new site before you can determine this:

“What is the purpose of my website?”

What function does your website perform today? What function should it serve for you in the future?

Write down your answers, then read on so we can form a plan for your website together…

Why do I have a website?”

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Your website can do great things.

But to realize unusually high performance from your website, you need to build more than a website. The most successful organizations build their website as part of a marketing system.

We call this powerful system a Conversion Machine.

In our online Conversion Machine model, the website is the engine that runs the machine. It is the power behind a marketing system that attracts, nurtures & converts customers, helping create loyal customers for life.

This eBook will help you stop the poor practice of maintaining a static brochure website designed for one way communication. You can then begin building a website based on a Conversion Architecture blueprint.

Conversion Architecture helps your website:

1. Create conversations with consumers, nurturing them down the purchase path.

2. Cause conversions, ultimately leading to new customers.

Build Something Bigger than a website. Build a Conversion Machine.

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The Law of Attraction states: “Like attracts Like.”

To maximize success (as measured by ROI) your website must be built under this law. It should be built to attract.

When designed on a blueprint of Conversion Architecture, your website actively and naturally attracts quality Visitors.

ATTRACT:

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An Attractive website goes beyond pleasing graphic design; it attracts customers.

The Attractive website powers brand/consumer relationships because it allows consumers to participate on their terms. Make it easy for Visitors to easily and quickly discover the information they came for in the first place.


Marketing 101: Find a need and fill it.

That used to be hard. Marketers relied on limited, suspect data and ‘hunches’. Sometimes we’d hit on a need and alignment between brand & consumer occurred. Luck.

When we as marketers and marketing firms collectively stop guessing and reacting and, instead, replace that mad method with a more scientific method, we become pro-active problem solvers for our customers.

Today, consumers tell us what their needs are every day. They’re called keywords.

Every day, prospective customers imply needs through their search terms . Smart marketers are able to infer the following:

1. Need for a Product or Service2. Geographic, Demographic & Psychographic info.3. Point in the Purchase Funnel4. Content Type sought.5. Much more…

Serving up relevant, timely and contextual Content pleases your website Visitor and Google. Easier said than done. This is where Content Strategy comes in handy.

Find a Need and Fill It.

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Are designed based on Visitors needs, not ours.

Are built to provide solutions based on the reason the Visitor came.

Serve up relevant, timely and contextual Content.

Are designed for quick, easy navigation.

Realize that a Visitor is only one click away from leaving your site.

Satisfy both the search engines and the Visitor.

Address the various reasons a Visitor has come: Research, Consideration, Purchase & Re-engagement.

Attractive Websites

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As part of a Conversion Machine, your website is no longer passive.

At peak performance, your new website provides interactivity with Visitors at multiple levels.

IMAGE CAPTION

Convert:

In the case of e-commerce, customer conversions may occur onsite. For B2B websites Leads will become Market Qualified Leads (MQLs) and may then be handed over from Marketing to Sales.

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When properly designed & built, your new website will cause conversions.

Visitors become Leads.

Leads become Customers.

Customers become Loyal Customers for Life.


Provide a core hub of navigation.

Use Landing Pages to cause conversions.

Use Calls-to-Action to Engage with Visitors, collecting data in exchange for something of value.

Are not too aggressive in their approach to Engagement. (MoFU)

Provide appropriate actions for Visitors, based on where they are in the purchase funnel.

Do not flaunt aggressive sales offers on every single page.

Provide measurable, track-able behavior analytics.

Improve the Visitor experience by combining good visual design with frictionless navigation.

Generate a higher Return-on-Investment than traditional websites.

Conversion Websites

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Well, that’s a simple question and we bet you know the simple answer:

Yes.

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CHAPTER 2:Do you need a new website?


These are the three common reasons for building a new website:

Poor Site Organization

Poor Connections

Poor Conversions

reasons to build a new website

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Most websites, especially those built before August, 2012, are not designed to convert. They were built under faulty criteria including these 4 Common Problems With Websites:

1. Main site approval determinant is good graphic design.2. Built around our products, rather than customers’ needs.3. Information Architecture rather than Conversion

Architecture.4. Static, closed platforms.

You can change all that by designing a customer-centric website that allows freedom of customer navigation while fulfilling customer needs on many levels.

Your website is the engine that powers a Conversion Machine.”

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HubSpot has measured results for each of these. The pages that follow are individual stats by component. Just think what happens when you get all components working in synchronicity!

Attraction websites perform better than traditional websites.Here are some website metrics:

• Call-to-Action click-thru rate

• Visitor to Lead conversion rate

• Lead to Customer conversion rate

• Visitor to Customer conversion rate

• Customer Acquisition Cost

• Lifetime Value of Customer

• Payback After Acquisition

Website ROI

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“42.2% of companies using inbound marketing increase their lead-to-sale conversion rate.” Source: HubSpot, 2013


Most developers equate proper website organization with onsite SEO. Sure, that’s important.

Conversion Websites are designed and built with both Google and the Visitor in mind.

SEO is important. Very important. But satisfying customers is even more important.

Poor Organization

User experience should be customer-centric, appearing natural & logical to the Visitor while nurturing them closer to a Conversion.

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A Conversion Website is organized to SEO best practices while providing easy Visitor navigation.

Organize your website to Best Practices


We’re not talking about technical connectivity here. Nope. We’re talking about connecting people, not wires.

Brand & ConsumerOld websites are disconnected from the Visitor. Look at me! Buy now! Read my stuff and leave!

Marketing & Sales“We provide all kinds of leads,” says Marketing.“The leads are weak,” says Sales.

Connect & Communicate

Poor Connections

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Poor connectivity is usually based on poor communication. Conversion websites are designed to improve communication on many levels.

Content Strategy creates consumer connections. Shared Conversion goals through Brand Alignment bridge the gap between marketing and sales.


Who cares how many “hits” your website got last month?

Conversion websites are built on a platform designed for metrics & reporting.

Measure Only What Is Important

So now you can measure:

• Visitors• Visitors to Leads• Leads to Customers• Customers to Repeat Loyal

Customers• Return-on-Investment

A website should be designed to convert.

Poor Conversions

You can now measure your online marketing efforts and correlate with Sales. Focusing on these metrics help improve efficiency and close ratios. Conversions are caused by Calls-to-Action.

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Conversion Machines Connect Dots:

Between online marketing components.

Between consumer and brand.

Between Sales & Marketing.

View a video on Conversion Machines.

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CHAPTER 3:Building a Conversion Machine


How?Seven Steps

1. Start with Strategy.

2. Think Broader. Think Holistic.

3. Grade & Assess Website and Inbound Marketing.

4. Set Goals & Objectives

5. Create Assets Inventory/Needs

6. Design & Build

7. Analyze & Improve

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1.Marketing Strategy2.Online Strategy3.Website Strategy4.Content Strategy5.CTA Maps

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CHAPTER 4:Start with Strategy

Good strategy answers the “Why?”

Strategy is bigger than your website. First ask, “How does my website connect with a consumer?” Then ask, “How does my website connect with the rest of my marketing?”

Here’s a strategy hierarchy for reference:


Strategy involves crafting an overview map of a desired outcome based on pre-established goals & objectives.

Many times there is an internal, vertical strategic disconnect, forcing fragmented tactical execution across marketing, sales & operations.

To be impactful, go as high as you can up the Strategy Chain.

Business Strategy

Product Strategy

Sales Strategy

Marketing Strategy

Online Strategy

Website Strategy

Ideally, the Business Strategy would obviously be integrated into the website strategy, but rarely is this the case.

Even if you only start at “website strategy” make sure you start with Strategy…

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Website Goals: Answering the “Why?”

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Earlier we asked, why do you have a website?

3 common answers Why?:

1) To attract & inform Visitors.

2) To generate Leads.

3) Convert Leads into Customers

Design broad‐based SMART Goals based on your

answers to why you have a website. Then create

measurable, specific objectives.


S.M.A.R.T. Goals

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An intelligently designed website begins with SMART Goals.What’s a SMART Goal?

S‐ Specific

M‐Measurable

A‐ Action‐oriented

R‐ Realistic

T‐ Time‐bound

SMART Goals will help you establish benchmarks

and milestones to measure your progress and

success.

EXAMPLE GOAL:

We want to build an Attorney website by July 1

that is an educational legal resource for auto

accident victims while providing easy methods of

contacting the legal firm & data collection.


Website Objectives

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Specific, measurable actions.

Sample Objectives

• Attract 5,000 website Visitors/month.

• Create 50 downloads/month for an eBook.

• Generate 150 leads/month.

• Hand over 50 Market Qualified Leads from

Marketing to Sales per month.

• Create 5 new Customers/month.

• Increase Conversions from 1.5% to 2% in Q3.

• Blog 3X/week for the next 52 weeks.

• Perform one webinar per quarter this year.

The platform you choose for a conversion website must be open-source and dynamic. Requirements include:

•Internal access•Ease of internal updating•Analytics & CRM Integration

We choose WordPress and HubSpot/SalesForce, but there are other options out there.

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CHAPTER 5:Choosing a Platform


Automation Software:

1. HubSpot2. Marketo3. Pardot4. Eloqua

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“29.8 of companies using HubSpot have increased the traffic to their site more than 100%”

Source: HubSpot, 2013

Platforms

CMS Website Platforms:

1. WordPress2. Drupal3. Joomla4. Proprietary


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Our CMS of choice is WordPress because of its broad appeal, universal acceptance and ease of use. There are certain types of sites, specifically pure e-commerce sites and other specialized industry sites, that will require a different platform.

HubSpot is our choice for connecting Inbound Marketing dots. That’s not necessarily because the other software can’t do the job. We’ve found that HubSpot is quick and easy (relatively speaking) to get up and running. And, it’s intuitive for logical marketing.

Content fuels your website engine. You’ll want to fuel your engine with high octane content. And you’ll want to re-fuel it with quality content often.

Great content begins with great Content Strategy, including:

•Use a 3-D approach in content delivery•Prioritization for Product Focus•Understand 4 “E’s” of Content•Content conversion paths integrated with CTA Map

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CHAPTER 6:Create Great Content.


Our intent is to communicate effectively with human beings.

We must, therefore, operate dynamically. Our content connects with consumer when it has depth and dimension.

3-D Content

1. Product2. Persona3. Place in Purchase Cycle

Product Pyramids help you prioritize which bottom-line products/services to build website Content around.

Personas are your target customer profiles. Develop Content around Persona preferences. Create content form & language that “speaks” to each Persona in a meaningful, connective way.

Place in purchase cycle includes matching Content type, language and offerings based on how close any given Persona is to a purchase.

3‐D Content

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Product Pyramids help you prioritize which products/services to build online Content around.

First list all your bottom-line offerings. These are the products or services you offer.

Product Pyramids help you prioritize which products/services to build online Content around.

First, list all your bottom-line offerings. These are the products or services that result in a sales transaction.

Then rank them in 2 ways:

1) Revenue Contribution-Priority to overall revenues.

2) Ease of Sale (measured in time or volume).

Product Pyramids

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Personas

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When identifying your target customer personas, it’s imperative to first segment your target audience into smaller, and more specific groups of people.

These individual groups will each consist of people with shared demographics, motivations, concerns and online behavior according to real data reports.W.I.I.F.M.

“What’s In It For Me?” That’s the question in the back of every Visitor’s mind.

By specifically identifying Personas and creating content on their individual needs, you answer “What’s In It For Me?”

Things to Consider when Identifying Persona’s

Demographics of the most common buyers of your product. Common needs and/or problems they’re trying to solve. Customer behaviors on social networks, the information they

choose to obtain, the search terms they use and the products they research most.


Effective content is relevant, timely and contextual.

To nurture and convert, content language and delivery must address the customer’s current state in the purchase funnel.

Source: Econsultancy and Outbrain, 2013

Is the prospect researching? Are they shopping? Are they ready to purchase? Are they looking to re-purchase? The Four E’s of Content address each of these stages.

4 E’s of Content

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EducateEngageEncourageEmbrace

38%

62%

Companies with Content Strategies

With

Without


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CTAs are oil for your Conversion Machine. A CTA map diagrams website user flow in order to create a friction-less User experience (UX).

Just as you monitor and change oil for your car, so must you monitor and change your CTAs.

A CTA may be a button, a form, or a link, but all CTAs are designed to do the following:

CTAs create Convenient Conversion Paths

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CHAPTER 7:Build Calls-to-Action


CTAs are the most overlooked part in website builds, but in a Conversion Machinethey are a priorety.

Individual CTAs should be served up most frequently at the middle-of-funnel Engage stage of consumer purchase.Yet, most of the website we’ve examined are anemic at this most critical stage. Some websites don’t even offer middle-of-the funnel offers.

Resist the temptation to always go straight bottom-of-funnel offers. Create valuable middle-of-the funnel offers. By nurturing rather than hammering, you’ll build consumer trust and confidence.

By integrating a CTA map that naturally guides Visitors closer toward a Conversion, you’ll build brand Value. Visitors will become Leads. Leads will become Customers.

Calls‐to‐Action

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“Calls to action promoting eBooks

get almost 2X the click through rate as emails promoting webinars.” Source: HubSpot, 2013


Website Calls‐to‐Action

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CTAs capture customer data by offering an exchange of perceived value.

CTA Maps link individual CTAs. The result creates a frictionless navigation experience, causing conversions.

• Forms

• Downloadables

• Contests

• Free trial

• Coupon

• Newsletter

• Blog

• Product

Registration/

Notifications

Some Types of CTAs

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Conversion Websites align CTAs & Content with the sales funnel.

Download a copy of this Conversion Strategy diagram here.


“Landing pages and calls-to-action – are the #1 reason marketers attribute to their increase in sales”

The consumer’s place in the purchase funnel is important.

Identify 2 points: the place a consumer enters the funnel and the desired place for them to end.

The end place is what we call a Conversion, though that’s not always a sale.

Source: HubSpot, 2013

Conversions occur through a series of calls-to-action. A CTA map plans fluid website conversions. Content creates conversations with consumers. CTAs encourage content consumption toward a purchase.

CTA Rules

1-3 CTAs per page. Horizontal or downward purchase

funnel movement is preferred. Offer a fair exchange when asking for

data.

Content and CTAs

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Landing Pages Increase Leads

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Companies see a 55% increase in leads when increasing their number of landing pages from just 10 to 15”

“Source: HubSpot, 2013

Landing pages are an essential part of lead generation. Factors from page design to the quality of the offer behind the form can all influence how well these critical pages work.

HubSpot landing page analyticshelp you measure your landing pages and optimize them for success.


Landing Page Tips• Use a clear title, description, and layout to instantly convey

the value of your offer and create a strong incentive for your visitors to download or sign up for it.

• Keep your visitors focused on filling out your form by removing all navigation links from the landing page.

• Include social sharing links to encourage your visitors to spread the word about your offer.

• Design your forms to capture the information that you need to in order to follow up with and qualify the lead.

• Structure the forms with the user in mind so they’re not too long or invasive.

• After they have filled out your form, follow up with your new leads by directing them to a “thank-you” page or sending them an auto-response email. Keep them engaged by suggesting other offers they might be interested in or next steps they can take.

• Track your conversion rates closely, and keep testing to find areas for improvement. Use your metrics and test results to optimize your landing pages so they continue to generate an increasing number of leads.

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Do I need...

Google Analytics? Of course.

SEOMoz, Raventools or SalesForce? Probably.

Omniture? Quite possible.

HubSpot? Yes, if you’re a Conversion Marketer.

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CHAPTER 8:Assess with Analytics


Involve both Sales & Marketing.

Google rules the internet. Understand Google and subscribe to their suite of tools.

Because Google rules, access to Google Analytics is mandatory. Give access to those important to the process, including key consultants and marketing partners.

Don’t allow IT to be a bottleneck for progress. If you ARE IT, don’t make yourself the bottleneck.

Establish conversion metrics.

Monitor daily (or real-time). Establish weekly and monthly reporting.

Do consider the following when implementing Analytics:

Establish ROI metrics.

Measure the Important

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Resist the temptation to measure everything. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Instead measure what is important. Determine this from your Goals & Objective.

Design a conversion blueprint. Build a Conversion Machine.

Attract. Nurture. Convert. Repeat.

Just remember, a Conversion Machine is not just a website. A traditional website is static. A Conversion Machine website is an engine that needs to be maintained and fueled for powerful growth.

Your website launch isn’t the end. It’s the beginning.

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CHAPTER 9:Firing up the machine!


Digital IQ matters, especially now that the online marketing rules have changed.

Those who stake their claim on important digital real estate today will be ahead of the game. Tomorrow, the laggards, meanwhile, will be playing catch up.

The online competitive environment is not going to become easier so now is the time for change.

On the contrary, increased competition for digital real estate will surely increase the cost, effectiveness and ROI metrics. And not for the better.

You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”

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‐ Albert Einstein

• Learn more about Conversion Machines.• Get pricing on website builds.• Request a strategic business conversation.

Action Points

Take an Inbound Marketing Assessment

(314) 442. 4444.

@Tuxmiller47

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