5 Service Business Website Must-Haves To Convert Visitors Into Clients
As a service provider and small business owner, you already know the details matter. The extra care you take with your clients? They notice! It’s a lot of what sets you apart from your competition.
Well, the same is true for your website. The entire point of a website is to generate leads and help make sales for your business. (BTW - this means even if your site is drop-dead gorgeous, if it doesn’t make sales, it’s not doing its job.)
When someone clicks “SUBMIT” on your contact page inquiry form? That’s all what we digital marketers call a conversion.
Signs up for your newsletter? Purchases a digital product? Also conversions.
A conversion is just digital marketing speak for when visitors take action towards working with you or making a purchase.
Conversions are the yardstick we use to measure the success of our business websites.
How to build a website that converts? Here are 5 must-haves for service businesses:
Client Journey
Calls To Action
Compelling Copy
Quality Imagery
Lead Magnet
How do they help your website convert visitors into clients? Let’s dive in!
A strategic client journey
What the heck’s a client journey? Think of it this way: What action do you MOST want visitors to take while they’re on your website? Then work your way backwards to entice your visitors to take that action.
This doesn't have to be some kind of complicated meandering pathway for a five or six page website, but you absolutely have to know what your end goal is.
Do you want people to submit an inquiry form?
Schedule a call?
Join your newsletter?
Purchase a product?
Once you decide on your website goal(s), you will build your site around encouraging your visitors to take action toward that goal.
Calls to action on each page
This is the “end game” of the client journey. A Call To Action (CTA) is a button or link leading closer to what we call a conversion in digital marketing.
A CTA can be just a link encouraging them to visitor another page on your site so they have the opportunity to learn more about your business. Or it can be a conversion CTA.
A conversion CTA is when your website visitor clicks the inquiry form SUBMIT button or joins your email list. In other words, they’ve completed one of the goals you’ve set for your site (see Client Journey above). YAY!! This is what we want!
So EVERY page on your site should include a CTA.
Soon your ideal clients will have the information they need to make a decision about taking action toward a next step of either working with you or making a purchase.
2 calls to action on this section of the About page on Scale Studio’s Linden template.
Compelling copy
Clear and compelling copy (the words on your site) are the backbone of a strong site. The role your messaging plays in how well your website converts can’t be overstated.
For a lot of service providers though, copywriting is also the most challenging part of building a website that converts.
Some businesses expect the imagery to do the heavy conversion lifting in place of copy. (Designers and creatives, I’m looking at you!) They assume great photos will "speak for themselves."
Let me be crystal clear: great imagery only works once a potential client has found your site. Images do not bring people to your site, only words.
What do I mean?
Search engine crawlers can’t read images (at this point), only words. So your words are what will get you discovered by your ideal clients in Google, not your images.
Search engines love quality copy so they can figure out what your site's about and rank it.
How to start this whole copywriting thing? Well, your homepage headline is the most important piece of copy on your website. If an ideal client lands on your site and can’t figure out what your business does within just a few seconds, there’s a good chance they will leave and seek out your competition instead.
If you want help creating a compelling brand headline of your own, checkout my FREE Brand Headline Builder:
Quality imagery to showcase your work
Once an ideal client is on your site, then your imagery plays an important role in getting those “work with me” inquiries and making sales.
I remember an architect professor saying, “If it looks good, it is good.” High quality photos and graphics go a long way toward presenting a polished, professional image of your business.
So don’t skimp on fantastic photography and amazing video and graphics. Weave them into a strategic layout, optimize them for SEO, and soon you’ll be seeing a lot more action on your website!
Scale Studio's Linden template showcases imagery to sell services for interior designers and other creative businesses.
Lead magnet to build your email list
If you don’t yet have a lead magnet to entice visitors to sign up for your email list, you need one.
Why?
1) Your email list and website are the only two digital assets you own.
Social media is rented land my friend. If your account is hacked or banned or the platform is down or disappears, you have very few options for recourse even if you did nothing wrong.
2) Email lists convert at a much higher rate than social followings.
Think about it. How many people you follow vs. how many have you actually purchased from? If someone likes your social posts or even follows you, that’s still a farrrrr cry away from actually working with you or purchasing from you.
So….create a simple lead magnet like a PDF download that would appeal to your ideal client.
Post it on your website asking visitors to sign up to access your lead magnet. Your email list will be underway!
Summing it up
Now that we’ve covered the “what” and “why” of a high converting website, it’s time to “do!” If you’re interested in a step by step blueprint for your own high-converting site - including a custom-designed Squarespace template and “hold you by the hand” instructions, then check out my Profitable Website Blueprint for service providers & small business.
Any questions about what we covered? Shoot me an email or drop a comment below!
