The reality is you probably didn’t build a website just for the purpose of posting pretty pictures about your business. Your website has some very specific marketing goals and if it doesn’t it should. Not many people spend the time to really think about how effective their website is when it comes to return on investment. As an example did you realize your website should have at least 10 different ways that someone can make contact with you? There’s a good probability that if you look at your website as it is now you only have one or two ways people can contact you. With the maturity of the web, social media and ever growing intelligence of your target market it’s quite possible that you need to rethink how people are communicating today. Below are 10 ways people should be able to communicate with you from your website:
#1 Phone:
Obviously your business phone number is one of the most important way someone can contact you. It’s not always a good idea to put your personal cell phone on your website but a secondary Google Voice number or office number is probably vital.
#2 Email:
This one may seem obvious but it’s not unusual for people to accidentally place an inactive email on their website. Make sure the email you have listed is forwarded to either yourself or someone that can manage it for you
#3 Contact forms:
I’m not personally a big fan of contact forms as I find them annoying to use. Similarly to email contact forms are often broken and when you fill out the form and send it it either doesn’t work at all or send it to oblivion. They are however a very obvious call-to-action and many users default to using them as a means of contacting you. If you have a contact form on your website make sure it works.
#4 Newsletter sign ups:
Newsletters are a great way to ensure you remain top of mind amongst your target market. It doesn’t take much to think of ways to educate your audience and/or provide them with interesting current news snippets.
#5 Facebook button:
With the growing importance of social media if you don’t already have some kind of presence on Facebook you probably should. Always make sure to link your website from your Facebook page and your Facebook page from your website. Many users use Facebook or Facebook Messenger to communicate and will find it easier to pay you that way rather than via email or phone for example.
#6 Google Business:
The Google business page is a very important way of staying relevant in terms of search engine optimization. Therefore you should set up a Google business page for yourself if you have not already. You should also place a button on your website and link it to your Google business page as it will provide you with more credibility and allow your users to find reviews about your business.
#7 Twitter button:
While many businesses may not directly have a specific purpose for Twitter, it is still fair to say that Twitter is a very quick and easy way of communicating. Many people have active Twitter accounts and, like Facebook, prefer to use that as a means of communication.
#8 LinkedIn button:
If you are in business and don’t have a LinkedIn account you should set one up for yourself now. It is a good way of networking with other business people in the community as well as providing yourself with more credibility. People see who you are learn about your background and also get to see who you are associated with. Get a link to your account on your website so customers can contact you via LinkedIn.
#9 Chat:
The are many very cool and free website chat solutions available. Many of these solutions provide analytics on who your users are, where they come from, how they navigate your site and how long they spend on your site. You are also able to monitor their activities in real time and join a conversation with them to ask them if they have questions. Many such solutions also have a mobile app and allow you to stay online available to your customers even when you’re not at work.
#10 Industry specific ways:
There are other methods of communication that might be specific to one industry but not another. For example an interior designer may find most use in Instagram. Posting examples of your portfolio and using Instagram as a means of communicating with potential clients is a no brainer.