In the time it takes you to shop at your local grocery store, you could implement simple and easy changes to your website to make it stand out from the crowd.
Online competition is fierce. Consumers and B2B (Business to Business) buyers have many choices. Checking out your competitors is merely a click away. So it’s more critical than ever that your website is remarkable and compels your site visitors to take notice. Either you are going to be different than your competition, or you are going to lose many prospective customers who just can’t seem to remember your company’s name after visiting a number of competing sites.
So, how can your website stand out in the crowd? The next time you’re about to head to the grocery store, instead, order home delivery and try these 3 differentiation techniques. You’ll then witness how “remarkable” can help your business become more profitable.
3 Simple Steps to Make Your Website Stand Out in 30 Minutes or Less
1. Eye Candy
If your website is text-heavy or the images are rather bland, try spicing things up. Spend 15 minutes on stock photography sites and add some images to your site to make the pages really pop!
To set yourself apart from the competition, experiment with images that are not as literal. Search on the stock photography sites under the adjectives and terms that describe the feeling you want to communicate and that set you apart at the core of your identity. For example, “ecstatic,” “relieved,” “awe,” etc.
Or simply try photos with unique angles. For example, instead of the entire face, perhaps you show just the mouth. Or instead of featuring an object through the full height and width of the shot, perhaps you fill the image with a bright color with a minimized object.
Also, many stock photography sites now offer videos as well — this can be a unique method for complementing the content on your page. Popular stock photography sites include iStockPhoto and Fotolia.
2. Tease Them
You’ve got it. They want it.
You’re an expert in your field, and you can help your target audience solve their problems, achieve their goals or simply find enjoyment in your products/services. So the value is already there, inside your head or inherently inside your products.
What can you offer them quickly and easily that would compel them to contact you, drooling over your special offer? It could be a free sample, or a trial offer or even a Top Ten List (e.g., “Top 10 Secrets to Transforming Your Book into a Media Empire”). A friend of mine who is a business coach offers a free 30-minute initial consultation. She’s so impressive that she can typically win a new client with just about every consultation, and so this type of special offer makes total business sense in her case.
Use your imagination. Use the special insights that you have to offer something that would really matter to your specific target audience.
3. Turn Exits into Revolving Doors
Spend 5 minutes in your web analytics program (e.g., Google Analytics, WebTrends, etc.), and identify your highest volume Exit Pages. An “Exit Page” is the web page from which a site visitor leaves your website.
Among your Exit Pages, there may be some that make sense. For example, an order confirmation page, or an online form confirmation page.
However, what about the rest of the Exit Pages? Is it logical that your site visitors did not see any reason to spend more time on your site? Why is it that they did not see value in clicking through to any more of your pages? How can you transform weak web pages into remarkably effective pages that stand out in your site visitors’ minds?
Among your top 10 Exit Pages, identify the number one thorn in your side. Identify a page from which people are scrambling to leave your site preventing you from making a sale.
Then, test a new change or two to the page to make it stand out:
- Try changing the heading.
- Add some images.
- Add a Call to Action.
- Change the first line of copy to something thought-provoking.
- Cut out any marketing fluff and try being brutally honest with your site visitors.
- Remind visitors of related products, services or content in which you know they would find value.
- Make a special offer right on the page.
- Try offering a 110% satisfaction guarantee. Etc.
The opportunities are endless. In the time it takes you to select your fruits, vegetables and vitamins at the grocery store, you can easily make one change on your page to assess the future impact.
These are just a few suggestions to help you make your website stand out and improve your website results with relatively little effort. If you need additional help, let me know below. Thanks!
