Why Your Website Isn’t Driving Leads and How to Fix It

Feb 26, 2024

<a href="https://www.ewrdigital.com/author/matt" target="_self">Matt Bertram</a>

Matt Bertram

Matt Bertram is a award-winning marketing consultant and SEO Expert. He is the lead digital strategist at EWR Digital. Host of the Best SEO Podcast and Co-Host of the Oil and Gas sales and marketing podcast.
troubleshooting lead generation campaigns

Revitalizing Your Digital Presence: Why Your Website Isn’t Driving Leads and How to Fix It

 

In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, a website serves as the cornerstone of your online presence. However, if it’s not driving leads, frustration can set in. This blog aims to unravel the mystery behind stagnant lead generation and equip you with actionable strategies to breathe life back into your digital presence.

Understanding the Issues:

 

1. Ineffective Content Strategy:

One of the primary reasons your website may not be generating leads is an ineffective content strategy. Assess whether your content speaks to your target audience’s pain points, needs, and interests. If it’s generic or lacks relevance, it’s time for a revamp.

2. Poorly Optimized Landing Pages:

Landing pages play a crucial role in converting visitors into leads. If your landing pages are cluttered, slow to load, or lack a clear call-to-action, visitors may navigate away without taking the desired action.

3. Complicated Navigation:

A website with confusing navigation can be a major turn-off for visitors. If users struggle to find information or navigate through your site, they’re unlikely to engage or convert into leads.

4. Lack of Trust-Building Elements:

Trust is the foundation of lead generation. If your website lacks trust-building elements such as testimonials, reviews, or security badges, visitors may hesitate to provide their information.

 

Leveraging the Power of SEO:

Despite its proven effectiveness, SEO remains underutilized, with only 63% of companies investing in it last year. However, its impact on organic lead generation is monumental. When your business adopts SEO, you’re embracing a suite of strategies that enhance your visibility in search results, such as those on Google.

The significance of this visibility cannot be overstated. More than 90 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine. If your business doesn’t appear in relevant search results, you risk becoming invisible to your target market, resulting in a direct decrease in website leads.

Even if you’re currently implementing SEO, success doesn’t happen overnight. A successful SEO strategy requires skill and an understanding of technical SEO. It’s an ongoing investment that demands making SEO a core part of your business and lead generation strategy.

So, how can your company use SEO to amplify lead generation? Follow these steps to jumpstart your website’s lead generation rates:

  • Audit Your Website: Whether in-house or with a trusted SEO agency, conduct a comprehensive audit of your website to identify areas for improvement.
  • Market Research: Explore your market by browsing social media and understanding the wants and pain points of your audience.
  • Keyword Research: Compile a list of relevant keywords for your website using tools like KeywordsFX to target your audience effectively.
  • Optimize Content: Align your content and multimedia with SEO best practices to improve their search engine visibility.
  • Publish Optimized Content: Regularly publish your optimized content to your website.
  • Monitor Performance: Check your content’s performance every month and adjust your strategy based on the results.

With consistent effort, your business should start to see improved performance within six months. As your website’s visibility increases, so does the traffic, consisting of qualified visitors since you targeted specific keywords related to your business.

For those encountering difficulties with SEO performance, consider a professional SEO audit to fine-tune your strategies.

 

Enhancing Page Speed for Maximum Impact:

Another often overlooked aspect affecting lead generation is page speed. Slow-loading pages not only frustrate users but also impact SEO, resulting in lower rankings, decreased traffic, and fewer leads.

Today, users expect websites to load in two seconds or less. Failure to meet this expectation can lead to a higher bounce rate, where users leave without interacting with your page. This negatively influences your site’s ranking, impacting your digital lead generation efforts.

So, how can you improve your page speed to drive more leads? Start with these steps:

  • Check Your Site’s Speed: Utilize Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to assess your website’s current speed.
  • Compile Results and Recommendations: Gather insights from PageSpeed Insights and follow the recommendations provided.
  • Update Publishing Practices: Make necessary changes to your content and multimedia publishing practices, including compressing images, reducing redirects, minimizing CSS file sizes, optimizing HTML files, and considering a change in your website hosting provider.

If your company lacks dedicated in-house developers or has limited development resources, investing in page speed optimization services can be a worthwhile solution. These services can enhance your site’s speed, improve SEO, and ultimately increase the number of leads your website generates.

Strategies to Fix Lead Generation Issues:

 

1. Refine Your Content Strategy:

Identify your target audience and tailor your content to address their specific needs and challenges. Consistently produce high-quality, valuable content that positions your brand as an authority in your industry.

2. Optimize Landing Pages:

Streamline your landing pages by eliminating unnecessary elements, optimizing page speed, and ensuring a clear and compelling call-to-action. A user-friendly landing page encourages visitors to take the next step.

3. Simplify Navigation:

Audit your website’s navigation and ensure it is intuitive and user-friendly. Implement clear menu structures, use descriptive labels, and make it easy for visitors to find the information they’re looking for.

4. Build Trust:

Incorporate trust-building elements throughout your website. Showcase client testimonials, display certifications, and ensure that your website is secure with an SSL certificate. Trustworthy websites are more likely to convert visitors into leads.

5. Implement Lead Capture Forms:

Strategically place lead capture forms on key pages of your website. Keep forms simple, asking for essential information. Consider offering incentives such as free resources or exclusive access to encourage form submissions.

6. Leverage Social Proof:

Highlight positive experiences from satisfied customers through case studies, reviews, or user-generated content. Social proof goes a long way in building trust and influencing potential leads.

 

Target Leads at Every Stage of the Buying Funnel:

Tailoring your marketing and advertising strategy to focus solely on bottom-of-the-funnel users may seem like a streamlined approach, concentrating on those ready to make a purchase. However, this narrow focus can inadvertently limit your website’s lead generation potential. Neglecting top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) and middle-of-the-funnel users (MOFU) means missing out on a substantial market share. In today’s dynamic purchasing landscape, where buyers often take a non-linear approach, it’s crucial to encompass every stage of the buying funnel in your strategy.

By adopting a comprehensive approach, your company can build relationships with potential leads at various stages, eventually converting them when they are ready to make a purchase. Targeting the entire buying funnel involves understanding what TOFU, MOFU, and bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) users want to know about your industry or services. Create content that caters to these different stages, optimizing it for SEO to enhance its visibility in search results. Promote this content on social media channels to generate shares and create buzz around your brand.

While adopting this strategy is powerful, it’s essential to note that results may not be immediate. Content, for instance, takes time to gain visibility in search results organically, unless complemented with a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign to expedite its promotion. The investment in targeting each stage of the buying funnel is a long-term strategy that fosters engagement and loyalty, ensuring your business remains in the forefront when potential leads are ready to convert.

Conclusion:

Revitalizing your digital presence and transforming your website into a lead-generating powerhouse requires a strategic and holistic approach. By refining your content strategy, optimizing landing pages, simplifying navigation, building trust, implementing lead capture forms, and leveraging social proof, you can overcome lead generation challenges and pave the way for a more successful online presence. Remember, the journey to effective lead generation is an ongoing process of refinement and adaptation to meet the evolving needs of your audience.