{"id":13817,"date":"2017-02-20T16:43:59","date_gmt":"2017-02-20T21:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/?p=13817"},"modified":"2017-03-11T16:08:41","modified_gmt":"2017-03-11T21:08:41","slug":"monday-myth-building-a-better-b2b-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/monday-myth-building-a-better-b2b-website\/","title":{"rendered":"B2B Monday Myth: Your Website Is an Online Brochure"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"building<\/a><\/h3>\n

The Myth: Your Website Is Like\u00a0an Online Brochure<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Truth: Your Website Should Be Used as an\u00a0Engagement Tool<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Your website should offer more to your\u00a0visitors than a listing of services or products. It should do more than simply tell people who you are (although it should do that at the very least). Think about what\u00a0your prospects want from your website. Then think about what you want them to find out.<\/p>\n

Take into account how your prospects make purchasing decisions. Chances are, a visitor is not going to arrive on your home page and decide right then to buy your product. It takes time, and they are likely exploring competitors. To foster engagement, your website must\u00a0go beyond what’s contained in a traditional brochure. But it needs to have a clear path for your prospects to follow.<\/p>\n

Here Are the Keys to Building a Better B2B Website, and More Effectively Convert Leads:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Define The Primary\u00a0Function Of Your Site<\/strong><\/p>\n

Clearly identify what you want people to get out of your website. What actions<\/a> would you like them to take now that they’ve visited you? Is your overall goal to provide buying\u00a0solutions, or is it to direct a customer to a sales representative? These two functions are\u00a0very different, and the decision you make will change how your website is set up. Once you know what you want your visitors to do, you can provide them with a clear call-to-action.<\/p>\n

Give Your Home Page Purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your home page should very clearly\u00a0state who you are and what you do. These are basics for what the\u00a0visitor should get from initially viewing your website. It is also helpful to state your\u00a0value proposition<\/a>, or a clear statement that tells the customer what benefits you can provide them.<\/p>\n

This may be\u00a0the first thing website visitors see when\u00a0checking out your website. First impressions are important. If\u00a0your home page has too much going on, or doesn’t have a clear call-to-action, people will\u00a0move on. Keep it simple and easy to navigate.<\/p>\n

Create User-Focused\u00a0Landing Pages to Build Your Leads List<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you haven’t already, you should consider landing pages that live as a part of your website but focus on specific topics that interest prospects. For instance, if you are a manufacturer or components for multiple verticals, but you want to push a product that benefits only the aerospace community, a specific landing page will help you get the job done. You can drive the exact type of prospect you are looking for to this page using Paid Search<\/a>. If their search terms match what you’re offering, they find a product that is relevant to them instead of finding your home page. Furthermore, you can use the page to capture their information and get them into your sales funnel, instead of having them kick around on your home page, then bounce on over to your competitor’s site.<\/p>\n

Use Content To Your Advantage<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another way to drive people to your website is by creating relevant content, usually in the form of a blog. Doing so is a good way to provide information while positioning yourself as an honest company with integrity and authority. Some larger companies go beyond the blog and create full, separate sites just devoted to content. You have to examine what your capacity is for creating content, and churn out only what you feel will be most effective given the time you put into creating it. Whatever you create, make sure it is optimized in order to draw in prospects who are in the right mindset. It is a slower burn than Paid Search, but a great way to gain the trust of a prospect over time.<\/p>\n

If your website is only providing information, you are missing out on these key opportunities. Give your site more of a purpose, and use the web as a tool instead of a stand-alone collateral piece, and you’ll\u00a0both engagement and leads start to rise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Myth: Your Website Is Like\u00a0an Online Brochure The Truth: Your Website Should Be Used as an\u00a0Engagement Tool Your website should offer more to your\u00a0visitors than a listing of services or products. It should do more than simply tell people who you are (although it should do that at the very least). Think about what\u00a0your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[507,273,336,602],"tags":[656,332,617,141,657],"class_list":["post-13817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-b2b-monday-myth","category-content","category-customer-engagement","category-paid-search","tag-building-a-better-b2b-website","tag-content","tag-landing-pages","tag-paid-search","tag-user-engagement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13817"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13933,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13817\/revisions\/13933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}