Turn Your Website Into a B2B Lead Generation Tool

19 August, 2022

CJ Cowan, Copywriter at Clash Creative

Five-minute read

Everyone is told when they’re creating a marketing strategy that their website is the most valuable tool they have to generate leads.

That is definitely true, but it’s more complicated than just slapping your brand name and product on a webpage and calling it a day.

A poorly designed website can turn customers away and set a bad first impression. Moreover, things like buying domain names and hiring a web designer are difficult and expensive as it is without a B2B website that fails to produce a decent ROI.

Effective B2B lead generation means having your voice carry across a noisy room. It means being heard and listened to when your target audience has plenty of reasons to move on to the next digital distraction.

Below, I will summarize the key components you need to make your website a lead generation funnel.

SEO is an essential first step

The first thing you’ll need if you want people to explore your website and eventually purchase your product is website traffic. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) gets you free, organic traffic by creating web pages that rank high on google for specific search queries.

Leveraging SEO gets your website in front of potential customers. To start, identify key terms that you want to be associated with and subjects you want to be an authority on. Once you’ve got that sorted, keep both of these choices front of mind when making decisions about your website. 

Do you want to know how a customized SEO strategy is worth every penny? Click here

What is B2B lead generation, anyway?

The lead generation process involves attracting your target audiences to your business and website landing pages and encouraging their interest to convert these leads into customers. Essentially, lead generation means guiding a lead along every point of the sales process – from discovery to a purchasing decision.

Create an intuitive user experience

User experience hinges on the navigability of your website architecture. A website that is confusing and difficult to navigate is one that most people won’t spend much time on. A high bounce rate usually correlates to a low conversion rate.

For B2B lead generation to be successful, the website needs to be logically laid out so potential customers can intuitively navigate your website and make informed purchasing decisions.

Site navigation needs to encourage users to dive deeply into your website with strategically placed internal backlinks to increase engagement and conversion rates. This has the added benefit of making it easier for google crawlers to explore the site as the content boosts authority.

Many B2B marketers get too creative with their landing pages. They try to reinvent the wheel but forget it’s round for a reason. The navigation header of your website should look very similar to other websites in your industry. The landing page for your top product or service on a drop-down menu should say something straightforward like  “IT Consulting” or “Remote Legal Counsel,” not something quaint like “What We Do Best” or “Click Here for Awesomeness.”

This is not charming or unique and can turn customers away like a flashing closed sign. Nurturing a lead means getting them the information they need, creating trust, and moving them further down the funnel as quickly as possible.

All hail content marketing!

Content marketing is a valuable way to build trust with potential buyers and demonstrate your company has the expertise in solving the problems they’re facing. If you become an authority on a subject by creating valuable content like blog posts, people will traffic your website and begin to rely on your insights as a thought leader. It’s inevitable that some of these frequent visitors will become customers or at least brand champions.

Don’t underestimate the power of a loyal readership: 54% of decision-makers say they spend more than an hour a week reading thought-leadership content. That could be your content!

If you create content that people find useful and relevant, then website visitors can easily be directed to your homepage or landing pages which brings users interested in your industry closer to clicking on a CTA.

With all these lead-generating benefits, no wonder 82% of marketers swear by content marketing.

CTAs and lead generation forms are must-haves

Okay, now you have people visiting your website in droves, they can easily dance across your website, and they’re eating up your content. All done! Right? Wrong.

You wouldn’t believe how many websites get this far and just stop. Potential customers are buying what you’re saying and are eager to buy what you’re selling, but their next step is not evident.

Don’t be coy. Don’t be cute. Be clear. Be concise. 

Every webpage on your site should have a bright, unmistakable button that takes users where you want them to be – a Call To Action (CTAs). In the B2B context, this is typically a contact or scheduling form that invites customers to jump on a sales call to take the relationship further.

CTAs don’t just have to lead to sales calls. You can direct them to download a guide, a white paper, or another form of gated content to gather their contact information. The visitor gets access to valuable content in exchange for their email addresses; in this way, content marketing is both authority building and lead generating. Be sure to include an option to sign up for your newsletter; reciprocity goes a long way.

If you read closely, you understand all these B2B lead-generating strategies support each other and work together to inch leads closer to writing a check. It’s challenging to get these disparate elements to harmonize. Luckily, Clash Creative has the know-how to help SMBs generate leads with fantastic website and marketing solutions.

Copywriter at Clash Creative | + posts

CJ Cowan is a professional writer working out of Kingston, Ontario who loves turning complex ideas into compelling copy. He is passionate about providing excellent service to clients and ensuring all their business needs are met.

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