Why You Should Care More About Leads Than Website Traffic

Website traffic to your site doesn't always mean more money in the bank. Even though marketers know that lead conversion is essential to their business, wesbite conversion rates are still far below what they should be. The fact of the matter is that website visits are only meaningful in relation to the amount of leads and business opportunities they generate.  You might be thinking, “What? I thought website traffic was a good thing?” And it definitely is, but we’re here to tell you why you should care more about leads than website traffic. Think of it like an Easter egg hunt. The Easter eggs are the people visiting your website, and the candy or money that is placed inside the eggs are the leads. It’s no fun and it does nothing for your business to gather a basket-full of empty ‘Easter eggs’. The goal is to find all the eggs with the chocolate or dollar bills inside, because they give you more value than empty pastel-colored plastic. So think of your leads vs. website traffic as making sure you find the Easter eggs with the best prizes inside.

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65% of marketers say that improving lead conversion is a key digital marketing priority. Even though marketers know that lead conversion is essential to their business, website visit conversion rates are still below 10%. This indicates that most visitors who come to your website leave without any action or behavior that will help your business, which just means more sales opportunities and marketing dollars down the drain.  The fact of the matter is that website visits are only meaningful in relation to the number of leads and business opportunities they generate.

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The first step in generating leads that will positively impact your bottom line is to understand the purpose of your website. Take an honest look at your website and other digital marketing activities and analyze what your goal is for each of your online platforms. Think of your website and online presence as the virtual front door to your business. Does your website make it blatantly obvious to visitors what you want them to do? If not, start from scratch and list out three things that you want every visitor to your site to do. Some of these things might include making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, filling out a form, or leaving a comment on a blog post. Once you figure out exactly what you want your website visitors to do here are some tactics that will help put those thoughts into action

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‍Integrate micro-conversion points

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‍One of the key factors hurting your lead conversion rate is that there aren’t enough opportunities for visitors to become leads on your website. Micro-conversions include actions like watching a video on your website, visiting the FAQ page, downloading an eBook, or reading a blog post. All of these actions that people normally complete on a website can become micro-conversion points that turn an anonymous visitor into a new lead.Invest in case studiesCase studies provide powerful proof of the effectiveness of your products and services. They show relatable human evidence that gives users the confidence to develop trust in your business. Case studies help define the difference between a company’s truthful promises or just marketing fluff. If you can show visitors to your site that you helped impact someone else’s business and solved a pain point (or multiple), odds are you’re going to have more people filling out your contact form to want to work with you, too.

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‍Create conversion opportunities on mobile

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‍If you run a business that gets a lot of mobile traffic, don’t overlook this platform as an opportunity to generate more leads. Start off by stepping into the user’s shoes and ask yourself some questions: Is it obvious to see where I can get more information or contact us from my phone? Are the forms easy to fill out? Mobile is designed to be quick and convenient to use on-the-go, so people will leave your website if the processes are too complicated.‍

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White papers are your friend

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‍Whitepapers are a powerful tool in building both interest and preference in your products and services. White papers are intended to attract and inform your audience in a way that avoids sounding like a sales pitch and leaves them wanting more. Educate your audience about your products and services in a relaxed yet professional tone that entices them to want to enter your sales funnel and try out your products and services for themselves.

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‍All about content

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‍Website conversion rates are 6 times higher for businesses who’ve adopted a content marketing strategy than those who haven’t. In fact, more than 91% of B2B and 86% of B2C marketers are using content marketing as the most crucial part of their digital strategy to gather organic visibility, traffic, and revenue. Therefore, creating a solid content marketing plan has become essential for conducting business online for most companies. Convert website and blog traffic into sales because traffic without lead generation is pointless, like Easter eggs with no candy inside

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What is the number one challenge for most marketers when it comes to improving website lead conversion? It’s finding the time and resources to patch up all the holes. While traffic on your website is important, it’s even more important to focus on turning those casual users into leads that you can nurture and move through the sales funnel. We hope these tactics will help you step in the right direction - making the traffic you get to your website more meaningful for your business. If you would like to offer some of your own advice or touch on a subject we left out, please leave a comment below.