Lead generation websites for manufacturers
If you want your website to be a lead generation superstar, use these proven techniques to get started.
What does a website lead look like?
Your website could be sending leads in a variety of different ways. For example:
- An email
- A telephone call
- An enquiry or quote request from a form
- Data capture from downloads or email newsletter signups
- A registration for your distributor portal
To increase leads, start by identifying all the different ways people can contact your company. Think about your typical customers and how they prefer to engage with you. Some people prefer to call, but don’t forget about people who will want to contact you out of hours.
How are you going to track your website leads?
It’s important to track how many leads your website is generating, and Google Analytics can help you do it.
If you want to track which channels are the most effective for generating leads, set up "conversions" in Google Analytics. A conversion is a type of lead, such as an email link click or enquiry form submission. You can then measure how many leads you are generating, and what the best lead generation channels are.
To calculate your conversion rate, you just work out the percentage of website visitors who convert into a lead. For example, if you have 10,000 website visitors and 150 turn into leads, your conversion rate is (150 ÷ 10,000) x 100 = 1.5%.
What’s a good website conversion rate?
It depends on the products or services you offer, how competitive your industry is, and other factors. In a study of landing pages by Unbounce, they found a 12% conversion rate is considered good. On the other hand, if your website conversion rate is below 1%, that’s not good and you have work to do.
How to spot your best lead generation pages
Before you begin improving your website's lead generation abilities, look at Google Analytics to find out which pages are currently generating leads. Typical lead generation pages for manufacturers are product pages but check other important pages too, like the home or contact pages.
Also check which pages are your most popular landing pages. Landing pages are the first page someone visits on your site, either directly from typing in your website address, from search, or from a link on another website or social media. It's normal for the most popular landing page to be your home page, but you might find that product / service pages and contact page are popular too.
These pages are the ones you need to be optimising for lead generation, so with this knowledge you can get started on improving your website.
Review your user experience
If your customers can’t find the content they want, they will leave your site.
Focus on what your visitors want
Make sure your products and services (or whatever your customers are looking for) are the main focus on your home page and menu.
Make your site easy to navigate
Add breadcrumb trails, internal links, and easy-to-use menus.
Break up your content
Use headings, bullets, images, and videos to make your content easier to follow.
Keep it simple
People don't like to learn new things, so keep navigation and page layouts conventional and straightforward.
User friendly navigation is important to increase conversions.
Write better copy
Website copy is as important as design. Make sure your content focuses on the key benefits of your products and services in a language that your customers will understand.
Copy is so important we've written a whole article on the matter - how to write effective website copy. Some good tips are:
Write for your customers
Use language, style and tone that appeal to them.
Don't overcomplicate things
Avoid use big words or industry jargon when simpler alternatives will do.
Write for “scanners”
Most website visitors are searching for information and are scanning pages quickly. Headings, bullet points and images make it easier to read a page this way.
Use your keywords
Your keywords are what people will be typing into search engines to find your products and services. Make sure you include keywords in page titles and body copy to make your website search engine friendly. But always remember to write for people, not search engines.
Focus on benefits
Your website copy should communicate the benefits of your products and services. What do your customers really buy from you? What problems does your product solve?
People don’t want quarter-inch drill bits. They want quarter-inch holes.
Design with your audience in mind
If your website is meant to convert people into leads, it's best to design for your target audience. Focus on what's most important – getting quality leads, and not what people in your company think you should do. Design essentials include:
High-quality images and video
Present your company, products, services, and team members in the best light.
Stay on brand
Your website be consistent with your branding – for example it should follow the look and feel of your company logo, colours, visual style, and tone of voice.
Convey the right image
Be sure to position your website correctly. If you offer a premium service, your website should reflect this.
Clear and consistent messages
Your messaging should run throughout your website and remind people who you are, what you do, and what the benefits of your products and services are.
Make a great first impression
First impressions are everything. If your site has bad images or looks unprofessional, visitors are unlikely to give you their contact information or buy anything from your website.
Babcock are a a global manufacturing and engineering brand. Their website uses strong imagery and clear purpose driven messaging to great effect.
NGK's website is beautifully simple and clearly positions them as a high performance product manufacturer.
Effective calls to action (CTAs)
A call to action (often shortened to CTA) is an instruction you give your website visitors.
Every website should have calls to action to guide people. To create good CTAs, think about what you want your customers to do, and what they might want to do.
Remember that everyone is different; some people like to pick up the phone, others prefer to send an email.
Example website calls to action:
- Call us for a quote
- Book a demo
- Request a call with one of our experts
- Download a technical datasheet
- View a product tour
When creating CTAs, use links and buttons that stand out in size, colour, and style. These should be prominent to attract attention and increase conversions.
Use Google Analytics to track the performance of each CTA so you know which ones are working and which ones aren't.
we don’t bite
A strong call to action is essential for website lead generation.
Build your mailing list
It may take a few visits before some of your website visitors become customers. To stay in touch with them, you can capture their details so you can remind them of your products or services through email marketing or direct mail.
To encourage visitors to give you their data, offer them something in return. This could be access to data sheet downloads, “registered users only” content, or exclusive updates for people who receive your email newsletters.
You can also collect email addresses when people fill out a form on your website. Remember GDPR requires you to obtain consent for ongoing marketing. You can do this by adding an “I agree to…” tick box and an explanation of how you will use their data.
Establish your credibility
When a potential customer lands on your website, they will ask themselves “Why should I use this company?” . They will be looking for signs that you are a professional company who will deliver on service and solve any problems.
What things make a website credible?
- A professional design
- Client list and customer testimonials
- Case studies to demonstrate expertise
- Trade associations and membership logos
- Guarantees and warranties
- Relevant policies such as terms and conditions and customer charters
- Address and telephone number of your business
Case studies show your clients and expertise, and are a great way to demonstrate credibility.
Does your website work properly?
If your website is slow or breaks, your visitors will get frustrated and leave.
How much of your website’s traffic comes from mobile devices? Chances are, it’s quite high. Use Google Analytics to find this information and check your website on smartphones and tablets to assess the customer experience.
Your website should be “responsive”, meaning it will automatically adjust to look good on any device. Many people will research companies out of hours or on the move, or at other times when they don’t have access to a PC. So, it’s essential your website is great on a smartphone as well as a desktop computer.
Do you know if your site works in the most popular browsers? Your customers are using Edge, Chrome, and Firefox. Make sure you don’t lose sales because your website doesn't work in a specific browser.
And is your website accessible? A good website is easy to use for everyone.
Display your telephone number clearly
At the top of every page, make sure your telephone number is visible. If you have more than one number, show a “contact us” call to action instead and link it to a page with your phone numbers.
Many people still prefer calling, even in a digital age. Not showing a telephone number can reduce people’s trust in your company.
Keep your forms short and simple
Forms are a great way to capture data, but only if they work. Keep your forms short and only ask for the information you need to follow up the lead. Remember, the goal is to get leads at this stage, not to ask for every possible piece of information.
Short forms, with fields in a single column, are shown to have the best conversion rates.
Make the most of video and animation
If you use videos and animations correctly, they can be effective lead generation tactics. Use videos to answer potential customers’ questions or to enhance your case studies. You can show how your products or services work with “explainer” animations. Keep in mind that people may get bored if your videos are too long.
Engage with your customers
Adding live chat to your website is a great way to engage with potential customers. Many people like using live chat while they’re browsing other sites or doing other things like scheduling a Zoom meeting or having a tea break. It’s not just a lead generation tool: it’s helpful for existing customers too, who want more info or support from you.
You can get live chat services for free. If you don't have the resources to run a live chat, then chatbots and managed chat services are also available.
A trade or distributor portal can be an effective way to engage with your customers too. A good portal should provide information and interactive features to make the most of your relationship with them.
Find out more about what makes a great distributor portal.
Never stop testing
Lead generation is a never-ending task, so don’t be afraid to try new tactics.
Use Analytics and heat maps to see how people are using your website. Try different calls to action, design and copy variations, button colours and wording, and see if they make a difference. If you’re unsure, you can run A/B tests to directly measure variations to see what works.
Lastly, take a look at your competitors' websites. Are they using any good lead generation tactics that you can learn from?
If you'd like to know more about generating leads, or anything else digital, just get in touch or visit our Websites for Manufacturers page.
