Did I tell you I am 28 weeks pregnant? Crazy, I know.
Just a minor life-changing detail ... but I digress.
Recently, doctors have put me on activity restriction due to some things going on with my pregnancy. It means that it's been tricky to clean my house.
So for the next couple months, I thought I would hire someone to help me out. Seems simple enough right?
It was actually really hard to find someone. I searched online and got few results. The few I got had confusing websites, were tough to contact, or were unclear about what they offered. Here I was, with my money in hand, begging to hire someone, and I couldn’t do it.
It shouldn’t be that hard for people to find you and book you on your website.
There are six things your audience is looking for on your website. They are small basic elements that are easy to add if you are missing them. I am always surprised how many sites don’t have them.
Then good news is, if you do, you are ahead of then curve.
Most people believe their website is about them and their business. It is meant to be a portfolio piece or brochure about what they do.
That’s not exactly the case.
Your website really should be about your visitors. You want it to show them how you can help them and the transformation your service provides.
This helps them know that you are for them.
Here are six things your website visitors are looking for:
1. How you help them and what you offer
It always amazes me how often I go to a website and I can’t tell what the business actually does.
This is a key piece of information that you need to have front and center. There should be one short line or paragraph with a summary of what you do, who you help and the end result.
Make sure it is right at the top and it doesn’t include any fancy jargon or obscure words.
Be clear, concise and explain the transformation you are giving your potential client.
2. How to contact you
This seems like a no brainer, but often websites are missing key contact information.
The most obvious place to put this is on your contact page. Make sure it has your email address, phone number and a form where they can reach out.
You can also place contact info in the upper right on your header or in your footer.
Put it where people are used to looking for it.
3. Your face.
People buy from people. They want to know you are a human being.
Having a photo gives a human face to a name. It makes you more relatable.
I recommend having your photo both on your home page and your about page at a bare minimum.
4. Your services
Make it clear how you work by providing details about your packages or services.
It is great to list the nuts and bolts of what a service includes, but more important is to include the benefits of those things.
What is the outcome of what you provide?
Also, it helps to narrow it down to two or three offers. Any more than that is overwhelming. You can always customize your packages or add things in when you are talking to a client based on their needs. On your website, though, keep it simple.
5. Testimonials.
Social proof is vital now more than ever.
Your potential client is likely coming to you with some fear about making an investment. Testimonials address that fear before you even talk to a potential client.
People want to know that someone like them worked with you and had a good outcome. Testimonials offer you more credibility.
A lot of the success of Amazon is due to the reviews on all of their products. I know checking the reviews is something I always do when I’m looking at an item.
If possible, get a photo and full name of the person offering you the testimonial. It helps people know the reviews come from a real person. Most people are willing to allow you to include that information.
But if not, something is better than nothing.
6. Next steps.
So, your website visitor knows what you do, who you are and that there are others who have worked with you. Now what?
Make sure the next step is clear and available.
This will depend on how you work. It could be to book a call, fill out an intake form or call you. Either way, make it easy.
So there you have it. These six things are a great start to creating a site that works to book you clients. But there is much more strategy and design that goes into an effective site.
If you need help with creating a strategic site that books you clients, book a free strategy call and we can talk about your business and vision and how I can help.
See what I did there?