As an expert service provider, your website is often one of the first points of contact for potential clients, so it’s important that it's designed to attract them.
However, many people make key mistakes that can result in missed opportunities.
In this article, I discuss six things to avoid when it comes to generating leads with your website.
#1 Not doing any upfront target audience research
One of the most common mistakes experts make when creating a website is not doing any target audience research.
This is a crucial step that many overlook, but it’s essential to understand your ideal clients’ goals and pain points.
Without this information, your website probably won’t resonate with your target audience as well as it could do, which can lead to missed opportunities.
To avoid this mistake, spend time speaking to your ideal clients prior to writing any new website content.
Discuss the problems they are experiencing in relation to your service offering and make note of any key phrases or words they use to describe their issues – you can then use this information as part of your website content and messaging.
#2 Writing content from your own perspective instead of the ideal clients’
Another common mistake is writing website content from your own perspective.
While it’s essential to share your knowledge and experience as a subject matter expert, it’s equally important to describe your offering from the point of view of your target audience.
Clients really only care about how you can help them and are looking for solutions to their problems.
So to avoid this mistake, put yourself in your ideal clients’ shoes and ask yourself what they'd need to know about your services to be sure it’s the right solution for them.
Focus on the benefits your clients receive after working with you (and how each benefit helps them gain a specific outcome), rather than the features of your service.
#3 Not explaining your offering clearly
Following on from the previous point about framing things from the ideal clients’ perspective, it’s also critical that you can clearly articulate the value of your services.
Clients want to know what they will get before engaging with you. But because services are intangible, it can make it tricky to get the messaging right.
One good way to approach this is to treat your services like products.
Instead of keeping things open and unclear, package your services up to solve a key problem and deliver a specific result for clients.
Use simple language and avoid industry jargon that your clients may not understand.
In addition, explaining your project delivery process in detail on your website can also help people understand what to expect if they worked with you.
Being clear is key because when website visitors know what they are getting, they will be more likely to engage.
#4 Not using any calls to action
Calls to action (such as phrases like ‘Book a call’) are a key component for converting website visitors into clients. However, many expert service providers make the mistake of not using any.
It may seem obvious, but you want to make things as easy as possible for website visitors to engage with you – this means spelling out the actions you want them to take in clear language.
So to avoid this mistake, use specific and compelling calls to action throughout your website.
They should be prominently displayed on each web page and encourage visitors to take the next step.
#5 No mechanisms in place to capture potential clients’ contact information
Another common mistake is not having any lead capture forms set up to collect the details of potential clients.
This is a missed opportunity because most people who visit your website will never return.
So it's critical that you have mechanisms in place to identify them.
When marketing B2B services (that typically have long sales cycles), your website’s primary goal is to get the target audience’s email address and / or phone number.
You can then use this information to follow up with your leads, build relationships and hopefully convert them into clients further down the line.
So think about which resources (guides, templates, checklists) or other downloads you could feature on your website that people can get access to if they complete a form.
#6 Not showing evidence of the results you get for clients
Finally, many experts make the mistake of not showing any proof of the outcomes they get for clients.
Potential clients want to see that you can deliver results, so without this information they may be hesitant to engage with you.
To avoid this mistake, include pieces of social proof such as case studies or testimonials on your website that clearly describe your client results.
You can even feature stats collected from client surveys (such as satisfaction scores or the percentage of people that would recommend you to others) on your website to help quantify results.
Conclusion and action point
In conclusion, your website is an important tool for attracting and converting clients as an expert service provider.
By avoiding these common mistakes, you can create a website that resonates with your target audience and effectively communicates the value of your services.
When your site is set up effectively, you’ll be able to attract more clients and ultimately grow your expertise-driven business.
For today’s action point, review your current website and look out for any of the six mistakes mentioned.
Make a list of the areas where you can improve and prioritise them based on their potential impact.
