Moments of Change 2014 is just around the corner. If you want to check out this presentation in the flesh, come see us at the Breakers in West Palm Beach Florida on September 29th. It’s in the Venetian Ballroom from 1:30 – 2 pm.

Can’t make it? Get the reader’s digest version below and start optimizing immediately.

Why Optimize?

You have to optimize – if you’re not growing and improving, your competitors are going to pass you up. Staying flat in business means that you’re losing ground. Take advantage of the many, many ways you can optimize your marketing process to not only attract more visitors, but to convert more of the ones you already have.

There are many different factors in internet marketing optimization, but if you keep the information in this post in mind, you’ll move your business in the right direction.

Plan Out Your Goals and Your Audience

Get a plan in place and make sure you follow through:

KPIs:

Key Performance Indicators. You need to know what’s changing (e.g. number of calls, amount of organic traffic) to know if you’re doing better or worse.

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Personas:

Know thy audience. This isn’t just demographics – these people are fully developed humans with have problems, interests, and relationships. It just so happens that they’re the ones most likely to buy your product.

Value Propositions:

What makes your business the one to choose? It makes you unique, either because you’re the only one that does it, or you’re the only one that says you do.

Determine the Steps of the Buying Process

Sure, you can get a visitor, but can you get them to stay? Keep these steps in mind:

Attract:

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They’re not on the site yet, but you can get them there. Keep in mind compelling text in your ad copy and meta titles and descriptions for Google.

Connect:

Once they’re on your site, make sure they don’t bounce. Engaging content that answers their questions will not only get people to stay, but trust you more.

Close:

They like your stuff, but can you seal the deal? Great calls-to-action and a product that meets their needs will get them there.

Build Trust in Your Visitors

A visitor is not always ready to convert when they arrive, but there’s a strong potential to get them to convert if you do it right. Here’s how to cater to each category to move as many visitors as possible towards a conversion:
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Research Phase:

The people in this phase aren’t sure if they even need services yet, let alone yours. Provide them with the information they need to keep them on the site and trust you more. That way, if they do need services, they’ll stick with you.

Establishing Criteria Phase:

They know they need services that you offer, but they’re not sure what will best meet their needs. Show them what the best is, and hope that you offer that!

Consideration Phase:

These visitors know they need services, and they’re wondering if you’re the right one for them. This is the time to pitch. If you provided them with great information in the other two phases, they’re more likely to convert at this point.

Write Content that Fits Visitors, Not Just Buyers

Each of the above visitors needs a particular piece of content. You should have a balance of all three of these categories in order to keep your audience engaged:

Top of Funnel:

This content is about topics related to your field (e.g. an addiction treatment facility talking about how to know if a loved one is addicted). It builds authority and trust in your brand, as your providing information and not just pitching to them.
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Middle of Funnel:

Show your visitors what makes a great company in your field. Visitors will trust you more because you provided the information, and they’ll be more confident in their decision to convert.

Bottom of Funnel:

Here’s where you talk about what makes you great. If you do the other two parts of the funnel right, your pitch will be a natural progression to a conversion rather than a “we’re the best” statement with little to back it up.

Pick the Action You Want Them to Take

Know what kind of action you want your visitor to take, and tailor your page to fit that:

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These visitors are the most valuable, as they’re the ones taking the action that keep your business going. That could be a phone call, an online purchase, or another action.

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Visitors who communicate with you, whether through a comment or a question in a form, are still valuable. Engage with these visitors, as they’ll be more likely to respond negatively to being ignored.

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Visitors may not even be on the site in order to engage with your brand. Sharing on social media is an example of how visitors can engage. Don’t ignore them – people like to see companies that relate to them.

Test, Adapt, and Automate

You have to know what’s actually working before you do it, and you need to do it accurately. Here’s how:

Test:

You put a whole website up – how do you know it’s the best? Know what you’re testing, test it, and then determine which did the best.
7 Quick Tips for Increasing Website Traffic

Adapt:

Once you’ve determined what did the best, figure out why it was the best, and work on making it better.

Automate:

Get the results you need with the least effort. Know what works and make it so you don’t have to do it yourself. This can include sending emails based on where a visitor is in the buying cycle (Research, Criteria, and Consideration).

Get Some Feedback, and Do It Again

You could think you have the best messaging on your site, but if your visitors don’t think so, it doesn’t matter. Take their feedback into account – what do they say on the phone? When do they leave the site? Why do they leave the site?

Remember that your visitors are the ones in charge. As much as you know about your company, talking about yourself isn’t always the best way to get a conversion. Instead, think about how you can help your visitors, and they will come to you.