This week’s question comes from a Twitter follower, and it’s a good one: will spending time on your website really get you more clients?

In general, your website only needs to do three things: clearly communicate how you help your clients, what your services or products are, and how a client can work with you.

However, if you’re looking at ways in which your website can attract more clients, the amount of time, effort, and money you should spend depends on how your website fits into your big-picture goals.

 

When To Spend Time on Your Website

Your website can be an endless pit of time and energy, if you let it.  But if your goal is to turn it into a client-generating machine, it’s worth spending that time and energy if:

• Your website is difficult to navigate or doesn’t clearly explain how you help your clients.  These issues will turn away visitors before they ever become potential clients.

• You want to rank higher on Google.  Working on your search engine strategy will lead to better Google rankings. High rankings mean higher visibility, which means more website visitors and more new clients.

• You’re getting a lot of visitors, but no one sticks around to become a client.  Add an email sign-up form with an enticing freebie to your sidebar, or encourage your visitors to connect with you on social media.  Clients rarely buy the first time they find your site, so encourage them to keep the lines of communication open.

• You have people on your email list or social media sites, but they’re not converting from leads to clients. Consider running a special promotion on a coaching package or service, like additional one-on-one coaching time or a limited-time bonus.  You could also run a contest, invite potential clients to join a free training or coaching call, or preview an upcoming new service or offering and ask for their input.

 

Sprucing Up Your Website is a Waste of Time if:

• New clients find you through word of mouth.  Focus your time on local speaking engagements, networking events, or building a referral system for your existing clients to encourage them to spread the word.

• Ranking high in Google is not part of your master plan. If you’re a one-woman shop, you don’t need the thousands of new website visitors each month that a top Google spot would get you.  You just need a handful of new clients each month. Focus your time on cultivating your relationships with your email list and social media fans.

• Your clients aren’t on the internet.  OK, I mostly included this one as a joke, since everyone is on the internet these days.  But there are different degrees of being “on the internet.” If your potential clients are more comfortable with snail mail or email, your website just has to capture their contact information, and you can take the relationship off your website and into their preferred communication channel.

 

Final Thoughts

As with every aspect of marketing, knowing your website goals will determine how much time, effort, and money you spend on it.  If you do decide to invest the time and money, keep in mind that your website does not have to be perfect.  As soon as you start to see the results that you want, it’s time to shift your attention to other marketing or business-building endeavors.

~ Felicity

P.S. If you have a question about online marketing (websites, email lists, Facebook, Twitter, or social media), shoot me an email – I’d love to hear from you!

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