Inbound Marketing* has brought digital marketing up another level, and the area of website design is also affected. A good website design is instrumental to the establishment of a company's online presence, and for this reason, let's look at how Inbound web design compares to traditional website design and how to stay relevant with the latest design techniques.
First, we identify the similarities so we can get them out of the way: both Inbound and outbound-oriented websites should look professional and presentable, search engine-optimized and provide a user-friendly environment. But that’s about it when it comes to similarities.
Here are 4 features that separate an Inbound marketing website apart from an outbound-oriented website:
Content – The first thing you should notice when you browse an Inbound marketing website is the amount of content on the site. It typically several of these items: videos, webinars, blogs, whitepapers, ebooks, infographics, tip guides and podcasts.
An Inbound marketing agency knows that the key to converting website visitors into leads is content. They also know that content helps sites get found through search engines. The more content you have, the higher your site is going to rank on major search engines and the more your visitors are going to share that content on social media, which in turn will also drive rankings and traffic.
Offers – Content for content's sake is not enough. Professional Inbound marketers know they need content for everyone visiting the site, not just the people ready to buy today. This means taking into consideration your prospect's buying process when you create content for your Inbound marketing website.
The offer includes no-risk offers for people at the top of your sales funnel, low-risk offers for people in the middle of the funnel and the direct business offer for people at the bottom of the funnel who are ready to buy.
Blogs – Most people know they need a blog on their site, but it's the Inbound marketing leaders who recognize the strategic importance of an active blog. In short, the more you blog, the more you are going to get found on major search engines, and the more blog posts get shared by your connections and followers on social media. If your blog content is compelling, more people will visit your website. It's only natural that content demonstrates your expertise, establishes your authority and gets people curious about what you can do to solve their problems and challenges. Blogging is integral to today's Inbound marketing efforts and without a blog post published 2 or 3 times a week, your website is at a severe disadvantage.
Personalization – The top-performing websites are able to create a highly personalized surfing experience for their visitors. As progressive marketers, we need to consider creating a similar experience. One way to do this is to be smart about our marketing and use Inbound marketing tools to deliver content in context.
This means that when a prospect has downloaded a free report from your site, you want to follow up by offering him/her related pieces of educational content. The only way to know this about your prospect is to use a platform like HubSpot. Modules like customized workflow design, smart call-to-action (CTA) buttons and landing pages that adjust according to past behavior help to personalize a visitor’s website experience.
Take a look at some Inbound Marketing websites and you will quickly see the focus on conversion, content and how they tell stories to engage prospects, turning them from visitors into leads. Additionally, to perfect your website, apply A/B testing to drive more conversions, and also make sure your website incorporates a good font for your readers.
* Inbound marketing is a form of digital marketing that involves SEO, Social Media, blog and landing pages to generate sales leads.
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