by Todd Boak | Sep 17, 2024 | Contractor Marketing, Web Design
Top Contractor Marketing Tips: Proven Strategies for Growing Your Business
In today’s competitive market, contractors need more than just word of mouth to grow their businesses. The right marketing strategy can dramatically increase visibility, generate leads, and boost conversions. In this post, we’ll cover effective contractor marketing tips that can help you maximize your visibility and lead generation through both online and offline methods.
Whether you’re a general contractor, home contractor, or specialized trade, using the best marketing for contractors will set you apart from the competition.
Why Marketing is Essential for Contractors
With most potential clients turning to online searches to find local contractors, your digital presence is crucial. Digital marketing for contractors ensures that your business shows up when and where customers are searching. A blend of traditional and digital marketing strategies can help you reach the right people at the right time.
1. Build a High-Performance, Mobile-Friendly Website
A website is your digital storefront, and for contractors, it’s often the first impression a potential client will have of your business. Beyond aesthetics, your site needs to function well on mobile devices and be optimized for search engines. According to Google’s ranking algorithm, websites that are fast and mobile-optimized are more likely to rank higher in search results.
Key Elements for a Contractor’s Website:
- Mobile Responsiveness: Over 50% of web traffic now comes from mobile devices, so having a mobile-friendly site is crucial. A responsive design will adjust your site layout automatically to fit the user’s screen, providing a seamless experience whether they’re on a smartphone or a desktop.
- Speed: Page loading speed is critical. Pages that take more than three seconds to load can lead to high bounce rates, which negatively impacts your SEO. Use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to evaluate and improve your website’s performance.
- Clear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): Make it easy for visitors to contact you, request quotes, or schedule appointments. Strong CTAs such as “Get a Free Estimate” or “Call Now” should be prominently placed on every page.
- SEO-Friendly Content: Use keywords like “general contractor marketing” and “best marketing for contractors” throughout your website’s content, especially in service descriptions, headlines, and image alt texts. But ensure they are naturally integrated into the content.
Additionally, including project galleries, client testimonials, and educational blog posts can help establish your credibility and drive leads.
Pro Tip: Incorporate SEO strategies into your website (like we’ve done here) to rank for search terms like “best marketing for contractors” and “contractor advertising ideas.” Websites that load quickly and are optimized for mobile devices rank better on Google (WebFX) (Broadly).
2. Leverage Local SEO for Increased Visibility
Local SEO is essential for contractors who rely on attracting nearby customers. When someone searches for a contractor in their area, you want your business to appear at the top of the search results. Local SEO focuses on improving your ranking in location-based searches like “roofing contractor near me” or “local plumbers.”
Steps to Improve Local SEO:
- Claim Your Google Business Profile: Start by claiming or creating your Google Business Profile. This is the single most important factor in local search ranking. Ensure your listing is complete with up-to-date contact details, business hours, and services. Add high-quality photos of your projects, as listings with photos get 42% more requests for directions (Field Camp)(Broadly).
- NAP Consistency: NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. Ensure this information is consistent across your website, social media profiles, and online directories. Search engines rely on this information to verify your business’s legitimacy.
- Encourage Reviews: Reviews play a big role in local rankings. Encourage satisfied clients to leave positive reviews on Google, Yelp, and Angi. Respond to both positive and negative reviews to show you value customer feedback (Hook Agency)(I Am Builders).
- Local Citations: Add your business to local directories such as Angi, HomeAdvisor, or Houzz. Citations from high-quality directories boost your local SEO, making it easier for people to find you (Field Camp)(WebFX).
By improving your Local SEO, you ensure your business will appear prominently in “near me” searches, significantly increasing your chances of attracting local customers.
3. Paid Advertising: A Quick Win for Contractors
For immediate lead generation, paid advertising like Google Ads and Facebook Ads are essential. Pay-per-click (PPC) ads allow you to target specific keywords such as “general contractor marketing” or “best advertising for contractors,” ensuring you reach the right audience quickly.
Contractor advertising ideas:
- Google Ads: Target high-intent keywords like “home contractors near me” or “local roofers.”
- Remarketing: Re-engage visitors who have visited your website without converting. Retargeting is highly cost-effective
- Facebook and Instagram Ads: Use visual ads showcasing completed projects to attract homeowners and businesses.
4. Email Marketing: A Cost-Effective Strategy
Email marketing is a tried-and-true method that still delivers one of the highest ROIs for contractors. By building an email list, you can nurture leads, provide project updates, and share promotional offers. Personalizing emails to fit the interests of your subscribers can significantly boost engagement.
Key Email Marketing Tips:
- Send newsletters with valuable content such as home improvement tips.
- Use email campaigns to remind past clients about seasonal services (e.g., exterior painting in spring).
- Include strong CTAs that lead prospects to request quotes or consultations.
5. Content Marketing: Build Authority and Trust
One of the best marketing strategies for contractors is content marketing. Creating high-quality, valuable content (e.g., blog posts, videos, infographics) not only improves your SEO but also builds trust with potential clients.
Here’s how to incorporate content marketing:
- Blog Posts: Write about contractor marketing tips, project advice, and “how-to” guides. Optimizing your blog for search terms like “general contractor digital marketing” can help you rank higher in search engines.
- Video Content: Show before-and-after project videos or DIY tips to engage your audience and boost shares on social media
6. Social Media Marketing: Stay Top of Mind
Social media is a powerful tool for contractor advertising. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer opportunities to showcase your work, connect with clients, and engage followers.
Best practices for social media:
- Post regularly with images and stories of your completed projects.
- Use LinkedIn for B2B networking, especially if you focus on commercial work
- Offer limited-time promotions to increase engagement and drive leads from platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
7. Reviews and Testimonials: The New Word of Mouth
Online reviews play a massive role in building trust. Encouraging clients to leave reviews on platforms like Google, Angi, or Yelp will boost your local SEO and increase conversions.
How to get and manage reviews:
- Follow up with satisfied clients post-project and ask for reviews.
- Respond to reviews, both positive and negative, to show you care about customer feedback
8. Lead Generation Services: Boost Your Project Pipeline
Lead generation services can be a fast and reliable way to secure new business, especially if you’re in the early stages of growing your construction company. Lead generation platforms are designed to connect contractors with clients actively seeking their services. While it’s essential to build organic traffic through SEO and content marketing, many contractors also benefit from lead generation services. Platforms like HomeAdvisor, Angi, and Houzz connect contractors with homeowners looking for specific services.
Popular Lead Generation Platforms:
- Angi (formerly Angie’s List): This platform allows contractors to list their business and get matched with clients in their service areas. Angi is particularly useful for home improvement contractors looking to grow their customer base.
- HomeAdvisor: This service connects homeowners with contractors for a variety of projects. Contractors receive qualified leads based on the homeowner’s specific needs and location.
- Houzz: Houzz is both a platform and an inspiration hub where homeowners look for home improvement ideas and contractors. Listings on Houzz allow potential clients to see portfolios and contact contractors directly
Benefits of Lead Generation Services:
- Consistent Leads: These platforms provide a steady flow of leads, which can help fill your project pipeline.
- Pre-Qualified Clients: Many of these platforms vet clients before they send them to you, ensuring the leads are more likely to convert.
- Cost-Effective: While some platforms charge per lead, the cost can be significantly lower than other marketing methods like PPC ads, and the leads are often more targeted.
By leveraging lead generation services, you can supplement your inbound marketing efforts and ensure that you’re constantly getting qualified project leads.
9. Create Case Studies and Use Testimonials
Case studies and testimonials are powerful tools to build trust with potential clients. They provide tangible proof of your expertise and the results you’ve delivered for others. Potential clients are more likely to choose a contractor who can demonstrate their experience with real-world examples. Some of the best marketing for contractors is simply showing off your best and recent projects.
Creating Effective Case Studies:
- Project Overview: Start by explaining the problem your client faced and how your services provided a solution. Include key details like the scope of work, materials used, and any challenges overcome.
- Visuals: Before-and-after photos, videos, and blueprints can make your case studies more engaging and informative.
- Results: Highlight measurable outcomes such as time saved, costs reduced, or quality improvements. For example, “We completed this roofing project two weeks ahead of schedule, saving the client $5,000 in labor costs.”
Testimonials are short statements from satisfied clients that endorse your services. These should be placed prominently on your website, in marketing materials, and on your Google Business Profile. Authentic reviews help build credibility and can be the deciding factor for potential clients.
10. Track and Refine Your Strategy
One of the most important aspects of a successful contractor marketing campaign is the ability to track and refine your strategy over time. Many contractors fail to review the performance of their campaigns, missing out on key insights that could help them improve.
Key Tracking Tools:
- Google Analytics: Track website performance to see which pages generate the most traffic and where visitors are dropping off. Look for key metrics like page views, average session duration, and bounce rates.
- Google Business Profile Insights: This tool provides valuable data on how customers find your business listing, what actions they take (like calling or requesting directions), and how your business compares to competitors in terms of visibility.
- Call Tracking Software: Many contractor leads come through phone calls. By using call tracking software, you can see which marketing channels are driving the most phone inquiries.
Refining Your Strategy:
- A/B Testing: Test different versions of your ads, landing pages, or email campaigns to see which perform better. For example, you could test two different headlines in a PPC campaign to see which one attracts more clicks.
- Budget Allocation: If you find that paid search ads are driving more qualified leads than social media ads, you might want to reallocate more of your budget toward search advertising(
By regularly reviewing your data and making adjustments, you’ll ensure your marketing efforts are continually optimized for the best results.
Conclusion
By implementing these contractor marketing tips, you can significantly improve your visibility, build trust, and attract more clients. From local SEO to content marketing and paid ads, the best marketing strategies for contractors involve a combination of digital and traditional methods. Start optimizing your marketing efforts today to stay ahead in the competitive world of contracting. Let us show you how H&W provides the best marketing for contractors.
by Harris & Ward | Aug 20, 2024 | Dental Marketing, Web Design
2024 Best Dental Websites: Elevate Your Practice’s Online Presence
In today’s digital age, having one of the best dental websites is more than just a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity for any practice looking to thrive. Your website serves as the virtual front door to your dental office, making the first impression on potential patients. A well-designed, user-friendly site not only reflects the professionalism of your practice but also plays a crucial role in attracting and retaining patients. In this post, we’ll explore what makes a dental website truly exceptional and how you can ensure yours stands out among the best dental websites in the industry.
1. Beaumont Kids Dentistry
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We’re kicking off this list with one of our standout designs — Beaumont Kids Dentistry. Located in Lexington, Kentucky, this pediatric practice has a lot to offer, from a kid-friendly environment and a dedicated dental team to all the different types of care needed for our little ones provided. Their newly designed office ensures every visit is a positive experience for both children and their parents.
One of our favorite aspects of this website is the vibrant, high-quality images and engaging visuals. We always recommend using original photos and videos for your website, and Beaumont Kids Dentistry exemplifies why. A visitor to this site can immediately sense the welcoming atmosphere, understand who they’ll be working with, and feel more confident in their decision to schedule a visit. Overall, it’s easy to see why this is one of the best dental websites because taking your child to the pediatric dentist should be fun for them, but modern for the parents.
2. Toothologie
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From general dentistry to cosmetic and sedation dentistry, Toothologie is here to satisfy all your dental needs. Situated in Union, KY, this practice is dedicated to building lasting relationships with their patients while helping them look after their smiles. With a state-of-the-art facility and friendly staff, Toothologie is here to guide patients through each step of their dental journey and find their most confident smile.
This site provides users immediate access to schedule an appointment. A visibly placed button on every page follows the user’s scroll, making it easy to contact Toothologie. At the very top of the page they also have a place where patients can pay online. This creates a very streamlined process for all users to satisfy any payments with a simple click, preventing any extra hassle.
3. Slone Dental
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Slone Dental specializes in both the health and beauty of their clients’ smiles. They craft unique dental plans tailored to each individual patients’ needs. Using what they have labeled as a “smile science” they utilize various digital resources to customize dental plans and provide patients with confidence in their new dental journey. They understand that not everyone has the same needs and wants and strive to provide the best dental care.
Sloane Dental’s website immediately impresses users with its high-quality images. The site features an office tour with premium photos, which gives patients a sense of comfort in knowing the environment. It also shows a level of professionalism when a site has such top-tier photos. This level of professionalism, showcased through top-tier images, instills confidence in users as they choose who to trust with their smiles.
4. Zirbel Orthodontics
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Zirbel Orthodontics focuses on a family-style mindset. Dr. Zirbel is not only interested in her patients’ dental journey, but also their life journey. This practice is dedicated to building relationships with their patients and seeing them grow through their orthodontic experience. For every client that sits in their chair, the staff is committed to providing a positive visit.
What makes this website so special is how accessible and easy it is to navigate. There aren’t tons of pages that lead into more dropdowns, which can be a hassle when a user is looking for one thing. It is very streamlined which provides a better user experience. The menu has 6 main categories that outline what the site has to offer. Making a site accessible to users is key keeping them on the site.
5. Graber & Gyllenhaal Orthodontics
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The Graber and Gyllenhaal site is highly dynamic and captures the user’s attention effectively. The use of varying fonts and emphasized words directs the client’s focus. Additionally, different colors highlight various sections, breaking up the content and enhancing readability. This approach not only makes the site easier to navigate but also more visually engaging. It provides users with a preview of upcoming text, allowing them to choose whether to read it thoroughly or skim through it. Overall, this design promotes a more positive user experience. See their full website transformation here.
6. SkyRidge Dental
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At Skyridge Dental’s website, the menu is prominently displayed so that when users scan the screen, it’s the first thing they notice. This menu serves as a clear outline for new visitors to see what’s available and helps returning users find specific information effortlessly. This approach makes it easier to organize and present information, preventing it from being buried in a sea of text. With this user-friendly menu, all necessary information is readily accessible, eliminating the need to sift through irrelevant pages. See their full website transformation here.
7. Wheeler Pediatric Dentistry
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Dr. Wheeler’s pediatric dentistry site exemplifies effective brand communication through web design. Aligning a website with a company’s brand is crucial for maintaining brand identity. Upon visiting this site, users and parents immediately recognize its focus on child-centered care. The use of playful graphics and vibrant colors creates a whimsical atmosphere, ensuring a positive experience for young patients. This thoughtful design not only portrays the practice’s brand but also resonates with their target clientele.
8. Wardlaw Orthodontics
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The layout of the Wardlaw Orthodontics website is a testament to thoughtful design and user experience. The homepage greets users with clear, visually appealing sections that highlight key services and information. Each page, especially the “Our Services” section, is designed with readability in mind. This intuitive layout not only enhances the user experience but also reflects Wardlaw Orthodontics’ commitment to providing exceptional care and transparency to their patients. Check out their full orthodontic website transformation.
9. Bourbon Family Dentistry
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An important aspect of any website is being concise, and the website for Bourbon Family Dentistry exemplifies this perfectly. The site features straightforward tabs that provide essential information without overwhelming users. On the “What We Do” page, details are presented in an easy-to-read format, ensuring that visitors can quickly understand the services offered. By avoiding confusing language and getting straight to the point, Bourbon Family Dentistry’s website makes it easy for patients to find the information they need.
10. White, Greer & Maggard
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To complete our list, we proudly highlight the website of White, Greer, and Maggard Orthodontics. The site stands out with its professionally shot photos and videos, showcasing the practice’s commitment to quality and attention to detail. When patients seek top-notch medical care, they look for providers who excel in every aspect of their work. The inclusion of high-quality videos on the website adds an extra layer of competence, reflecting the practice’s dedication to excellence. It reassures patients that White, Greer, and Maggard Orthodontics values the quality of their work, whether it’s creating a user-friendly website or crafting a beautiful new smile.
Wrapping up some of the Best Dental Websites of 2024…
We hope you enjoyed this showcase of the best dental websites that are raising the bar for the industry. But don’t worry—this isn’t the end! We’re committed to keeping this list fresh and exciting, so be sure to check back often for new additions. Whether you’re looking for inspiration or just curious to see the latest designs, we’ve got you covered with the best dental websites gracing the internet. Keep clicking, keep smiling, and let’s continue to celebrate the digital brilliance of dental practices!
by Harris & Ward | Jul 24, 2023 | Web Design, Harris & Ward
In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for the success of any business. A well-designed website serves as a virtual storefront, allowing potential customers to explore your products or services and learn more about your brand. If you’re ready to take your business online and create a website, this guide will walk you through the essential first steps to get started.
Establishing Your Goals For Your Website
Before diving into the website creation process, it’s essential to establish clear goals and objectives for your website. Ask yourself what you want to achieve with your online presence. Are you looking to generate leads, sell products directly, provide information, or establish your brand identity? Understanding your goals will help us shape the overall design and functionality of your website.
How Will You Structure & Design Your Website?
Organizing your website’s structure and navigation is also vital for user experience. Start by creating a sitemap that outlines the main sections and pages of your website. This may look different for everyone depending on your business. For example, a dental website sitemap could have pages that outline different treatment options, a staff page to meet the dentists, and a page with information on how to schedule an appointment. Different types of websites will have different pages and sections. It’s important to consider how you want your visitors to navigate through your content, ensuring it is intuitive and easy to follow. A well-structured website makes it effortless for users to find the information they are seeking.
The design of your website plays a significant role in attracting and retaining visitors. Create a visually appealing and user-friendly interface that aligns with your brand identity. Choose a color scheme, typography, and imagery that convey the right message and appeal to your target audience. Keep the design clean, consistent, and intuitive, ensuring effortless navigation and readability across devices.When meeting with clients to work on the design of a website, we start by asking if they already have a branding package. If the client only has a logo, we use their logo to pull colors and create a palette with 5-6 colors. Different colors evoke specific emotions and associations. For example, warm tones like red and orange can convey energy and passion, while cool blues and greens evoke a sense of calmness and tranquility. Understanding the psychological impact of colors helps in aligning the color scheme with the intended message and brand identity. Clients are given two options of color palettes to choose from to represent their brand.
Clients are also sent an on-boarding form when we start a project and this asks questions about the design and feel of the site. Some of the questions we ask clients are: Do you have any branding for your business? Will a logo revision be needed? Do you have any recent photography from the past 5 years? What is the primary goal of your website? Is there a design theme to your office or branding? Do you gravitate towards vibrant colors or neutral colors? Do you have a tagline? Are there any websites that you love? etc. These questions allow us to inform decisions for the design.
Fonts are usually determined by the feedback given on the on-boarding form. Mood boards can also be created to help get the look and feel clients are looking for nailed. A well-crafted mood board should evoke a specific mood or atmosphere. Consider the emotions you want your website visitors to experience. Do you aim for a vibrant and energetic vibe, or a calm and serene ambiance? Select images and colors that align with the desired emotional response.
Design styles are really important because different styles can portray the type of business you are and the message you are trying to convey to your customers. Some clients may want a website with a more professional feel versus others who may want a funky vibe. This can all be conveyed on a website through the color scheme, typography and branding. Design styles on websites act as a language, speaking to visitors and conveying messages beyond words. By carefully selecting a design style that aligns with your brand’s values, target audience, and intended message, you can create a visually compelling website that captivates users, communicates effectively, and leaves a lasting impression. Since this is so important, we work with clients to determine exactly what they are looking for during the on-boarding and design process.
Now It’s Time To Build Your Dream Website
After collecting this information about your design and layout, our production team will begin the wire-framing process. Wireframes serve as a skeletal representation of your website’s structure and layout. They focus on organizing content, determining page hierarchy, and mapping out navigation. Wireframes are typically created to allow you to visualize the website’s structure without getting distracted by visual design elements.
Once the wireframe is approved, we will proceed to the design phase, where we will work with developers to transform the wireframe into a visually appealing and interactive mockup. They will create a comprehensive representation of how your website will look and function. The mockup will showcase the website’s color scheme, typography, imagery, and other visual elements, allowing you to envision the final product. We also offer professional photography and videography for small businesses so your website can have pictures and videos that show off your company.
The mockup is not a final product but rather a starting point for collaborative feedback and refinement. Our team will share the mockup with you, seeking your input and suggestions. Your feedback is crucial in this stage as it ensures the design aligns with your expectations and preferences. Together, we will make necessary revisions and adjustments until it accurately represents your desired website design.
After multiple rounds of feedback and refinement, we will present the finalized mockup for your approval. Once you are satisfied with the design and functionality, we will build out your site with our content writers and web developers.
Prioritizing The User Experience On Your Website
Before launching your site, we will do testing to make sure everything is user-friendly and technically sound. In addition, our website hosting service offers routine maintenance checks to keep your site live and secure and make sure everything is working correctly. We monitor website performance, uptime, and speed, addressing any issues promptly. Regular backups and security checks are conducted to safeguard your website and protect it from potential threats. Additionally, we stay on top of software updates, ensuring that your website is running on the latest versions of content management systems, plugins, and other essential components.
After creating your website, our agency also performs search engine optimization (SEO) maintenance. We conduct keyword research, analyze website analytics, and optimize meta tags, headings, and content to ensure that your website is easily discoverable by search engines. By staying on top of algorithm changes and best practices, they help your website maintain a competitive edge in search rankings.
Looking For A Website To Match the Quality of Your Business?
Our company offers website design for a variety of clients including dentists, orthodontists, chiropractors, optometrists, financial advisors, and many more small businesses. Our team creates affordable websites and provides video and photography services to get your website started. If your business is seeking a new website, visit our website to get started!
Top 6 Elements of Great Web Design
by Todd Boak | Sep 5, 2022 | Web Design
Website Design Tips for Financial Advisors
As a professional, you know it pays to make a strong first impression. With more people searching online for the financial advice they need, sometimes, your website makes that impression for you.
An out-of-date website could tell potential clients your expertise is out-of-date, too.
38% of people will stop engaging with a site if the design isn’t appealing. With that in mind, here are nine website design tips to help you upgrade your website.
With these tips for financial advisors, you can make a strong first impression that helps you build your business.
1. Know Your Audience
Before you start making changes to your website, it helps to know who you’re making these changes for.
Determine your target audience. Are you looking for clients in specific industries? Once you know your niche, start researching.
What are their likes and dislikes? What financial problems are they facing that they require help with?
By answering these questions, you can update your design and content to reflect your clients’ needs.
As you continue reading these website design tips, keep your audience in mind. You can even research your competitors to determine what finance industry web design trends are working (and which flop).
For an extra website tip, make sure you’re offering your clients valuable content, too. This can include blog posts or white papers that reflect your clients’ distinct needs. By providing them this content, you can show your clients that you’re the helpful, informative resource they need.
2. Keep It Simple
As you start implementing these website design tips, make sure to keep it simple.
Don’t clutter your pages with large images or dizzying animations. Too much on a single page can overwhelm your site visitors. It can also slow down the page.
People don’t want to wait around for a page to load. A one-second delay can cause a 7% decrease in conversions.
Check for elements that are dragging your page speed.
Improving your website load time can also improve your search engine optimization. The faster your page loads, the likely you can get a higher ranking. The higher you rank on search engines, the more site traffic you can get.
If you need help using these website design tips, consider using a minimalist approach. The minimalist design will keep your site visitors focused on your content. Instead of distracting them with images, you can drive them towards a form.
That way, you can keep people on your website and direct them toward becoming a lead.
3. Add White Space
Once you have the essentials on the page, it’s essential to consider how to arrange them.
Even if you’re only using a few design elements, you can still end up cluttering the page. To make sure you give your design elements room to breathe, add white space.
White space makes it easier for people to read your website content.
Instead of overwhelming them with imagery, you can direct them toward a conversion opportunity. A cleaner design can also keep you from distracting site visitors.
That way, they stay focused on the reason they visited your website in the first place (to seek financial advice).
4. Make Sure It’s Mobile
The majority of people are checking sites from their mobile phones. If your website isn’t optimized for smaller screens, you’re missing out on potential customers.
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
Otherwise, people have to pinch and squint to read your content.
Mobile-friendly websites should also load quickly, too. If they’re forced to wait, your site visitors might leave and seek financial advisors elsewhere.
Google uses the mobile version of your website to determine your search ranking. By improving your mobile site, you can rank higher on search pages and in time, attract new customers to your business.
5. Get Engaging with Videos
Video content can give a face, name, and voice to your company. Video content on your landing pages can increase conversions by over 80%. More people are choosing to watch videos instead of skim-reading page copy.
The finance industry web design can benefit from videos, too.
Add a video above the fold of your website design. Make sure you engage people. Then, finish your video off with a strong CTA (more on this below).
6. Eye-Catching CTAs
Your CTA, or call-to-action, inspires site visitors to take action.
What do you want people to do once they’re on your website? Maybe you’d like them to fill out a form, call, or subscribe to your newsletter. Either way, make sure this action is clear.
Use your CTA in a headline, body text, or a CTA button.
Your button should stand out on the page. For example, if the page background is white, use a pop of color on your button to draw the eye.
7. Demonstrate Credibility
Why should people trust you for financial advice?
Show people, you’re a credible resource in your field by posting reviews from happy customers.
You can also feature case studies and statistics on your website to show interested clients you’re there to help.
8. Use High-Quality Imagery
Imagery can help set the mood on your website. For example, cartoons or blurry photos won’t make you look like a professional, credible company. Instead, use high-quality images to show your professionalism.
If you can’t find the right stock photography, higher a professional photographer. They can take images at your business to add professionalism and authenticity to your website design.
9. Know Your Value
As you’re using these website design tips, consider your firm’s value. What do you offer that no other financial advisor can?
Then, focus on this value within the design. In your page copy, make sure it’s clear that you have something to offer your clients. By focusing on this value, you can make sure you stand out from the crowd.
Otherwise, why should potential clients choose you?
A Fine Idea: 9 Website Design Tips for Financial Advisors
Your clients are looking for someone they can trust—so show them they can trust you. With these website design tips, you can upgrade your website and make a stronger first impression with your clients.
Ready to give your website an upgrade? Tell us your story today.
by harrisward | Jun 1, 2022 | Web Design
About 65% of businesses say generating website traffic is among their top marketing challenges. Without quality traffic, you’ll never generate leads or sales. Your entire digital marketing strategy could suffer as a result.
Before that happens, use these tips to start generating traffic to your dental website. With these digital marketing tips, you can help your dental practice grow.
As more people find your website, they can discover the benefits of choosing your dental services. Then, you can book more appointments, help more patients, and grow your practice!
Read on to generate traffic to your website today.
Understand Your Audience
Before using the rest of these digital marketing tips, take a moment to gather research. Researching your audience will help you determine the best way to attract them to your website. If your content doesn’t appeal to their needs, they won’t visit.
Consider who your customers are by gathering demographic and psychographic research. For example, you can create buyer personas based on:
- Pain points
- Buying behaviors
- Online behaviors
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Salary
- Education
- Career
- Hobbies
- Interests
- Language
Focus on the pain points your customers are experiencing. Understanding their pain points can help you create content that aligns with their needs. You’ll have an easier time becoming a go-to resource for your customers if you offer them helpful solutions.
To strengthen your business marketing strategy, gather keyword research for each group. Keyword research can help you determine what questions your customers ask while online.
You can use these tools to develop a list of target keywords:
- Ahrefs
- SEMRush
- Answer the Public
- Google Trends
- Keyword Planner
Focus on long-tail keywords that include four or more words. These are more precise, allowing you to understand the consumer’s needs.
For example, it’s easier to understand “how to tell you have a cavity” over the short-tail keyword “cavity.” The latter could mean the consumer wants to know what causes a cavity or how to treat a cavity. A broad keyword will make it more difficult for you to write content your patients want to read.
Create Informative Content
Consider three topics you want to cover on your dental website’s blog. For example, you might cover oral hygiene, cosmetic dentistry, and orthodontic treatment.
Then, select three subtopics for each main topic. Under cosmetic dentistry, you might choose teeth whitening, veneers, and implant dentistry. Make sure to gather a list of target keywords for each subtopic you select.
Use your keyword research to inform your content marketing strategy. Select a target keyword from your list before writing your content. Otherwise, trying to add the keyword into the post after the fact can make it sound awkward.
When creating content for your dental website, make sure it’s engaging and informative. Helpful content can help you generate traffic. If your content doesn’t provide patients with value, they’ll leave.
As people leave your site, your bounce rate will increase, impacting your search engine rankings. As your rankings drop, potential patients might struggle to find you online.
Use SEO
Nearly 70% of all online activity begins on a search engine like Google. With search engine optimization (SEO), you can appear as patients search for a dental practice. Improving your rankings will help you generate traffic.
Make sure to optimize each page on your website with a target keyword. Your target keyword should appear in the:
- Page title
- URL
- Opening paragraph
- Body text
- Closing paragraph
- An H1 header
- SEO title and meta description
- Image file name and alt text
The SEO title and meta description will appear on search engine result pages (SERPs). Make sure they’re engaging and attractive to boost your clickthrough rate. Improving your clickthrough rate will help your rankings improve.
Go Local
As part of your SEO strategy, it’s important to consider local SEO. Start by optimizing your Google Business listing. Your listing can help patients find your location, phone number, and website.
They can click on the link to your site to explore your dental services.
Ask your patients to post their reviews on your listing as well. Positive reviews can boost your credibility, encouraging more people to explore your practice.
Generate Backlinks
Backlinks will send visitors on other websites to your dental website. You can generate backlinks by guest blogging. Otherwise, consider hiring a dental marketing agency that offers link-building services.
Generating backlinks will further improve your organic rankings.
Design Eye-Catching Ads
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising will help you reach patients on social media, Google SERPs, and other websites. When someone clicks on your ads, they’ll reach a landing page on your site.
You can use your demographic and keyword research to ensure your ads appear in front of prospective patients.
Create both text and display ads. You can use display ads to generate brand awareness.
Start Using Social Media
You can reformat your blog posts for the social media platforms your patients frequent. Social media marketing can also help you boost engagement.
For example, you can host a live Q&A video session to answer questions and concerns your patients have about their dental hygiene. You can also use Story stickers to create polls, quizzes, and other forms of interactive content.
Add a link to your site to generate traffic to the full blog post.
Work With Influencers
Expand your reach on social media by working with an influencer. Influencers can promote your dental website to their existing audience.
Otherwise, consider posting user-generated content. Ask your patients to tag them in their photos when they talk about your dental services. Then, share their content to boost your brand visibility and credibility.
Analyze and Optimize
Analyze the results from your digital marketing campaigns to determine which strategies helped you generate the most traffic. Check Google Analytics to determine where consumers arrive from, too. For example, you can determine which visitors found you on SERPs or through social media.
Use your analytics to adjust and optimize your campaigns to generate more traffic in the future.
Brush Up: Start Generating Traffic to Your Dental Website Today
Developing a strong digital marketing strategy can help you generate traffic to your dental website. As you generate more traffic, you’ll have the chance to help new patients. Get started with these easy tips.
Otherwise, consider partnering with an experienced digital marketing agency. An agency can manage your campaigns while you help patients.
Eager to get started? We’re happy to help.
Harris & Ward has been selected among the Top AdWords Agencies by DesignRush. Contact us today!
by harrisward | Nov 29, 2021 | Dental Marketing, Google, Web Design
Did you know that 94% of the first impressions of your website are design-related?
A poorly designed website can lead to a negative user experience in which the user clicks off your page. Not only might they go to your competitors, but these potential customers now have a negative impression of your company.
So no matter how good your content is, you need to focus just as much on the elements of web design so your site is easy to use and is pleasing to the eye.
To help you, we’ve compiled the top 6 elements that every well-designed website should include. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know to create a website your customers will love.
1. Bold colors and images
Your color palette is a vital component of making sure your business materials are cohesive and on-brand.
Think about what primary and secondary colors you’d like to use on your website. Then, think about whether they represent your brand. You can use the principles of color psychology to help you.
You can also use what’s called a hero image on your main page. A hero image is located at the top of your main page and acts as an oversized banner.
The hero image should be high resolution, add value, and reflect your company’s unique selling point (USP). The hero image can also be a short video.
Since all of the images of your website should reflect your brand, it’s a good idea to take your own photos instead of relying on stock images.
2. Clean and Eye-catching Typography
While you may love that new elegant, handwritten font you found, this type of font isn’t the best option for use on your entire website.
Think about the title/logo fonts of social media sites like Instagram and Twitter. Not only is their font easy to read, but you’d recognize it as their brand even without the logo.
Good web design uses fonts that are easy to read, catch your viewer’s eye, and also help establish your brand identity.
Some best practices when choosing your font are:
- Black or gray typography
- Text larger than 16 pixels
- Enough space between the lines
- Fonts that are standard for the web
If you want to add a handwritten font to add a more personalized and friendly touch to your site, use it sparingly. Make sure it fits with your brand story and use it in places like captions or when emphasizing certain words.
3. Search Bar
You might think that a search bar isn’t necessary if your menus are well-organized, but it’s a vital part of good web design.
While a potential customer may not need the search bar if they have no problems finding your contact information, they might need it when looking for a specific product, blog post, or any older information.
You also want to reduce the number of clicks that users need to make to get the information they’re looking for. This reduces the chances that they’ll click off your website and go to a competitor’s website instead.
The best design for a search bar is that it’s easy to use and find on the page without interfering with your content. You can add a magnifying glass icon to make the search bar even easier to find.
4. Mobile-Friendly
Over 2 billion people use their smartphones to access the Internet, and this number is only expected to grow.
So if your website looks bad on mobile, is difficult to navigate, or doesn’t load at all, you can expect that your viewers will click off the page and go to your competitors instead.
Since creating a mobile-friendly website is very difficult if you’re not a web developer, you’ll want to get a web design SEO agency to help you.
Don’t forget to test site speed both on mobile and desktop, as a slow website will only make users click off the page and be unlikely to return.
5. Powerful Calls to Action
If you don’t have a call to action, you’re missing out on sales and making it difficult for website visitors to contact you.
A call to action (CTA) is text that prompts your website viewer, customer or lead to take action. A few examples of common CTAs include:
- Buy now!
- Subscribe to our newsletter for 15% off
- Learn more
- Contact us
To create the right CTA for your website, first determine the purpose of your site. Then, create an easy-to-see action button that would make sense for your website.
For example, if you’re an e-commerce store, include a button for customers to sign up to your email list. If you’re a local mechanic, an essential CTA is a “contact me now” button.
6. Simple and Intuitive Navigation
Your website visitors shouldn’t have to click all around to find what they’re looking for, nor should they be confused when using your website.
One way to make your website navigation simple is to use minimal navigation menus. You also want to use a drop-down menu at the top of your website to reduce visual clutter.
The must-haves for navigation include:
- Showing users where they are on your site
- A “home” button
- Directions or prompts, if needed
The best good website design examples are ones that let the user find what they are looking for without help.
If you’re not sure how usable your website is, think about conducting a usability test to see how users are navigating your website in real-time.
Include These Vital Elements of Web Design
Effective and clear web design not only makes it easy for users to navigate your site but builds trust by creating a positive impression of your brand.
Whether you have a website already or are looking to build one, include these important elements of web design to create a beautiful site that users will love.
Still have questions? Harris & Ward can help. Our skilled team of digital creatives specializes in seamless web design that facilitates growth for your brand and business.
Ready to create an eye-catching and easy-to-navigate website? Contact us today to get started.
