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Over 90% of B2B businesses now start their research process for purchasing new products and services online. In the manufacturing sector the story is no different, which is a fantastic opportunity if you have a great website already. However, if digital isn't currently your main focus, it could be time to reassess the role your manufacturing website plays within your sales process and how you approach digital marketing going forward.
Making sure your website can be found by prospects and that it converts prospects into leads is vitally important for driving new sales. If your website could be performing better, take a look at the five b2b website design points below. These are areas which you could easily optimise your site for to improve lead generation.
Keywords and inbound links
Optimising your website for search engines is an important factor to help you get found by prospects. Website assets such as content, inbound links, keyword rankings, and conversion tools are critical to a strong web presence.
Make sure you're optimising your pages for the right keywords that get a reasonable search volume, but aren't too difficult to rank for. Building more links back to your site from referring domains will also help with SEO and improve your website ranking.
If you're struggling to get to grips with SEO, check out this handy infographic
Clear navigation and user journey
A well optimised website isn't about having all the bells and whistles. In fact, too many all singing all dancing features can be a distraction for website visitors.
Go back to the drawing board and think about what you want the website to achieve for the business - keep your goals in mind and remember that simplicity is best. Simple and clear navigation will help guide visitors through the site, making it easier to convey key messages and product benefits. A clear user journey will also lead the visitor to a clear call to action, increasing conversions.
Fresh content
It is also important to consider that buyer decision making processes have changed and your website needs to fulfill the associated information requirements differently. Original content is a crucial aspect of your brand positioning and messaging; it will inform your prospects on what you do, and how passionately you do it. With a vast array of formats to create content on, you should always be continuously contributing original content to keep your audience engaged and constantly interacting with your website.
Landing pages
Landing pages are an essential component of any website that performs well as a sales tool and are increasingly becoming a key part of the B2B marketing toolkit. Your landing pages should be used to host different pieces of content such as a webinars, whitepapers or reports. The aim is to provide an offer that your visitors will be prepared to exchange some contact details for, turning your website into a lead capture and conversion machine.
Responsive design
Mobile internet browsing is set to overtake fixed access internet browsing this year so preparing your website for mobile browsing is essential. This doesn't mean creating a separate mobile site - the latest developments in website design mean responsive websites accommodate desktop, mobile and tablet visitors to your website.
Not optimising for mobile could mean that you'll see a reduction in traffic and leads, over 80% of consumers have said they've gone to a competitor's site after having a bad mobile experience.
To conclude...
If your website is missing a few of the above features, don't despair, this doesn't mean you'll need to start from scratch. Inbound marketing tactics such as SEO and content can be easily incorporated into your existing site and are twice as effective as traditional website redesign elements. Download our guide below for advice on where to start.