More inputs = more outputs:

Earlier this week in Part 1 of this blog we outlined 4 onpage SEO methods to instantly improve your website.

In this part we will outline 4 more ways to improve your website.  

These steps are more involved from a continous improvement standpoint but they will fundamentally change how you engage with your prospects online and generate leads for the better.

As per the heading, the message here is simple, the more you put into these steps, the better the results you will see...

1. Blog
   
   If you haven’t set one up yet do it ASAP.  
   
   Business Blogging, that is, consistently creating content about your industry with relevant content that your customers find useful is the best way to get ranked on Google without paying for PPC.
   
   Consistent, fresh, relevant content by way of blogs that is geared towards your strategic keywords gives the search engines greater opportunity to find your website and rank you for more keywords.  
   
   The more content created the more keywords you are ranked for = more traffic to your site.
   
   Best practices:
   
   - Write for your buyer personas
   - Write and publish often
   - Create catchy titles - numbers are great, lists are awesome...
   
   
2. Call to action
   
   Calls to Action (CTA’s) are the buttons on websites that sell us on an offer - 'Get Your Ebook on XYZ', 'Get a Free Trial' etc. etc.
   
   Compelling CTA’s can make or break a website in terms of lead generation and it’s very much a case of quality and quantity.  You ideally want at least 3 CTA’s per page across all stages of the buyer’s journey.
   
   Best practices:
   
   - Use action orientated language - start with words like Download, Get, Register...
   - Visually compelling - you want your CTA to draw the visitors eye and make the want to click through to the landing page
   - Create multiple CTA’s per page
   - Add them in every single blog post
   - Keep them above the fold - don’t hide them from your visitors
   
   
   
3. Social Sharing Icons
   
   Your website should be sharable by your visitors across all the major platforms.  
   
   This means Google+, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and potentially also Xing for our DACH colleagues.
   
   Apps like SumoMe make this really easy to set up and get moving in minutes.  The same applies for your blog posts.  
   
   Using social sharing as a route to get your content shared is a fundamental tenet of content marketing.
   
   Best practices:
   
   - Make it easy for your visitors to share the content 
   - Use the major social networks
   - Have social sharing options on every page
   
   
   
4. Email Subscription box
   
   Don’t believe the naysayers, email marketing is alive and well and still pulling the most consistent conversion numbers for on-line marketing.
   
   Using email capture forms for newsletter or blog update subscription is a key way to build up your lead lists of willing and attentive prospects.  
   
   Use them on your homepage, on your blog homepage - again, apps like SumoMe have great solutions and website add-ons for free.
   
   Best Practices:
   
   - Don’t be greedy - an email address is all you need at first.  Reduce friction to convert at all costs
   - Use action orientated language - Sign up Here, Register Now, Join Now, Join Free are some examples

By following the above tips your website will be better than most standard sites out there.  

Of course, this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a holistic, forward thinking on-line marketing strategy.  

With the results from the above tips you should see the value in applying greater focus on the digital marketing elements of your business and realise that the more investment and rigour applied the better the results ultimately - short, medium and long term.