Avoiding the Internet Billboard - Incentivizing Your Website

One question that's sure to come up when any website owner is dissatisfied with their traffic numbers/conversion numbers/what have you is The Big One: "How can I draw more traffic?" And, if they're thinking with a bit of strategy behind them, this question will hopefully be, "How can I draw more qualified traffic?"

As any wet-behind-the-ears web marketer knows, it's really not that hard to increase a site's hits. The trick is attracting the right people and incentivizing.

Incentivizing. Offering value to your visitors. You must do it. Your website is not a billboard.

This seems to be a staggeringly obvious, "well, DUH" statement, but it can be difficult to move past the idea of the website as a simple, traditional sales tool. It's a brochure on a computer, right? An internet commercial, if you will.

But the problem with not incentivizing your website is this: people don't have to be there. When you're driving, plopped in front of the TV, or otherwise trapped by the advertising powers-that-be, the biggest advantage they have is that really...you can't do much about it! You're a captive audience, and you will watch this commercial for mops and that's that.

And of course, that's not how the internet works. Users are drawn to your site because they need something - information, a product or service, entertainment. They're actively seeking out what you've got!

This is the big advantage that a lot of internet-based advertising has over the traditional, shotgun-style mass market approach: pay-per-click ads and search engine optimization, when done properly, will ensure that the right audience finds your site on their own. And therein, simultaneously, a huge weakness - the user is in control! They're not in front of the TV and the remote is on the other couch, or stuck in traffic and staring at a billboard; all they need to do is click the "Back" button.

Here's where incentivizing comes in - you've got an interested, qualified prospect hitting your page. Chances are, you've got some competitors that offer a similar product, service, or content. Providing visitors with an incentive to do what you want them to do will immediately give you a step up over other sites that just say, "Well, here's our stuff. NOW GIVE ME SOME MONEY."

So what are some incentives? Well, that depends on what you're looking for from your website.

1. Lead Generation. What services you provide, site design, how you present the company, etc - all these things are very basic and certainly affect the number of leads you get. However, between 2 similar companies, all things being equal, the one that provides an incentive for filling out a "Contact Us" form will probably get more leads. These incentives can be coupons, white papers, 50% off first month's service, etc - it really doesn't have to be much! The idea of getting something for free is a pretty big draw in itself.
2. Lots of traffic. As always, nothing pulls traffic like quality content. Controversial, informative, entertaining, useful - solid content is, by far, the best way to increase and maintain visitor numbers. And don't assume that just because you sell bumpers for industrial graders that you can't have interesting content! Start a blog and post - show your passion through your writing, and people with similar interests will come.
3. Product Sales. This goes without saying - price and free stuff have a lot of pull here! "Limited Time Reduced Shipping", "Free Widget with Every Gadget Purchased" - again, with all other things being equal, incentivizing the purchase will bring more transactions your way.

In closing - take a serious look at your website. Get into the perspective of a first-time visitor - they've found your site, they're already interested in what you've got. What's the value you're offering the user? Why should they submit their info for your sales team? Why should they spend time browsing your site if all you've got on every page is sales jargon but nothing they can use? Where's the value?

Just as no one would volunteer for more commercials or more billboards along their morning commute, no one will spend time on a website that offers them nothing in return. Delivering solid content or other incentives will show visitors something of value, and keep them coming back.