Understanding the role your website plays in your business can help convert visitors into leads and sales, just by highlighting contact details appropriately. Read on to find out more about generating leads through your website visitors.

I recently worked with a client who didn’t want us to make their phone number and address prominent on their website, saying, “If a customer wants to contact me, they’ll find my contact page”.

There are certainly websites where this approach is appropriate, but the chances are that if you want your website to generate leads for your business, then settling for a simple contact page is probably not going to do the job.

Generating leads is the number one objective of most websites, regardless of whether they’re simple information sites or e-commerce sites.

All too often, strategising about a website involves discussions on design and attracting site visitors, rather than working out how to maximise the conversion of visitors into paying customers.

For most lead generation websites, my advice is simple. Don’t be afraid to heavily promote the various ways that website visitors can contact you. In addition, you should ensure that website visitors understand that you actually want them to get in touch.

Here are six ways of generating leads through your website visitors.

1. Include a phone number at the top right of every page of your website, and if appropriate, also include your physical address at the bottom.
2. Ensure key site pages contain strong calls to action (for example banners or buttons). I recommend that some of these calls to action contain a phone number or other contact method.
3. If you want to encourage people to visit you in person, show your location on important site pages using a map, photograph or address.
4. Include a short contact form on every page of your website, promising a quick response when submitted.
5. Ensure that the content on most site pages ends with a prompt for site visitors to contact you using a supplied phone number or a link to your contact page.
6. Your site should have a traditional contact page that is referred to throughout your website and included in the main site navigation (not buried in the footer). This page should include details of all possible contact methods. It also needs to state your commitment to privacy and the time you’ll take to respond to enquiries.

Different visitors will prefer different contact methods. Put simply, the more options you give people, the more leads you’ll receive. The more often site visitors are asked to contact you, the more likely it is that they will.

Are you speaking with as many of your website visitors as possible? Or do you ask your prospects to work a little bit harder before becoming a genuine customer?