Advertising has changed because of the internet and if your marketing materials are not positioned to capture leads, your ads will not work. 

Let’s start with Google shall we?

Google continues to be the most popular search engine capturing 92% of the search market.

There are two ways to be discovered on Google and both cost money.

One way is to come up in search organically and the second way is to advertise.

Note that while organic search yields better results because people inherently trust organic search more than ads, advertising still brings in 30% of the market share on Google.

In other words, both work and both can be used concurrently if you have the budget. If not, I’d start with 👉search engine optimization for organic results.

But you can’t just be found on Google, send prospects to your website and expect results.

Since your website is the final stop for anyone searching for you, whether on Google or on social media, it’s the single most important marketing tool at your disposal.

✨Your website needs to be able to capture or convert leads.✨

Without a great website in place, your advertising efforts will be in vain.

Here’s how a website converts.

✅Your website needs to be easy to navigate and understand.

• It can’t be a maze with internal pages making it unclear how to get back to where the user started or how to find the homepage.
• It can’t be so convoluted that your leads can’t find the information they’re looking for.
• It can’t have too much information with no clear direction. Meaning visitors (leads) need to quickly understand where to go next and what to click.

✅Your website needs to take your ideal client on a journey and keep them on your site as long as possible by encouraging them to explore internal pages and then to take action by either contacting you, or purchasing from you or getting on your list.

✅Your website needs to be clear on what it’s selling, who it’s selling to and with what results.

• This means that if you’re a jack of all trades, you’ll get a much higher bounce rate (prospects leaving your site quickly) because you won’t be able to clarify your message. Niche down to prevent this from happening.

✅Finally a great website needs to capture leads that don’t convert so that you have the opportunity to convert them through email campaigns. If you don’t have a lead magnet yet, create one!

If you’re just starting out, don’t let this list scare you.

You have an advantage because you have a clean slate. Now that you know what a website should have in order to convert, you can either hire a designer to create a professional website or use a DIY site like Showit to create a site that makes you look like a pro.

Oh and one last note 💁🏼‍♀️, all your marketing tools, including your website need social proof.

What this looks like on your website is in the form of *testimonials* showing evidence that others have used and liked your services.

Start collecting your testimonials in writing.

Next week I’ll explain how advertising effectively on Facebook or Instagram and social proof go hand in hand.

Have questions about advertising on Google? Comment below!