A world without the internet is difficult to imagine nowadays. As of April 2022, over five billion people have access to the internet, which makes up 63.1% of the global population.
So, it’s not surprising to discover that many of these people use the internet to search for products, read reviews, and find the information they need to make a purchasing decision.
The big question is, what do you do to stand out and get people to purchase your product instead of someone else’s?
Of course, answering this question is not that easy. If it were, everyone would be successful. But there are some things you can do in terms of design to upgrade your web marketing strategy, and here are our tips and strategies.
Consider your target audience.
Your target audience is the first factor you should consider when it comes to web marketing and even marketing in general.
There are three types of information you should know about your target audience: demographics, purchase intentions, and personal interests.
Demographics refers to information about the target audience’s age, education, geographic location, gender, income, and similar. This information will help you determine what kind of brand voice is best for your business, which social media platforms you should be present on, and what you need to do to meet their needs and attract them.
Purchase intentions tell you where your potential customers are in the marketing and sales funnel. Some of them are simply aware of your brand, others are in the research stage but not ready to buy yet, and some people have already decided to purchase a certain product from your brand.
Based on this information, you can segment your audience to make sure they progress down the funnel.
At last, personal interests are related to the person’s hobbies, passions, and behavior. It can tell you what kind of movies they watch, the books they read, or the music they listen to. This is how YouTube, for instance, creates a list of recommendations.
Based on this information, you will determine what kind of design is best for your business.
Make a scrollable homepage.
A little while ago, web designers were worried that users wouldn’t scroll down the homepage. Because of that, they would cram quite a lot of elements into a very small space.
This myth was debunked in 2018 when the study by Nielsen Norman Group showed that nearly 80% of the viewing time was spent in the first two screenfuls. After that, many experts on website design in Washington DC, and other cities started creating longer homepages.
So, don’t be afraid to do the same and use the extra space you have wisely.
Create good navigation.
Having good navigation is crucial because it’s what guides users through the website and ensures that it’s accessible. Your goal is to allow the users to find the information they need easily and quickly.
The goal is to make the website intuitive, clear, and structured. If you have a careers page, don’t bury it someplace where potential hires can’t find it. The more people have to search for something, the more they’re likely to give up and go someplace else.
The navigation system should be at the top of the page or on the left side. It should remain present when moving from one page to the next.
We also advise you to avoid putting too many links in the navigation bar. Aim for having between 4 and 15 links.
Remove distractions.
Having too many elements on a webpage can detract from the message you’re trying to convey. Complex animations, overly-long content, and stock-like images won’t help you win over your target audience; they’ll confuse and overwhelm them.
And it’s not just the content and images, it’s also the colors. Use too many bold colors randomly, and users will become confused as to where they’re supposed to click next.
So, don’t be afraid of white space. Choose your battles instead and use one element at a time.
Include social proof.
People are more likely to buy something if they see other people liking it, especially if they don’t have a recommendation from a close friend or a family member. Because of that, you should try to include some kind of social proof on your landing pages.
You could go for a couple of testimonials or reviews, but you can also publish case studies or research, awards, customer data, or even user-generated content.
For instance, you could use photos from your customers of them using your product. Or, you can include interesting infographics to showcase the results of your research.
Make pricing easily available.
Be honest: is there anything more annoying than looking for the pricing list for half an hour, only to find the ‘request pricing’ button? Clearly, you’ll end up frustrated and suspicious. What are they trying to hide anyway? Are they too expensive? In the end, you’ll probably give up on calling.
As you can tell, this can do more harm than good, which is why we advise businesses to put their price list in a visible place.
Remember – those who can’t afford your services aren’t likely to change their mind just because they talked to you. But, those that can afford them might give up just because you haven’t been transparent enough.
To sum up
We hope that you’ll find these web marketing tips useful. Sure, they may not look or sound very dramatic, but they can help you improve your web marketing performance and increase your conversion rates.
So, do you plan on trying them out?