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Take a moment to reflect on this scenario: it’s the beginning of a new month, and it’s time to assess the new leads you’ve gained from last month. Reality sinks in, as you realize another month has gone by with unsatisfactory results. Minus signs and red downward arrows flood your screen, as your bounce rate and session durations are struggling once again. You think to yourself, “why aren’t any of our visitors converting?”
Let’s take a step back and search for the root of the problem. Here’s how you can properly assess your website’s lead generation, and improve results in the process.
Assessing your website’s lead generation through session duration
Understanding your lead generation starts with recognizing how a new website visitor would become a lead in the first place. If your visitor-to-lead conversion rates are struggling, you may not have enough conversion opportunities on your website. Likewise, opportunities that do appear may not be the most engaging or relevant. To best assess your conversion rates, observe the individual bounce rate and session durations on your website pages, to see which areas aren’t holding visitors’ attention. If you’re noticing weak numbers, there’s likely not enough compelling conversion opportunities available.
What does a lead conversion path look like?
Based on the previously mentioned bounce rate, it can be helpful to do an internal test run of your website’s conversion paths. Putting yourself in a visitor’s shoes, what would your session look like as a stranger to the company’s website? Here’s an example of how a conversion path could ideally work when a visitor reaches your website:
- The visitor reaches your website’s homepage. Let’s say they found you organically by typing “digital marketing companies in NYC” into a search engine.
- From your homepage, they should ideally learn what your company does, who it helps, and a general idea of your company’s brand and tone.
- After scrolling down the page, they find a prominent link that leads them to a blog page about the “top challenges digital marketing agencies face today.”
- Upon clicking the page and reading through this content piece, they are presented with a CTA to download an eBook about “7 best practices digital marketers should know for improving their marketing performance.”
- The visitor has already been engaged with your company and content and finds this eBook offering relevant to them. They fill out a form and download the eBook, becoming a new lead as a result.
What about converting visitors with landing pages?
Not all of your forms will exist as pop-ups or embedded on a blog page; sometimes your content offers will be housed on a landing page. If you dig into your landing page metrics—such as bounce rate—it’s easier to know if the page is correctly doing its job. A higher bounce rate means the visitor isn't taking any desired actions. You can use these strategies to increase engagement on your landing pages:
- Use a relevant image that can provide visual information about the offer the visitor will receive in exchange for their personal info. For example, if your offer is an eBook, a preview of one or two pages could be helpful.
- Use bullet points to list key points covered in the content piece you are offering.
- Leave out filler copy from your landing pages. It makes the page cluttered and diminishes the engagement a visitor will have.
- Make sure your forms ask for information that’s a fair trade for the content piece the visitor will receive. You don’t want to discourage them with too many personal questions—for most offers, you’ll want to stick with their full name, email, and maybe company name or industry.
With these strategies, your company will have the right methods in place to encourage more website conversions and generate new leads. It’s an improvement that will take time and persistence, but you’ll be off to a great start! If you’re looking for more lead generation strategies, you may download our 30 Tips for Lead Generation eBook.
