Clicks but no leads

[Gemma R]

Hi, I've been doing google adwords for a good six months now. It's very targeted at specific customers. Basically I run a branding and packaging company and so all of these keywords are in the keyword search and in the advert itself. But for some reason, and I'm sure its content related on my website, I just dont seem to really drive any sales from it. I might as well be chucking my money down the toilet every month.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can improve my conversion rate into some leads?

Thanks
Gemma

 

[Ali-v-8]

I have taken a look.
You have adsense on your home page. WHY?
Yes, you need help.Website needs optimising.

Click volume is irrelevant if not targeted correctly.

Hi, I've been doing google adwords for a good six months now. It's very targeted at specific customers. Basically I run a branding and packaging company and so all of these keywords are in the keyword search and in the advert itself. But for some reason, and I'm sure its content related on my website, I just dont seem to really drive any sales from it. I might as well be chucking my money down the toilet every month.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can improve my conversion rate into some leads?

Thanks
Gemma

 

[Gemma R]

Sorry, I dont think you really understood the question. I'm looking for advice on HOW to improve my website not tell me that it needs improving... I already know this, which is why I'm asking the question! I know I have google Ad sense but this was not what I was asking about.

 

[Ali-v-8]

Hi Gemma,
As i tried to point out the adsense may lead to traffic leaving your website straight away.
Also i mentioned that the website needs optimising.
This will improve your adscore as well.
I also believe the content on your home page for your service is lacking.
The large banner space at the top is also wasted

Sorry, I dont think you really understood the question. I'm looking for advice on HOW to improve my website not tell me that it needs improving... I already know this, which is why I'm asking the question! I know I have google Ad sense but this was not what I was asking about.

 

Several thoughts

1/ people in your business are highly unlikely to make a sale of the page

2/ you are selling image, and so you are under scrutiny yourself and the bar will be high - people will ask the question "Do i want to look like this?" and in my view your own design is not quality enough

So remedials...

1/ go to 99designs - and tell them you want a really professional design ( Suggest you tell them sites you like, and why you like them as a start)
an army of outsourcers get to work, and you only pay for the one you like!


2/ MOST IMPORTANT
Create a guide - "What really matters in designing a brand - and the mistakes all new businesses make" OR something

make the ad something like
"brand mistakes
and how to avoid them
free guide explains all

use that to prequalify and build an email list, then market to the list

focus the home page to getting people to download the guide....

 

[Gemma R]

Several thoughts

1/ people in your business are highly unlikely to make a sale of the page

2/ you are selling image, and so you are under scrutiny yourself and the bar will be high - people will ask the question "Do i want to look like this?" and in my view your own design is not quality enough

So remedials...

1/ go to 99designs - and tell them you want a really professional design ( Suggest you tell them sites you like, and why you like them as a start)
an army of outsourcers get to work, and you only pay for the one you like!


2/ MOST IMPORTANT
Create a guide - "What really matters in designing a brand - and the mistakes all new businesses make" OR something

make the ad something like
"brand mistakes
and how to avoid them
free guide explains all

use that to prequalify and build an email list, then market to the list

focus the home page to getting people to download the guide....

I agree with you, in that I have never really thought the website design itself is the standard it needs to be. Unfortunately I'm no web designer and with zero budget it's difficult, but I do appreciate your comments especially about the brand guide, thats a fantastic idea and I will be putting this to good use straight away. I will in the meantime be checking out 99designs to see if I can improve the look of the site.

Thanks

 

Now i think about it a better ad might be -

Need Brand Design?
Avoid the common mistakes
Free guide explains all
www.yourdomain.com/BrandDesignGuide

include the keyword, and preferably pass it into the page as a seed keyword
which you display in the text and title for relevance

split test the display urls, too - see which message converts

(Doesnt have tobe a real url....)

 

99 designs is good because yu can get spectacular results for $250 - but if money is even tighter, go to scriptlance and somebody with good feedback will do a design for $100 or less..

You will be losing more than that in adwords poor conversion...

 

Final thought..... replace the site with a wordpress blog, costs nothing to set up except five minutes - particularly if you have fantastico host.... and there are a load of great themes.

Use a plain seo theme - eg thesis if you can afford it , atahualpa if you cant, and so the plainness of the background will allow the images designs you already have to stand out.. make the categories keyword groups you want to rank for - and the posts - long tail keywords.

iT is a tough niche to get serious ranking, but long tail traffic will come if you start building links with articles.....and as your site gets better ranking, adwords costs reduce.

enough....better go and get some work done.

 

[Be Known PR]

Hi Gemma,

I think the biggest problem is your home page - it is far too busy and just overloads the visitors brain with info and things to look at.

My suggestions would be to:

- remove the client info as you already have it in the portfolio section
- remove the big red question at the top
- rEmove the youtube video and the google ads (why have adverts from your competitors on your site)
- make your list of services more prominent

I would also look at having a page for each of your key services that link through from the text on your home page.

Finally, and I don't say this to be nasty, but for a company called Brand & Image, there seems to be little brand and image to your own site.

I am actually in the middle of sorting out my own brand and image (along with my website). If I had come across your website when looking for someone to 'sort me out', my first reaction would have been 'if she can't sort her own brand, image and website out, why would I want to trust her with mine!'

If I was you I would invest in a newly designed site so that it looks slick as it is your shop window for your talent.

Sorry to sound harsh, but hope this helps.

 

[Gemma R]

Finally, and I don't say this to be nasty, but for a company called Brand & Image, there seems to be little brand and image to your own site.

I am actually in the middle of sorting out my own brand and image (along with my website). If I had come across your website when looking for someone to 'sort me out', my first reaction would have been 'if she can't sort her own brand, image and website out, why would I want to trust her with mine!'

If I was you I would invest in a newly designed site so that it looks slick as it is your shop window for your talent.

Sorry to sound harsh, but hope this helps.

Haha, yes a tad harsh but I do think you are right, obviously you are not the only one who has been thinking this. I am pretty sure that this is the crux of the problem, so thankyou for being honest. Basically my website is just something I cobbled together before I was made redundant. So I think now it's time get serious about it and get the website professionally designed.

 

[Be Known PR]

Basically my website is just something I cobbled together

I think that is probably how most of us freelance service providers start out with our website.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Copywriting bloke to the rescue....

There's a plain and simple lack of compelling copy. Nothing thing there which will take your very targeted visitor and convince them to pick up the phone. Nothing there will hook their attention and nothing will make them realise how beneficial your services are.

1). Headline - Won't grab anyone's attention and isn't relevant. Your visitors want branding and packaging services so that's what your headline has to be about. It shouldn't ask the visitor why they should use one agency over several.

2). Main copy - There's an awful lot of 'we' and not enough 'you'. You're talking about yourself and the visitor simply won't find this very interesting. You need to talk about the prospects and tell them you will do for them. There isn't a single benefit on that front page of why they should use your generic services and why they should specifically use you.

3). Poor writing - There's an awful lot of typical managerial sales spiel.

We provide businesses with a wealth of services specifically
targeted at the process of packaging and branding for many
types of sectors such as independent retailers, start-up
businesses up to manufacturers and FMCG for retail.

All of those words could be condensed down to:

We provide packaging and branding services for almost every type of business and industry sector.

4). Client examples - That blurb should be explaining what you did for the client and the results you obtained. Using a paragraph of text to explain what the business provides without any other information is pointless.

5). Lack of explanation - There's nothing on that site which properly explains exactly what you do in detail. Without it, people will have to spend time thinking about it and working it out. When that happens, you will lose the sale.

So, that's why you're not getting any sales.

 

[media]

Double check
User/Geo Target
Keywords & Ad copy
Landing page - Conversion Elements (I am not sure to which page you are sending your traffic to)


The main problems on your website are
1. Website layout
2. Content presentation
3. Poor landing pages - no conversion elements

 

[media]

oops

Ignore this post

 

[tomsk]

Just to stick my 2 cent's worth in - I was pleasantly surprised when I took a look at your site after reading the above thought it would be a shocker.

Have you tired running different versions of your ppc?

Advert - 1) look at me 50% cheaper, the best value etc etc

Advert - 2) Professional, client focused branding consultant etc

And see which works best.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Just to stick my 2 cent's worth in - I was pleasantly surprised when I took a look at your site after reading the above thought it would be a shocker.

Have you tired running different versions of your ppc?

Advert - 1) look at me 50% cheaper, the best value etc etc

Advert - 2) Professional, client focused branding consultant etc

And see which works best.

From a proper sales perspective it sort of is. It's broke many basic rules of copywriting. Those Adwords tweaks will be of far better use once Gemma's site is definitely converting well.

 

[i3SearchWorx]

Hi Gemma,

I dont know if this is correct, but is the URL brandandimage . co . uk? If so, I'm struggling to even get onto the site!

 

[lockie]

Im not sure if its just me but im seeing some of the wording is squashed together in firefox and ie and not displaying properly.

I would get your number plastered across the top right in the space with a call to action like "Call now".

As somebody with no knowledge of your type of service these comment are based on website useability.

I tried to click on product photography thinking it would lead to some more information but alas it didnt as did none of the other subjects.Each of these has the potential to lure the viewer to another page thus increasing time spent on the site,building trust and also helping seo.
I liked the portfolio page but reckon a call to action halfway down and also at the bottom will bring more responses.Its also an opportunity to talk a potential customer through how you approached or carried out the particular work,again building trust.

On the contact page you mention about giving you call but the number isnt present until you scroll further down the page,this alone will lose a lot of potential calls.Why should i have to look around for your number ?

Make it easy for the customers to find the information they want on the site before doing anymore ppc or you are just throwing away money.Once the site is getting results then ppc can work in your favour by use of split tests etc.

Adding more content can only help your seo as well as bringing more work.

Think of it as a shop window,the more you get on display and easily seen the more chance of a sale.

 

[consultantUK]

It is a science and the best tricks are not going to mentioned on a forum, they are worth to much money. It is about much more than targeted keywords.

One tip: "negative keywords" one of our campaigns, for a client, has 5000 negative keywords. When in doubt use an expert.