Many millions of dollars are being wasted on promoting and sending traffic to ineffective lead generation websites. Here are my top 10 tips to make your site generate more leads for you and your company.

1. Keep it clean.

A busy, cluttered website will drive visitors directly to your competitor. Make sure your site is easy to navigate and clutter free. We've all been to websites that are awash with information. While you need to get your message across you don't want to scare your potential customers away. Make sure your site looks tidy, with as few colors as possible. Too many flashing banners and ads will undoubtedly detract your visitors from the actual content on your site. Don't include too much highlighting. If you highlight every word in your text, it isn't highlighted it's simply bold.

2. Make it quick.

Studies have shown that the average surfer will give any site only 3 to 4 seconds before they formulate that all important first decision. Don't forget that first impressions last so you need to dispense with graphics that take too long to load, ensure that any necessary pictures are of a minimal file size (picture size is irrelevant here) and definitely do not have an all graphics site; they take an age to load, not to mention the search engines can not do anything with them.

3. It's all about conversion.

Paying for a PPC campaign is a very popular way to get visitors to your site, but you have to be careful that you manage your account for conversion not clicks. Spend money only on those keywords that convert to leads. Use the conversion tracking offered by Google and Yahoo! Search Marketing (formally Overture). Or use some other ad tracking software. The main point here is your ad campaign should be an investment, not an expense and if you are not tracking your conversion rate how will you know which it really is?

4. Create trust.

You will not generate leads from a website that does not radiate trustworthiness. Use third party trust indicators liberally on your site, for example testimonials, membership organization logos, and endorsements. Also if you state something that may be hard for your visitor to believe, explain to them the details so you build credibility.

5. Copy is the key.

Your website copy needs to be compelling, informative and lead the reader to take your desired action. Do not list facts and features, state benefits. You reader doesn't care if your widget does the quarter mile in 2.5 seconds. They want a widget that "Does the job so fast they can get done and take off early to go fishing"... See the difference?

6. Pre-qualify leads with content not questions

If you need a certain demographic lead, make sure your copy spells it out clearly. Clearly explaining the details about who is qualified for you product or service will keep you from having to screen out unqualified leads with too many questions on your form. Which brings me to my next point...

7. Shorter forms actually make for better leads

Highly qualified and highly educated prospects guard their personal information closely; keep forms short and only ask the minimum number of questions. Long forms with too many personal questions tend to reduce the quality and quantity of your leads. When someone is willing to share all their personal information there is a good chance that person has nothing to lose. You have to consider what information you really need from your leads. If you don't need to know then don't ask. You can always send a follow up email. This will act not only as a good fact finder but also as your next step in creating rapport.

8. Make it easy.

Have a form on every page, or at least on every page that it makes sense to have it on. Visitors to your site won't take the time to trawl through 12 pages of website content to find your form and fill it out. I have seen a tremendous increase in leads when I added the form to every page of a site. I would caution you about having a form too prominent on you home page though, it tends to scare some visitors off.

9. Sweeten the deal.

Give away free information to entice visitors to fill out your form. Throughout time people have always loved a bargain. The feeling of getting something for nothing is usually enough to help persuade the unsure, and will often lead to extra leads and extra sales. Make sue that you give away something with a high perceived value, no one is enticed with junk.

10. Communicate in the right language and add personality.

Using plain language that communicates the personality of you and your company will build trust and rapport. Don't use technical jargon if you are trying to reach the masses. Very few people are likely to know industry buzz words . Keep it simple and informative and add personality at the same time. Try and answer questions before they are asked.

Use these 10 tips and generating sales leads from your website will become much easier and a lot more profitable.

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