Website Checklist for Service-Based Businesses
A website for a service-based business is a critical component of the marketing mix. Whether you’re building a new website or updating a site for your service business, rest assured, your customers are looking at your site and making buying decisions.
The question is, once they find your site, does it compel them to take the next step? And what is that next step?
With the right elements, your website will become an unpaid salesperson for your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
So, here are 9 things your service-based business website should have to generate calls and appointments.
- Simple and Relevant Navigation that makes it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for quickly. It needs to make sense and be organized to make it easy to find information people are looking for.
- Clickable Phone to help mobile users easily connect to your business. 70% of people who search for a business on Google use the Click to Call feature. Is your phone number click/callable?
- Images that are crisp, compelling, and believably about your business products, services, and customers. Stock photos can work if you don’t have a solid image library – but be very selective. Make sure the images you choose match your brand and don’t contradict with elements that are inconsistent. For example, a landscaper in the north east will want to steer clear of photos of landscaping projects with palm trees. I know this seems obvious, but you’ve seen this before, right?
- Strong Call to Action that tells visitors the exact next step you want them to take. You can use a variety of things such as Schedule an Appointment, Special Promotion, or a Call Now.
- Compelling Copy on the home page that answers the questions of the visitor and checks all the boxes for search engines so your site appears in search.
- Social Proof from Third-Party Sites that display reviews from happy customers – external sources are more believable than testimonials. Make sure your reviews are good, steady, and recent. 4 out of 5 prospects have changed their mind about a business after reading negative reviews.
- Name, Address, and Phone on all pages and consistent with directory data for Google validation.
- Entry Doors to your most sought-after content – to attract both visual and text-based visitors. Don’t worry if this content is redundant with your navigation items, it should be. Some people will instinctively use menus but many others will be drawn to graphics and photos – make it appealing for both types of visitors.
- Visually Branded colors, logos, and graphics that are consistent on all pages to make people feel confident in your business. This consistency builds credibility and trust that you’re a serious business.
