A Mobile-Friendly Website’s Role in Your Marketing Strategy
Perhaps you’re already aware that, to be successful in this decade, your business or organization needs to have a website. Or maybe you’re just exploring the idea and trying to figure out if it’s worth your time to build a website. Either way, you’ve come to the right place.
I’m going to break down for you the importance of a mobile-friendly website and its key role in marketing your business, organization, or idea as detailed in The Download, our free online marketing guide for small businesses. I’ll also share:
- Why your website needs to be mobile-friendly (and what that really means)
- The three essential pages that every website must have
- What content you should have on those pages
- How to convert website visitors to customers, supporters, volunteers, or whatever it is you need for your big idea to thrive
Before we begin, let me help you determine if having a website is necessary for you.
How to know if you need a website
Okay, so I’m being cheeky here, but I want you to understand this — if you have a business, a cause, an organization, or an idea that exists in this decade, that you’d like to continue existing, you need a website. Here’s why:
- 69% of people search for a local business at least one time per month
- 43% of businesses experience significant growth with online sales
Even if you’re not a business and your main goal isn’t sales, those are compelling numbers that show how people get connected with businesses and other organizations these days.
5 key elements of your online marketing mix
The reason a mobile-friendly website is so important to the success of your ideas is that it should be the central hub of all of your marketing efforts. Let me explain.
In our online marketing guide, The Download, we break down all of online marketing into five key elements:
- A mobile-friendly website
- An email marketing tool
- A primary social media channel
- Up-to-date business listings
- A way to easily create content
Your website is essential in all of these efforts because regardless of whether people first hear from you via social media, a business listing, or even word-of-mouth, they will ultimately look for more information about your organization on your website.
So now that you have an idea of a mobile-friendly website’s role in your overall marketing strategy, let’s dive into what makes for a strong website that moves you closer to hitting your goals.
But first, I want to tell you something super important.
You’ve got this. You can make a great website.
All of this talk of websites and marketing and sales isn’t just a fairy tale. You don’t need to be a big business with a lot of money and employees to create a strong online marketing strategy. You don’t even need to know how to code to build a great website. You just need a combination of the right know-how (you’ve already come to the right place) and the right tools (I can help you there, too).
TIP: If you don’t have a website yet, or if you need a revamp, don’t stress. Constant Contact has a free website builder that can get you online in minutes. It’s A.I.-powered, so you pretty much just need to share information about your business or organization and the website builder turns it into a stylish, functional, and mobile-responsive website.
The importance of being mobile-friendly
Here’s another important statistic: Over half of all website traffic worldwide comes from a mobile device. That means your website must be mobile-friendly, or you could risk turning away half of your visitors before you even get a chance to tell them what you’re all about.
But don’t take my word for it. Let’s take a look at what happens when your website isn’t mobile-friendly.
Yikes, right? The website above doesn’t look great on a mobile device. In fact, much of the text, images, and even the name of the business are cut off when viewed on mobile. It’s confusing and unpleasant and will most likely lead visitors to click the “back” button on their browser and take their business elsewhere.
Instead, here’s what you want mobile visitors to see:
That’s much better. In the mobile view, the logo, text, images, and buttons are all still clear and accessible. Nothing is cut off or missing when visiting on mobile. Regardless of if visitors come to the site on a desktop computer, tablet, or phone, they are going to have a smooth experience.
3 pages every website should have
Every website is going to be a little different depending on its purpose and the nature of the business or organization it represents. But no matter if you’re building a personal website, small business website, or nonprofit website, you’ll need to have at least three pages.
Homepage
Your homepage is the front door to your website. It’s the first thing people see when they visit you online, so it’s key to making a great first impression. Your homepage should answer the following questions:
- What is your product, service, or mission?
- Who is it for? Who is your target audience?
- Why should a visitor care? What makes you uniquely valuable?
- What should visitors do next?
People don’t have a lot of time, so you’ll want to make sure you are clear, specific, and succinct in answering these questions on your homepage. If visitors need more information, they should be able to find it on one of your site’s other pages.
When telling your visitors what to do next, you have a lot of options. You might want them to make a purchase, give you their email address, send you a message, or something else. It all depends on your goals and priorities. Just make sure to be very clear what action people should take as their next step.
About page
The about page is where visitors can go to learn more about you, your business, or organization. This page should answer:
- What is your story? How did your idea come to be and who is behind it?
- Why should people care? How do they benefit from your idea?
- What makes you or your business different?
Contact page
As you might have guessed, the contact page exists to show visitors how they can contact you. This page answers:
- Where can I find you?
- Where can I reach you?
- How can I contact you?
How to turn website visitors into customers and supporters
Getting traffic to your website is only the beginning. Next, you’ll need to make sure that you’re getting the most out of every visitor and moving them closer to being customers or supporters. In order to continue building a relationship with them, you need a way to contact them after they’ve left your website.
Collect email addresses
It’s essential to try to collect email addresses from people who visit your website. That’s why you’ll want to make sure your website has sign-up forms that ask for email addresses and explain to users why they should share them with you.
To entice visitors to share their email address, think about offering them something of value in exchange. This can be as simple as a discount, an offer for free shipping, or the promise of exclusive content. Try to tell people what they get out of signing up for your email list.
Beyond your website
Now, hopefully, you have a better idea of the importance of a mobile-friendly website and its role in your larger marketing strategy.
Your website is the hub of your entire online marketing mix. It’s absolutely essential, but a website alone won’t help your ideas to fully take off.
Let us help you with the rest of your online marketing
Go beyond your website and learn to think about online marketing in a modern, holistic way.
Our step-by-step guide breaks it all down for you in comprehensive, but easy-to-digest sections so you can start reaping the benefits of online marketing right away. Check out The Download to see how all of these marketing elements can work together to give a huge boost to your ideas.
And remember — you’ve got this!
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