Generating success for your ecommerce business is about more than just building a website. You also need SEO optimization, content creation and other inbound marketing techniques. A lack of these techniques can severely impact your ability to generate leads.

Here are seven proven strategies to help generate leads and strengthen sales:

1. Use Your Entire Website (Not Just Your Homepage)

Your homepage is a great place to generate leads. But it’s not always the most important page on your site. You never know how new customers will find you. They might find your business via search engines, social media, email links, banner ads, other websites and more.

These channels don’t necessarily all lead to the home page. So you want to optimize every place where a customer might first encounter your brand. This includes an overview of the service or product you provide, contact information and anything else your customer needs to know.

2. Avoid Sliders on Your Homepage

Sliders are a popular design choice on many websites. A slider is a series of automatically rotating images. These images can usually be clicked on to take the user to different parts of the site. Unfortunately, studies have shown that the majority of readers dislike sliders. At best, they tend to ignore sliders. At worst, they’re actively annoyed by them.

3. Develop a Clear Value Proposition

Visitors who land on your page need to instantly grasp who you are and what product or service you provide. When you understand your customer base, you’ll be able to communicate with them effectively. There are a variety of communication strategies you can implement including specifically-worded headlines, engaging copy and plenty of images.

You also need to show your audience why you’re better than the competition. This can be conveyed throughout the copy. Show your potential customers why you’re the most cost-effective, simplest or best option. You can even create an infographic highlighting the advantages your company has over your closest competitor.

4. Provide Educational Resources

Don’t just use your blogs and other content to simply promote your products. Instead, provide information. Potential customers are far more likely to make a purchase if they think of the business as an authority in the industry.

You want to create blogs, social media posts, e-books, white papers and more related to your industry. Obviously, you can present your product or service in a positive light. But you also want to present impartial information on your entire industry. Ask your sales team they hear any frequent questions from potential customers. You can use these common questions as a starting point for article topics.

5. Optimize Your Website

You want to make your site as easy as possible for customers to use. This includes clear navigation, clean design and an overall aesthetic which appeals to your target market. You also want a clear call-to-action. This could be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter or whatever action you want your user to take.

6. Mobile Access

Roughly half of all online shoppers use their smartphone or tablet to make purchases. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, those potential customers will simply shop somewhere else. Mobile optimization improves the load times, streamlines the content and emphasizes the call to action.

7. Be Exciting!

There’s no place for uninspired, boring content. Your customers want your site to engage them using a tone they’ll understand. Even business-to-business communication needs to be lively. There’s a lot of content online. Your content needs to stand out.

Develop a “voice” for your brand. The type of voice depends on what type of product or service you provide. If your brand is young and fun, you probably want a light-hearted, contemporary voice. If your brand is a bit more serious, then the voice should be more reserved and professional.

Wrap-Up

The ultimate goal of your online store is to convert visitors into customers. Your entire online presence should be geared towards inbound marketing. These seven tips will help you generate new leads and improve sales.