Your advisor website is your little piece of home on the big old internet. It should be warm and inviting, but should also have a solid and well thought out web strategy behind it. Did you know:
- It only takes users 0.005 seconds for them to form an opinion on your site? (source)
- First impressions are 94% design related? (source)
Your website must be user friendly in order to succeed online. Today, we're going to look at the top 5 tips for conveying your story through your advisor website homepage.
1. Provide *helpful* resources for your ideal client
This is actually a two-step process (and so effective). First you need to identify and thoroughly analyze your current client base, in addition to the market you want to attract. Web marketing is all about precision. Build out your buyer personas (more info here: http://ow.ly/yuEYK) with information about their schedules, habits and likes/dislikes. Putting yourself in the shoes of your ideal clients will give you an idea of the information they're looking for and, as a result, improve the performance of your web marketing.
Once you have that data in place, you can really begin to get into the mindset of someone you hope to attract to your website. For example, many advisors specialize in retirement planning. Having a call-to-action (CTA) on your homepage providing a free piece of retirement planning information, and placing that content behind a form will help your website in two ways. It will help you generate higher quality leads, and it showcases yourself as an expert in the field.
2. Put your face on the homepage - or the about page - No stock images
It's a fact around the web design community that photos of real people outperform stock images by 95%. Your advisor website should be about Y-O-U. We always suggest advisors spend a few bucks to have professional photographs taken of their team. Many people who use your website are prospective clients. Essentially, they’re checking you out. They want to see who you are and what your team is like.
3. Keep your "About Us" and "Team" pages current
Place yourself in your ideal clients shoes for a moment. You've come to a website after searching for a financial advisor that meets your needs, after checking the homepage and seeing that they seem like a credible business, what would be your next inevitable step? More likely than not the user will want to know more about you or your services. Having your current team showcased on your site build trust and credibility.
4. Showcase your services from the start
A great way to build positive impressions is to showcase your top services on the homepage of your website, or under a "Service" tab in your navigation. Right off the bat, tell your web visitors where your expertise lies and how you can help them succeed in their financial ventures. That way both parties are using their time efficiently - you aren't following up on a lead that isn't actually looking for your service, and the web visitor isn't requesting information about your services that doesn't fit their needs.
5. Contact Info
Finally, if only a simple tip, make sure your contact information is present on every page of your website. Don't make your website traffic think, showcase your phone number ideally on the top header of the homepage allowing potential clients to reach out to you in a flash.
