As we speak, coronavirus cases have been reported worldwide, with millions infected and tens of thousands of confirmed deaths due to the pandemic. The global economy has taken a hit, with brick-and-mortar retail outlets and many businesses suffering from lockdowns everywhere.
In Canada alone, has new cases coming in every hour. People around the world are urged to keep social distancing and to stay home. This is a severe downside for businesses that simply didn’t invest in maintaining an online presence. COVID-19 is pushing businesses to go online and you have to take quick action to turn this crisis into your opportunity. Some industries have started booming, online education courses, video conferencing, etc. People are seizing the opportunities to take advantage of online ordering and no contact delivery systems to keep everyone safe from this pandemic.
If your business has always relied on a physical location and events to make sales, now’s the time to going online for lead generation and making sales. It is essential to have a digital marketing strategy in place to help you make the transition. This proven 3-step lead generation plan will help you get started, have quick results, and deal with the economic aftermath of COVID-19.
Action Plan Step 1: Build a Website That Attracts Customers
The lockdown has finally convinced traditional businesses to go online and increase sales on the digital grid. But, the question many companies ask themselves is:
“Where do I begin?”
A business website is a good starting point as you make this transition to go online. It will be the first impression customers have of you.
As you plan to rebuild your website, here are some critical factors for you to consider:
Websites Optimized for Mobile
It is essential that your business invests a portion of your budget into optimizing your site for mobile use so that customers can enjoy a seamless experience, regardless of the devices they use to access your site.
Opt-In Forms To Generate Leads
(Optin-form: reach out to incoming customers)
While you may have a ‘Contact Us’ form on your Contact Us page, you can also use an Opt-In Box to get contact info from the site’s visitors for lead generation purposes. It is a great way for potential customers to give you their name, email address, and phone number in return for a free quote or other freebies.
With an Opt-In form, you collect necessary contact information on leads, use this info to reach out and offer your services personally.
Strategically place your Opt-In form on the website, so it looks appealing and encourages people to fill them out! It works well as a slide-in or pop up box and can appear on one or all pages of your website.
Website Designs That Engage
Users take approximately 0.05 seconds to form their opinions on a website. Your website must be professionally designed with optimal user experience so that it attracts and engages customers.
Also, ensure that your site is search engine friendly so that you show up to customers searching for your product or service.
Conversion Tracking
Create a cross-channel conversion tracking system to collect data on your website so you know where the traffic is coming from, actions people take on your website, and how your website converts.
Action Plan Step 2: Local SEO To Boost Your Ranking
SEO is an essential lead generation tool for all businesses, regardless of their industry. Optimizing your website for SEO ensures your product/service has keyword-rich content that focuses on your products, links coming into your pages, and more.
Investing in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a smart way to drive organic yet low-cost traffic to your website. You need to differentiate your product from other virtually endless options online, SEO can help you do it.
Investing in local SEO will make your business show up higher in local search results. So if anyone is in your neighbourhood searches for a product or service that’s similar to yours, Google makes sure that your website is presented to them.
If you haven’t entered the online market yet, you need to act as early as possible. COVID-19’s influence will likely prolong in the next few months. If you are the first to capture the online market in your niche, your business is more likely to survive and derive better online services.
But the trouble is that it takes time and effort to convince Google to rank you higher as the search engine giant has over 200 ranking signals to decide what pages appear on the first page of search results.
Here are a few ways to get your website up there:
Thorough Keyword Research
Look up keywords that relate to your brand and niche. This may include long-tail keywords that match the way prospective clients search for your product/service. Incorporate these keywords into your website’s content, so they find you in search results as well.
On And Off-Page SEO
Once your website is up and running, you’ll want more exposure for it so it can get more visitors and customers for your business.
On-page SEO refers to website facets that are in your control. This is where you ensure that the product descriptions, contact information, payment information, and FAQs on your website are correct. On the other hand, off-page SEO includes factors that off your site and seldom under your control. This includes backlinks from other sites, reviews left by customers, and social media chatter about your brand.
Action Plan Step 3: Google Ads and Facebook Ads That Capture Leads
Despite the chaos, there is a good chance that businesses can cut their losses by offering services online!
Using PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising with Google Ads and Facebook Ads is a great lead generation tool to attract more consumers who will be interested in your products and services.
It is a paid advertising model where you have to create and disseminate ads online, and when the ad is clicked, you have to pay a fee to Google. If this sounds too complicated, you can work with digital marketers who can make the ads for you and bid on specific search phrases in online auctions so you can use them.
Here are a few types of PPC ads you should consider investing in:
Search Ads
This is one of the best places to advertise because you can expect to double your investment as it offers stellar ROI for businesses and advertisers.
The search network ads are quite simple. A prospect heads to Googles and searches for a topic, and your business shows up, they click and are led to a lead generation form or to your website to purchase from you.
Display Ads
This method helps you capture prospects who would be interested in your business and create brand awareness, it can also be used for remarketing.
Remarketing Ads
This method helps you capture prospects who already know your business but didn’t convert. It lets you track and target the people and shows your ads specifically to them.
Facebook Ads
This method helps you capture prospects by people who would be interested in your business, by topics, behaviours, likes, etc. It is also good at creating brand awareness in local communities and worldwide.
The Wrap Up
The bottom line is that the Coronavirus has gripped the whole world. And we have no idea how far its consequences are yet to go.
Let’s do everything in our power to protect ourselves and our businesses. Things seem bleak, and times are tough — but by opting to go online like many already have, you may yet have time to soften the blow.
If you have zero online presence and have no idea how to step in and make a mark, let Noah Digital be your knight in shining armour!
We are a leading Canadian digital marketing firm with over 20 years of experience. During the pandemic, we’ve helped many businesses increase their revenue by using our proven digital marketing strategy. We helped a shutter and window company receive 444 leads in less than 6 months from their brand new website. We lauched a HVAC website right after the Covid lockeddown, and generated 600+ phone calls and leads for the client. Read more case studies on how Noah Digital helps businesses like yours thrive online.
Need help? Book a free consultation with us today.
