You’ve probably seen so many websites that are either good, bad and horrible in the last few years. We’ve seen major changes to our favorite sites and how they present information. Today and the next few years will probably be focusing on landing pages and improving conversion.
By studying and analyzing big players on the web, I can share some proven methods to improve lead generation on any website in any industry. The best part is that a lot of these sites publish real data you can use on your own site to improve user experience. We’ll go over a few in this post.
HubSpot.com
Candid #1 is HubSpot. They have an amazing:
- Content marketing strategy
- Great user interface design
- Amazing lead generation tactics
- Great email marketing
- The best inbound marketing eBooks on the web hands down
Clik here to view.
HubSpot has followed proven methods to gain more clients effectively. They’ve even published numerous eBooks showing how they did it. For example, their home page is not laid out in a way where you see a slideshow with snippets of information. They include:
- Heading
- With a value preposition right below the heading. You know exactly what they do in less then five seconds.
- Subheading
- More value preposition with an explanation specifically on what you will get
- CTA’s (call to action)
- They have 2 CTA’s above the fold with the more important one being orange of course.
MailChimp
Candid #2 is MailChimp. This site has to be one of my favorites as well. They get the right trend at the right time and never follow anyone else. This is why tracking what’s happening on the web is key to being successful on the web.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
A couple of reasons why MailChimp is the mail king of the web:
- Amazing user interface design
- You get a free limited account
- Which is more then enough for most small business’s anyhow
- They have amazing features for:
- Building lists
- Free email templates to use
- List maintenance
- Tracking results through analytics
- A great blog where you will learn more then any university when it comes to email marketing
If you ask me, there is no company that comes even close to how MailChimp helps small-large sized companies get amazing results with email. And the way they present themselves only means the company will grow exponentially. I strongly suggest going to http://mailchimp.com often for not only email services but how they maintain their website. You’ll probably learn a thing or two on how to improve your own site.
Here are some tactics MailChimp uses for better conversion:
- You’ll probably know instantly what they do when you enter the site (bonus)
- 2 million people use MailChimp (credibility anyone?)
- Great heading with value preposition right below
- One really effective CTA above the fold with subtext for convincing you to join the team
- You know exactly what’s new above the fold. Great design flow!
- Amazing design with a mascot that will stick to your brain no matter what
- User experience that will make the easiest of sites look difficult
- You can sign up in less then 30 seconds
- I bet they tested the signup form they have now against other forms. Notice how short and simple it is to sign up. Can you guess the improvements in conversion numbers when it comes to signups completed?
Clik here to view.
Mint.com
Mint.com is another example where web design, development and marketing have gone to another level. These guys have gone above and beyond when it comes to presenting themselves on the Internet. You can bet what they’ve designed and developed is well ahead of its time.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Here is why Mint.com is probably the best web/mobile app to use for your finances:
- Again, we see amazing user interface design (pattern anyone?)
- Header with great value preposition (another pattern we see often)
- CTA at the forefront of the site
- Multiple devices where they are available are presented attractively and different from other sites
- Great credibility presentation from multiple sources like The New York Times, Money and The Wall Street Journal
Mint’s traffic has grown a lot since 2011. They’ve become one of the best, if not, the best financial management website we’ve seen. This is not by accident. They’ve tracked and applied design based on human behavior. I can bet anyone in our industry that Mint has probably spent a great deal of time on research before even touching design.
A couple of tactics Mint is using for better conversion numbers:
- Amazing information architecture
- Either in their web design or app design
- User experience at its best
- Banks should take note and apply some of the methods used by Mint.com
- Awesome presentation of features
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![Mint Features]( "mint features")
- You found out what they do in less then 6 seconds right?
- Amazing use of CTA
- Can you see the green usage for the design?
- Reminds me of money, how about you?
- Green is known as a color that shows safety and permission
- They’ve eliminated click fear at its core
- You don’t click on anything not knowing what happens next
Final Thoughts
There are amazing examples of websites using the latest data and human behavior to improve conversion numbers. What we’re all going after is not just rankings anymore. Its really about presentation and using your website, which is probably one of your most important avenues for presenting what you offer. What good is a website when it ranks for every keyword but doesn’t convert?
By tracking trends and looking at what other large sites are doing, you can get a good idea of what you can do to improve your own site. Visit the sites I’ve mentioned and study them. I am sure you can improve lead generation by applying just some of the tactics I’ve mentioned above.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Presenting Your Website in 2013 is a post from:
The post Presenting Your Website in 2013 appeared first on .