Where to begin… We guess we’d like to start at the beginning. Here at Security Dealer Marketing we don’t just jump into a design for kicks; we start with the foundation of what we have tested and what we knowworks. We truly focus on only the security industry; our websites have been rigorously tested and tuned for your demographic, whether it be residential or commercial, each of which has completely different needs. Does this mean we know absolutely everything? Well, yes! OK, maybe not quite everything; in fact, one of the first things we admit to our clients is that we don’t know everything. But everything we do has a purpose grounded in research and testing.

So where do you start? First, if your website is generating at least 1,000 visitors a month, continue doing what you’re doing. If you’re below the 1,000 mark, focus your attention on generating more traffic first.

Now let’s start with call-to-actions — in other words, when a Web visitor lands on your website, what is it you’d like them to do? In our traffic flow designs we lay out whether the purpose of that page is to fill out a form, to click a button that leads to another part of the site for more information or to pick up the phone and call. If you’re focusing on a landing page such as “home security,” try testing the colors of your buttons on this page that direct traffic to other areas such as home automation, CO detection or professional monitoring. We’ve tested many colors in the past, but we’ve found that red, lighter blues and greens work best. We suggest making all your call-to-action buttons the same color throughout your website to make using them clearer and easier for the user. Test this color-coordinated approach on a few of your Web pages, and we guarantee the results will surprise you. Don’t think it doesn’t matter — Amazon, Best Buy, Apple and other giants test this frequently.

Website forms are one of the highest tasks you should be concentrating on. Without a doubt this is the most important way potential customers will contact your company for more information. A lesson we learned early at Security Dealer Marketing was that when you create forms with colored backgrounds, they convert more; we believe this to be the case because the user can’t tune out or ignore vibrant colors — using them makes the user’s next step crystal clear.

Another nugget of advice is try creating urgency on your actual forms. Create graphics conveying that sense of urgency with limited time offers. Everyone loves feeling as though they got in on a good deal, especially one that is exclusive or soon to expire. So include limited-time offer graphics on a couple of your forms, even if you don’t actually lower the price.

Images make your pages stickier — that is, images of babies, children or a woman with beautiful eyes will keep users on your pages longer. Don’t just show your hardware with stats; this has no emotional connection with your user. Test images that make people think about their loved ones, animals or assets. Benchmark what you do this month, throw in a new image like those suggested above and see if your visitors’ time spent goes up.

Have lots to sell? We are often surprised by the number of services or products dealers sell. We have tested and proved that sometimes less will generate more leads. When a user came across four options compared with three options, three options always had a higher conversion. Keep your Web users focused on the task at hand — getting them to fill out that form or to pick up the phone, ultimately converting their visit into a lead.

 Although we may have talked about several of these ideas in our past articles, good marketing is sometimes repetitive to spark memories and help customers make connections between what they are reading and what they’ve already read or experienced. So this time, don’t neglect to act; jot down your ideas, take them to your marketing team and discuss them; or give us a shout.