Website Conversion Tweaks For the Service Industry

by Anthony Moore

There are many ways to attract website conversions. A typical products website will have a direct purchase button and it works beautifully. However a services website can be a little tricky. It is hard to put a price on a bathroom remodel without seeing it first. Therefore, no need for that direct purchase button, right?

You want visitors to call or fill out a form so you can set up an appointment to bid the project and make that final sale. Service industry websites are tough. You have to explain your services while building trust and then hope they will contact you.

Let's start with "explaining". Face it; we scan websites for keywords (services) so you should bold them above a descriptive paragraph or start the paragraph with bold keywords. This also helps with SEO.

The obvious is to keep your site clean and consistent. Keep your navigation in the same place on all pages. Change the color of the link if they are on that page and name that page boldly at the top so they always know where they are. Also helps with SEO.

Explain just enough about your services to make them want to call or fill out your request form to get more info. Leave a little mystery.

It's like selling a car in the paper. Explain the main features; make, model, color, runs great, new stuff, then add "too much to list, please call for more info". You have given enough info to let your reader know it is the kind of car they want, but they have to call to find out what the new stuff is and the price. Now you have the opportunity to make the sale personally.

Building trust is the hard part. This is the main reason you want them to contact you personally, and an invitation here and there such as "please call for more info" lets them know that you are ready to answer any questions and explain your services with them one on one.

Contacting you should be easy for visitors. Make sure your phone number is in at least 2 places on the visible page at all times. Naturally, you will need a form to collect information. Here is where I found an explosive conversion turnaround. Email requests quadrupled over night. Add a form in the same location of every web page and keep it short and sweet. Only ask for the most important details such as Name, number, email, maybe the city and a comments box to explain service needs.

I promise you will find that people fill out the short form far more often than a long one. Do not ask for a full address, if any. This builds trust as well. You now have an obligation to contact them for the address and to discuss their needs. A discrete short form on every page will convert to cash!