With 15 Seconds to Convert Online Visitors, How Are You Doing?

With 15 Seconds to Convert Online Visitors, How Are Your Leads Stacking Up?

Time is of the essence. Did you know that more than half your website viewers will spend less than 15 seconds before clicking away from your website? If you don’t convert online visitors in that time so they stay engaged with you, they’ll head elsewhere, probably to your competition’s website. You’ve lost a potential lead.

Instead, you can keep stacking up leads for your dealership, if you take a strategic approach to developing your website and online marketing plan. For instance, rather than worrying about how many page views you’re getting, focus on how long a viewer stays on your page. That’s what measures their actual engagement.

The longer online visitors interact with your page, the more time you have to convert them. You can motivate them to download something, sign up for something, call with questions or whatever next step you want them to take with you.

To convert online visitors, you need the right blend of content.

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of content you can use to generate leads:

• Content that’s “newsworthy” – literally the latest news about the industry or your dealership, or something that ties your dealership to current events in your community, region or nationally, or a topic that’s hot right now for your prospects.

This type of content attracts attention because it’s relevant and super-timely. It has additional value because it shows your dealership is in-the-know — the sort of resource online visitors are looking for.

• Content that’s “evergreen” — topics that have enduring value, like product information or your whitepaper on brake safety or your tip sheet on how to determine total cost of ownership when purchasing new construction equipment.

This type of content provides information some prospects and customers need today, but it’s equally relevant next week or in six months or even next year, when other prospects will be looking for it.

News can generate leads by driving quick bursts of interest, but it doesn’t have staying power because interest in the topic is inherently short-lived. Some of these leads may also be lower quality, because they may be more interested in the news topic than your dealership or products.

Similarly, website visitors who come to you via social media interactions are also more likely to be top-of-funnel prospects. There’s no question that social media can help your dealership generate more traffic, more leads and more customers. But you have to monitor your analytic data to see who your social visitors are, what’s drawing them to your website, how long they’re staying and whether they’re converting.

That’s why SEO optimization and creating enduring content have the most sustainable long-term value for building your business. These tactics attract online visitors who are higher-qualified leads – people deliberately searching for information about your products or services. And if your content is relevant or engrossing enough, those online visitors will be far less tempted to click away.

And that’s why you need to be strategic.

The fact is, different channels are best suited for different marketing objectives. And different types of content attract different segments of your audience. This underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to developing your website and creating your marketing plan.

Your marketing and overall business goals are unique to your dealership, so how you allocate your resources has to be individually tailored to achieve those goals. And your lead generation strategy has to reflect the needs and desires of your specific marketing personas. With a strategically-designed website and smartly calculated content mix, you’ll be stacking up more leads and you’ll be converting more of those online visitors.