Difference between revisions of "Learn/Boost-Conversions-and-SEO-with-Contact-Info"
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| − | | | + | | Writer = KristinaWeis |
| Name = Kristina Weis | | Name = Kristina Weis | ||
| Header = Boost%20Trust%20and%20Conversions%20with%20Contact%20Info | | Header = Boost%20Trust%20and%20Conversions%20with%20Contact%20Info | ||
| − | | Subhead = Providing contact | + | | Subhead = Providing contact info can help you succeed |
| − | | Bitly = http://bit.ly/ | + | | Bitly = http://bit.ly/WhyContactInfo |
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| Date = August 23, 2010 | | Date = August 23, 2010 | ||
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}} | }} | ||
| + | ==Providing contact info can help you succeed== | ||
| + | ---- | ||
| + | <big>Putting your contact information out there and freely offering customer service can feel unimportant -- or downright scary. But I'm here to suggest that making contact information available can improve your sales, conversions and search engine rankings.</big> | ||
| − | + | You don't have to just take my word for it. Display your contact info -- or make it more prominent -- for a month. Then watch your sales and key metrics in Google Analytics. I'm willing to bet they'll change for the better. | |
| − | + | <big>''[http://www.aboutus.com/boost-sales-conversions-seo-with-contact-info/ ...read more]'' | |
| − | + | This article has been updated and moved to [http://www.aboutus.com/boost-sales-conversions-seo-with-contact-info/ www.AboutUs.com/boost-sales-conversions-seo-with-contact-info/]</big> | |
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| + | <!--==Build Trust with Your Future Customers== | ||
| + | ---- | ||
Once you've created a professional-looking, easily navigable website, providing clear, easily-found contact information is the most important thing you can do to make your website feel trustworthy. | Once you've created a professional-looking, easily navigable website, providing clear, easily-found contact information is the most important thing you can do to make your website feel trustworthy. | ||
| − | Contact information can provide potential customers a sense of security. They know if they buy that widget from your company and it breaks, they can get in touch with you. | + | {{SiteReportMedRecAd}}Contact information can provide potential customers a sense of security. They know if they buy that widget from your company and it breaks, they can get in touch with you. |
Whatever actions you want visitors to perform on your website that will lead to conversion, their decision to take each next step will be conditioned subconsciously -- or even overtly -- by their sense they can trust your website, and your company. Trust becomes even more important if you're asking people to type in their credit card number. | Whatever actions you want visitors to perform on your website that will lead to conversion, their decision to take each next step will be conditioned subconsciously -- or even overtly -- by their sense they can trust your website, and your company. Trust becomes even more important if you're asking people to type in their credit card number. | ||
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A website with no contact information, or contact information that is hidden or hard to find, makes me wonder why that website is trying to hide from me -- and I often assume the worst. | A website with no contact information, or contact information that is hidden or hard to find, makes me wonder why that website is trying to hide from me -- and I often assume the worst. | ||
| − | == | + | ==Improve Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with Contact Info== |
| − | For businesses that rely on '''local''' customers, including contact information on | + | ---- |
| + | For businesses that rely on '''local''' customers, including contact information can bring in more people who search the web before they leave the house or from their smart phone while on the go. That's because a website that has easily found contact information can get better rankings in search engine results when people's searches include the city, zip code, and/or area code. | ||
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| + | For example, if a Portland, Oregon, widget company's website clearly displays its full address, then someone in Portland who searches for widgets, or searches for "widgets Portland," may be more likely to find that website. For more information on local SEO, read [http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml this article] and our article on [[Make Sure Your Business Appears in Google Maps|Google Places / Google Maps]]. | ||
| − | + | Some search engine experts feel that search engines use contact information as an indication of '''trust,''' and so sites and web pages with full contact information could be ranked higher in search results. This seems very logical to me, and if Google.com had a contact page I could tell them that I think it's a good idea to favor websites with contact information. If you're interested in how search engines determine trust in ranking websites, read this Search Engine Journal article discussing possible [http://www.searchenginejournal.com/is-there-such-a-thing-as-on-page-trust-factors-poll/10696/ on-page trust ranking factors]. | |
| − | To get the | + | To get the SEO benefits of including contact information, make sure it's displayed as text. Search engines won't "see" contact information if you've included it as an image, or if you make it hard to find. Read further for tips on ''where'' to place contact information. |
| − | ===="I Just | + | ===="I Have Just One Question"==== |
| − | It's common for someone to be 99 | + | It's common for someone to be 99 percent ready to purchase, and to want to ask one quick question, or double-check one detail. If you haven't provided an easy way to contact your company, that person will probably just vanish, and take their business with them. |
====Let People Help You!==== | ====Let People Help You!==== | ||
| − | Wouldn't it be great if a friendly person could alert you that a link on your website is broken, | + | Wouldn't it be great if a friendly person could easily alert you that a link on your website is broken, or that you've got an embarrassing typo, or that something on your site doesn't work with a specific web browser? |
=='''What Type''' of Contact Info Should I Provide?== | =='''What Type''' of Contact Info Should I Provide?== | ||
| − | I suggest including at least one | + | ---- |
| + | I suggest including at least one of the staple contacts that everyone should know how to deal with. It's really better to include all of these: | ||
====Phone number==== | ====Phone number==== | ||
| − | Some people really prefer to talk to a real live person, and because it's the highest level of customer service it is reassuring to see. | + | Some people really prefer to talk to a real live person, and because it's the highest level of customer service it is reassuring to see a company is open to receiving customer phone calls. |
| − | Suggestions: | + | Suggestions: List your business hours and time zone beside your phone number. It will save people from getting frustrated by trying to reach you outside of business hours. If you have a toll-free number, do list your local number for international callers and people who want to save you some money. |
====Email address==== | ====Email address==== | ||
| − | I personally prefer the actual email address to a form, but a contact form | + | I personally prefer the actual email address to a contact form, but a contact form that includes an actual email address listed is fine. |
| − | Suggestion: Make it easy for people | + | Suggestion: Make it easy for people -- let them to see and copy the actual email address to paste into an email. For bonus points, make it a clickable mail-to link. |
====Physical address==== | ====Physical address==== | ||
| − | While people probably aren't going to write you a letter, seeing a company's address can be reassuring and make it feel more legitimate. Listing an address with the city, state and zip code can help you with [[Boost Trust and Conversions with Contact Info# | + | While people probably aren't going to write you a letter, seeing a company's address can be reassuring and make it feel more legitimate. Listing an address with the city, state and zip code can help you with [[Boost Trust and Conversions with Contact Info#Improve_Your_Search_Engine_Optimization_with_Contact_Info|local SEO]]. |
| − | ==== | + | ====Alternative Contacts==== |
Other contact methods can be an added bonus: | Other contact methods can be an added bonus: | ||
| − | * | + | * A link to your company's [[Learn/Use-Twitter-To-Engage-Your-Customers|Twitter handle]] or [[Learn/Getting_Started_With_Facebook_For_Your_Business|Facebook page]] |
| − | * A Feedback tab, | + | * A Feedback tab -- for example, [[GetSatisfaction]] |
| − | * Live chat | + | * Live chat -- with a real person who works at your company, please! |
| − | * FAQ, Help or Support page that offers people do-it-yourself help | + | * An FAQ, Help or Support page that offers people do-it-yourself help |
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=='''Where''' Should I Put My Contact Information?== | =='''Where''' Should I Put My Contact Information?== | ||
| − | + | ---- | |
| + | Where you place contact information will affect how many people find it, and thus how much benefit you will receive. | ||
| − | '''Don't bury or hide your contact | + | '''Don't bury or hide your contact information.''' If someone has to click "About Us" and then "Support" and then scroll all the way to the bottom of that page, they probably won't bother. And now you've probably turned that person into a frustrated non-customer. |
I suggest choosing one or more of these locations for contact info on your website: | I suggest choosing one or more of these locations for contact info on your website: | ||
====Contact link==== | ====Contact link==== | ||
| − | [[Image:AnvilMediaContactFooterCrop.png|right|thumb|250px|This | + | [[Image:AnvilMediaContactFooterCrop.png|right|thumb|250px|<small>This SEM company has both a "Contact" link and contact info in their footer.</small>]] |
| − | A "Contact" link at the bottom of a website or in its main navigation is pretty standard and | + | A "Contact" link at the bottom of a website or in its main navigation is pretty standard, and people look for it in these places. Make sure the link says something obvious, like "Contact Us". |
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| + | ====Contact info in the web page footer==== | ||
| + | To cash in on [[Boost Trust and Conversions with Contact Info#Improve_Your_Search_Engine_Optimization_with_Contact_Info|SEO benefits]], place contact information in the footer of every web page, making it clearly available to search engines. | ||
| + | [[Image:GetSatisfactionUpTopContact.png|250px|right|thumb|<small>This site has its phone number right up top.</small>]] | ||
| + | ====Contact info "above the fold" - no scrolling required==== | ||
| + | Placing contact information in such a prominent location provides a lot of visibility. This placement is commonly used on websites that trying to sell something. | ||
==Miscellaneous Tips== | ==Miscellaneous Tips== | ||
| − | *If you provide contact information, make sure you provide decent customer service to all the | + | ---- |
| − | * | + | *If you provide contact information, make sure you provide decent customer service to anyone who gets in touch through all the contacts you offer. |
| − | *Want to know how | + | *It's helpful to set expectations by letting people know how soon they can expect a response to an email, or the hours during which your company answers the phone. |
| − | + | *Want to know how important contact information is to your business? Compare your important website metrics and sales numbers before and after giving site visitors a way to get in touch with you.--> | |
| − | + | {{LearnBottomBio | |
| + | | Writer = KristinaWeis | ||
| + | | Name = Kristina Weis | ||
| + | | Image = Image:KristinaBluesFest.png | ||
| + | | AuthorWebsite = AboutUs.org | ||
| + | | ShortBio = Kristina is a community manager for [[AboutUs.org]] who talks with a lot of website owners who are trying to promote their business online. <small>Have a question? [[Kristina Weis#Contact|Contact me]].</small> | ||
| + | {{Twitter|KristinaWeis}} | ||
| + | }} | ||
Latest revision as of 12:48, 14 November 2013
By [[User:|]] on
Providing contact info can help you succeed
Putting your contact information out there and freely offering customer service can feel unimportant -- or downright scary. But I'm here to suggest that making contact information available can improve your sales, conversions and search engine rankings.
You don't have to just take my word for it. Display your contact info -- or make it more prominent -- for a month. Then watch your sales and key metrics in Google Analytics. I'm willing to bet they'll change for the better.
This article has been updated and moved to www.AboutUs.com/boost-sales-conversions-seo-with-contact-info/