The 7 Must-Have Elements For a High-Converting Website
Why does it matter to optimize your website
Did you know that most website visitors decide within seven seconds if they're gonna stick around on your website? That's right? Your website's not just an online brochure. It's a digital salesperson, and with that salesperson, there needs to be urgency and there needs to be a compelling reason for the website visitor to stay. So in this video, I'm gonna break down seven elements that you should have on your website in order to convert that traffic into leads.
This is the same formula that I've used to help dozens of service based businesses to generate more leads with their website, and at the end of the article we'll cover a bonus direct response formula that's going to help you really take this thing to the next level.
Ready? Let's go.
Here are the main sections we will cover:
The hero
Benefits
Services
Social proof
About section
FAQ
Call to action
Plus you can add 1-3 additional sections for the problem, agitate, solution formula which we'll discuss at the end of this article.
The 7 sections of a high converting website homepage
The hero
The first one is the hero section. It's also known as the above the fold. And the reason for that is because this is a section that somebody's gonna see before they scroll down on the page. This is really important make sure that you nail this section, because if somebody lands on here and they decide that you can't help them in some way, they're just going to leave. So there's three things that you primarily want to handle in this section. First, you want to make sure that you let the reader know that they're in the right place. Second, you want to let them know that you can help them with a problem that they're having. And third, you want to let them know how they can fix that problem by working with you. You know whether that's contacting you or buying your service, or your product, anything like that.
Benefits section
Once you've gotten their attention on the hero section, the following section that you're going to want to include is going to be your benefits section. Here you want to talk about the actual benefits that your solution solves, not necessarily focusing on the features. So don't focus on on what you do. Focus on what the client experiences as a result of working with you. And another key thing that you should include in here is your unique selling proposition, which is going to be essentially what differentiates you from the competitors. Why should somebody work with you versus the guy down the street? Here you want to sell the destination, not the ticket. People buy results not features.
Services section
Third section is going to be your services section. This one, you can actually focus on the actual stuff that you do for people, but again, tie it back to that solution, and tie it back to that target audience that you're trying to communicate with.
Social proof
Up next, you want to have some sort of social proof, so you can put testimonials in here, reviews or logos of clients that you've worked with. The ones that work the best are usually the testimonials, because people are telling their own story and they're actually sharing how you help them. And a bonus tip for this one is, when you're asking for testimonials, it's better to guide the your your client, like give them some sort of template of what they can include in their response or their testimonial, because sometimes people might just say, Oh, it was great working with this guy. Blah, blah, blah, you know, a plus. But they're not necessarily providing like context as to like how you help them, or how you transform their business, or anything like that. So try to get a little bit more by asking them, you know, even three or four basic questions to guide their response in that in that case study.
About section
Up next you want to have your about section. This one could be about the founder, or about the team, whatever you choose to focus on. But again, remember to use your own pictures and try to tell a little bit of your story here. Don't necessarily like focus it all on yourself, but, but let people know who's behind the scenes, right? People like to do business with other people. So if you share a little bit about yourself, you know, how you got started, or, you know, maybe your expertise in the field, that can be really beneficial. Work off the StoryBrand formula by Donald Miller, where you are making your customer the hero in the story, and you are positioning yourself as the guide in their life that can help them achieve the goal.
FAQ section
Up next is the FAQ section. So any frequently asked questions you can put in here, and if you don't know any, you could just look some up online, ask Chat GPT or do a Google search. But if you've been on the phone with clients or potential clients, they you know they probably have a lot of questions, so you can put those in there. And a pro tip about this one is that it's beneficial both for your reader and for SEO - it could tell Google more about your website, your business, and what you do.
Call to action section
For the seventh section, you want to have your main call to action or your main contact form on this section, you could put a booking link or a map, if you have a physical location where people come in, a phone number, or, you know, an email that people can reach out to. You can put that sort of stuff in that section. Focus on selling your offer here and making it exciting for someone to want to call you. For example, if you are a cleaning company, instead of just saying "Contact us for a free quote", you could say "Contact us today to get 15% off the spring cleaning package."
Bonus tip for converting more traffic into leads
The Problem, Agitate, Solution formula
Now, for the bonus tip, this is a formula that comes from the direct response marketing world, and it's something that I think a lot of people overlook. It's the PAs formula. It stands for problem, agitate, solution.
You could actually break these up into their own section. Section One could be problem, section two could be agitate, section three could be solution, or you can just combine them into one and make sure that you address those things in the copy talk about the problem that your your service is solving for that person, your potential client, and then agitate that problem before it's being solved. Because they're in some pain right now, so agitate that problem a little bit, and then propose your business as a solution to that problem.
Now this helps your website in a couple different ways. The first one is that you're digging into emotional triggers, but the second way is that you're actually helping people realize that you know where they're where they're struggling like you know their pain points. Because if you can understand them, then that means that you're most more likely and more capable of helping them. So empathize with them, make sure that they know that you hear them like you. They know that they land on the website, and they say "oh, man, this is the problem that I've been struggling with. These guys get me like they could probably help me."
So that's what you want to use that section for. In short, talk about the problem that your potential client is having, agitate that problem (but not too much), then position your business as the solution to their problem.
Use copywriting to engage readers and compel them to take action
This is just the beginning. It's a good starting formula, but depending on your business and the what type of customer you are trying to reach, you may need to adjust these sections or replace them. But it's a great starting point that has worked for many service businesses who were able to generate leads from their website. My advice is, try it, do split testing and see what performs best for you.