One of the most common methods of lead generation is through your website. It's simple enough - get people to visit your website and then convert them into leads before they leave. While the concept may seem simple the process of achieving usually isn't. Use these five tips will help convert your existing traffic into leads.

Get to the point

People browse the internet quickly and the majority do it using mobile devices. It's not uncommon to scroll through multiple pages of content and several sites in under a minute. What does this mean for you and your content? Get to the point and quickly. You literally have just a few, fleeting seconds to capture a visitor's attention long enough to keep them engaged with your content.

It's time to toss the fluffed up paragraphs and reduce the blog posts to be more precise. Tell your visitors how you can solve their problem and ideally in ten words or less. Save the lengthly content for detailed white papers and in-depth case studies. Visitors downloading and interacting with this type of 'heavy' content are already interested in what you're offering and often looking to validate your skills and knowledge.

Tell a story

When a visitor is on your website they have to imagine using your products or services. They have to appreciate how it will make their lives better and believe that what you are offering meets their needs. One good way to achieve this is by telling a story.

Try to balance this with the first tip about getting to the point. Your story shouldn't ramble or go off on a tangent, unless absolutely necessary. You are not writing anything literary, after all. Instead, it should be focused on the marketing objective of getting a lead.

Write persuasive calls to action

There is no room for bashfulness if you want your website to generate leads. That means don't make the calls to action difficult to find, and don't use non-committal language. Instead, make the calls to action highly visible, letting the visitor know exactly what they need to do.

If you want visitors to sign up for a newsletter, ask them to do it. If you want them to fill out a form, download an eBook, or request a callback, ask them directly. Remember it's not a detective game. Try to keep everything on rails, the easier the better.

Finally, be creative with the text of your call to action buttons. For example, if the person is signing up for a newsletter, don't use the text "Submit" on your button. Go for something like "Yes, I want the newsletter" instead.

Optimise your page structure

The information displayed on a page can have a significant impact on the leads you generate from it. Everything from the style of headlines, to the way paragraphs are used, to subheadings, and more are all important. Images, bullet-point lists, and sentence structure should also be reviewed for accuracy.

Make your page as easy to read as possible to optimize it for lead generation. That means using attention-grabbing headlines plus subheadings, paragraphs, and bullet-point lists to break up the text. Images should be relevant, sentences should be easy to read, and everything should move the reader closer to contacting you.

Content Improvement

Finally, make sure the content on your website is as good as it possibly can be. If it is mediocre your visitors will think twice about giving you their personal information much less sending an email. If they think they have read something brilliant they will want more and this often leads to more contacts.

Remember too, that all content has room for improvement, even the great stuff with loads of links sitting in the top spot on Google. Never, therefore, let your content go stale. Update it, tweak it, change it, and improve it regularly.

Taking care of your website is an ongoing process that doesn't end the moment you go live with it. It's a living, breathing entity that represents the culmination of your companies thoughts and knowledge.