For the second year in a row, website effectiveness ranked as the worst performing pillar amongst our sample of Kiwi SaaS companies in the Annual Proxi SaaS Marketing Capability Survey.
Only 10% of respondents scored their website as being effective (definition: near perfect; it tells the right story, converts customers effectively. It ranks ‘one’ in Google search against our keywords).
So, what about the other 90% who say their websites are not performing? That number is astonishingly high and more than a worry when your company’s website is its window on the world. You have just a few seconds to get your message across, let the reader know how you can help and get them to stay on your site.
The deep dive in the SaaS Marketing Capability Report discusses five lenses reviewing what’s going on with a website. This blog takes a more practical approach – giving you top tips to help get your website performing better.
The biggest tip – so big it doesn’t get a number – is: remember, your website isn’t about you – it’s all about your prospects and customers, so write for them.
Second biggest tip – it isn’t one-and-done. Think of your website as a needy pet that requires constant attention and feeding – the more attention you give it, the better the results.
Third biggest tip – make sure the website platform you are using is responsive, mobile friendly and is kept up to date with the latest SEO trends so you aren’t trying to optimise something that just isn’t fit for purpose.
And here are our top ten tips…
1. Clear Value Proposition:
Communicate your software company’s unique value proposition clearly on the homepage banner. Explain how your products or services can solve specific problems for your target audience. Make this clear and as short as possible. They need to know you are an option for them the minute they land on the page.
2. User-Centric Design:
Prioritise user experience (UX) by creating a clean, intuitive design. Make navigation easy and ensure your website is responsive on all devices. There needs to be a logical flow for each audience you are trying to attract – make sure key information is no more than two clicks away.
3. Compelling Content:
Provide valuable content that educates and informs visitors at every step of the buyer consideration journey – from those who don’t even know they have the problem you solve- through to those looking to understand the very technical detail of what you deliver. This can include blog posts, whitepapers, case studies and video tutorials – but fundamentally your page content has to tell a story that gives them enough information to understand they need to connect with you directly.
4. Social Proof:
Showcase customer testimonials, case studies and industry awards to build trust and credibility. Highlight successful projects and satisfied clients to demonstrate your software’s effectiveness. Plus prominently display any metrics that make you look a viable option: user numbers, countries you operate in, years in business, stars in Capterra – find some numbers.
5. Call-to-Action (CTA):
Make it easy for your prospect to move to the next stage of engagement. Strategically place CTAs throughout your website, encourage visitors to take desired actions, such as moving to the next logical page or piece of content, downloading a piece of content, requesting a demo, signing up for a newsletter, or contacting your sales team.
6. Lead Generation Forms:
Implement lead generation forms strategically but avoid overwhelming visitors. Collect essential information (keep it minimal: first name, last name, email address) and offer something valuable in return, such as a free ebook or access to exclusive content. This is the very start of your relationship and you just need the basic details to make contact to see if you are a good fit for each other.
7. SEO Optimisation:
Optimise your website for search engines to improve organic traffic. Sounds simple – and fundamentally it is – but it is generally a long play. Use relevant keywords, meta tags and create high-quality, shareable content to boost your search engine rankings.
8. Performance Optimisation:
Ensure fast page load times and minimal downtime to provide a seamless user experience. Compress images (there are a number of free tools that will do this for you), use browser caching and choose a reliable hosting provider.
9. Analytics and Data:
Implement robust analytics tools to track user behaviour, conversion rates and other key performance indicators (KPIs). Use this data to make informed decisions and continuously improve your website. Google Analytics is the obvious starting point but there are other options that provide even more indepth analysis around audiences, engagement and SEO.
10. Security and Privacy:
Prioritise website security and data privacy to build trust with visitors. Implement SSL certificates, regularly update software and comply with relevant data protection regulations, such as GDPR or CCPA. If you don’t have the capability internally to manage this – it is an investment to work on a retainer with an agency to do this for you.
“SaaS startups often put too much focus on getting users to their websites and not enough time making sure their website is performing well. Your website is often your first opportunity to really showcase what you do and how you’ll solve problems for your prospective customers. Ineffective websites fail to do so and the flow on effects for your business can be huge. For example, poor UX, loading times, messaging and conversion rates all lose you prospective customers. Making your website even 20% more effective can have a massive compounding effect on business growth over time.”
Ryan McMillan, Managing Director, Atlas Digital
