Over the years, we have talked to hundreds of people in charge of brand marketing and digital outreach, and they frequently come to us with one basic request: Can you take a look at our website and tell us what you think?

It’s no great surprise that many are a little anxious or uncertain about their website. They know the website is their digital storefront—the first impression visitors and prospective clients will have of the business. In a very real way, then, the business website is make-or-break. It either captures leads and converts them into customers, or it loses them—and if you lose business because of a bad website, you’re not likely to win it back.

What we tell our clients is that a truly synergistic approach to marketing requires the website to be a hub—the home base for all digital marketing operations, and a non-stop sales machine. Your website should always be marketing. It should always be telling the story of your brand. It should always be working to bring new customers into the fold.

The question is how?

Setting the Right Goals for Your Website

There are plenty of small-yet-significant ways in which websites can market your brand, but before you can implement them, you have to set goals for your website. After all, how can you know what design elements to use, what kind of content to write, or even what basic site map to implement, unless you know exactly what it is you’re trying to accomplish?

Some questions to ask yourself:

• Are you setting up your website to capture leads? If so, you need lead generation forms and calls to action.
• What kind of action do you want people to take when visiting your website? If you want them to pick up the phone and call you, be sure to list your phone number prominently on each page. (More on that in a minute.) If you want to capture e-mail addresses, have integrative forms to do it, and a reason for visitors to fill out those forms.
• Are you seeking to establish a brand identity or thought leadership? If so, then a strong About page, an FAQ section, testimonial elements, and an active blog become a necessity for your website, to showcase what makes your brand different from everyone else.

Including Your Phone Number

But back to the phone number: When people ask us to take a look at their website, this is always the first thing we look for—so simple, so significant, so often overlooked! You already have the phone number, we presume, but if it isn’t listed clearly on your site—on every single page of your site!—then you’re missing some huge opportunities.

A phone number says to your visitors that you’re available—that you want to help them. It says that you’re legitimate—real businesses have real phone numbers, after all—so it gives visitors the validation they’re looking for. So set up your phone number, preferably to a professional line rather than a personal cell phone, and place it prominently on every page of your website. If you don’t have a dedicated business line, set up a Google Voice number. This will give you a dedicated virtual number for your business that forwards calls to the phone of your choosing.

Using Lead Forms and Calls to Action

Have you ever been to a website that asked you to fill in a quick form—maybe your name, e-mail address, and zip code—to receive updates or special offers? Those are called lead forms, and they can help you turn your website visitors into paying customers. They help you qualify prospects, collect information for your sales team, build your sales funnel, better understand your visitors’ needs and motivations, and more. If one of your website goals is to get leads—and we’ll assume that it is—then lead forms are necessary.

And no matter what actions you want your visitors to take—filling out forms, buying directly, calling you, e-mailing, downloading your e-book, signing up for your newsletter—calls to action should also be employed on every page. Don’t just assume that visitors will do what you want them to do. Spell it out for them. Guide them through your page. Provide a clear, succinct call to action on every page that provides a strong action word and direct value: Call us now to schedule a consultation. Fill out this form to receive your free e-book. And so on.

The bottom line: Make your website goal-oriented. Make it action-driven. Make it easy for visitors to use it fully. And make sure your business phone number is prominently displayed on every page of your website.