B2B Website Fundamentals

Starting from Scratch: Fundamentals Every B2B Website Should Have

Your company’s website is an integral part in facilitating your inbound marketing strategy. It is the digital face of your company and is the first place a prospect will go in order to reach out to your team. With that being said, there are certain “must-haves” that you should include on your site in order to draw more leads in, and capture them in an effective and convenient way.
 
Gone are the days when listing your email on your site was sufficient. Internet searchers now expect certain digital assets when experiencing any website: make sure you’re meeting their expectations by including these elements on your website.

 

Company Contact Information

 
This may seem obvious, but including basic company contact information is often overlooked. The key is to have this information readily available. No matter what page a person is on, they should always be able to see your company email address and phone number.
 
Consider displaying this information in the footer of your site, or in your top menu bar. These places are consistent site-wide, and won’t be overlooked when you add new content pages in the future.
 

Forms

 
Forms are standard online because they provide key benefits to the user and business. For the user, they are quick to fill out when he or she wants more information. For the business, it’s a clear indication of his or her interest in your business.
 
There are a number of online form tools that range in price and features, depending on what works for your business. We often develop websites in WordPress and favour two plugins. Contact Form 7 is a free tool that provides all the basic features a form builder would need. Gravity Forms is a paid plugin that includes a range of customizable features, and allows integration into external tools, such as HubSpot or Salesforce.
 
When selecting a tool, consider what information you want to collect from your prospects, and the best way to share that information with your team. For example, if you need a number of customized alerts that are sent to email addresses dynamically, consider a paid tool instead of working around the limitations of a free plugin.
 
After you’ve picked your form tool, make sure to include forms in the following places:

  • On your contact page: This form can include more detailed fields, such as company name or an open note field
  • Your home page: Don’t miss the opportunity to capture a prospect right when they land on your website

 

Social Media Accounts and Follow Icons

 
Much like your email address, visitors should always have access to your social media channels. More and more, these websites are becoming the number one method of communication. If you are active on your accounts, include the network icons in either your footer or top menu bar to encourage visitors to follow or engage with your accounts.
 
If you find that your brand and content resonate really well with one network’s audience, consider embedding a live feed of that account onto your home page. This way, new website visitors that have limited experience with your brand can catch a glimpse in how you interact with others in the industry in real-time.
 

Highlight Related Content

 
From an inbound marketing perspective, the goal of any website is to have visitors engage with as much content as possible. For example, if someone comes to your website through a blog, your goal is to continue educating them through related blogs, white papers, or company pages. This way, the visitor will become more familiar with the services you provide and are more likely to convert on one of your forms.
 
Links in your text and a well-designed menu structure are simple ways to achieve this, but aren’t very bold to the user.
 
Another solution that will draw eyes is including large call-to-actions on key webpages, like your blogs or service pages. These call-to-actions can be blocks on your webpage that stand out and entice the visitor to get more information on a topic. Make sure that these call-to-actions are linking to relevant pieces of content: remember, the goal is to continue educating your website visitors.
 

Promote Digital Assets

 
As companies grow, there is usually an increased investment in content development. If you’ve reached this point and have developed your own white papers or downloadable files, make sure you show off the hard work!
 
Promote your large digital assets by using banner images in the top or sidebar of relevant pages. Also consider utilizing a popup tool, such as Aiva Labs or Privy, to immediately capture visitor’s attention.
 

Email Newsletter Sign-Up

 
While the effectiveness of emails is up for debate, we still see a large positive impact with our email newsletters for our B2B clients. Make sure your website has the functionality to capture someone’s information when they want to stay updated on your company.
 
You can place email sign-up forms on your blog sidebar, in a popup, or even in your website’s footer. Most digital email platforms have code snippets you can use, or you can build your own form with plugins like SumoMe or HubSpot Marketing. These plugins connect to MailChimp, Constant Contact, or whatever email provider you’re using.
 
Now that your website is up to snuff, are you looking for even more inbound marketing tips? Check out our Inbound Marketing white paper to learn all the strategies and tools we use in-house, and for our clients.
 

Starting from Scratch: Fundamentals Every B2B Website Should Have