Getting a potential client to your website takes some doing these days. But just getting someone to your site isn’t the end goal. To use an old school brick-and mortar example, it would be like sending out direct mail flyers announcing a big sale at your store (complete with a map showing how to get there), only to have people arrive and not be able to get in because the doors are locked.
What you really want is to have people come in and explore. But you don’t want people wandering aimlessly through your store—or your website. You want people to be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. That’s why you direct visitors to Landing Pages rather than to your Home Page. This allows them to find the specific information they want without having to search through your whole site.
Another way to help your visitors is to include internal links to relevant content on your site. That way, if a visitor finds useful content, you can help him or her find additional, related content easily. Here’s an example.
If you visit our site looking for information about Inbound Marketing Services, you’ll find helpful information about the services we offer. But on the same page that describes this service, you will also find links to related topics that will help you pull more visitors to your site, convert visitors to leads, explore analytics, and use social media. You can even check out a free demo of inbound marketing software to see if it’s right for your company.
These internal links keep visitors on the site longer (which is always a good thing). They also really help visitors find specific information they are looking for. And in our case, these links showcase the breadth of our expertise—without us having to talk about ourselves.
You can do the same thing by linking relevant content internally on your site. But make sure the content you link to truly meets the needs of your visitors. Don’t do a “bait-and-switch” where you promise help and then lead your visitors to a sales pitch. Make sure you deliver what you promise.
How do you use internal links on your site?