We just launched a new website for Integrity Marketing President Kyle Krull! You can see his new site at www.kylekrull.com. I think this is one of the more exciting re-designs we’ve launched over the past year and represents a significant upgrade for Kyle’s marketing.
I’m Jennifer Campbell Goddard, CEO of Integrity Marketing and Kyle’s long-time business partner and friend (yes, we’ve been in business together for 20 years this year!) Because of our unique relationship, I am able to speak perhaps a bit more candidly to and about Kyle than I might another client. This can lead to some pretty animated conversations …
Now it’s my turn to tell-all in a series of blog posts about how a great website goes bad, and why it takes strong strategy and a team of professionals to save it! Join me this week on a tour through Kyle’s new website, and the process to create it. In this unique peek behind the curtain you will see just how a great marketer stays at the top of his game. You’ll also see how even great marketers like Kyle can make some of the same not-so-great mistakes that may be plaguing your own marketing!
Let’s start with why we had to redesign the site, which was only about two years old. (By the way, if your website is two or more years old, it’s ancient. Web Years are even more accelerated than Dog Years!)
Digital Marketing is Not a Once-and-Done Proposition
Just as estate planning is a lifetime process, so is digital marketing. You know that estate plans must be updated to reflect changes in life circumstances as well as in the law; well, your website needs to be updated for similar reasons. Everything from changes in Google’s search algorithms to changes in consumer behavior impact your website’s performance and can mean you need to make a change.
In Kyle’s case, it’s been about two years (June 2013) since we last redesigned his site. Since that time, Google has placed more emphasis on mobile, social, and user experience … and less on keywords, number of pages indexed, and volumes of content. Not to say that these things no longer matter, but they matter less in relation to mobile optimization, social authority and “user experience” as measured by time-on-site, bounce rates and conversions.
It’s All About You Now
Online consumer behavior has changed radically. Yes, even over the past two years. Consumers visiting your legal website are further along in the Customer Journey (or, deeper in the Sales Funnel) than they used to be. Whereas before, most of us used the internet to gather information and turned to valued personal referrals before making a buying decision offline, we now are much more comfortable making purchases directly online using online information. Consumers used to visit your site to learn more about estate planning, or powers of attorney, or wills and trusts. Increasingly now they visit your site to learn more about YOU, and to make their final decision before scheduling an appointment.
Mobile Optimization
Kyle’s new website is designed to keep Google happy, and appeal to visitors who are ready to choose an attorney. The entire site is “responsive,” which means it automatically re-sizes for optimal viewing on any device – whether desktop, tablet, or any size cell phone. Google considers this “mobile optimized” and is more likely to deliver Kyle’s site higher in search results.
A Faster Route to Your Office
Note the “Request a Consultation” button is prominent, near the top of the page and repeated lower on the page as well. We’ve done this because we know that many visitors are ready to do just that, and we want to make it easy for them.
Making Information More Fun
The site still contains lots of rich content, but we’ve incorporated navigation into a fun, easy-to-use “lifecycle” graphic located lower on the page. Visitors who are still in the information-gathering stage will find plenty to hold their interest.
A Little Help from Our Friends
And because we’ve all started checking references online, depending on reviews from previous clients or customers to help us make our final choices, Kyle’s site guides visitors to read more than 150 online reviews.
Kyle Gets Social … and Even a Little Dark Social
What about social authority? Notice that Kyle’s site links not only to the usual Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In accounts, but also to his blog, Pinterest and Google Plus. We even made an effort to shed light on some of the Dark Social sharing with a share button that includes an email share. What is Dark Social? Basically, it’s the nearly 70 percent of social sharing that occurs in private digital communication tools such as email and instant messaging.
Now that you’ve seen the final result, stay tuned this week to see where we started and the (sometimes painfully circuitous) route we took to get here!