How B2B Websites Can Optimize Their Design for Lead Generation

B2B (business-to-business) lead generation is the process of winning new clients. It involves attracting businesses to your B2B website and then converting them into ‘leads:’

• A ‘lead’ is not just a regular website visitor
• A ‘lead’ is someone who performs a positive action towards conversion on the site
• For example, let us say a B2B SaaS site has 10 potential customers download a free PDF out of 100 unique visitors in a month
• The site’s lead conversion rate for that month is 10

Unfortunately, the days of B2B sites having lead conversion rates of 10% or higher, are long gone:

• Customer acquisition costs (CAC) for B2B sites are up considerably across industries
• 70% of B2B sellers report facing severe difficulty gaining access to stakeholders when selling virtually
• Data privacy regulations have ruined the accuracy and profitability of advertising targeting
• Apple and Google have killed cookies so B2B businesses no longer have access to an abundance of third-party data
• Even Salesforce, one of the most reputable B2B brands in the world, has a lead conversion rate of less than 5%.

However, just because lead generation is tougher than ever, it does not mean that businesses are not generating leads. Necessity is breeding innovation in the field of B2B website design.

How to Optimize B2B Web Designs Lead Generation

B2B firms are optimizing their websites’ designs in new and unique ways to steadily impress and grow their clientele. In this article, we’ll go over a 12-step plan to optimize your B2B website’s design and make it a lead-generating machine in 2024:

1. Conduct In-Depth Research

Begin by gathering comprehensive data on your target audience:

• Divide your target audience into distinct segments based on their different business needs, buying behaviors, or other characteristics
• Engage with existing customers or sales reps from each of these segments
• Use surveys, interviews, and industry reports to identify key customer pain points and preferences regarding trial sign-ups, free trials, and other lead-generation strategies
• Determine the lead conversion probability of each segment
• Analyze why companies invest in your products or services
• Identify common needs within different audience segments

This foundational understanding of your audience will align your lead optimization efforts with actual user needs.

2. Establish Goals

• Assess your existing lead generation metrics to understand your starting point
• Identify what you want visitors to accomplish on your website
• Is it downloading a resource, signing up for a trial, or requesting a demo?
• If your goal is education, start creating valuable content like eBooks or whitepapers that require users to submit their contact information to access
• If it is increasing sign-ups, start crafting landing pages with strong calls-to-action (CTAs)

3. Find CMS, CRM, and BAM Tools

• Select a Content Management System (CMS) that comes with built-in features for lead generation (forms, email marketing capabilities, etc.)
• Make sure the CMS has analytics capabilities to track lead generation efforts and measure effectiveness
• Investigate various Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems like Salesforce and Pipedrive
• Assess their features, usability, and integration capabilities with your CMS
• Look for CRMs that provide lead scoring, pipeline management, and reporting tools
• Also, consider using Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) tools that allow you to monitor interactions with leads across different channels
• Tools like Leadfeeder can show which companies visit your site, helping you identify warm leads
• These tools will help you treat each contact with potential leads as a chance to gather valuable information

4. Implement an All-Out Cross-Media Strategy

• Use social media, content marketing, and SEO to create awareness and attract prospects at the top of the sales funnel
• Understand that most B2B buyers prefer gathering information through articles rather than direct sales pitches
• Create informative content that addresses industry challenges.
• Optimize your website for speed, mobile-friendliness, and usability

5. Build a Landing Page

• Create your first landing page with your CMS to set up an optimized landing page
• Include a compelling headline that captures attention immediately
• Use a few sentences to explain the value of your offering
• Use bullet points to outline the main advantages of your product or service
• Include a high-quality image of your product to visually engage visitors and reinforce your message.
• Ensure the call-to-action buttons (e.g., “Download Now” or “Sign Up”) stand out and clearly indicate the next step

6. Optimize the Whole Site for Search

• Optimize all pages on the website for search engines
• Use proper code semantics, strategic URL structures, and effective canonicalization
• Create high-quality content that directly speaks to user needs and answers important, industry-related queries they may have
• Post new blogs, articles, or videos frequently
• Ensure fast page load times; aim for under 1–3 seconds

7. Add Forms to High-Traffic Pages

• Conduct a traffic audit to identify which pages receive the most traffic and evaluate their lead generation potential
• Assess your existing lead generation metrics to understand your starting point
• Add lead capture forms on all high-traffic pages
• Also add links to relevant, high-quality content that urges users to fill out forms on all high-traffic pages
• If you notice traffic from specific channels, customize the content on those landing pages to better engage those visitors

8. Add Lead Magnets to High-Traffic Pages

Lead magnets are valuable resources you can offer to visitors in exchange for their contact information. Here are some lead magnets you should add to all high-traffic pages on the site:

Create Useful Calculators

• Build calculators that solve specific problems for your audience
• Collect qualifying data through the calculator form
• Position the prominently on your website with strong CTAs

Host Engaging Webinars

• Select topics that address audience pain points
• Make signup easy to encourage participation
• Track registration and engagement metrics to improve future webinars

Share Insightful Industry Reports

• Use your data to create valuable industry reports
• Require business emails for access to filter quality leads
• Include visuals and actionable insights for better readability

Use LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms

• Use LinkedIn’s platform to reach decision-makers effectively
• Set up forms that auto-fill user details for easier sign-up
• Target ads based on job titles and industries

Promote Newsletter Signups

• Use newsletters to build relationships with potential clients
• Segment your email list for relevant communication
• Provide consistent, valuable content to keep open rates high

Track and Optimize Results

• Regularly assess the performance of each lead magnet
• Adjust strategies based on conversion rates and engagement statistics

By implementing these lead magnet strategies on high-traffic pages, you can effectively capture leads and nurture them through the sales funnel.

9. Optimize Each Step of The Lead Generation Process

Track visitor journeys. Monitor how visitors navigate your site from conversion entry. Understand their paths and then optimize every design element they encounter:

CTAs

• Use contrasting colors for your CTAs to enhance their visibility against the site’s background
• Keep CTAs simple and short
• Personalize them based on user behavior

Improve Thank-You Pages

• Use thank-you pages after form submissions
• Include links to social media platforms, free downloadable resources, and other similar perks

Send Kickback Emails

• After conversions, send thank-you emails to leads
• Share links to offers in the kickback emails to increase open and click-through rates

10. Develop a Live Chat Service

• Add a live chat feature to your website
• Answer visitors’ questions and capture leads in real-time
• Install live chat on all high-traffic pages
• Use live chat interactions to gather information about customer needs/preferences while addressing their inquiries

11. Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

• Analyze site data to pinpoint high-value accounts and relevant contacts within those organizations
• Ensure that marketing, sales, and PR teams share data and insights related to these accounts
• Develop personalized content that addresses the specific pain points of your target accounts
• Deliver targeted content through various channels such as LinkedIn, industry publications, and targeted ads

12. Test

• Regularly A/B test different elements of your website, such as CTAs, landing pages, and images
• Identify what elements drive higher conversion rates
• Test variations in headlines, button colors, and layouts to see which combinations yield the best results
• Analyze the performance of each test to make data-driven decisions about website optimizations
• Use insights from testing to repeatedly refine your lead generation strategies over time

Conclusion

Ready to create your own lead generation machine? Find a top B2B web design agency that can implement our 12-step plan and get to work!