We recently "re-engineered the content and design of a website
for Gardner+Lang ( www.gal.com.au ), a leading commercial real
estate consultancy in Melbourne, and the result is a site that
is quite different from most commercial agency sites.
But before I get into the reason why it's so different, it's
important to understand a little about the company's culture.
Gardner+Lang's (G+L) Managing Director, Chris Lang is a big
believer in the "give and you shall receive" mentality. In fact,
that's one of the reasons his business is so unique. He isn't in
the business of selling real estate or managing commercial
property. Instead, he takes the focus of working with affluent
investors to help them increase their property wealth.
The Gardner+Lang positioning statement sums it up perfectly. It
says, ""Helping High Net Worth Clients Acquire, Manage and
Market their Investment Properties ... For Maximum Return"
CHALLENGE
Chris' previous website was created a number of years ago and
was looking a little dated. What's more, it really didn't
capture the uniqueness of his company's services. Not only that,
Chris sends out an excellent e-Bulletin each month, but the
problem he was having was that he wasn't achieving many
subscriptions online.
Chris approached us to re-engineer his content, revamp his copy
and re-design the HTML portion of his website so it achieved
three outcomes:
1. is rich in content so it built a relationship with
prospective clients: 2. it generates a larger amount of traffic
by way of search engines; 3. and also maximises the number of
email leads they generated.
RESULTS
1. Ease of Use
The previous website already had some really good content,
however some of it was buried within the website so it was
difficult to access. The new website includes additional
articles, and with the existing content, we ensured that a
number of the sub-pages were visible from the home page so
people can easily find all the information that interests them.
2. Maximising initial interest
Previously, the headline for the website was simply their
company "tag line" or positioning statement which said "Helping
High Net Worth Clients Acquire, Manage and Market their
Investment Properties ... For Maximum Return". Whilst this
headline promoted some very strong benefits, we decided to use a
headline that was shorter, sharper and drilled deeper to hit the
core hot button of investors.
The following headline was decided upon "Interested in
quadrupling your property wealth in as little as 5 years?"
As you can see, this headline is shorter and more benefit
oriented plus it offers a specific outcome, but the main element
is that it's use as a question adds a curiosity element and
makes people want to
3. Maximising length of stay on the site
To increase the length of time people spend on the website we
featured a number of key articles from previous editions of the
G+L e-Bulletins. These articles are featured as teasers
featuring two or three paragraphs of each article, then to read
more, people need to subscribe to their e-Bulletin. Once they
have subscribed they can then access the full article.
The purpose of the teaser format was to capture as many email
addresses as possible.
4. Enquiry generating mechanisms
A critically important function of any website is to generate
enquiries and if your site isn't enticing site visitors to leave
their email address, you're simply wasting opportunities. That's
where the Gardner+Lang site is brilliant.
Gardner+Lang's previous site already had a response gathering
mechanism in their "Negotiating your Way to Success" e-report
which gets emailed out to respondents. Gardner+Lang found it to
be a great tool for attracting enquiries but they wanted to
dramatically increase results.
Now, the new website, not only offers 8 different opportunities
for people to leave their email address, it also includes a
"call to action" at the bottom of each page, encouraging people
to subscribe or to enquire about one of their complimentary
consultations.
Response devices include:
* General enquiry page * FREE consultation * FREE 7 property
investment lessons * FREE subscription * FREE - Negotiating your
Way to Success
So, no matter who visits the site, there's a good chance that
people will leave their email details.
The result? Already, before any search engine optimisation
activities have kicked in, Gardner+Lang are receiving twice as
many eBulletin subscriptions.
5. Copy in general
Chris Lang is a talented copywriter himself, so we re-used most
of Chris' copy but just tweaked it slightly to ensure it was
suitable for the web. This included creating new home page copy,
shortening sentences and paragraphs and adding more frequent
subheadings throughout each page.
When you visit the site, you'll notice how the use of powerful
article headlines on the home page entices people to read
further:
* How to Create Your Own Investment Blueprint * 8 Factors to
Consider When Selecting a Commercial Property Investment * 12
Criteria that Determine Your Property Investment Success *
Property Rating Matrix
Notice the way the headlines are worded": * "How to " * "8
factors" * "12 criteria"
Each of these attract attention and arouse curiosity. They stand
out. They offer a benefit. They appeal to the driving needs of
the site visitor.
6. Credibility online
A website visitor doesn't have the luxury of speaking with a
sales person or visiting your company, so your website is your
online storefront. It sends a message about the credibility,
professionalism and expertise that your company offers.
That's why it's important that your site sells and gives proof
of your claims. The Gardner+Lang site does that perfectly. They
have case studies featuring properties they have sold and
properties they manage, and there are a whole range of success
stories but what they also do is have from the horse's mouth
testimonials from clients ... from a long list of clients at
that.
The credibility building keeps going. There are also a number of
case studies featuring award winning marketing campaigns they
have created.
IN SUMMARY
The Gardner+Lang website follows the 5 golden rules of websites
that sell including:
1. Easy to navigate 2. Simple, useable design that loads quickly
3. Flooded with email address capturing devices and enquiry
mechanisms 4. Loaded with valuable content to maximise repeat
visits 5. Heaps of credibility building tools in the form of
testimonials, case studies etc.
Next time you re-engineer your site, apply these rules and
you'll find that your results increase dramatically.
About the author:
Kris Mills of Words that Sell is an seasoned copywriter and
internet marketer with years of experience developing web
content that sells. For more articles on copywriting or internet
marketing visit Kris' content site at
http://www.advicegalore.com or for more information on Kris'
services, visit http://www.wordsthatsell.com.au
