Articles written by guest contributors

6 things every website must have
Old school marketing tactics applied to today’s world to get your website working for you.
By Tom Hatlen

Lee Goff is a marketing expert who has been hugely successful in applying his skills to developing websites capable of effectively marketing the businesses they serve. His unique skill set has led him to become Guerrilla Marketing's Chief Web Officer and the leading internet strategist for the country of Fiji's entire tourism industry.

Lee offers 6 things your website must have to effectively market your company. He says, “The 6 things are not hard things to do, and they’re not expensive to do. But they make a huge difference in the bottom line. This is all coming from old school marketing tactics, and applying it to today’s world to get your website working for you.”

1. Tagline
Lee says every page on your website should have a tagline. What you say in that tagline can be the difference between a potential client immediately moving on to your competitor’s website or staying to learn more about you.

A tagline is like the headline for a web page that conveys the essence of and the intent of that page. Your home page tagline should reveal your company’s core marketing message.

Lee says the tagline is important because people have very short attention spans. Researchers have found that when a prospect visits your website through a Google search, you have maybe 3 seconds to hook that visitor. The tagline provides that initial hook.

“If the tagline doesn’t give people what they're looking for, there's no need to continue the conversation. They go back to their search.”

Lee says taglines should be brief, between 5 and 7 words if possible. Supporting taglines, which further flesh out your message, can be longer. He recommends giving attention to your taglines just as you would to developing your vision statement and mission statement. Carefully think through every word to create the best first impression possible.

Lee offers an example from www.TheSharkChat.com, a website his company created for Daymond John of The Shark Tank (a TV program where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of potential investors).

Tagline: Live monthly webinar series with Daymond John!
Supporting tagline: Helping entrepreneurs around the world take the next affordable step in their business


Lee offers this tagline example from www.TheSharkChat.com, a website his company created for Daymond John of the Shark Tank TV program. Each word is carefully thought through to convey the marketing message to visitors.

Lee says, “There’s not one word in the tagline or supporting tagline that was not over-the-top thought through. Let’s dissect that: ‘Live’ – If I’m going to pay $97 a month, I don’t want a recording of Daymond John, do you? I want to be on the webinar where I can ask questions. And I want him there with me. ‘Monthly’ – Just letting people know when it is...

“In the supporting tagline: ‘Helping’ – Not doing. ‘Affordable’ – You’re getting to talk to Daymond John for $97. If you had a 1-hour private meeting with him it would cost you $10,000. The webinar makes it affordable to learn from his vast knowledge of business....”

2. Virtual handshake
Lee describes a “virtual handshake” as a 2 or 3 minute video of you, the company owner, on your home page. He says a video can go a long way towards fulfilling the basic human emotional need to do business with another human being. “It allows people to see and feel that you actually care about them, and that they can trust you.”

He says videos are powerful. “I have an 8-part video series. Whenever people meet me after watching my videos, they feel like they've genuinely known me for years. They come up to me and say, 'Lee!' with a big smile. And I've never met them, I didn't know that they existed until that moment. A series of videos is more elaborate than what we’re talking about, but that's how it works.”

Potential clients searching the web for a contractor may visit a bunch of websites, but your video makes them feel like you’re the only one they know. So you’re the one they call. Lee says, “The goal is to get them on the phone. that's when marketing stops and your sales skills take over.”

He cautions not to over-think your video production. The important thing is to get it out there. “You do not need a Hollywood production quality. Get a GoPro, or an I-phone and record yourself. Put a smile on your face and let people know that you really care. Speak from the heart.

“Tell who you are and what you're all about. Tell about your experience, your company’s history, why you got into this business, what you specialize in, who your customers are. You’re allowing them to look you in the eye, and to hear the honesty and passion in your voice. They can see your hand gestures and facial expressions. That starts to build a relationship. You don’t get that impact from reading a story on a website.”


Visit www.Rooney.com to see a “virtual handshake” video
of Dave Rooney, owner of Rooney Landscape.

3. Photos with attractive people in them
People are drawn to photos of attractive people. Lee says, “Studies going back to forever will tell you that whenever you’re doing marketing, people like to look at attractive people. It's fundamental human nature.”

But Lee estimates less than 10% of contractor websites have any people in their photos. “Contractors think they need to show photos of their equipment and their trucks. Do you really think your audience cares about your equipment?”

Contractors also like to show photos of jobs they’ve installed. “And that's great. I'm not saying that you don't have that. But, have 5 professionally done examples with people in the project enjoying the space you created, sitting around the fire by a waterfall with their friends all having a good time.”

He says people buy hardscape/landscape services for the experiences they want, not just to have a thing built in their backyard. Photos of attractive, happy people enjoying the spaces you’ve created allow people to envision their own family and friends having great experiences together. They think, “That’s what I want.”

4. Social proof and social trust
Any time a person buys something as expensive as a hardscape project, they need validation that they can trust you, and proof of the quality of your work. Social proof and social trust provide evidence of your credibility from outside sources.

It’s more powerful to hear a client say how happy they are than to hear you say the same thing. Competitor websites may have nice photos too, but your awards validate the quality of the work in your photos and set you apart.

Social trust – You gain social trust thru your website when you can convey your experience and reputation. This is most commonly done through written and video testimonials from clients. A good way to generate written testimonials is by using customer satisfaction surveys.

Social proof – You exhibit social proof through things like certifications you’ve achieved, awards, licensing, training you’ve completed, articles about your company in a newspaper or magazine. Lee says, for example, “Hardscape Magazine is doing an interview with Lee Goff. This is proof that we're big enough and we're good enough to be featured by a national magazine.”

5. Calls to action (lead capture)
Even after doing all the things above and gaining a prospect’s interest, you must still take steps to capture contact information before the visitor leaves your website. Calls to action allow you to capture the lead so that you can follow-up.

Lee says, “Ineffective or non-existent calls to action are probably the biggest mistake I see on websites today. I would even put that over poor follow-up because there’s nothing to follow-up on if you don’t capture the lead.”

A call to action is basically anything that enables a visitor to contact you like a “contact us” form or a clickable phone number. But Lee suggests more proactive calls to action like those on www.KingLasik.com, a website his company designed. The home page rotates between 6 different messages, all with various calls to action: “Schedule your appointment!” takes visitors to an appointment form. “Get a free Lasik info kit” buttons appear at least twice on each page, but are presented in different ways.

Lee says nobody likes pop-ups when they’re obnoxious. But, done subtly and unobtrusively, they can be very effective calls to action. For example, a footer pop-up is a banner that only covers a strip at the bottom of a page. And, then you can set it so that it only appears after a visitor has scrolled a certain distance down the page.

“It’s only after they’ve read the tagline and have become engaged in your content that they see a call to action asking them if they would like more – free – content. ‘Would you like a free report on the advantages of pavers?’ We call that a ‘smart’ call to action. It’s unintrusive but it gets the job done.”

Lee advises offering free information rather than trying close the deal because most visitors aren’t ready for that. Your goal is to get their contact information so you can follow-up.

“People come to your website to educate themselves first before they want to talk to anyone. They want to get a feel for whether they can trust your brand before they are going to get on the phone with a sales person.”

Lee advises using a mix of smart pop-ups. In addition to footer pop-ups, there are slide-in pop-ups that come in from the side, and exit pop-ups that show up when someone tries to leave the page. All should be unobtrusive, easily closed and only appear once per page visit.

“The exit pop-up is our last ditch effort, and it is by far the most effective, head and shoulders above everything else. They’re leaving your website. You’re going to lose them anyway. Give it a shot without being obnoxious.”


Visit www.KingLasik.com to see a variety of calls to action that allow the company to collect contact information from visitors. Lee Goff’s company, GetUWired created the website.

6. Follow-up
Lee says small businesses are notorious for insufficient follow-up. 60% to 70% of all small business leads are not contacted more than 2 to 3 times, but most prospects aren’t ready to make a decision until after the 7th, 8th or 9th contact. So, business is lost.

“This is by far the 1 thing that if every small business owner fixed immediately, it would put more money in their pocket faster than anything else short of stealing it or robbing a bank. If you increase your ‘touches’ to 7 to 9 times on average, your conversions will double.”

Contractors tend to follow-up more than 2 or 3 times with prospects who sound interested. But, if after a few calls they determine the prospect isn’t hot, they leave it up to the client to call them, and that’s usually the end of it because the client forgets about them.

Lee says large companies know they will be forgotten if they don’t continue following up and creating a positive image in the client’s mind, “Follow-up is the difference between the big boys and the little boys.”

Follow-ups should be aimed at branding and building that relationship. “Don’t pressure people and don’t pester them because you will lose them. You’ve got to sprinkle it in maybe 1 or 2 times a month. That’s why we give people the free report on whatever it is they’re interested in.”

Lee says each contact must be of value to the recipient. “It can be as simple as ‘Sorry we missed you. We tried to call you a couple times ….’ – just enough to show that you care. Everybody on your email list should get Merry Christmas and Happy Thanksgiving emails. Send the free report, add 2 phone calls and you’re almost there.”

Following up via email costs you next to nothing. But, sending a bunch of individual emails is time-consuming, as are calls and personal mailings. Lee says that’s the big reason why small businesses greatly limit their follow-ups. And it’s why he spends a lot of time developing automated systems that initiate emails and other responses depending on a prospect’s actions.

To learn more on automating your follow-ups visit www.AutomatedSalesFunnel.org.
Automating follow-ups is just another way to get your website working for you.

Lee Goff is the CEO and founder of the internet marketing company GetUWired. In just 10 years the company has grown to serve almost 3,000 business owners, and is recognized the world over as an elite agency. Visit www.GetUWired.com for information on improving your website.

Digital Edition
April/May 2024