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How to Make Your B2B Web Site
More Buyer-Centric

by Michele Linn, Linn Communications

Recently, I've been spending a lot of time evaluating and writing Web copy for clients. Not only have I discovered that I really love this type of work, but I am also seeing common trends of what Web sites do well and where they could do better.
It should go without saying that your Web site should be aimed at your prospects and customers, but, perhaps surprisingly or not, this isn't often the case. It's quite common for me to go to a Web site and be quite puzzled about what this company actually does.

Put on your prospect glasses and really look at your Web site:

• Can your reader easily find important information?

• Are you addressing what is important to your reader instead of what you think is interesting (for every section ask, "Is this providing useful, understandable and relevant info to my readers?")

• Is it written a way so your readers really understand what you do?

Here are just few suggestions on how you can make your Web site more appealing to your potential buyers.

Acknowledge that Readers Need Different Levels of Information

This week I was looking at the resources page for a technology company, and they did something very simple that I thought was very effective. Next to some of their resources (white papers, eBooks, webcasts, etc), they displayed links for "new user" or "intermediate user."

Instead of trying to have all of your content appeal to all of your readers, think of ways you can segment your readers and customize the content. Here are a few ideas on categories you can consider for segmentation:

• Industry;

• Experience with solution (i.e. just starting to look or evaluating vendors);

• Role/position in company (e.g. developer , mid-level l manager);

• Size or organization;

Have an "About" Page

One of the first places I look for information on a Web site is the "About" page. Make this prominent and interesting on your own Web site. While most Web sites had this, I was surprised by how many did not—or how many didn't provide basic information. I really enjoyed this blog post from John Haydon called "27 Ways to Breathe Life into Your Blog's 'About' page;" I think many of the points are valuable for any company's About page.

Consider Every Page To Be a Landing Page

You never where a prospect will enter your Web site, so you need to think of every page as a starting place for your readers. If you were a reader arriving at this page, would the content make sense and would you know what do next? Ardath Albee wrote a great article on this recently that I highly suggest to help you think through this process.

Have a Next Step on Every Page

What do you want you want your readers to do once they finish a page? Maybe they can get more info by reading a white paper or eBook, or maybe there is an especially pertinent case study they can check out. Whatever it is, don't leave them guessing . . . tell them!

Tell Readers How You are Different

There are many times when I am evaluating a solution, and I want to understand how one product differs from another. I scour Web sites to find this info, but I have found that blog posts (hopefully impartial) are the best way to evaluate competitors. Wouldn't it be nice if the solution you were looking at could make this clear? And, how do you know the people who are evaluating your solution are really choosing the competitive differentiators you think are most important?

Make it Easy for the Reader to Contact You

When I was working on a competitive analysis for one of my clients, I was looking for contact information for each company. I thought this type of info would be easy to find, but, surprisingly, it was difficult in more than one case. Give your readers a phone number, e-mail and name of the person to contact.

These are some of the elements I think make a Web site more prospect-friendly. What other things do you like to see?

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Michele Linn (http://www.linncommunications.com/) is a freelance marketing writer specializing in white papers, research reports, feature articles, case studies, and other B2B communications. Her business is devoted to making the job of B2B marketers easier by producing buyer-focused content and providing insights on how they can market it. She is also a founding member and frequent contributor to the Savvy B2B Marketing blog (http://savvyb2bmarketing.com/blog). Send her an email (michele@linncommunications.com) or follow her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/michelelinn)