Six Questions You Must Answer on Your Website to Attract Your Ideal Client

Have you ever shopped online for a course or a carpet cleaner and got frustrated when you couldn’t make a decision?

All their sites may look professional, they all seem to offer the same thing, and maybe they even get comparable ratings and reviews.

So how do you choose one over the other?

There’s a big chance that people going to your site are wondering the same thing.

In this post, I’ll outline six questions you must answer on your website if you don’t want them to shrug their shoulders and go to your competition.

#1 – What do you do?

You and your existing clients know what you do, but if it’s not clear to strangers seeing your website for the first time, it’s unlikely they’ll bother asking if you can help them.

It’s not enough to say, “I’m a professional organizer” or “We’re a team of resume writers.” No offense, but there are lots of others that do what you do! You need to highlight what makes your business special so potential clients will want to contact you.

With this in mind, I recently changed the messaging on my own website. Over the past two years, my business has evolved from designing websites and maintaining them afterwards to hosting, managing, and improving a wide variety of WordPress sites, including many which were designed by the owner or another web pro. For this reason, I changed my tagline from “Website Design with a Personal Touch” to “Your Website Caregiver & Designer” and the wording on my home page reflects this new focus.

Before you move on to your next task, look at your website and make sure your ideal client would know exactly what you can do for them if they were to land there today. Even better, ask a friend who doesn’t know much about your business to look at your homepage and explain what you do.

#2 – Who do you do it for?

Have you ever gone to a website and knew immediately you were in the right place?

Most likely you’re their ideal client, and they’ve crafted their message to speak directly to you.

That’s good for you, because you don’t have to spend a lot of time searching for what you need.

It’s good for them too, because they’ve attracted the type of person they want to work with.

What about your website? Does it do that?

It’s important to be clear about who needs (or wants) your products or services, whether it’s a specific demographic or a certain type and/or size of business.

If it sounds awkward to spell it out, work it into your message another way. I refer to coaching and consulting businesses on my home page, with a longer list of the types of clients I work with on my About page. Specific clients are mentioned in my testimonials, case studies, and portfolio. Photos and client lists (where appropriate) can also demonstrate the types of businesses or individuals you work with.

Look at your website again and make sure your ideal clients can see themselves there.

#3 – How do you help people?

Being clear about what you do and for whom is essential, but it’s not always enough.

“I develop meal plans for busy families” might sound inviting, but most people will want to know a little bit about how you do it. Their questions might include:

• Do you have menus they can choose from, or is it fully customized?
• How many do you get, and how often?
• Is it a one-time purchase or an ongoing service?

You can certainly save some points for the initial consultation but providing key details on your website will alleviate concerns and encourage prospects to get in touch with you.

The way you present your “how” will depend on the nature of your business.

On my Web Design page, I outline the eight steps I follow while creating a new site. Many clients are reassured to know there’s a set process in place. Those who don’t like my process can save their time and mine by moving on to another designer.

Which brings me to another point. Being clear about what you do, who it’s for, and how you do it isn’t just about attracting potential clients. It’s about screening out those who aren’t a good fit for you.

#4 – Why do you do it?

We’ve all seen more websites than we can count. But how many do we remember?

The ones that stand out for me aren’t the ones with the most original layouts or the latest design trends. It’s the ones that have the most interesting stories. The ones that go beyond stating what they do and explain WHY they do it.

People probably won’t remember your logo, but they’ll remember things like your unique story, your personality, and your values – which are all elements of your “why.”

Your why is yours alone, and no one else has the exact same one. More importantly, there’s no right or wrong why.

To get started, reflect on these questions.

1. If money and time were of no concern, what would you do with your days?
2. Looking back at the past year, what events or accomplishments made your heart light up?
3. If you lost everything tomorrow, what would you miss the most?
4. If you could trade lives with anyone, who would it be and why?

Think about how your answers align to what you do in your business and incorporate that into your message. Your ideal client will get to know, like, and trust you so much more quickly, you’ll be that much closer to landing their business.

#5 – Where do you do business?

One of my pet peeves is when I go to a website and the business location isn’t mentioned anywhere.

If you offer a service that will be delivered online, it may not seem relevant, but it’s part of who you are, and sharing the information will help potential clients relate to you more easily. That’s why my Contact page clearly states that I work from my home office in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

And if I’m ordering a product, I want to know where it’s coming from. I don’t need your address, but please tell me at least what part of the world you’re in, because it’s going to affect shipping time and costs and will influence my decision to buy or not.

If you have a brick-and-mortar business, please provide your full address and possibly a map – ideally one that will allow me to look up directions from my own location.

My biggest issue is with service providers who work within a specific region, but don’t specify what locations that they serve. Sometimes you can tell by the telephone area code, but not always. For example, my area code 905 applies to the entire region surrounding the Greater Toronto Area, from Niagara Falls to Cobourg, over 250 kilometres or 150 miles, so just because we share an area code doesn’t mean you’re willing to come to my place.

Indicating your location isn’t just important to prospective clients. Naming the cities and towns you serve on your website is a good SEO strategy, because it allows Google to identify the best matches when someone is searching for your services.

#6 – When do you do business?

I’ve talked about answering what, who, how, why and where… but how about WHEN?

Brick-and-mortar businesses are pretty good about posting their hours of operation on their websites. They don’t want people showing up to find them not open, nor do they want to field a lot of unnecessary phone calls asking about their hours.

Take a lesson from them.

If you have set hours, in some cases I need to know that for scheduling purposes.

If you’re very flexible, state that – it’s a great selling point!

Maybe you don’t work set hours. I get that! But do you answer your phone 24-7, or only on certain days or between certain hours? Or do all calls go to voicemail? It can be frustrating to reach voicemail when you’re expecting someone to be available, and awkward if they answer when you were prepared to leave a message. Make it easier for everyone by simply stating your policy.

If your only method of contact is through a form, please tell me when I should expect a reply. My Contact page states that “I’ll get back to you within 24 hours (excluding weekends and holidays).”

It’s all about making it easy for your ideal client to connect with you.

How can you improve your message?

In this post, I’ve explained the importance of answering who, what, where, when, why and how questions in your messaging. Making this information clear will help potential clients know whether they’re in the right place, bringing you better leads and ultimately saving you hours of time responding to emails.

How many of the six questions does your website answer?