How To Transform Your Architecture Firm Website Into A Lead Generating Machine
Does marketing your architecture firm find its way to the bottom of your task lists? Do you often prioritize client work over your marketing and business development activities? This is a common scenario building professionals find themselves in. When things are great, marketing and lead generation gets put on the back burner, but when the pipeline dries up, that’s when you’re frantically trying to find more projects to keep your firm afloat.
There’s a better way. Hint: Your website should be doing the lions’ share of the lead generation for you!
Yes, you need to engage in marketing regularly, especially when the pipeline is full and you’re super busy with client work. There’s no way around it, you must carve out time to focus on marketing and business development or you’ll never break out of the feast-famine cycle. Despite already being aware of this, it can still be tough to follow through consistently. And marketing for many architects, interior designers, and contractors can feel too much like selling. And we all know that sales/selling has a bad rap...conjuring up the image of the shady used car salesperson or some other “wheeler-dealer” types.
I can hear you thinking it already:
“But I’m NOT a salesperson!”
Are you so sure? How many times have you easily turned a conversation into a client when you could just sit down and talk with someone?
That’s honestly all that marketing yourself is; it’s giving someone the information they need in order to choose your firm. It’s presenting all the value you provide your clients and the insightful design approaches you use to make your client’s lives better so someone else can see how working with you benefits them.
And that’s exactly what a marketing smart website does. If your website is not generating leads, then it’s time to take a look at exactly why that is so.
Hint: Your architecture firm’s website shouldn’t be just a pretty portfolio of your work. Instead, it should be a valuable resource to your prospective clients (and current and past clients too).
Read on to find out how to make your website marketing smart.
Which Web Host Is Best For A/E/C Websites?
This means a host that is affordable and reliable – your website will always be up and running, it can deal with high amounts of traffic, keeps your website secure, has free automated backups and restore, plenty of space for file storage, uses CPanel, has responsive support, offers managed WordPress hosting (important if you have a WP based site), offers SSL certificates for free and has a dashboard that is easy to navigate.
How do you know if your web host does all these things? Here’s the quick and dirty way to know, compare your existing hosting package to the packages offered by SiteGround hosting. SiteGround is an amazing web host and if your hosting is comparable to theirs, then you’re good. If not, then you should think about migrating your website to them (they’ll do it for you for FREE).
FYI, my endorsement of SiteGround is not paid or otherwise compensated. I’m not their affiliate (but maybe I should be!), I just love their service so much I can’t help but recommend it. After getting burned by other web hosts, I’ve been happily hosting WordPress websites for clients on SiteGround for few years.
ONE BIG EXCEPTION: If your website is a Squarespace site, then you don’t need to worry about this part. Your site is hosted by Squarespace and their hosting is really good. My website is a Squarespace hosted site and I’ve not had any issues with them. Quite honestly, I prefer Squarespace over WordPress these days.
Here’s a quick checklist of what to look for in a great web host:
Reliability
Speed
Enough file storage space
Reasonable bandwidth
A ready support system
Superior features
Enough email space (assuming your web host will also host your email and domain)
Secure
An affordable pricing plan ($14-25/month is reasonable)
They offer to migrate your website to their hosting for free
Given your needs, use the above information to help you to choose your best web host.
Why Your Architecture Firm Website Needs Security (SSL)
These days, all websites –including architect websites– have to be secure websites. Even if you’re not taking sensitive information like credit card numbers on your website, the little lock symbol in the browser navigation bar assures your visitors that your website is safe. Google also has said they consider SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) as a ranking factor, so at the very least, make sure your website is secure for SEO reasons.
SSL is a technology that encrypts links between a web server and a browser. It ensures that the data shared between the web server and browser remains private. In most cases, it’s pretty easy to get an SSL certificate and install it on your web host. You should be able to do this for free, however, some web hosts charge a nominal fee for this service.
Why Your Architecture Firm Website Needs A Clear Brand Message
To ensure that you are attracting the right prospects and qualified leads, your brand message should be clear and easy to understand. Give attention to relevant details when creating your brand message–make sure it precisely conveys what your firm does and what sets your firm apart.
Ask yourself questions such as:
What does my firm do best?
What types of projects do we want to attract?
What types of projects do we take on and what projects don’t we do? Why?
What problems do we solve? How do we solve them?
What makes our approach/process/business model unique?
What is the personality of my firm?
Does the messaging on my firm’s website match the “voice” of my ideal prospects?
Does the messaging on my firm’s website clearly convey the values of my firm?
In answering these questions, you will describe your business brand accurately. Your home page, about page, services page, and blog page are great places to really showcase your brand message.
Does Your Architecture Firm Website Use A CMS?
It’s important that your firm’s website uses a Content Management System (CMS). It allows you to post content to your site without the need for web designers or developers. In fact, a CMS makes your website easy to update because you don’t need to know any code at all. You can add new pages, new project pages, new blog posts, and other content all by yourself, or with the help of your existing staff.
WordPress is currently the most popular CMS, and it makes building your own site and adding content even easier with the help of add-on integrations. These integrations make it possible to get even more benefits without hiring a developer to write the code because they are essentially pre-written code.
Another popular CMS is Squarespace. Squarespace differs from WordPress in a few different ways. One important difference is that Squarespace is an all-in-one system. They are your web host, domain host, email host (via Gmail for Business/ Google Workspace), and web support team. Personally, my CMS preference for clients is Squarespace in most instances because of the clean template designs and ease of use, but you really can’t go wrong with either option.
Another option is Webflow. Webflow is a no code website builder that in some ways is similar to Squarespace but is a better option for your website if you have multiple teams working on your website simultaneously. It also gives you much more freedom in layout and design than Squarespace but is much easier and faster to set up than WordPress. However, in my opinion, the blog editor in Webflow is kinda clunky; I find it much easier to manage a blog on WordPress or Squarespace to be frank.
If you’d like a more in-depth comparison of WordPress, and Squarespace, this article simply and clearly explains the pros and cons of each platform: Squarespace vs WordPress | Which Is Better Overall? And for a comparison of Webflow vs WordPress, visit: Webflow vs. WordPress: Which is better for your website? [2024]
Having a CMS for your website comes with the following benefits:
Offers you templates that improve the efficiency of your work.
Offers pre-built themes so you can create any type of website you want, easily.
Ensures uniformity so all content is produced in the same style.
Makes publishing content simple and professional-looking.
It makes it easy to add images to your content.
It comes with an option to optimize your content for search results.
And perhaps most importantly, with a CMS, you always have control of your site and what updates are made. You’re not relying on someone else to implement changes.
Do You Audit Your Website Images? You Should.
You already know this but I’m going to say it anyway: It is critical to have compelling images on your architecture firm website. Your images send a clear message about your work and design aesthetic. Visual evidence builds trust -- it conveys the message that you can be relied upon to do an excellent job.
Your portfolio is an integral part of online marketing for AEC. Project images, progress snapshots, and staff photos provide your potential clients with clear insight into the type of work you love to do and inspire their own project ideas. However, remember to not overwhelm your website visitors with too many project photos! Be ruthless when deciding what to showcase on your website. Renderings, completed project photos, in-progress/construction site photos all do their part to tell the project story as well as representing your firm. To make sure your images send a clear message, do the following:
Don’t use more than 10 images per project page.
Incorporate a mix of project images and people (you and your staff) throughout your website design. Keep in mind that the more images you have on a webpage, the longer it will take to load. Optimize image file sizes and be judicious in how you use them on the page.
Don’t forget to optimize image alt tags with the appropriate keywords to help improve your SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Use watermarks to add your website details to your photos. It helps when the picture is shared online, one can trace it back to your website. Alternatively, you can disable right-click on your images so they can’t be copied without permission.
How To Make Your Contact Page Qualify Prospects
It is easy to ignore this part of your architecture firm website. You need to understand that your contact page is vital for your website and should be set up to automatically qualify leads. Follow the steps below when creating your page.
A contact page should consist of the following;
Be easy to find and located in the main website navigation.
Explain who is a good fit to work with you and should contact you.
Have your firm’s contact information listed. Your email address and phone number should be clickable.
Have a contact form with qualifying questions that redirects to a thank you page after form submission.
The biggest thing to remember is to include a contact form, not only an email link that can’t track leads. You want your contact form to help you qualify leads so that you don’t send a follow-up to a bunch of people who aren’t actually a great fit for working with you. You can do this by adding extra fields to the form, such as project budget, location, and project timeline goals. It weeds out the no-go’s so you can focus your efforts on the leads that are more likely to become clients.
SEO For Architecture Firm Websites
What do the best lead-generating architecture firm websites have in common? They are all search engine optimized. And here’s why: nearly everyone goes to Google for answers to their problems -- including your prospective clients.
SEO is like a dating service for your business. It matches qualified clients with your online content. Use the right techniques, and you’ll get a first date and an opportunity to make an impression.
There are reliable techniques you can use to help your website rank higher, including:
Targeted keywords: Use Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or one of the many keyword tools available online to come up with proper keywords for your website.
Great content: Create valuable content and a great website experience. Think about the questions you get often from clients and create content that answers those questions. That’s the easiest way to make your website a resource for your prospects and keep them coming back for more.
On-page optimization: This involves optimizing different parts of your website in an attempt to positively affect your Google ranking. Learn more about on-page optimization in this article on the difference between on-page and off-page SEO for AEC firms.
Off-page optimization: This includes gaining quality backlinks to your website from other places around the web, social media activity, and local SEO among other things.
Keep Your Social Media Accounts Active
An active social media presence goes a long way in online marketing for AEC firms. Social media gives you a chance to build an audience of your prospective clients, fans, and prospective hires. By actively engaging your audience via social media you can build your “know, like, and trust” factor and nurture relationships. At its most basic, it is simply networking.
There are many social media platforms you could use to market your services. Choose the ones that your ideal prospects are already actively using. Share engaging content and be responsive to questions and comments. As an architecture firm, you likely have tons of content (sketches, photos, drawings, renderings, etc) to share on social so use it!
Why You Need Google Analytics Installed On Your Website
Analytics gives you access to critical information for your online marketing efforts. Whatever your goals are, you can use analytics information to create strategies to reach them. The caveat is that if you aren’t regularly looking at this data and taking action on what you discover, you’re missing out on very valuable insights that are critical for a lead-generating website.
So, take a look at your analytics and set some goals to test your website and online marketing performance. Make a point to monitor frequently and consistently. Here are a few ideas for you to set as goals and track their performance:
The number of visitors to your website,
The bounce rate (should be below 60%),
The number of people going to your landing pages (eg. pages with sign up forms for free downloads or to sign up for your newsletter),
Of the people that visited your landing pages, how many actually submitted the signup form?
The length of time people spend on your website (ideally should be around 2mins, if not more),
Which pages are the most popular for the past 30 days, 60 days, 90 days?
Why You Need A Facebook Pixel Installed On Your Website
The Facebook pixel collects and provides important information you can use to create better targeted Facebook ads. The pixel data helps make sure your ads are seen by the right people in your audience who are most likely to take action.
Even if you’re not using Facebook ads yet, you should install the Facebook pixel now. It will start collecting data right away so that you don’t have to start from scratch when you’re ready to create your first Facebook or Instagram ad.
Why Architecture Firm Websites Need Lead Magnets
In order to convert leads to clients, you need to be able to answer their questions with relevant content. The way to do this is by getting them on your email campaign list.
How can you get your clients’ email addresses? You do this by offering them information in exchange for their email address. That information is called a lead magnet. You need to determine what your clients would need, put it in a downloadable format, and offer them the download in exchange for their email.
What happens when you use lead magnets is you establish yourself as an authority with trusted information. And information is exactly what clients are looking for before spending money.
Here are some examples of lead magnet formats:
Case studies
Calculators
Ebooks
Guides
Checklists
Infographics
By downloading your lead magnet, you’ll get their email added to your email list. Once you have their email, you can stay top of mind by sending follow-up emails in what is called a “nurturing sequence”.
Zapier Helps You Save Time Through Automating Marketing Tasks
Zapier is an amazing little tool. It can connect all of your digital tools together, automating tasks to save you time. They claim to save people 40+ hours a month on average. That’s a lot! All of the tools listed in your Digital Marketing Toolkit have integrations with Zapier. And, Zapier offers a free plan so you can start small and get used to the magic of having bots do things for you and as you need more advanced options, you can upgrade to a paid plan. Learn more about Zapier: https://zapier.com/
Final Thoughts
Lead generating websites for AEC firms don’t have to be difficult to create or maintain. With the toolset listed above, you can transform your firm’s website into a lead generation tool that works 24/7. That’s marketing smart. And that’s one major way you’re going to get more quality leads for your business, while you focus on the work you love.
For more help with online marketing for AEC, click here.